Super senior laden team.
Anymore "cleaning" to do?
Anymore "cleaning" to do?
Maryland 62, Illinois 56 POSTGAME
Deleted member 4960
D
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Except he kept getting losing the ball trying to drive today.
That's available for NBA, but not at this level
Malcolm is not a great driver. There are two reasons most of his pints come from mid-range. He is a good shooter from there but also it is very often as far as he can drive. He rarely has his drive make it all the way to the rim.
if its all catch and shoot then why are there very few assists ?
I didnt say we were an iso offense I said they were jump shooters who think they are iso scorers.
A team of jumpshooters who know thats who they are move the ball and work together to create a open look and trust it because they know they will make those shots if given.
By iso scorers I dont mean we are running clear outs Im talking about how many occasions per game where someone catches the ball on the perimeter and then believes they can beat their guy off the dribble but most of the time the reality is they cant .
Malcolm made a great drive tonight for a And 1 but he cant make that play ten times out of ten and just destroy a team with it . Look at how far away he was coming from the success rate of those types of drives against good team are very low because they wont let you get that many dribbles to the basket without a solid rotation.
Now think about where Ray was catching the ball at times a few years ago and making his move . Ray had a all world first step and was using it from 17 feet in often .
We often times catch the ball now and they take a couple of dribbles to nowhere and throw it back out the only time they really have courage to drive aggressively is when they all have the ball at the top of the key.
The only two players on the team so far that have seemed to come close to taking advantage of the shots the offense actually creates are MM and LB.
That's absolute BS. Paul and Richardson were a fantastic duo.
While I agree that they would classify as providing good guard play in their tenure, neither of them were PGs, and I'm not entirely sure I agree with describing them as 'fantastic'.
I love both of those guys, but they both never received higher honors than All Big Ten third team in a given season. That's not to say they wouldn't make this team significantly better, but I'm not entirely sure I agree with 'fantastic' as opposed to just being a formidable Big Ten backcourt (which ours currently is not). Arguably, McCamey would classify as fantastic moreso than those two would, given he was a All-Big 10 first teamer his junior year. But I agree, we have certainly had a few good guards since Self, although they were all developed by Weber.
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Can't agree fully here. Richardson, Paul and Egwu were all tough minded, killer instinct type of leaders. Hill and Nunn, not so much. Abrams has seen the game totally change from the bench and he just seems unsure of himself. And Groce is...I don't know what he is. Players tend to take on the personality of their coaches and right now, all we see is inconsistency and mediocrity.
They got us our last tournament berth and tournament win and got us within a blown call of a Sweet 16. That's pretty fantastic to me. Especially compared to the last four years.
AEX
- Danger Zone
More ways to get open looks near the basket than creating off the dribble. Our cutters always seem to be moving towards half court, rather than toward the basket. And our pick n' rolls rarely result in clean looks by the basket. TJL was able to find Finke on a great feed today, demonstrating why you need a PG who excels at passing and draws the defense. But still, doesn't happen as often as it should.
They were not, but they got to the NCAA at least once in their career.
ILL in IA
- Iowa City
So Groce has worn TA down? Not the major injuries he is fighting back from?
Given our recent (and not-so-recent anymore) history, 9-9 feels like it's something to aspire to at this point. 11-7 seems like a fantasy. How far we've fallen.
GortTheRobot
- North Bethesda, Maryland
That's the "I wonder" part of what I said. I'm not pretending to know, and I am sure his injuries are a big part of it. Just saying I feel for him working so hard to come back into what has to be a frustrating situation.
Serious Late
- Peoria via Denver via Ann Arbor via Albuquerque vi
But 9-9 doesn't do anything for us. Is it possible for us to go 9-9 and somehow get a tourney bid or some form of clarity around Groce? Not from my vantage point. 9-9 has inconsistency and uncertainty written all over it, along with another missed NCAA Tourney bid. I am pulling for 11-7 solely because that is the only positive scenario that clearly exhibits Groce can take a team with talent and get above average results in conference play.
At the end of the day, I seriously wonder how 9-9 benefits the Illinois basketball program more than 7-11 would. I don't want EITHER result, but doesn't 7-11 provide more long term hope or just clarity than 9-9? 9-9 is a H-E-L-L I would personally like to see us avoid.
Did you watch the game?
You want to critique someone, try TA, JCL, and MH. I'm not sure I've ever seen more a more awkward, forced, borderline pitiful display from three supposedly experienced players, as they displayed the last minutes of the first half and the entire second half.
TJL is the ONLY true point guard on this team.... And anyone with half a brain knows it!!
Sorry, but the system has nothing to do with him driving into multiple defenders and bad judgement play after play.
Similar timeline for me. Getting clowned by Alabama in the NIT did more than any loss since the NC Game, it got me started down the path of just not caring anymore.
Maryland might win the BIG this year. Probably Wisconsin, but I would put Maryland up there with Purdue as top teams in the league. Plus, they are our worst match-up in the league. They're as big as us and more athletic and skilled. Just too many quick guards, and Huerter is a really good all around player who defends Malcolm really well. Glad, we're done with them.
The road is tougher, but there are still enough games to play our way back in. Groce has to figure out what is going on with Tracy. He's not right at all. And it's costing the team.
The road is tougher, but there are still enough games to play our way back in. Groce has to figure out what is going on with Tracy. He's not right at all. And it's costing the team.
Serious Late
- Peoria via Denver via Ann Arbor via Albuquerque vi
Why wouldn't you critique everyone? :noidea:
Only 10 players played today, feels like we have enough time to evaluate everyone's play.
TJL would benefit greatly from developing a 3-point shot. His inability to shoot from deep is going to be a serious detriment to his game.
TJL can shoot he ball but hes on a team full of chuckers trying to keep everyone happy right now . Id like to see Groce encourage him to push the ball more and try and get create some easier baskets because this team right now doesnt even really know how to play with a PG.