Someone named Curbelo was in. He was overly aggressive! Normally, when Trent is not being aggressive it is because he is running the offense or, feeding Kofi. Curbelo does not run the offense. He simply penetrates to the basket, jumps into the air and tries to find someone. A lot of times those actions destroy offensive continuity.
Maryland 66, Illinois 63 Postgame
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Curbelo runs the offense until he has to make a play because the clock is running down. Then he freelances imo which usually works out. But the team isn't used to having a playmaker like him. For example all the comments about him having eyes everywhere and having to always be prepared for a pass to come because he's that good. However, in regards to my comment about Trent, it's the times when he gets the ball in a position to shoot and he passes it up that bother me. He's probably the best shooter on the team and definitely at least one of the best imo... but he passes them up and makes an extra pass, too a less talented scorer, that a lot of times don't end up working out in our favor. He's already under sized without excellent handles and play making ability for the next level. So he has to show he can be an elite scorer like he did when he first came in his freshman and sophomore seasons. He has to be aggressive... if he misses he misses, but he's earned that imo!
I agree with most of what you are saying except the clock is running down because Curbelo is out there pounding the ball. He misses way too many open shooters. They say that he has eyes everywhere because he always seem to find someone to throw the ball to after he jumps into the air. Other than his passes to Kofi, they don't lead to good shots.
I am sure the coaching staff has been trying to expand (limit?) what he is doing on the floor without screwing up his confidence. I think that if Trent does not hurt his shoulder that we easily win this game. We forget that Trent sat out half of the 1st half and the 1st half of the 2nd half.
Deleted member 186590
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I hate to say it but BU has not done a great job with this team - how do we turn it over so much being a veteran team? And in tight games it becomes the Ayo show with zero offense being run and Ayo throwing up bad shots- at the end of the year we’re going to see Missouri and Rutgers really aren’t that good and there is no way we should lose those games and of course the Maryland was a joke. Duke is not even going to be a good win
Im not sure he could be doing less with the talent he has - this is clearly a bottom 10%result if you ran these games 100 times in simulations. At some point the question has to turn to BU and if he’s a good coach or not
Im not sure he could be doing less with the talent he has - this is clearly a bottom 10%result if you ran these games 100 times in simulations. At some point the question has to turn to BU and if he’s a good coach or not
I don’t know if within the thread if this was talked about. Early in the game when Kofi got the ball down low he would tripled team. He would be mugged. I am glad to see him hit his free throws. I wish sometimes as he is getting tripled team to pass it to an open shooter. I still believe he is getting clobbered and no fouls called.
I had to take a few days off this board after that game. This team we have now is a win now team. How many chances are we going to get where we have 2 NBA players on the same team? Really if Kofi and Ayo did not come back you would be looking at a team that would be fighting at the end of the table with Nebraska. The frustration I have is the frustration I had last year is that we don't match up to a tall 4 and that is eventually going to knock us out again. I love DMW but he should not be playing the 4, plus he really does not have a lot in his offense game. I wonder what his percentage is when he drives to the basket and he really has not shown a midrange game. But I don't blame him. I blame Underwood. Good coaches are suppose to put players in a positions to be successful not in position where they are going to struggle. I much rather see DMW play the 3. I also don't understand the logic that Curbelo has to learn from his mistakes but why does that not apply to Coleman as well, plus I think Coleman is a much smarter player than Curbelo. So enough with this position less basketball. Play a player that has the physical ability to play that position or get ready to get knocked out of the tournament earlier instead of being able to make a long run.
On wasting rare opportunity with 2 NBA players ...I agree with this take. ...we have unique talent that we may not be taking full advantage of.
On DMW as a 4....I think we can match up "ok" with most team's, but for some (Maryland?)...not so much. In ideal world...you would have four 6'4 to 6'7 "guards" with Kofi..we dont have that.
On CH playing more...I do believe CH can help significantly and he needs to be integrated more. I dont think it is CH vs Curbelo....2 totally difft skill sets. But CH can help with opponents with length.
Cook
- Richmond, VA
I do think BU is a good coach, but I'll throw out another opportunity of his I've noticed over the years (not from the Maryland game). His press break is terrible. He could benefit from some offense consultation from Beilein.
billybaroo
- Pebble Beach, CA
Buck Feilein?
illini80
- Forgottonia
We have 2 freshman playing starter minutes. If you thought this season was going to be a cake walk to the final four you hit the koolaid a little too hard. We have a really good team, but all the prognostications that we would be a great 3 point shooting team have not proven out once again. I think we will improve as the season progresses. Unexpected losses happen to every team. Learning from their mistakes is key. We have work to do on that.
Maryland play a very good game. Give them credit. They hustled throughout and made shots. We made some mistakes, which wouldn't be commented on normally if we had won.
I'm having a problem with the hero ball we play near the end of a close game. Ayo is a great finisher, but the strategy has become predictable and other teams adjust. Why doesn't Ayo look to pass to an open shooter rather than force a bad shot of his own? Has success gone to his head? Is it ego? Or limited creativity on the part of the coaches?
