Illinois 87, Ohio State 79 Postgame

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#227      
Rap47
Sure am glad you aren't the coach. That might be the worst post you ever made among many.
 
#228      
zentrails
Second place is 1st loser said:
Let's not sugar coat it. KJ has been awful the games since TI has been out. With TI back today, he was just as bad. Last 4 games:

18-47 from the field overall
4-24 from three
5:4 assist to turnover ratio

Add in missing critical free throws(front ends nonetheless) and turnovers at absolutely critical situations....that's a guy whose playing time should be reduced..... significantly. He can't be in the floor late.

At this point, racking up wins is most important. The Nebraska game was the final straw for BU on a couple of fronts. I think that addressing KJ and his minutes are next.
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Yeah, let's bench the dude who will be a top 5 lottery pick, that's the ticket
 
#231      
Illini2010-11
fuggles said:
This one was good, but the second half at Oregon was much better.
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From a context point of view, the second half today was better than the Oregon 2nd half. The Illini were already up a solid amount against Oregon, and the Illini erased a double-digit deficit early in the 2nd half today to run away with the game against a solid team. This was without a doubt the most important half of the year so far. Hopefully the Illini ride the momentum from today.
 
#232      
Iloveorangekoolaid
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I still can’t get over from how far away he jumped. Felt like he took off from the free throw line. It’s blurry but I zoomed in on a paused video and he launches from the middle of the B1G logo.
 
#235      
Second place is 1st loser
You think that he's playing anywhere near that level? There was a post by someone who said that you have to play the guys who are playing well and it's not a popularity contest. He's right.

We need wins right now brother and I don't care how we get them. With Tomi back, this roster is a whole different animal. Inserting Morez into the starting lineup with him, this looks much more like a roster that's transitioning to power basketball. KJ is ball dominant and needs to transform into a distributor and a reliable ball handler. You feel good about that right now? This isn't November. We need to stack wins and if the go to guy turns into Riley.....then that's what it is.

JMO
 
#236      
TwinCityBreaker
I don't know how this even gets recorded on the stat sheet, but there was a play late 1st half where Morez did a more badazz version of a tip drill, ultimately falling out of bounds on his 3rd board (yes it came to him from one of our guys but it was essentially part of the same flurry of activity). Rodman vibes in terms of ball-hawking. That Man needs to stay in the starting 5.

*3rd board of that play
 
#237      
OB positive
BoiseBaller said:
The adjustment on ball screen defense won this game. We were getting scorched for 30 minutes. Started switching and/or hedging harder and it took tOSU out of their rhythm.

The minutes distribution today was much better. I like Tre, but he's been bad lately. He forces too much on offense. Doesn't stay in system. Ben with a handful of minutes off the bench, Davis with two minutes. If either of those two come in and hit their 3's you can extend that time a bit, if they aren't hitting they need to get subbed out and stay on the bench.
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Ben also had some good defensive plays, blocks and rebounds.
 
#238      
RML
BatteredWifeSchwartz said:
I think all the more impressive is that I doubt Tomi is 100% but he played almost 30 minutes and his conditioning/motor looked fine. He definitely looked thinner but what a gutsy performance by him. Massive massive props.
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Lol, I had my doubts in the first half in that stretch where he missed three (four?) shots in a row.
 
#239      
hoopsfan47
Certainly quite happy with the comeback. Depth paid off. Really like the youngest lineup on the floor that made the comeback. White and Boswell also are important. Hummer is so huge when hitting threes but a liability when he goes oh-for from the arc...and yet he is working hard when in the game.

One really good aspect was the play of DGL over the game and Riley seemingly becoming more patient and confident.in what he can do inside. That young lineup has tremendous size advantage when they are patient.

KJ is struggling, hopefully due to injury. But his impact on the game is seldom negative and the upside is off the charts. Too often, the team has stood around and waited for him to create...but a truly love it when the ball is moving. It allows him to get the ball with opposing defense scrambling...and he can be unbelievable in that situation with his passing skills and shooting threat...when he is hitting shots and fts.

Kudos to Brad for giving DGL and Riley the chance to shine. And I dearly hope Tomi is healthy and will be 100% soon...he is sorely needed for the success of this team in March.

Now, on to "freaking" Piscataway to battle the Scarlet Knights in another different challenge. Have to slow Bailey down somehow and our best big defensive player is cheering from the bench. Just keep playing hard and trust the process...and hope the light of confidence brightens up for KJ.

Finally, can you imagine KJ, Morez, Riley (all frosh) hanging with Tomi and DGL? In the 2026-27 season? Hope I can live that long but little chance to see it due to the lure of NBA dollars. Nevertheless, playing 40 games while chasing a title is a lot better than sitting on an NBA bench for "a few dollars more"....or not. Don't you wonder what Illinois may have to pay that lineup?
 
#243      
socalini
That DGL put back after Ben’s late shot clock 3 seemed to clearly come after a shot clock violation. Did anyone notice that or did I miss something there?
 
#247      
BillyBob1
When Will gets stronger, those drives to the basket are going to be finished with slams! The defender will not challenge him..
 
#250      
WyattEarp
Second place is 1st loser said:
Let's not sugar coat it. KJ has been awful the games since TI has been out. With TI back today, he was just as bad. Last 4 games:

18-47 from the field overall
4-24 from three
5:4 assist to turnover ratio

Add in missing critical free throws(front ends nonetheless) and turnovers at absolutely critical situations....that's a guy whose playing time should be reduced..... significantly. He can't be in the floor late.

At this point, racking up wins is most important. The Nebraska game was the final straw for BU on a couple of fronts. I think that addressing KJ and his minutes are next.
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Wow, that didn’t take long. I thought that was a conversation for another time…
Turns out that other time wasn’t very far away…lol
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I will admit…
If KJ were to play A FEW less minutes until he cuts out a bunch of the more egregious TOs. It might not be the worst thing in the world.

BUT…(and this a big but…) when he’s playing well you can look past & forgive a helluva a lot more…

When he’s got his head screwed on straight…he does too many other positive things. The dude just makes us go in a lot of ways …definitely pretty instant offense when he’s on…He’s a superb playmaker obviously.
AND Yes, there’s a clear reason he’s a lottery pick.There’s also a reason in many of our games we went as KJ went. Good & Bad.
 
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