Illinois 87, Ohio State 79 Postgame

Status
Not open for further replies.
#377      
Frank
BalloonsTheElephant said:
I've heard here and from another guy that the usage in both quantity and methodology is starting to pull him into staying. Probably more likely to stay than go if the current trajectory stays as it is.

He's obviously so talented and brings so much of everything we need on this team. If giving Ben more minutes means we lose either Riley or Morez, I'm gonna start the petition for Sean Miller to be here and sign it like I'm Herby freakin' Hancock.
Click to expand...
Wanting to be (stay) on a team is so much more than what happens on the court. It could be that Morez has been mentally out the door (though sure doesn't look like it in games) since TA left. Hard to say. Purely from a basketball standpoint and his desire to make it to the NBA, I would hope he would see that (a) he has all the opportunity moving forward here, including a starting spot; and (b) he'll be in a position to show perimeter skill here, as his develops. It's obvious playing next to Tomi that BU wants bigs that can shoot and encourages good shooters to shoot the ball. If Morez works his butt off to develop a perimeter shot, he'll have every opportunity to show it off. And if he can show just a little bit of a perimeter game, the NBA will come calling real quick.
 
#378      
Illini in Italy
Frank said:
Wanting to be (stay) on a team is so much more than what happens on the court. It could be that Morez has been mentally out the door (though sure doesn't look like it in games) since TA left. Hard to say. Purely from a basketball standpoint and his desire to make it to the NBA, I would hope he would see that (a) he has all the opportunity moving forward here, including a starting spot; and (b) he'll be in a position to show perimeter skill here, as his develops. It's obvious playing next to Tomi that BU wants bigs that can shoot and encourages good shooters to shoot the ball. If Morez works his butt off to develop a perimeter shot, he'll have every opportunity to show it off. And if he can show just a little bit of a perimeter game, the NBA will come calling real quick.
Click to expand...
Not to mention he gets to work with one of the premier big man coaches in all of college basketball . . .

1738597994987.jpeg
 
#379      
Old Farm Illini
Frank said:
Wanting to be (stay) on a team is so much more than what happens on the court. It could be that Morez has been mentally out the door (though sure doesn't look like it in games) since TA left. Hard to say. Purely from a basketball standpoint and his desire to make it to the NBA, I would hope he would see that (a) he has all the opportunity moving forward here, including a starting spot; and (b) he'll be in a position to show perimeter skill here, as his develops. It's obvious playing next to Tomi that BU wants bigs that can shoot and encourages good shooters to shoot the ball. If Morez works his butt off to develop a perimeter shot, he'll have every opportunity to show it off. And if he can show just a little bit of a perimeter game, the NBA will come calling real quick.
Click to expand...
I can't wait for the day when he gets the ball at the top of the key and attacks the rim when someone sags off thinking he's going to pass. There have been a couple of times where I wish he would just do it but I'm not sure if he's confident enough with his ball handling just yet to do it in a game. Who would try to get in his way?
 
#381      
bleedsorangenblue
Good win against a very solid OSU team. Good adjustments made the second half. We don't need to keep jacking 3s if they aren't going in. Really needed Tomi back. The offense flows much better with him in the mix.
 
#382      
Bigtex
Lot to like about the 2nd half. Favorite play - less than 3 minutes to go. Boswell catch pass near 3 point line and makes bee line down left hand side of the lane for contested layup to go up 78-68 IMO he knew ahead of time what he was going to do and didn't hesitate. LOVE IT
 
#383      
Fighter of the Nightman
Tried not to post yesterday to allow some time to think the result over. I was very pessimistic going into yesterday, to the point that I chose to do something else with my family for the whole first half. As I checked in on the score ... I felt my decision had been validated... This team still remains quite frustrating in many ways - for example, if we hadn't turned the ball over so many times, our run in the second half would have been to put the game out of reach, not gain a lead. With all that said...

I would like to call back to this post I made talking about why I was so frustrated with and pessimistic about this group. For those who don't want to read it, I alleged that you can pretty much tell if we showed up to play within the first couple minutes; my evidence for this was that we hardly ever trailed in our wins (because the Good Illini showed up, and they have enough talent to beat anyone in this league), and we seemed to constantly trail in our losses (because the Bad Illini showed up and looked like they didn't want to be there). The end result is that we had zero examples in Big Ten play of having an "off day" where we dug ourselves a hole but we chose to fight back and grind out a win even if shots weren't falling.

Well, I am so happy to see the guys do just that yesterday. And I have zero doubt it had to do with lineup changes made by the staff, plus Tomislav adding back some much needed aspects to our game, of course. It felt good to watch an Illini team simply play hard enough to defend our home court and get a W, especially after it felt like I had seen this movie before when we started off shooting poorly and digging ourselves a hole. The difference this time is that we actually adapted to things not going our way and found a way to win. "Finding a way to win" sounds cliche and might not show up in advanced stats, but it is an essential mental toughness that so many of our great teams have had. This squad till has a ways to go in that department, but I think yesterday could serve as a true turning point. I'm hopeful anyway!
 
