Totally agree about Harris. DMFW wasn’t the most talented guy but he EARNED his starting role.
Missouri 93, Illinois 71 Postgame
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I expect Goode's impact will go way beyond what happens on the court. I think he's basically the one who inherited the spirit of Ayo, Trent, and Da'Monte. He will ride people in practice, in workouts, in game prep, etc. For better or for worse, he might be the locker room leader we are currently missing.
Brad has lost this team right now
Players aren’t playing well but our offensive scheme is really bad- Coleman is not the answer as the trigger - Brad really needs to redesign the offense and fast
Players aren’t playing well but our offensive scheme is really bad- Coleman is not the answer as the trigger - Brad really needs to redesign the offense and fast
He can do all of that with a walking boot on
I would've played MJ more too if he were available. Like now, and his knees are 113 years old.
I was impressed, as well. At this point, I'm choosing to place my faith and trust in Coach. I think we all should. He's earned it.
I feel for him, in light of all that he faces with this year's team, given its composition. Gotta be one of the biggest challenges of his career. But I think he can pull it together.
ELITE CULTURE 
And more turnovers than assists. Not getting in the league like that
I really am a Big fan of Luke Goode.
The kid is a natural born leader. He’s a solid perimeter shooter. He’s a decent to good passer. He plays smart, within himself and doesn’t make a lot of mistakes. He’s got a grit and a toughness we are sorely lacking.
However…
His injury has put him way behind the eight ball, endurance-wise. It will be an uphill battle for him to even get in shape; let alone game-shape. He’s more of a shooter than a scorer. He’s not an
instant offense kind of guy exactly. He doesn’t create shots that much or get fouled a ton. AND
I believe he’s only a 66 percent free-throw shooter. Which isn’t exactly stellar for a shooting guard or a small forward-type. (Why we have so many guys who can’t shoot freebies is beyond me.)
Anyways, I’d like/love to believe you. But I am gonna temper my expectations. (I’m thinking he’s gonna be a 2 when he comes back. LOL)
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Being from Fort Wayne you know I am a big fan of Luke and believed Brad when he said he was penciled in as a starter. I’m not sure all the insiders did. I was also hoping everyone hyping RJ was legit too. But I didn’t see it. Man, I hope something changes. And thanks for your honest appraisals.
I don't think the sky is falling, but... jayzuz Underwood's pressers are A) crap and B) tone deaf as hell. He's saying all the same things... execution, leadership, toughness, and I'm calling BS. These kids are the same kids with the same talent and if anything they should be playing better tonight than they were at the beginning of the season. Kids hit the floor and shoot 5% to start the game and it's execution, leadership and toughness? This is 100% on the staff. The team looks tight. If I look at the body language of the kids during the game and even in the pressers after they look broken, beaten and dejected. They hesitate to take open shots, they play scared, and they look they've been twisted into knots. I don't know how to say it but I think the staff took the fun out of playing basketball for all of them. If they don't look constipated they look terrified. Hell they don't even look angry when they're getting absolutely SMOKED in a braggin' rights game. And Brad comes out and says, "This is 100% on me," and then goes on to list all the things the players are doing wrong. Absolute crap. This IS his fault and he damned well better fix it, and everything he said tonight in his interview tells me that he has no clue what's broken here. Good kids, good staff, bad play. Figure it ooot. I could be WAAAY off base, but that's what I've seen in the last three games. Also, if you're 6'8" maybe don't take the ball down to your ankles before setting up to take a shot or drive the lane, pet peeve of mine. There, now I feel better. Thank you forums.
We got some guys coming in next year that are going to bring that effort and hustle too. And these young guys will learn. It does take time. With young teams and new guys it takes time to gel. We knew it was going to be ups and downs this season. We knew we'd win games we didn't expect to win, and lose games we didn't expect to lose. It's a process. What we have to focus on is that this will work itself out and we will grow and gel throughout the season and be way better and consistent when it matters most. Make the tourney and make a run.
50 years of watching? yes you have, Austin Peay, Penn St. 38-33, whoever we played Tech teams. I'm 51, have watched since I was 7 on WCIA with Dan Roan. Used to track players with pts, rebs, on paper. This is our life as Illini fans. No, 7 schollys wouldn't get us to 7 wins, imagine any Power 5 team doing that. This is an emotional post and while I understand it, it is also off base.
The 1st paragraph, I agree.
Yeah… I’ve tried to wax positive tonight. But this was a bad loss. Right now we have a bad team, bad players, and bad coaches. I wish there was a way to hang this in the locker room. But I’m an equally bad fan, father, husband, human. Oof.
Okay, but did you look at the minutes for tonight? Brad has forgotten about guys some this year but it doesn't seem like that was the case tonight.
Put another way, I don't think that RJ lost this game with 3 shots and 3 boards in 12 minutes. I could be wrong.
Skyy will get his revenge in the Braggin rights game, but I think it will have to be as a Mizzou tiger under DMoney Gates
He's a freshman. It's gonna happen. He'll learn. He's beaten upperclassmen on backdoor cuts too. It's a transition process. He's having to learn a lot very quickly. Remember, he's just getting healthy to even play.
The scholarship thing was a bit of hyperbole and half serious, but in terms of watching them just quit over a multiple game stretch I honestly can’t recall an Illinois team that’s shown me something like this. Teams have been worse, single losses have been more of a bummer, but when have we watched an Illinois team try to win D-I basketball games playing like they’re running pickup at IMPE?
None of this is by design. There are guys out there who are just not playing ball.
How many press conference's will we suffer through hearing how Sencire is the only player bought in 100% before Underwood rewards those efforts with a starting role?
This post is accurate, I'm with you on this one. Gotta admit, tonight I just disgustingly kept laughing, if not. it's too disheartening. I think we both love rooting for the beloved. We're both worried and I posted in the game thread that they will either look in the mirror and get it together or it will be a lost season.
Missouri portal guys seem to be handling it pretty well, but I have no idea what their NIL deals look like. Wish Miznoz would’ve kept Cuonzo around another couple years.
A few short weeks ago, I was bummed for Luke because it seemed inevitable that there was no spot for him. His injury and conditioning would stick him playing catch-up all year and he'd never slot in.
Now I wish we could play two of him.
With several knowledgeable people here saying that they saw this game coming, there's little chance that it blindsided Brad, despite his alpha attitude.
If he was going to change course on schemes, starting point guard, and other promises to players and himself, it wasn't going to happen before they played Mizzou, especially as a ranked team. This team is basically 4-4, and that's giving A&M credit for pulling close. Promises have been kept well enough based on those results and a calendar change. Time to switch back to a merit system.
We are now at the fork in the road, and optimism hasn't worked. Brad knows this. He has all the receipts. He could sit back and let this chimera tear itself apart, but I don't think he'll give up on these upperclassmen. That would be letting every-other-day guys off the hook. He'll impose some changes now, then more and more as needed.
If the guys aren't careful, Brad will put Trent on speakerphone.
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Teams have figured out how to attack their switching defense. They need to go back to man to man & throw in the zone at times. Also, Illinois does not have a consistent 3 point shooter. So why is their offense centered around 3 pointers. I have been told players are revolting about Underwood’s coaching style.. They are fed up,with his screaming tantrums. Good possibility one freshman probably leaving the program at end of year. Underwood’s profile has always been, good recruiter, but poor game time coach. His style needs to change…..
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