New Mexico State 74, Illinois 69 POSTGAME

#126      

illinitiger

I
illinitiger
Obelix said:
I do not know about that statement. If we wait until we start winning consistently to get the talent, we may never consistently win to begin with. First, if you can win consistently without the talent, then you have practically proven you can do without the talent, which I do not think is possible. Second, if you wait until you consistently win, it means you might as well give up on talent like EJ Liddell, Okoro, etc. because we will definitely not prove that this year. Good recruiters always get better talent than they deserve, and similar to getting Ayo, we have to get additional talent in the frontcourt soon. Very soon, otherwise the consistent winning may never come.

Also, in the 80s, much of what got the ball rolling was recruiting. It was the recruiting of Tony Yates that led to Illinois starting to consistently win (and recruit even more with Jimmy Collins). Tony Yates was known as an ace recruiter, actually his reputation and performance as a recruiter not only helped Illinois to start winning but actually landed him the Cincinnati head coaching job in 1983.
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I definitely agree that we need a talent pipeline asap. As for coaching, NMSU game painfully offers more teaching opportunities...like other recent games. Like others tonight, I love the fight of current team and watching the potential.

I also believe we have talent now to be successful, but they need further maturing, discipline...and we do have holes and the recruits you mentioned can help fill those longer term. I'd put LB, KN and our backcourt against anyone when they are focused and playing to their potential. Ultimately, I think our coaching, player maturity and development will determine our fate in the next couple of years rather than recruiting.

all that said, I am patient. We can compete. Snagging those recruits you mentioned will build towards the future, but I think we can get to the tournament with current roster next year...after they mature with the new system and coach.
 
#128      

practispractispractice

P
practispractispractice
We are much more developed as a young team than we were under Groce with upperclassmen. I watched teams dismantle us last year from the get go where Groce had no comprehension of how to stop any type of bleeding beyond twenty minutes. I watch this year and see these guys are understanding more and more each game. I am throwing my arm down and yelling , "YES...ILLINOIS,"...because these young guys are scary good less than 15 games into the season. These guys are going to be incredible in a month or two. I think they'll make the tournament this year. There is a grittiness that is obvious. We'd have a rolled over and lost by 30 last year at this point.
 
#129      

PlayAZ

P
PlayAZ
EJ33 said:
Dear Josh,

Please stop having games in Chicago until we're good.

Thanks,

The voice of reason
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The reason we have to is to TRY and stay relevant with the Chicago set of coaches and players so we can TRY and recruit them better. That said we also have to TRY harder to win games and shoot better while there!:chief:
 
#130      

TCTORNADO

TCTORNADO
TCTORNADO
Scored tied w/33 seconds to go and we have the ball under our own basket. You've got to like our chances coming out of a timeout, right?? Oh wait, we lose by 5. how did that happen? :hand:
 
#131      

pruman91

pruman91
Paducah, Ky
pruman91
Chathamillini said:
We won't be embarrassed by Mizzou. We have had a chance to win every single game. The team just chokes it up.
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agree

came out down 12 at half.....went up 48-43 playing zone D and hitting shots....why stop playing zone....inbounds plays are killing us..
 
#132      

Deleted member 631370

D
Guest
Deleted member 631370
Obelix said:
People slowly come to realization that our frontcourt is very thin and lacks talent. Our low-post game, around the basket, and game in the paint is almost non-existent. We simply do not have the players/skills in that area. I know, I know... potisionless this and positionless that, 1-5 are interachangeable, etc. etc.

What we noticed today was that we really have one player, Black, right now who really has the skillset combined with some size around the basket. And Black really played out of his mind in the second half. He had a tremendous game in the second half, way above what we should expect from him every game, and he was really the main reason we got back in the game. Without Black playing an incredible game, it would not have been close. JMO.

Underwood is a good coach IMO but we lack the horses in the frontcourt, much of his success will depend on recruiting. We need some immediate help (besides Ayo) in the frontcourt this recruiting class and obviously play for all marbles with the '19 top frontcourt players (i.e., Liddell, Okoro, etc.).

