That's not what I meant, I'm just saying that our defense was amazing, then he put in Lieb and some others together and of defensive intensity dropped and we never regained it. I don't blame coach for subbing and putting in players. Especially with a 30+ point lead. I was merely pointing it out.
Illinois 92, Lindenwood 59 Postgame
Skyy was the storyline for me... looked aggresive, quick, bouncy and healthy. He is going to be very, very good.
Coleman was... not very good. He is doing this thing now where he just whips all of his passes at 100 mph...which can work in some cases, but I feel like he is taking too many risks and he ends up hurting himself. Only took 2 shots and just overall seemed frustrated with a hot and cold motor all game.
Epps is going to be a star IMO.
They got all lazy and infocused late in the game. It was ugly. Yea, you're miles better then this team, but 22 TO's is unacceptable. Still gotta play the game the right way.
Coleman was... not very good. He is doing this thing now where he just whips all of his passes at 100 mph...which can work in some cases, but I feel like he is taking too many risks and he ends up hurting himself. Only took 2 shots and just overall seemed frustrated with a hot and cold motor all game.
Epps is going to be a star IMO.
They got all lazy and infocused late in the game. It was ugly. Yea, you're miles better then this team, but 22 TO's is unacceptable. Still gotta play the game the right way.
Personally, I saw him have a fairly underwhelming game today. His energy level wasn't where it needed to be in the 1st half- he was watching the game at times on defense and was fairly low effort in his movement off the ball. That said, I thought he played with a lot more effort in the 2nd half and I think his overall job acting as a facilitator in moving the ball around on offense was generally good. That said, he appeared disinterested to me in playing defense at times during the game and on offense mainly played in a capacity to get others involved rather than himself. Overall, he just didn't seem psyched about playing tonight, and let's face it, it can be hard getting up for poor quality competition, but for me at least, I would've liked to have seen a bit more out of him, especially defensively tonight. Same goes for RJ. Just a little too much ballwatching that 1st half of the game. In any case, that's my take. I realize few people can play with Sencire Harris' energy, but as an upperclassman you have to work on being more consistent day to day in your on court energy in my opinion. I also think that's why the fanbase can be split on him or hard on him at times. He has a lot of raw potential, but he sometimes has issues with consistent energy level and play.
That all said, this was one game. Against a bad opponent. So really not much to overanalyze here.
I noticed him whipping passes as hard as possible in the Virginia game, too. Like, it gets the ball there quick, but your teammates better have absolutely outstanding hands to catch those without a bobble or a jammed finger. I'm not sure that I like it.
They got me for a year, so I need to figure out what (if anything) else it does for me outside of Illini basketball.
Too lazy to check, but I have read from other posts that a plethora of the Illini women's game are on B1G+....and it appears they may be an enjoyable watch at times.
The Clark dunk at the beginning of the 2nd half was unexpected but it was was a very aggressive. My daughter about jumped into the row in front of us when he threw that dunk down.
Finesse
I don't get why that's funny.BU on RJ: “We had a long meeting this week, and sometimes those aren’t very fun…”
InDaAZ
- Eugene, Oregon
Just thought Brad’s wording was humorous - acknowledging that long meetings with him are not always fun…
Sounds like RJ got taken to the (Under)woodshed for a stern talking-to, and RJ responded with a terrific game.
What is the youtube channel that does the replays or highlights or whatever? Will he be able to do this one?
My two cents on Coleman- he didn't really play much in the 2nd half after he picked up his 3rd foul early. Two of his turnovers were on offensive fouls, and another was on a defensive rebound that he coughed up. It's not like he was out there throwing the ball into the stands the whole game. He got his hands in the passing lanes and caused a couple of turnovers on the press as well. Not saying he played well but wanted to give some context to the stat line.
Mayer seemed to be shooting the ball funny during warmups. Looks like he's a little tender.
I think Coleman picking up his 3rd one set in motion the awkward rotation in the 2nd half. Not that they weren't going to look at different rotations and work on some things anyway (that was obvious when they were pressing with under 4 to play).
