If Underwood wants them back. I can't imagine that he wouldn't, but it isn't automatic, The school can refuse to take them back.Will DaMonte and Trent as 4 year seniors get another year of eligibility if they so desire?
If Underwood wants them back. I can't imagine that he wouldn't, but it isn't automatic, The school can refuse to take them back.Will DaMonte and Trent as 4 year seniors get another year of eligibility if they so desire?
Agreed. And there's an even longer list of comparables, going back a few more years:Damonte’s jumper improvement reminds me of Luther Heads.....
Totally agree with you. Georgi has always had the same issue. If you look at Garza, this guy keeps the ball high and goes up with it from there. Kofi and Georgi go down low first which opens them up to getting the ball stripped which happens often. They have had plenty of time to figure that out themselves, to be coached about preventing that, but it continues to happen. Extremely frustrating!!Most people have listed main gripes but Holy hell Kofi. How many times are you going to bring the ball low after a pass/reb and get it knocked out of your hands??? That happened constantly today and was driving me nuts. Happy to survive.
You seem to have every single thought I had about the game. You put it very well also. It was very surprising that Underwood didn’t make any changes to combat that pick and roll. They exploited it all night.whew, well lets start with the negatives. Absolutely exposed by a crafty stretch 4. Can't believe Vander Plas made those threes as the game wore on. He was an absolute handful for us and neither Damonte or Giorgi had an answer for him. Along those lines a properly operated pick and roll system is still one of the hardest to defend and we certainly did not have the answer. Much credit to the threesome of Preston/Wilson/Vander Plas. It is easy chalk this up to what we weren't able to do but credit must go to Ohio and what they did. Their energy, particularly in the 1st half, was much higher than ours. Couple that with a 5-12 start from the line and sloppiness with the ball and you have a recipe for an upset. The MAC is a pretty strong mid-major but I can't imagine they are many tougher sides then this one in the that league. Preston was a true star tonight. Very high IQ and so good with his crafty floaters and short touch shots.
Now, after the heart rate slows down, I can see some positives from this game. As the pressure mounted and the score looked grim(down 8 and down 4 with 1:30 left) and this team remained tremendously composed(I on the other hand was under going an impromptu stress test). Free throws cleaned-up(10 for the last 12 and that was with Trent intentionally missing one at the end, wouldn't have made that call myself) down the stretch, massive 3 pointers by Ayo/Trent/damonte. Huge mid range jumpers late on by Ace and Ayo. I have to chalk this up to Ayo's leadership, this guy is a stud. Last year he carried the team late about half a dozen times and once again he comes up aces. Big mid-range jumper late, Huge 3 pointer than fouled at the rim and buried the fts. All this with putting out a huge effort or the defensive end chasing Preston all over the court. Preston was not guarding Ayo for the most part. The effort and talent is monumental. Ayo could be my favorite Illini of all-time. He will join my all-time backcourt with Dee and Nick Anderson.
Speaking of favorites, if you are not thrilled with DMW I'm not sure if you are human. His three 3s tonight came at absolutely the right time and cannot be discounted. He was not able to stop Vander Plas down low tonight but he kept battling and literally we lose the game without him on the offensive side. His rebirth halfway through last year has been a joy to witness.
Interesting tactics by Underwood tonight by not adjusting the defense in terms of schemes. He tried many different combinations but no zones/presses/double teams. He seemed determined to force our presence on the game as was going to go down with the ship if we had to. It is as if he was saying, they should have to deal with us not the other way around. Ultimately they we forced ourselves on the game and did win the game but there are tons to learn and work on before Baylor. If we make our Free throws and clean up the turnovers this game is a different story. Despite struggling with those two areas they still got the job done.
What a game!
I am well and more than happy to get off the motorcycle just in time to pick back up on College hoops. Now that we are never in person I can't go to HS games or trip down to Hargrave to watch my kid coach I have a feeling my 3 TV sets in the living room and 2 computers are going to be getting a work out. . Watched the game over a Whatsapp connection with my Illini friends up in Barrington. We talked about setting up Zoom watch groups for Illini games but too many loud idjuts We still may give it a try if we can mute the homers and less hoops astute Alums. Nail biter for sure. Fun to watch the game thread and fanbase this early with their bipolar mood swings vacillating between jumping for joy or off the top of the nearest tower.FREEBIRD6! So glad to see you back! It’s been awhile...hope you are well
Do you really think that they were trying to imbue toughness? I think that was the last thing on their mind at the time. They were just angry and lost it.Good. I don't believe it deters MSU's recruits. Izzo and BW rip into their players because they're imbuing toughness and they care. Curbelo doesn't appear to be a guy who's going to fall apart under that kind of scrutiny. And do we want someone on the floor for us who will? Perhaps I'm old school but when my coach ripped me a new one it was because he cared about my performance. The worst thing that could happen was if he didn't get on my case or, worse, ignored me.
Mark Smith apparently didn't fit. That's unfortunate for him but fine with me. Each to his own.
Eh I think we are pretty much in agreement overall. I was curious about who else was in the top 10 of 3s made, but wasn't able to find it.Depends what you mean by “best shooters” in nation. Luther was top ten in 3s made (as well as attempted) his senior year, but not sure his 41% would have put as one of the best. Still, point taken — though Damonte is 6 for 9 from 3 thus far. Interestingly, Luther’s 2-pt shooting percentage dropped each year.
