Don't know why tsj was even in the game the final several minutes when the game was clearly over. That's recipe for disaster for no reason. He is our most dangerous weapon.
Illinois 88, Southern 60 Postgame
I'm guessing that the reason is we look terrible. There's no way around it. We flat out don't have a PG. That's blatantly obvious. Moretti is the closest guy to even resemble one. Brad needs every possible second to mix and match what he has. After Friday, things get significantly more difficult. We don't have the luxury of just resting guys with six full game minutes on the clock. Injuries happen, contact happens and it's just as likely occur in the first six minutes vs the last six minutes. TSJ handled the ball.....a lot, last night. I'm guessing that's going to be the direction BU goes. Southern was helping us out by continually pressing and jumping passing lanes. We have to address those problems....and they are significant problems.
We need to remember people, we played Southern. They were terrible. Moretti played a grand total of 0 minutes against Marquette. It is easy to look pretty good against our weakest competition of the year, not as easy once you get into Big Ten play.
That said, what I, and many others complained about over the summer is, Rodgers can't just become a PG his Soph year in college. He doesn't have the PG mindset, nor does he have the ballhandling skills. So when he is playing the point, it is just swing the ball around the perimeter. Nicco can handle much better and has the PG mindset, which is pretty noticeable in terms of facilitating an offense. He can drive and breakdown a defense.
The problem is, we've only got 3 cupcakes left, and with his injury Moretti may miss one of them. So what will he look like in Big Ten play? I think he'll be able to do the PG stuff fairly well, but will he be a threat to score at all?
I remember last night, they kicked the ball out to Rodgers on a play and he was standing all alone at the 3pt line. No one within 5 ft of him. Rodgers didn't even consider shooting. I don't know if Moretti would either. That is as good as it gets. We've got to have guards that can make that shot if we're going to succeed at the highest level.
Just look at what happened to his efficiency numbers in conference play.
It's not really a secret that he can't guard anyone.
He's played PG his entire life.
This Ty can't play PG stuff is foolish. He's played PG all throughout high school, played PG last year (played it a ton toward the end of the year) and he's playing it now and taking care of the ball. There are currently 4 Illini players with more TO/game than Ty Rodgers and he is the PG and has the ball in his hands as much or more than anyone on the team when he is in the game. Our PG play has most certainly not been the issue. We need to find something else to complain about (3pt and FT shooting will suffice, no?).
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NM foot injury feels like a lis franc. Hopefully I’m wrong.
What have you seen to believe that he can be a Big Ten caliber PG? He got benched within the first three minutes of the game because of bad decision making and two turnovers. He also passed up a wide open three. His talents, by FAR, are his ability to crash the glass, play defense, keep possessions alive...just do the dirty, effort plays. He's a more athletic Sergio McClain(which is high praise). That's who he is and that's great! Every winning team has a guy like Ty. He's shown no ability to be able to quarterback a team and quite frankly, he shouldn't be put in the position to have to. It was a flat out NIL transfer miss that has him/us in this situation.
Just my take.
I'm doubting winning at Rutgers will be a Quad 1 at this point. Based on their play, they've really seemed to have taken a significant hit this past offseason. The RAC is a tough place to play, but I think that's a doable road win we're going to need as the season plays out. As well, all the noncon B10 losses are starting to pile up, so quality win opportunities within the B10 this year will likely be less available than expected. So this stretch of 5 games may loom larger than we were originally thinking come selection time:
@Rutgers
N-FAU
@Tenn
H-Colgate
N-Mizzou
Before the season started, going 2-3 in this tough stretch was probably acceptable (even if not by fan standards). Now, I think we need to go at least 3-2 in this stretch. Based on the quality of the B10, this doesn't have the looks of a 20 wins and we're in season. Need to ensure we're nowhere near the bubble this year, and getting an extra noncon win or 2 will prove large later.
I'm unsure about the flat out NIL transfer PG miss thing, really. We went after Dennis, but after him, we said 'no thanks' to more than a few, per guys we have here that are plugged in. We took Harmon instead of another PG, if that tells us anything.