On the positive side, kudos again to Leron Black in the second half, and I also liked the combination of TJL and Frazier in the same lineup at the end, something we had seen less of previously (they usually come in for each other).

As I've said in the past, if satisfaction is just solely based on making the tournament, some people may get disappointed. Personally, I still enjoy watching this team develop, it is fun competitive basketball regardless of making the tournament this year. The young players will get better and better as the season progresses. I would also like to see a little more playing time for Ebo, despite not being ready.
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Yeah, it really comes down to lack of talent or legitimate depth in the front court. Ebo and Vesel aren't even remotely ready for B1G competition, so we're going into this with a 6'7 guy in Black, and a 6'10 guy who struggles mightily to perform traditional post functions.

That is going to destroy this team in the end. There's no way around it. Recruiting will have to be our salvation for next year and beyond.


Granted, i've seen nothing to suggest it'll happen. But Black has the option of transferring next year and going almost anywhere he wants for a year. The kid hasn't played in a single NCAA tournament -- gotta hope that he doesn't want a change of scenery next year, because we would be utterly screwed next season.
 
#133      

Deleted member 631370

D
Guest
Deleted member 631370
TeamWilliams said:
Disagree: This isn't football where it should take 3+ years to get going

Year 1: see the roster holes, fill them for '18 with a solid wing and big
Year 2: make the tourney and win a game or 2
Year 3: start and finish top 25, sweet 16 out better

Year 4-infinity : repeat
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This is my 3-year hope as well.

If we're not an NCAA tournament team next year, then my hope for the future begins to fade dramatically.

This season was all about showing improvement over the course of time, getting the system down, and maybe pulling off some big wins to generate a little bit of momentum going into next year.

All of that can still happen.

But this was always about building toward next year. Still think we need to land a big who can provide 15-20 minutes a game right away, but if this team gets better over the course of the year, next year is when we dance.
 
#135      

Deleted member 631370

D
Guest
Deleted member 631370
TeamWilliams said:
Time for Antigua to implement an accelerated Big man program...
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Or, to go out and recruit an elite big man.

I never bought the hype about his recruiting. He was recruiting for Calipari -- Jay Price could land 5* big men with Calipari closing the deal.

But we absolutely need to go out there and land somebody. Thamba would be a good start, but I'm not particularly optimistic there.

I don't really care who......but this staff needs to find a big that can give us 20 mins a game next year.
 
#136      

jrod1286

J
Pat Chambers
Illinois
jrod1286
I'm curious as to how many people commenting on this "post game" thread actually watched the entire game.
 
#139      

TCTORNADO

TCTORNADO
TCTORNADO
pruman91 said:
http://www.stltoday.com/sports/coll...cle_7a791c31-ab4f-50df-aab4-305110a51e3b.html

CHICAGO • In what is becoming a painfully familiar script, Illinois will sit down Sunday and read a tale of mistakes at the finish that let a close basketball game go to its opponent.

Close losses to Wake Forest, Northwestern, Maryland and UNLV were supposed to teach lessons that helped the Illini flip the script on the next one.
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Underwood did not have an overly stellar record in close games (decided by 5 pts or less) at OK State last year--he lost 7 of the 11 games. Off to a 1-3 start at UI.
 
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#140      

Ga65

G
Ga65
After seeing replays of other BIG games, we may be overrated at 12th.
 
#141      

Deleted member 4960

D
Guest
Deleted member 4960
Verified Insider said:
Yeah, it really comes down to lack of talent or legitimate depth in the front court. Ebo and Vesel aren't even remotely ready for B1G competition, so we're going into this with a 6'7 guy in Black, and a 6'10 guy who struggles mightily to perform traditional post functions.

That is going to destroy this team in the end. There's no way around it. Recruiting will have to be our salvation for next year and beyond.


Granted, i've seen nothing to suggest it'll happen. But Black has the option of transferring next year and going almost anywhere he wants for a year. The kid hasn't played in a single NCAA tournament -- gotta hope that he doesn't want a change of scenery next year, because we would be utterly screwed next season.
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I really don't get all of this talk about how bad we are with bigs. We have had a legitimate chance to win every single game! We have blown them all from stupid mistakes and lack of execution. We also keep coming out flat in 1st halfs and then playing catch up. We have what we need right now to win. Could we use more size, h**l yes. But that is not what is making us lose games right now.
 