I wasn't able to watch the game as we were traveling home from Thanksgiving with family; I did listen on the radio, however.From my perspective, the most concerning thing about the game today was how short the bench got. 7 is a dangerously small rotation, and that's with 2 freshman who haven't faced big the level competition yet.
Kevin Turner as well improved a ton from freshman to senior season.Agreed. And there's an even longer list of comparables, going back a few more years:
* Luther Head
* Kevin Turner
* Kendall Gill
* Tony Wysinger
The switch just seems to go on (likely the result of taking 1000+ shots a day with a shooting coach during the off-season). Hoping we get to see two full years of the improved shot from DMW!
Not when the number 8th ranking was on the line against a team that would have been considered a bad loss on the record. Maybe against a Baylor! Or Duke! Hawkins definitely should have played more and has a jump shot to make you play honest on the offensive end.We clearly don’t have a longer player that Brad trusts to play PF in crunch time right now.
I wish Hawkins would have got the minute or two the walkon did late in the first half. Think Illinois had finally pushed the lead to 8 points or so and had a chance for a nice halftime lead after struggling most of the first half and the next thing you know Ohio is right back in it.Not when the number 8th ranking was on the line against a team that would have been considered a bad loss on the record. Maybe against a Baylor! Or Duke! Hawkins definitely should have played more and has a jump shot to make you play honest on the offensive end.
Eh I think we are pretty much in agreement overall. I was curious about who else was in the top 10 of 3s made, but wasn't able to find it.
I'd guess if you compare the shooters who are in the top 10-15 in 3s made, some probably shoot 45-48 percent, but some probably are in that 38-44 range, similar to Head also.
On a really good team, making as many 3s as he did (I don't know the number), at 41%, he should probably be called one of the top shooters in the nation.
BTW, love DMW and always thought and hoped he had the ability to hit a few 3s every now and again and be the player he is showing to be so far this year.
Hadn’t looked at it that way. Good point!That right there is a March tourney matchup in the second round that you have to win to advance. Check that box.
It’s not really a decline, he just isn’t a power forward. He played well when in at centerWeird game. Ayo's the absolute man. Georgi continues his decline this is why Brad wants a 4 so badly. Grandison isn't going to last in the box score on this team long, he doesn't seem to get spacing.
Yes, I do think that's what they're doing. I don't intend to claim, however, that there's a one-size-fits-all intensity to it. I also note with Izzo, having watched him for many years, that he deftly modulates his anger depending on the player. One reason why he's a HOF coach, in my opinion, is that he knows what motivates a particular player and what doesn't. Some shut down in the face of aggressive correction. The issue then is how you motivate and teach them to play with discipline and consistency.Do you really think that they were trying to imbue toughness? I think that was the last thing on their mind at the time. They were just angry and lost it.
I totally agree. I really like Ohio's team, and I want to follow their progress throughout the season. Their big 3 are really strong (and scored 63 of their 75 points yesterday).Having a 6' 10" guy draining 3's with a guy like Preston zipping all over the place is a hugh advantage that most teams don't have. I like Ohio's team, may have to follow them a bit this year. I think they are going to do well in the MAC this year. Glad they gave us a great game and a wake up call before Baylor and Duke.
Agree on the Kofi part. With the ball in his hands on the low block, he doesn’t (yet) look to be any more polished than last season.Think most of us have felt the 4 position is our weakness. Would have loved to see DaMonte on Preston and available to guard the best 1-3 scorer on the opposition rather than the four. Disappointed we didn’t see more of Cole and Jacob guarding Vander Plas. I didn’t pick up issues with Cole guarding him but probably don’t know what to look for. Didn’t think anyone had a bad game. Ace and Ayo going 1/8 on three point shots certainly didn’t help but there will be those days. Only 1 three pointer by Trent which he made so have options available. Lots of TO’s but there was pretty equal contribution not just one player having a bad game. Guess I would also like to have seen some variations in defensive schemes but may be saving those for Baylor and didn’t want to give any scouting material.
Also one of the practice clips showed a nice jump hook by Kofi not seen in a game. Seems like he is always turning into the defense and trying to over power them. He is largely successful doing that but is sometimes stripped and will be more of a problem with more skilled competitors. Not recognizing any new offensive moves by him.
Frustrating that most of TOs are not happening when they are going fast...usually half court trying to thread passes a little too much and Kofi "low ball" handoffs.So many things pointing to the fact that the Illini were lucky to win today. One of the major factors was free throw shooting where they were a paltry 62.5% hitting 15 of 24. What makes the Illini even more lucky was that Ohio hit an even worse percentage of 44% hitting only 4 of 9. The foul disparity was not huge, 18-14, but Ohio did more of theirs on shooters. The free throw disparity was immense but not surprising as the Illini won the boards 45 to 25 and had a decided team speed advantage. Ohio used their fouls wisely though and took advantage of sloppy Illini ball-handling and passing to win the turnover stat 16-7. What that shows is the Illinois had a decided advantage in speed and athleticism but Ohio made up for it in skill and saavy. Result, a very close game that could have been won by either team.
Last season, we saw the Illini slow their game and take better care of the ball in B1G play. This season, they have started by playing at lightning speed resulting in many turnovers but taking advantage of a lot of depth. However, if they cannot learn to cut the TO rate, they will have to slow their play and lose some of the advantage they have in team speed. We have yet to see any full, 3/4, or half court press defense...a hallmark of any success BU had his first couple of years...but also a thorn leading to easy buckets due to the overplay philosophy...which was a disaster in B1G play. Pressing could end up being a plus due to team depth...we will have to wait and see.