#385      
DonFlan
There were two replays that CBS played showing clearly KJ and Tommy or Morez (cannot recall which) being hacked across the arm with the referee looking right at the play (maybe someone can post stills of the plays). The no call against KJ was atrocious where referee Kimble is seen in the replay on the end line looking straight at KJ driving down the lane and being fouled on the arm without calling the foul. The announcers had to see the foul on the replay and said nothing. I believed it was called out of bounds against Ohio.

A vivid example that KJ is not going to get the foul call with the official looking right at the foul. Glad we got the win but ignoring such an obvious foul when the official is looking right at it is akin to malpractice
 
#387      
Emerson Bigguns
NarrowJ said:
Just want to point out you're misremembering on this one: Baldwin played pretty much the entire 1st half in which we outscored them 45-21

Editing to add this was a game KJ missed due to injury
Click to expand...
You are right. He played 15 minutes. He fell really early, resulting in the injury. He attempted to play through and was ineffective. (0-6, 3 TO)
 
#391      
alaskaillini
ejam21 said:
This...and same goes for people being dbags and calling him humbrickhous or whatever.

Any kid that chooses us and puts on that damn jersey should be afforded the BASELINE level of respect of not being called out of their name (unless they pull somethig crazy like a felony while with the program). Its ridiculous frankly
Click to expand...
Amen. Made about an identical post years ago in response to people going after Jalen Tate. As a fan, snarky criticism is unseemly at best. Anyone that commits to the O&B gets my support, period. Being a fan means rooting for the success of the players, not just for the rush of a team victory.

I thought Ben played a heck of a game last night.
 
#392      
BillyBob1
Heisenbobble said:
Tre White DID NOT look happy on the bench in the second half, but I do not care. Produce or get spot minutes. It's as easy as that.
Click to expand...
I saw him carrying on with Fletch and didn’t seem upset. He missed a point blank layup to start the second half, as did Boswell.
 
#394      
LvilleILL1
Some may disagree, but I thought we looked really good yesterday overall. OSU played at a really high level and couldn't miss a three for a good portion of the game, and we hung tough and responded when they made runs. Need to channel that second half and carry that into this week and beyond.
 
#395      
FloridaMan
LvilleILL1 said:
Some may disagree, but I thought we looked really good yesterday overall. OSU played at a really high level and couldn't miss a three for a good portion of the game, and we hung tough and responded when they made runs. Need to channel that second half and carry that into this week and beyond.
Click to expand...
Overall, I also thought we looked good. There were times in the first half that we did not look good at all. Especially early as we were turning the ball over at a 1 per minute clip. We ended up with 10 1st half turnovers, which is what we should have - on the high side - for an entire game. We also went 3/15 from three and were trailing at the half by 6.

Now, the second half we looked very good save the first couple of minutes, in large part because we limited TOs to 3 and shot 5 threes since we figured out how to drive the lane and score or get fouled. That led to us winning that half by 14 points. OSU also helped by finally missing some shots, but that was partly due to increased defensive effort.

Would love to see us string several halves like that together through the remainder of the season. We have not been able to consistently do that, but now would be the perfect time to start. And I think the second half provides a good blueprint of how to do just that.
 
#396      
jumpingjack
LvilleILL1 said:
Some may disagree, but I thought we looked really good yesterday overall. OSU played at a really high level and couldn't miss a three for a good portion of the game, and we hung tough and responded when they made runs. Need to channel that second half and carry that into this week and beyond.
Click to expand...
I agree 💯. When you cannot make a 3 and your opponent is tossing the ball in the ocean, it would be very easy to roll over.
I also really really appreciated that Ben's involvement in the offense was not one dimensional again. I would hope we continue to see booty ball a few times a game from both him and Will.
 
#397      
thefalcon5
RE anyone looking dejected or upset when sitting on the bench: I’d want them to be that way. As long as they are supporting teammates if you’re riding pine because of poor play being upset with yourself is not the worst frame of mind to be in.

Of course if they’re rooting against teammates or anything like that it’s a terrible sign. I don’t think that’s the case with anyone on this team outside a certain stretch 4.
 
#399      
Ga65
JKR said:
But Deon was actually a sophomore. He had to sit out his first year due to the ncaa investigation. We'll get a better feel for the comparison next year.
Click to expand...
Really don’t see either Tomi or Rez with post moves. Really expect the footwork to improve with a year of big man coaching. Loved when Tomi just spun and took it to the rim but it is rare. Like to see Rez as Jackson-Davis upgrade. Can’t remember what he looked like as frosh but similar size and athleticism.
 
#400      
ptgrd23
WeWillWhen said:
Deon Thomas averaged 15 and 7 as a freshman, on his way to being named to the All Big Ten Third Team.
Kofi averaged 13.3/8.8 on his way to earning Big Ten Freshman of the Year.
Brian Cook also won BTFOTY.
Morez was great today, but he’s only averaging 6.5/6.5, and often can’t stay in the game more than 20 mins due to foul trouble.
Click to expand...
James Augustine freshman 7 ppg 6 rbg
Efrem Winters freshman 12 ppg 7 rbg
Nick Anderson freshman (redshirt) 16 ppg 7 rbg
Dee Brown freshman 12 ppg 4 rpg 5 apg
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back