He's our PG right now, and if Moretti is the alternative, then great. But he has some work to do also as he averages more turnovers per game than Ty does while playing half the amount of minutes (and not to mention Ty is light years better on defense / guards any position).
As the facts/statistics show, Ty is doing more than fine.
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I agree with this wholehearedly. It's passing the ball around the perimeter and it kneecaps Rodgers greatest strengths which is playing gritty, fighting for rebounds and getting easy buckets. Rodgers is not the greatest passer, ball handler or shooter and yet we have him running around outside the three point arc.
Im my perfect world Nico is at the 1 and Dain is at the 5. Were playing people out of position. We start a center who hates the paint and a PG who is ineffective outside the arc.
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My hope is that Nico getting minutes will make DGL realize that setting up team mates is the ticket for more playing time. DGL does have good court vision and I think he will improve as a distributor as the season progresses.
While Ty has played point gaurd before he is more of a ball security type at that position. Not going to create much for others. We need someone in that position that can facilitate to others and knock down shots if left open. Moretti is the closest thing we have to that on this team. His ability to be patient and not be sped up out of control put him a little ahead of DGL and Ty imo. I think once he gets more comfortable with being on the floor during meaningful minutes he'll start taking more shots outside when they present themselves.
Again, Moretti is not ready to see full minutes vs P5 comp. Also what have you seen from him that remotely shows a consistent outside shot? He's going to be a really good player for us down the road, likely starting next season if he is able to improve his body/strength.
Is Ty a B1G caliber PG? Out of the 14 B1G starting PGs, only one has less turnovers. He's also near the top of that list in PER (Player Efficiency Rating) and is likely the best defender out of all of them. So, objectively (using statistics/facts), he is one of the best PGs in the conference thus far.
Is he more of a game manager? Sure. Is that better than a flashy, shoot-first guy who turns it over a ton and is small and can't defend 5 positions?
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I get all that and I'm fine with him as someone that can fill the PG hole but you have a guy that can't shoot or dish out dimes running around on the perimeter.
And yet its working just fine.
Rodgers is 5th on our team in assists. Moretti has 1 more assist in 70 less minutes. Hawkins has 3 more assists and he has played in 2 less games. The point people are making is the offense doesn't flow well with him at PG.
Rodgers is also tied for 7th on the team in FT attempts, because he doesn't drive really at all. Again, Moretti has more FT attempts in significantly less minutes. Ideally, you want your PG to be a good FT shooter, because you get fouled a lot driving, and you want your best ballhandler to be able to ice close games.
And as I've said in a different thread, this creates 2 issues. 1. you're not getting great PG play 2. your taking Rodgers away from where his strengths lie.
They could easily go 4-1 in that stretch but guessing we lose to Rutgers and Tennessee for sure.. FAU is not what I thought they would be. They just lost by 9 to Bryant and Missouri just lost to 2-5 Jackson St.
There's no argument that he's better against lesser competition. But that's true of everyone, right?
I don't think his post defense is terrible.
DWS in conference
Kofi's Jr year: .6
Dain last year: .4
DBPM overall
Kofi's Jr year: 2
Dain last year: 3.2
If we want to pick on something, it should be his rebounding. He hasn't reached double digit rebounds since 11/11/22 against Kansas City. Gotta see some improvement in that regard. But otherwise, he's been more than serviceable as a starting B1G center, IMO.
Moretti also has more turnovers in half the minutes. Moretti has not shown a jump shot at all, let alone a consistent one. Moretti is 1/10th the defensive player Ty is. And you want Moretti to play because he has 1 more assist? Okay...
You want Rodgers to shoot more free throws? You'll need to explain that one a bit further, I'm afraid.
The only way to get our 5 best players on the court at the same time is for Ty Rodgers to play PG. And, as facts & statistics show once again, he's one of the best at the position in the conference thus far.
Moretti will be a very good PG, but now isn't the time.
Are they not allowed to play at the same time? I'm confused.
So far.
Too soon...
...but well doneAlso what I hate about this portal era, as soon as Indy says he will be valuable as an upperclassman, I think 'for who though?'.
Well, of course they can. So what other guard are you going to bench to play Moretti? TSJ?