Dainja apparently doesn't know where he's supposed to be on offense. He got barked at by a couple of players in the 1st half, and coach was yelling instructions to him (Dain, go to the block) a lot in the 2nd half... which led to more than one of the classic Underwood eyerolls.
Clark was patiently aggressive, if that makes sense. He let the game come to him, and he took advantage of it.
Epps is so smooth when he goes to the basket.
Sencire's behind the back pass to RJ was awesome.
Mayer seemed to be shooting the ball funny during warmups. Looks like he's a little tender.
I think Coleman picking up his 3rd one set in motion the awkward rotation in the 2nd half. Not that they weren't going to look at different rotations and work on some things anyway (that was obvious when they were pressing with under 4 to play).
Dainja apparently doesn't know where he's supposed to be on offense. He got barked at by a couple of players in the 1st half, and coach was yelling instructions to him (Dain, go to the block) a lot in the 2nd half... which led to more than one of the classic Underwood eyerolls.
Clark was patiently aggressive, if that makes sense. He let the game come to him, and he took advantage of it.
Epps is so smooth when he goes to the basket.
Sencire's behind the back pass to RJ was awesome.
pruman91
- Paducah, Ky
Clark, Melendez lead Illinois in 92-59 men's basketball rout of Lindenwood
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Skyy Clark scored a career-high 19 points, RJ Melendez had a career-high 17 and No. 16 Illinois cruised past Lindenwood 92-59 on Friday night.
By GAVIN GOOD Associated Press
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Skyy Clark scored a career-high 19 points, RJ Melendez had a career-high 17 and No. 16 Illinois cruised past Lindenwood 92-59 on Friday night.
"It's really good to see RJ get going," Illinois coach Brad Underwood said. "He and I had a meeting, and he responded in a really really good way. He just showed up, buckled down and worked. I thought he was aggressive, and yet, didn't force things."
Clark shot at an efficient 8-of-9 clip and went 3 of 4 from long distance.
"He was just a type of guy who was a little bit shy to take those types of shots and all that, but he's gained a lot of confidence," Melendez said. "From the scrimmage versus Kansas to now, I see a whole different Skyy."
Lindenwood (3-5) hit three of its first four shots to take a 7-6 lead, but it was short-lived. Illinois (5-1) quickly seized a 22-13 lead, starting the game 10 of 15 from the field and shooting 63.6% in the first half.
Forward Dain Dainja came up with a steal in the lane and flipped the ball upcourt to Sencire Harris, who dumped a behind-the-back pass to Melendez for an emphatic dunk at the 12:45 mark.
Melendez cleared his previous career high of 13 points by the 4:07 mark of the first half. He finished 7 of 11 for the night and added four rebounds.
Epps has been the most pleasant surprise for me-
Him being a lights out shooter that can drive and dish makes a huge difference to our offense
Epps and Harris will be fun to watch together for the next 4 years
Him being a lights out shooter that can drive and dish makes a huge difference to our offense
Epps and Harris will be fun to watch together for the next 4 years
I didn't think Coleman was uninterested or lacking effort. I think he was just content to play the role of facilitator. Reminded me of those seemingly random games when Kobe would choose to get his teammates involved rather than focus on his own scoring. The 6 turnovers aren't great though.
Epps was the freshman I was most excited for coming into the season. We haven't had a pure scorer like him in a while. And he's already exceeding expectations. Kid is steady. Gonna put up a lot of points in the o&b.
Epps was the freshman I was most excited for coming into the season. We haven't had a pure scorer like him in a while. And he's already exceeding expectations. Kid is steady. Gonna put up a lot of points in the o&b.
Bigtex
- DFW
For what it is worth. Early in the game the announcer on big10plus said underwood said that RJ had his best week of practice
I signed up 10/28 just in time for the first game. They billed me yesterday 11/25 for another month. Just canceled so I will see if they give me full credit. Not happy with btn+. Anybody else getting charged for 2 months to see 2 games?
Inside defense. CoHawk is much more effective inside defending 4s and 5s while Ty is over matched. A guy like Vander Plas is an easy cover for CoHawk but a nightmare for Ty to guard.
Bigtex
- DFW
Nope but removed credit card on file right after signing up