Good second half in the Simeon-Washington game. Here are my (very amateur) observations about the game and our very own Te'jon Lucas:
Game was controlled early by Simeon, particularly on defense. They went 2-3 and peppered in some Box-and-1 to get TJL out of rhythm. He got in the lane for some runners and pull up midrange jumpers, but missed most of the ones he took in the first half.
Evan Gilyard was able to turn the corner get in the lane a few times against TJL early. He moved on to guard Zach Norvell before Washington went 2-3 in the second half (sparked their run). Did better against Norvell, who wasn't too much of a factor. Gilyard's speed gave him some problems.
In the second half run, TJL hit some of the shots he was missing early. Washington played better on defense and got out to some breaks. Early on he pulled up for a really bad jumper on the break, but the team settled down and started passing better. TJL had some nice finishes and made an effort on rebounds. He has a nice runner/floater game, but I'd like to see some more consistency and range on his 3 pointer. He can definitely hit them (and is definitely a much better shooter than Tate right now), but the ball came off his hands to the side a few times. He also leans into his free throws, I think he missed 2. On a Simeon technical, he wasn't the one shooting. On the break,
Lucas played the whole game, and avoided getting too deep into foul trouble after picking up 2 in the first quarter and another in the third. He was clearly Washington's best athlete/player and is going to be a good college player, but I think he needs some time to develop and acclimate to the college game. I hope he can learn from Abrams and Tate while playing decent minutes as a freshman, but don't think he's an immediate game changer. I found myself debating what he'll be for us next year with our PG situation, but I think a fair set of expectations will be to expect him to really lead as an upper classman. I wanted to make sure I got a fair evaluation of his strengths and weaknesses and not be too biased either way. His 3/4* ranking seems fair to me. I'd probably rank him around the 100 area for now. I don't think he's the program savior, but he's definitely a great piece to add and I'm excited about him coming to the Illini. One of his family members saw my Illini hoodie and we spoke about that briefly, and she was clearly excited about his choice. Just my impression after meeting a person around him, I'd probably root for him no matter where he went. I-L-L
*Disclaimer: This is the first time I've seen him live, so opinion of his game subject to change upon further review.
