To be fair, this last bad game was really bad, historical record atrocity bad.. We are also damn lucky to have won against Texas and you know it. That said, I also think this team has a bunch of individually strong pieces that need to continue trying to find a chemistry that will ultimately lead to more well rounded play.
Illinois unranked in AP Poll
This is the same story repeated every year with BU coached teams. Drives us die hard fans nuts. He sucks with fundamental basketball. It kills us early and late. He loves his players to a fault. There is always….always one player that needs more tic (Sincere) but he is as stubborn as they come to change. How many times do we have to talk about turnovers, rebounds, in-bounds plays, stagnant offense, etc. Sorry but this is rinse and repeat every year. I will still watch because somehow he gets them to pull through but it seems this year will not be so easy. Hopefully BU’s toughness will rub off but I’m less optimistic for some reason this year. Bring it Illini!!!
We're a very young team with mostly AAU experience, with some "veterans" who've never been team leaders and were able to avoid adversity through the portal. I believe in Brad if he has time, but the window in this new era is much smaller. My hope is we make the tournament and are playing up to our full potential come March.
Cook
- Richmond, VA
Given the sheer amount of AAU and HS games played (and abundance of constant media), I wonder if the contemporary hoopers' mentality towards most games is flat, mundane even. I think we could comprehend how perhaps only the most marquee, super hyped match-ups and tourney games might rise above the ho-hum these days. Further, I'm sure they've been on both sides of plenty of blowouts and nail-biters; so it's not uncommon to shrug their shoulders and say, "Oh well, that just happens sometimes."
Correct.
I have to chuckle at all the angst, anger, hand wringing, pulling of hair. One only has to harken back to the last two coaching regimes to recall what bad really looks like.
Is that the Team America guy in real life?
Yall didn't read the new Q drop,
Trust the plan, we need these top teams to feel like they are frauds because they lost to a team they should've beat "because they are unranked"
All while letting these bad teams thinking what they are doing is working because they beat the Illini.
So when it comes to tournament time we are the only team that realizes it's TRUE self worth and we walk through the tournaments.
Also now I have to go dark wait until the comet spins around the water tower, and I will be back. Trust the plan.
Trust the plan, we need these top teams to feel like they are frauds because they lost to a team they should've beat "because they are unranked"
All while letting these bad teams thinking what they are doing is working because they beat the Illini.
So when it comes to tournament time we are the only team that realizes it's TRUE self worth and we walk through the tournaments.
Also now I have to go dark wait until the comet spins around the water tower, and I will be back. Trust the plan.
sacraig
- The desert
I think Bruce was more mediocre than bad. Weber teams generally played better than we have been the last few games.
Groce, on the other hand...
The last couple games lacked focus, intensity, passion for playing well. Not sure what's going on, but I don't think it's an exaggeration to say playing this confused in the BIG will not get them into the NCAA tournament. If they have chemistry in terms of personality, they're sure not showing it on the court.
I miss Trent!
If the problem is ego (which it sounds like that is a large part of it) then hopefully we will start to at least show some heart out there. We have some team focused players for sure, but the handful of players that seem to be the ones already looking to the NBA need to wake up and see that it is a lot harder to get there without having good TEAM success. Not saying it isn’t possible by any means, but I promise any player on our team that thinks they are going pro next year will do it much easier if the team shines first. Hopefully we turn a corner and don’t look back this week. This season is not over, but it could be if they don’t start playing for each other and let the rest of it take care of itself.
This is indeed the biggest crisis Brad has had to face during his career at Illini (losing games during his early tenure here did not count.) It will be very interesting to see how he turns it around. At this moment, I feel like getting talents is not a problem. Now we need to see how good a coach he is especially in this volatile environment (turnover rate much higher.) It should work if he has a good system and his players trust it but we don't have lots of time left.
Just stop. Hard fouls are not inherently dirty, nor is that what I described. Hard fouls come from playing hard, especially when trying to claw your way back from an embarassing deficit. We were playing like we were trying not to touch anyone. You need to get off your snow flake.
InDaAZ
- Eugene, Oregon
You're right, I probably should not have used terms like "elbow" or "brawl" since those don't really convey what I mean. Hard fouls are not inherently dirty, nor is that what I intended to describe. Hard fouls come from playing hard, especially when trying to claw your way back from an embarrassing deficit; dirty players hide behind hard fouls to injure other players -- we don't appear to have any dirty players. Hard fouls are generally a product of ferocity/tenacity, especially when playing with abandon or desperation. We should have shown some desperation and we showed none. I would have liked to have seen some life, such as an Illini playing so hard that they were going to run through anyone who got in their way to get to the ball or bucket. We played like we were trying not to touch anyone. And, Mizzou played like no one was there to stop them because no one was there to stop them -- we didn't show up. Reactive aggression, like a small push or head-to-head argument after the whistle (see DW v McCaffery), comes in the heat of competition when you are really invested and likely energizes your team. We didn't look invested.You did advocate for a “mild brawl.”
