Illinois 82, Rutgers 66 POSTGAME

#26      
From the game thread

Layup and backdoor feeds


None of our players even look to score of pick and rolls and back door drives. Just saw our player cut towards the bucket but never looked for the feed. Saw this at the end of the Weber era and see it now. [/QUOTE]

And now you don't

il-ruuu-17.gif

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#27      
Great first half, sluggish 2nd. Malcolm-Awesome performance. Mav-you have slowly crept onto my all time Illini favorites list. DJW-:clappy: so excited to watch him the next three years. I dont know what it is but there's just something about this team that makes me think they're going to put it all together for a couple days in March and make a heck of a run in the Big Ten tournament. Even with all of the bad losses and injuries, I just have a weird feeling about these guys. I'm not saying they'll win the BTT but i feel like they're gonna give us an awful exciting weekend in March :thumb:
 
#28      

Dan

Admin
[YOUTUBE]LnwTRXvzJk8[/YOUTUBE]
 
#29      

Deleted member 9739

D
Guest
The WORST TEAM IN THE CONFERENCE, playing without their leading scorer (Sanders 16.2 ppg), outscored us by 6 in the second half. In our home stadium.

Happy for the win, but there are still miles and miles to go before we are a competitive Big Ten team.
 
#30      
The WORST TEAM IN THE CONFERENCE, playing without their leading scorer (Sanders 16.2 ppg), outscored us by 6 in the second half. In our home stadium.

Happy for the win, but there are still miles and miles to go before we are a competitive Big Ten team.

I know, it's almost as if we're playing without 3 of our projected starters. Oh wait...
 
#31      

CoalCity

St Paul, MN
A pretty good day for Illini sports. We get a double digit win out of the basketball team where we saw flashes of the real potential of some of these guys and good solid performances from the guys we expect it out of...and even though its not official we get a resolution to the AD situation and it looks like a strong choice with a great chance of success.

Throw rocks if you must and say the game was against Rutgers and our new AD is inexperienced, but I for one am taking today as a win overall and I can't help but smile.
 
#32      

ilphotog

The camera never lies
Champaign
Good things happen in 3's, Illini win, AD hired and I got a cool dunk photo. It was a good night!
 
#34      
The WORST TEAM IN THE CONFERENCE, playing without their leading scorer (Sanders 16.2 ppg), outscored us by 6 in the second half. In our home stadium.

Happy for the win, but there are still miles and miles to go before we are a competitive Big Ten team.

Unfortunately this is very, very true
 
#35      
The best part about Malcolm's shot clock buzzer beater, was that LaTulip knew it was in once it left his hand. SO DID I

Just feels good to get a double digit B1G win, forget the haters.
 
#38      

IlliniRunIn07

Tampa, FL
Yep. Unless Groce finds another Mike Thorne this spring, Mav is our guy.

I didn't get to see this game, but the improvement all year has been evident for Mav. I wish I could say that I feel comfortable with him as our starting C for next year. I'm not quite there, but he is definitely starting to make me believe.
 
#39      
I didn't get to see this game, but the improvement all year has been evident for Mav. I wish I could say that I feel comfortable with him as our starting C for next year. I'm not quite there, but he is definitely starting to make me believe.

Mav needs an energy guy next to him that can help out on the boards and interior defense. I think that will help his game even more. Luckily, Black should be that guy next year. We're getting a good look of what Mav 2.0 can do, now I'm curious to see what he'll be like after a full off season with Fletcher.
 
#40      
one more 3 and JCL ties Jamar (he's third) on the all time Freshman list of 3's made with 66. # 2 is DJRich with 69 and of course Bradford leads w/85.
 
#41      
Nice win last night boys....

I love what JCL, DJW and Finke give us moving forward. Solid, solid group of Freshmen. I just get the feeling that all three are going to hit their potential.

Adding Abrams and Lucas at the 1 next year --- good stuff on the horizon.
 
#42      
Loved MM's fundamentals last night.

Dove to the hoop on the pick and roll...

Kept the ball high in the post and after rebounds put backs...

Active hands on defense, patient for the shot blocking.