I absolutely agree with the sentiment of this post, though this is actually a very good shooting team -- we're currently #4 nationally in 3P%, and 4th in conference play. But you're right on about the rest of it. I think folks are underestimating how good Maryland is this year (injuries notwithstanding) because they're underestimating how good the league is. Maryland is currently sitting at #44 in the Pomeroy ratings, and in any other conference they'd be a bubble team. But in this year's Big Ten, they're 12th out of 14. For perspective, here's where the #44 team would have landed over the past 20 years:
2002: 6 of 11
2003: 5 of 11
2004: 4 of 11
2005: 7 of 11
2006: 8 of 11
2007: 7 of 11
2008: 6 of 11
2009: 7 of 11
2010: 6 of 11
2011: 6 of 11
2012: 7 of 12
2013: 9 of 12
2014: 6 of 12
2015: 6 of 14
2016: 7 of 14
2017: 7 of 14
2018: 7 of 14
2019: 8 of 14
2020: 13 of 14
2021: 12 of 14
That Maryland team would be dead center of the league or better in 11 of the 20 years listed above. (What jumps out at me is how difficult the league has been during Underwood's tenure, and how comically bad Groce's teams look in comparison.)
I still think this is a bad loss. I hate that we didn't run a cohesive offense at all, I hate that we couldn't get Kofi looks in the second half, I hate that we didn't finish at the rim, I hate the way that we gave up the winning basket. But this isn't exactly losing to Carmody-era Northwestern, especially when you strip out some of the home court advantage. (I think there's data that actually supports that, but I'm too lazy to dig it up.)
This has been a uniquely difficult conference over the past couple of years. I hope the committee doesn't blush at giving it 11 or 12 bids on Selection Sunday.
Disagree. Trent very seldom finds or feeds Kofi. That is the weakest part of his game IMO.
Tacomallini
- Washington State
I haven't read this thread yet, so apologies if this has already been posted:
illinireport.info
Pretty informative article from Loyalty's, eh hem, unanimous pick for favorite writer.
Consider Ricky Blanton - Illini Report
You’re having a sad, and that’s okay. Your team just lost to a 1-and-5 Maryland squad whose point guard sat out, and whose best veteran played with half a face. You then thought you’d take your frustrations out on the former Mayor of Ames, Iowa; but your guaranteed win got cancelled. My job this...
illinireport.info
Not sure what the relevance of this at the end of the article???? Seemed like a shot at our staff (or maybe a backhand compliment????)I haven't read this thread yet, so apologies if this has already been posted:
Pretty informative article from Loyalty's, eh hem, unanimous pick for favorite writer.Consider Ricky Blanton - Illini Report
You’re having a sad, and that’s okay. Your team just lost to a 1-and-5 Maryland squad whose point guard sat out, and whose best veteran played with half a face. You then thought you’d take your frustrations out on the former Mayor of Ames, Iowa; but your guaranteed win got cancelled. My job this...
Brady served a six-game paid suspension at the start of the 2019 season because, like a lot of Illinois “non-coaching” assistants, he was coaching.
I feel you. He can definitely work on those types of things for sure. I am encouraged by his ability though and his eagerness to step up and take tough shots. He's definitely not afraid of the moment.
This is the strategy for any team with a superstar. You put the ball in the hands of your best player in the moments that matter. I agree that it's super predictable, and I'm in favor of mixing it up. But you really can't blame teams for it either. Mcclung did it tonight and it looked good. If Ayo hit that shot, this wouldn't be a convo
iLL 89ers
- Dallas,TX , Born and raised in Alton,Illinois
IMO a spot on point, Trent needs to look for his own when he seems to always whip a pass with him being wide open to another team mate.
Trent is a good shooter and as you mentioned earned his stripes to take a clean look , from where ever on the floor...really hope he gets more aggressive moving forward....been waiting to see it all year.
Sometimes you have to make a pass to another player to feed Kofi.
I think that Curbelo can become a great player. He needs to get some of the junk out of his game and not always try to be the creator during those times when he does not need to create, for us to get a good shot. He also definitely needs to become more aware when a shooter gets hot rather than going into "my turn" mode.
I agree! The philosophy is to always get it into your best player's hands at the end of a game. As Larry Bird said, "the ball better be in my hands" at the end of a game.
I’m not sure who said Illinois would be a “great” 3-point shooting team, but they are a good and much improved 3-point shooting team. Overall they are 5th in nation and first in BIG at 41.2% compared to 30.9% last year. In conference they’re shooting 38.6%, which is good for 4th in conference. That is a heck of an improvement.
We have been in that situation twice this season and both times we got a nearly 30 foot heave from within a crowd. The best player should touch the ball but if the defense swarms, someone else should take the shot. You rely on your best player to make a winning play, not necessarily the winning shot. That said, if Larry Bird was on our team, I might feel differently... Ayo has a great chance at a career in the NBA. Larry Bird is one of the greatest basketball players of all time. What makes good sense for Larry Bird doesn't necessarily make good sense for everyone else.
We have to play better situational basketball in close games.
You will recall that Ayo passed the ball twice to Curbelo near the end and, Curbelo ended up taking very ugly shots. That throw up by Ayo near mid court is not what I would consider a real shot. Time was about out and all he could do was get the ball up the court and throw it up.
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