#143      

Oldtoysrock

O
Sarasota, Florida
Oldtoysrock
jrichisamazing said:
Great point on the defense without fouling. That makes 2 games in a row after the UNLV foul-fest. This team is doing good things. Just need to put it all together.
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Almost think they went to the other extreme tonight by being overly concerned about fouling, they lost some of their aggressiveness. Lofton (and others) got too many open looks, they weren’t crashing the glass, or driving to the basket and getting fouled. Hopefully moving forward they’ll figure out how to not pick up stupid fouls and play aggressively.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Pro
 
#144      

Ga65

G
Ga65
Chathamillini said:
I really don't get all of this talk about how bad we are with bigs. We have had a legitimate chance to win every single game! We have blown them all from stupid mistakes and lack of execution. We also keep coming out flat in 1st halfs and then playing catch up. We have what we need right now to win. Could we use more size, h**l yes. But that is not what is making us lose games right now.
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I agree, shortage of bigs isn't the reason we can't get the ball in.
 
#145      

Kathy

K
Kathy
jrichisamazing said:
That couldn't be further from the truth.
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I beg to differ. Read all the posts, previous to mine, of people that are not watching any more or waiting for pitchers and catchers to start practicing. Bottom line is, we have to start winning. BTW: I'm not one that is going to stop watching and supporting our team.
 
#146      

MakesNoSense

M
MakesNoSense
haasi said:
KenPom right now has us at 89, Rutgers at 90, and Nebraska at 93.

We lost tonight to #99 New Mexico St.

Rutgers beat #18 Seton Hall.

Nebraska lost by 1 to #8 Kansas.

I think it's fair to say that we'll be in last place in conference in KenPom rankings after tonight.

Can basically write off NCAA tourney at this point - would probably need to go 12-6 or better to make it. The most valuable thing to see the rest of the way is improvement - under the system, starting to execute it effectively, getting better together as a team, stop making the same mistakes, show some mental toughness.
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No need to write off something that most fans knew wasn't going to happen.
 
#147      

homesickalien

homesickalien
Springfield
homesickalien
Really Mccolley? Asking about Lou Vega in a press conference like that? We get it you try to be a little different. You can still do that without looking like a fool.
 
#148      

Obelix

Obelix
Obelix
MakesNoSense said:
No need to write off something that most fans knew wasn't going to happen.
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Not really true. Out of curiosity, I had looked up the poll on season projections right before the EIU game and the percentage of fans who projected UI to make the tournament was in the 70's. That percentage started to drop after the EIU loss, but still remained high.
 
#149      

TCTORNADO

TCTORNADO
TCTORNADO
Well at least Ayo got to see first hand what he is getting into, he and his family were seated a couple of rows in front of Whitman last night at UC.
 
#150      

bleedsorangenblue

bleedsorangenblue
C-U
bleedsorangenblue
Chathamillini said:
I really don't get all of this talk about how bad we are with bigs. We have had a legitimate chance to win every single game! We have blown them all from stupid mistakes and lack of execution. We also keep coming out flat in 1st halfs and then playing catch up. We have what we need right now to win. Could we use more size, h**l yes. But that is not what is making us lose games right now.
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With a day to reflect, this is about where I am. We are a young team making stupid mistakes. Would hope for a shorter learning curve but it is what it is. I think they will get better and start closing out some close games. However, the increase in the level of competition coming up has me concerned. I fear yet another season where opportunity was squandered by losses in the early winnable games.

We may end up in the bottom tier of the league and I know many will not be happy. Should that be the case, I am willing to chalk it up to being year one of rebuilding. I like what I am seeing with BU and how the freshmen are progressing. Many of these guys would only be seeing token time if this team was still led by Groce. I am also seeing a return of a signature defense the like of which we have not seen for awhile. The soft teams of the past few years made me question being an Illini fan. This year has given me a team to support, whether they win or lose.