He's come a long way with his game (and body, looked like he's been hitting the weights) and should at least compete very strongly for a starting spot at the 5.
 
#43      

PaytonHighstep

Downers Grove, IL
I thought it was a good game by Illinois. When Rutgers made a run and reeled off 5 made baskets in a row and our offense was stagnant (2nd half), I noticed Illinois had Tate in the game and maybe even Austin, IIRC.

I know the guys need a break, but those 2 can't be in the game together. They cut the lead to around 11 or 13, then Groce subbed them out. The offense came to a grinding halt and the defense wasn't as good.

It's part of the game, but I wish their substitution patterns were tweaked so a couple guys didn't see the court. DJW had a nice game again, along with Mav. Those 2 have improved immensely over the last 2 weeks, keep improving and hope to get Thorne back before the B1G tourney. The addition of Thorne alone would help the rotations and sub patterns, it would keep Hill on the perimeter full-time.

They need to build on this win and especially that first half. They shared the ball, took good shots and defended really well. That might have been the best half of basketball this team has played this year.
 
#44      

IlliniRunIn07

Tampa, FL
one more 3 and JCL ties Jamar (he's third) on the all time Freshman list of 3's made with 66. # 2 is DJRich with 69 and of course Bradford leads w/85.

This is definitely one of the more interesting storylines to follow in an otherwise abysmal season. Thanks for the updates. 5 more regular season games plus 1 or possibly 2-3 BTT games. It's definitely doable.
 
#45      
This is definitely one of the more interesting storylines to follow in an otherwise abysmal season. Thanks for the updates. 5 more regular season games plus 1 or possibly 2-3 BTT games. It's definitely doable.

Yeah an interesting side story. Although earlier in the year, I posted videos of JCL and AJ in 3 pt shooting contests and I thought clearly AJ was the better of the two. As happy as I am with JCL, I'm most disappointed in AJ's play. particularly his 3 pt, shooting.

p.s. Thanks for the weather this week, I'm in Sarasota.:)
 
#46      

PaytonHighstep

Downers Grove, IL
Yeah an interesting side story. Although earlier in the year, I posted videos of JCL and AJ in 3 pt shooting contests and I thought clearly AJ was the better of the two. As happy as I am with JCL, I'm most disappointed in AJ's play. particularly his 3 pt, shooting.

p.s. Thanks for the weather this week, I'm in Sarasota.:)


After watching him, I'm wondering if the staff is working with him on a quicker release. I went through this my Freshman year of college and it can really mess a shooter up for a little while. It almost looks like he is rushing his shot a bit, to me. I'm no professional scout, but something just doesn't seem as smooth as his high school hi-lite videos.
 
#47      
Yeah an interesting side story. Although earlier in the year, I posted videos of JCL and AJ in 3 pt shooting contests and I thought clearly AJ was the better of the two. As happy as I am with JCL, I'm most disappointed in AJ's play. particularly his 3 pt, shooting.

p.s. Thanks for the weather this week, I'm in Sarasota.:)

Some players are really great during practice and it's almost as if they get so used to training to do well in training and other practice activities. Something about that game intensity that either causes you to clam up or others it brings out the best of them.
 
#48      
Good things happen in 3's, Illini win, AD hired and I got a cool dunk photo. It was a good night!

There were three possessions in a row last night where we looked legit.

Pick and role to Mav
Double down on Mav and a 3 by JCL.
Feed to Mav and hitting a cutter for an easy layup.

There are some signs of life out there and Mav is in the middle of it offensively. Never thought I would write that.
 
#49      
I didn't get to see this game, but the improvement all year has been evident for Mav. I wish I could say that I feel comfortable with him as our starting C for next year. I'm not quite there, but he is definitely starting to make me believe.

He's fine on offense, but still is a liability on defense and not a great rebounder. Having Black back at the 4 will help him out. I think Finke will improve as well, so the front line could be OK.
 
#50      

zpfled

Logan Square, Chicago
Great to see the team play well, even against a depleted Rutgers team. We watch basketball so we can watch the team win, right?

Honest question here: Who do you think is worse, Rutgers or Chicago State?