Pregame: Illinois vs Valparaiso, Friday, November 17th, 7:00pm CT, B1G+
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Fighter of the Nightman
- Chicago, IL
How is this also in B1G+?!
Welcome back Roger Powell Jr
Would love to see us have TSJ take a back seat during these easy games, and give DGL and Ty more usage. They need the reps, plus TSJ doesn't need to be flying down the lane putting his body at stake in these types of games. Scares me every time he puts his head down and goes full steam downhill.
I'm hoping he gets a roaring standing ovation, maybe even a highlight video before the game. He's earned it. Loved The Reverend.
MDchicago
- Lake Norman NC
Hope he kept the Rayvonte Rice mural in his office....
skyIdub
Winged Warrior
And the Illini girs are all "but can you drop 100?"
I knew of Roger growing up and knew one of his high school basketball coaches. He always seemed genuinely nice and love basketball Always carried a basketball and even had a role in the spring musical.
Who thinks it is high time for the dancing bear to get a start in this game and plenty of tic?
I sure do. Let's review Dainja's numbers from that beating we gave MSU last season:
Dainja lead the team in scoring with 20 pts.
He shot 8-12 or 67% on 2s.
He was 1 short of leading the team in rebounds with 7.
He shot 4 for 5 from the FT line, so 80%.
He had 2 blocks, an assist, and just 1 TO.
Was that 2pt shooting efficiency a rare thing for Dainja last season? No, he led the team on 2pt percentage with 64% and nobody (who play decent mins) was even close to that. (Rodgers was next at 52%.)
Again, it's high time Dainja to start and get plenty of PT! And I'm not expecting a 20pt game every outing from Dain, but he deserves more time just to get ready for BT play, where we are going to need him.
I sure do. Let's review Dainja's numbers from that beating we gave MSU last season:
Dainja lead the team in scoring with 20 pts.
He shot 8-12 or 67% on 2s.
He was 1 short of leading the team in rebounds with 7.
He shot 4 for 5 from the FT line, so 80%.
He had 2 blocks, an assist, and just 1 TO.
Was that 2pt shooting efficiency a rare thing for Dainja last season? No, he led the team on 2pt percentage with 64% and nobody (who play decent mins) was even close to that. (Rodgers was next at 52%.)
Again, it's high time Dainja to start and get plenty of PT! And I'm not expecting a 20pt game every outing from Dain, but he deserves more time just to get ready for BT play, where we are going to need him.
Big Jack
- Decatur
I agree and want to see more DD on the floor. Think he has got to read listen and pay more attention to the scouting reports for that to happen. I for one think our offense woud flow better from the start. With a starting lineup of DD, CoHawk, Domask, TSJ anf TY. Sub QG or Amani into that line up.. We need more physical size and rebounding on the floor at times.
Right, I'm also not sold on so much 5-out and the idea that DD clogs the lane. Check out that MSU game footage. Moving DD around and timing drives and cuts with when DD goes to the high post seemed effective at times in that game. There are also options for dishes and alley-oops when a big defending Dain comes to help. I'd like to see TSJ's new midrange game and whether he can work with Dain on pick-and-rolls or in other situations when they play near each other. We need to develop this part of our offense, and not shoot 3s because we are really bad at shooting 2s, when our 60+% 2pt shooters are sitting on the bench.
Oh, and the Dain-is too-tired excuse is getting old. Didn't he run a 5:30 mile? And if he needs a break, then take him out and send him back in a few minutes later. If this is really true, then Dain needs to improve his endurance. This should not be the reason that DD doesn't play, although I understand the DD will struggle against good 7-footers, so we do need the 5-out for those matchups.
Fighter of the Nightman
- Chicago, IL
I mean, I am a realist in the age of our current TV landscape ... but three of our first four games?! It's never been that bad.
blackdog
- Champaign
Where are you reading Dain is too tired? That sounds like a made up reason. The real reason he's not playing is he doesn't follow the scouting report and makes dumb decisions sometimes. Could he be a valuable contributor to the team? You bet but not if he is going to freelance and not do what the coaches are asking him to do.
foby
- Bonnaroo Land
It may be too much to ask for better quality announcers, but is it too much to ask for better production quality?
It appears that there are 2 major issues that are affecting Dain's on court performance and utilization. The first can be fixed and it's that Dain has struggled with taking the pregame scouting and coaching in practice he's receiving and being able to recall and recreate it in actual gameplay. He has gotten in Brad's doghouse and benched for it far more times than he should.
The second issue from what I'm seeing is we are having major issues with our entry passes and our ball movement to open up better passing lanes. While Ty has been excellent in his play thus far, I think this is one area that we really could have used a true point guard for, and it's the reason we struggled to get easy inside looks against Marquette. The only plus rated entry passer on our team I've seen in our gameplay is Moretti and I think that does greatly limit us. Instead, we need to be a penetrate and 'oop or have Ty rotate down backdoor and dish if/when the help comes (like he did against EIU) to get Dain more involved. But as it stands now, I think this is the biggest reason as to why Dain looks a bit lost on offense- we just don't have anyone super confident at getting him the ball on the blocks without turning it over so they shy away from it.
Rome wasn't built in a day......Boom goes the.....
Careful, or someone might "SCHMACK" you around...
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