Illinois 85, Maryland 80 Postgame

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#326      
great description. Live - it was MD wow and before I could blink Justin had the ball and made the pass.
Until replay, I didn't appreciate how Justin got back, blocked out Reese, and made the perfect pass.
I didn't either, and I was there. Live I even thought that Justin made the block and got the rebound. That's how quick and disorienting it was. All I could grasp was Young streaking toward an inevitable two (and possibly and and-one), then suddenly Justin with the ball and that 3/4-court dagger pass to CoHawk who flushed it. Didn't realize how it went down until I listened to the postgame show.
 
#327      
Kevin Willard is perfectly average in every way, I was perplexed when Maryland hired him (thought they could do better), and he’s done nothing to change my opinion since then.
 
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#330      
if you want to talk about not moving feet, let's talk about Goode.
Having a switching defense is tough for Goode. I was watching him off the ball and he was playing physical. He doesn't have the strength to play when they take him in the post and he struggles with quick guards. I am a huge fan of Goode and hope he can get his shot back. I hate seeing him struggle on both ends of the court.
 
#335      
Couldn't disagree more. The two brought out the worst in each other, with their lame humor and trying to show who was funnier and wittier than the other being a distraction. Just call the game and stop trying to make it a yukfest. Neither is as funny as they think they are.
When one of them was gone, either for Benetti outside commitment or Stone taking one of his week-long vacations (apparently needed even though he only works seven months of the year), they both were better working with another partner and provided more insight without the goofiness.
My view may be a minority opinion, and it's probably the only thing with which I agree with Reinsdorf.
 
#337      
Kevin Willard is perfectly average in every way, I was perplexed when Maryland hired him (thought they could do better), and he’s done nothing to change my opinion since then.
From a Maryland perspective I think it's easy to get seduced by the opportunity to hire a winning coach at another major conference program, someone that other program doesn't want to lose, as a status symbol to prove you're still a "big" job.

There was a lot of that in the hiring of Brad Underwood, let's not kid ourselves.

And Seton Hall is a really tough gig, Willard did well to have consistent success in that conference after some early struggles. And his peak year there was the Covid year, who knows what they might have done in that tourney.

All of that said, there is something uninspiring about the guy, and we're two years in and it still doesn't feel like he's put his stamp on that program or made much of an impact.
 
#339      
Dude looks like PJ Fleck and gives me the same vibes.
PJ is fairly harmless. He’s basically a walking “Success” motivation poster. Willard is just a grown up version of the little high school weasel who hid behind the bully and thought he was the #2 resident tough guy.
 
#340      
things I do after every game:

Immediately listen to Radio post game.
Watch Brads post game presser
Watch Coleman’s comments
Illini Inquirer post game pod cast
Sleepers Media game recap whenever it comes up. I don’t know if those guys sleep.

I used to be super critical of Coleman. Maybe because I thought he had so much unrealized potential. But man do I love watching him play. Is he perfect, nope but no one is. I may love listening to his post game even more than I love watching him play. He’s hilarious, a basketball genius, and so articulate.
 
#341      
And after the 4th one 5 minutes into the game, the announcers mentioned how we were a lock to make at least 6. Oops ha
yep, this game would have been a slaughter if we were anywhere near our season average; most seemed like decent looks too (though a few were early in the shot clock)
 
#343      
Goode just can't be in the game during crunch time unless he has to. He's such a defensive liability, plus we already have enough offensive fire power out there. Need to lock down those last 4 minutes
Agreed 1000%. I made a comment on dramatically cutting Goode's minutes and giving them to Harmon back on Jan 11th and got roasted for calling out a such a key "character guy". I wish Goode was as advertised during pre-season, but he simply isn't. He is an and-1 foul waiting to happen and certainly hasn't been shooting at anywhere close to an "elite" level for a long time (Purdue?). So no 3 & no D. He does get some boards, but you have to deliver more value in order to earn tick when the game is in the balance.
 
#349      
Was Goode always such a liability on D? I either completely overlooked it in the past or it's far worse than it was.

He looked lost out there on both ends.

But he's going to end up coaching in major college ball somewhere... if he wants to.
 
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