It’s written in the Loyalty ledger…
InDaAZ
- Eugene, Oregon
I can agree that this team could occasionally use a grit booster shot, but I don’t think that is the sole issue.
Just one layman’s observation: The offense is new (5 out), the defense is new (switching), and the personnel are new - all leading to inconsistent play.
I see guys working hard to implement what they do in practice, but quickly abandoning the plan when things go sideways during the game. At that point the leaders try to get the team back in it by reverting to what they think works best for them, while others become confused and hesitant. Only Sencire (so far) consistently goes in and balls out with abandon, but he has his limitations.
I don’t know what the answer is, but simply calling for the guys to ‘get tougher and play harder’ is only part of the solution, imo.
With regard to success, you are probably right. But, I don't necessarily think they should get tougher. I think they have all reached top tier D-1 college basketball because they are tough. They just don't look invested in what they're doing, and that's frustrating to see. I don't know what the answer is either, but playing invested (for pride in yourself, if not for the team since so many have surmised that they don't really like each other) and with max effort from the tip would be a step in the right direction.
About hard fouls, I am frustrated every time that an Illini intends to foul, but doesn't make it aggressively enough to keep the shot from going in. All of us were down after the Marquette and Cincy games last year, but through 12 games, last year's team was 9-3, just a game better than this year. I'm going to be confident and just go with the USA Today Coaches Poll this week. We are still ranked #22 there.
I actually think the B10 looks as disappointing as ever. With the exception of Purdue and I guess Northwestern I think every single team has started off below pre-season expectations. If we end up on the outside looking in the tourney this would be the most disappointing season in recent memory.
Fighter of the Nightman
- Chicago, IL
We have been SO spoiled recently, haha. Coming off of a relatively dominant stretch in Big Ten play (winningest team over the last three years) that produced a few Big Ten banners and a #1 seed, we then replaced FIVE STARTERS so effectively that we were ranked top 20 preseason and quickly got two wins over top 10 teams TWO DAYS into December ... I think a lot of us felt "2001 to 2006 invincible" again, haha.
Well, we are back down to Earth! If we have a dominant win tomorrow and win in Evanston while at least looking "tough," everyone will change their tune again. This team is in a funk, and I think it has contributed to not just losing but losing in a way that makes us LOOK disinterested, which hits especially hard to us as fans in a game as important as Braggin' Rights.
Here's to getting through it and being a dangerous team in March, which was always the goal!
sacraig
- The desert
They don't have to like each other but they at least need to play like they don't hate each other.
I do not agree with this. But I will say, that as far as this board is concerned…it sure seems as though we are way more critical of say: a Barry Lunney than say a Stephen Gentry…or a Brett Bielema than a Brad Underwood. I’m just sayin. We are.
And I say that as way more of a basketball guy AND a humungous Brad Underwood fan. (I Sincerely am; and still believe the Skyy is the limit if we can pull our heads of our butts.) Christ I Hope so.
-Yes, the nature of football is completely different than basketball. There is probably, and arguably more pressure for the coach(es) because it is more obvious, and cut-and-dry to the casual fan what the coach is instructing in real time…in a given instance. There are also way, way more moving parts. (It takes a village. Lol) I hope that made at least SOME sense.
-Yes, we are a basketball school.
-Yes, Brad is a stud and has climbed pretty darn far up that mountain…and he’s done it consistently. Brett is now beginning to do that too…it is still early of course…this season was surreal and we honestly don’t know if we can sustain that level/go beyond it after being in the gridiron toilet for so long. Because you know, we’re plucky but skeptical Illini fans no matter how much we like to say we’re not.
-Yes I know it is not all the same set of Loyalty fans…they are, after all different: sports, treads, and somewhat different sub-groups of Loyalty.(if you will)
This doesn’t mean I’m gonna stop giving the basketball staff the benefit of the doubt anytime soon. It’s just that I think more of us should extend the football staff the same courtesy…feels like they’ve earned it…JMO
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I didn’t read your original post but if you’re advocating tougher, more physical play and not allowing opponents to waltz down the lane for easy uncontested layups without paying a price then i’m right there with you. We are playing like a bunch of wusses right now, getting our butts kicked and nobody on the court seems to care. Next guy to get a flagrant 2 when we’re getting beat decisively will be my new favorite player.