But that’s the thing, it wasn’t the last 40 seconds. Had they played any decent amount of defense it that game, it would not have come to the ending that it did. This team plays very weak defense a majority of every game. Most, if not every B1G team they have played this year have had their way with easy buckets in the paint. The CEO (Brad) needs to figure this out, but I don’t think it’s in him.
Penn State 90, Illinois 89 Postgame
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Tacomallini
- Washington State
I laughed at Gritty's QAnon Brigade reference.
If Hamer and Tyler are running the show what do we need Brad for? Motivation? Hamer keeps getting blamed for our defense but we’re still running Brads drop coverage scheme that we have been for years 
wonder why our defense was so bad last year and had to scrap it all. Couldn’t of been Brads fault
wonder why our defense was so bad last year and had to scrap it all. Couldn’t of been Brads faultNobody has mentioned the 18 turnovers of which our senior leaders Hawkins, TJS and Domansk had 15 of them. I am still pissed at the total incompetence of the WHOLE SQUAD!
If Hawkins makes free throws, if he doesn't foul a three point shooter, if Harmon could get the ball inbounds or not get blown by for layups, if Goode runs clock.... we're taking about a 6-10 point win.
I'm willing to concede people wanting to see Rodgers in the game late, but the risk there is him getting fouled and while much improved....do you want him at the line when you need critical free throws. You're playing 4 on 5 offensively. That's the alternative. Up 7 with 40 seconds, you're looking for ball handlers and reliable guys from the stripe.
Instead, we got turnovers, missed free throws and bad fouls.
Execution was the key contributor....IMO.
Actually, I was more concerned with Goode being out there at the end. Right or wrong, my perception is that he has been unreliable at the stripe in end-of game situations. (If someone with convenient access to stats can show me that my perception is wrong, I would greatly appreciate it.
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the defense wasn't good...but PSU also had 11 steals and in total we committed 18 turnovers that lead to a bunch of points including the 8 pts we gave up in the 30 seconds or so & we shouldn't blame all this on the defense...we were up 7 pts with less than a minute to go, the ability to inbound the ball, Shannon's turnover, whatever Hawkins was doing when PSU & the officials bailed him out by calling the foul as he was traveling, our missed free throws vs the foul on the 3 pt attempt & them making all 3 was more an offensive/ball handling/stupidity problem than defense or defensive scheme problem.
I'd risk having Ty shoot FTs than have Goode in there getting cooked by the other team. Also, Goode has a worse FT% than Ty. No reason for Goode to play a minute when the game is close. He is a huge liability right now.
Believe me, he's no picnic out there either. He misses his share, as well.Actually, I was more concerned with Goode being out there at the end. Right or wrong, my perception is that he has been unreliable at the stripe in end-of game situations. (If someone with convenient access to stats can show me that my perception is wrong, I would greatly appreciate it.
The takeaway....there's no reliable option. When you're in a situation where you have to manage the rotation at that particular position, especially late, that's bad. It's just such a critical position.
I’m going to need you to site your source on this one. Running the clock to a shot clock violation would have meant we could still do a the dumb stuff we did and PSU still wouldn’t have had enough time to win.
I don’t fault Goode for going for the dagger. It’s an open shot and I expect him to make thar shot 60% of the time. I liked the aggression and it shouldn’t have mattered.
You can be okay with him taking the shot, point out that it was far from the most egregious thing we did in the last 2 minutes, or state correctly that it shouldn’t have mattered, without inventing a ridiculous case that it’s the optimal play in that situation.
We run 5 more seconds of clock and get a bad shot we win the game.
You realize Ty is shooting free throw 7% higher rate than Goode right?
Serious question...in the situation with 30 seconds left and up by four (and then two), who is our best option to inbound the ball?
-Not TSJ because he is the best at getting open and draws extra attention from the defense, and he shoots free throws well.
-Not Domask because he is someone you want to have the ball and get fouled as he is our best free throw shooter.
-Not Harmon because he has shown again and again he does not make good decisions in that role. But he should be on the floor in this spot because he's a great free throw shooter and can handle the ball well enough.
-Not Quincy because he's not a strong passer or decision maker. He's also a weaker free throw shooter if the ball ends up with him at some point.
It seems like it should come from this group:
-Maybe Coleman, but he is probably most valuable as an athletic, big target who can get open down the court. He's also been a reliable free throw shooter in crunch time this season, until last night.
-Maybe Ty, he's a decent passer but he would be the obvious target for the opposing team to foul if the ball ever gets back into his hands.
-Maybe Luke, but this is more of a desperate option. He's struggled shooting free throws so maybe he's a better choice to just inbound it to the better free throw guys. And if the ball ends up back in his hands, he at least theoretically SHOULD be someone who can hit free throws.
-Not TSJ because he is the best at getting open and draws extra attention from the defense, and he shoots free throws well.
-Not Domask because he is someone you want to have the ball and get fouled as he is our best free throw shooter.
-Not Harmon because he has shown again and again he does not make good decisions in that role. But he should be on the floor in this spot because he's a great free throw shooter and can handle the ball well enough.
-Not Quincy because he's not a strong passer or decision maker. He's also a weaker free throw shooter if the ball ends up with him at some point.
It seems like it should come from this group:
-Maybe Coleman, but he is probably most valuable as an athletic, big target who can get open down the court. He's also been a reliable free throw shooter in crunch time this season, until last night.
-Maybe Ty, he's a decent passer but he would be the obvious target for the opposing team to foul if the ball ever gets back into his hands.
-Maybe Luke, but this is more of a desperate option. He's struggled shooting free throws so maybe he's a better choice to just inbound it to the better free throw guys. And if the ball ends up back in his hands, he at least theoretically SHOULD be someone who can hit free throws.
Goillinikobd
- Southeastern US
I think some of us don’t see it as “moving” but more like stuck.
Yes, we are at a much higher plateau, but that’s not enough for some of us.
Rightly or wrongly, maybe unrealistically, we want to keep moving to a yet higher plateau.
It‘s Natty or bust
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I'd say Ty should be in there inbounding the ball. Don't run that "football" play. Run something with a couple screens to get it in.
Is there anything that I said incorrect?
It’s so weird. I’m old enough to remember at the beginning of the season these guys WERE playing with smarts and poise. They acted like they knew what was expected of them down the stretch…how to close out games. How to play with the lead…how to play from behind…when to foul…when not to…etc. I was optimistic about March this season because of what I thought I observed then. I thought we played smart…BUT lately not so much.
Did we contract Kevin Willard Syndrome along the line? WTH happened?
We have had games that guys act like they don’t know who’s in charge on the bench even?…Too many chiefs? Did they call a TO?….Do we foul now? I think I’ll jack up an ill advised 3 even though I’m a high IQ player? (dysfunction rearing its ugly head again a little bit??)
That stuff comes down to coaching. I’m sorry…but not getting them organized/ having control of the team is far worse than any ill advised scheme or X & O’s blunder.
So yes, the late game collapsing in the closing minutes isn’t all just point guard issues/woes. It’s on the staff. Well coached teams don’t do that. (Although, I do think Brad’s stubborn refusal to get an actual PT guard in the offseason has created a ripple effect that we’re feeling now…without a doubt.)
It’s true that it’s the main objective of any OOB play to simply get the ball in…but it might be kind of nice if we took advantage of the opportunity to actually score! You know like other teams do. In 7 years, I remember us scoring on a couple BLOB plays. We struggle mightily just to get the ball inbounds. It doesn’t need to be “special teams” this isn’t flipping football…it’s a simple BLOB…just put it in and make it happen. Plagiarize! Cheat off someone else’s homework. It’s not that hard. You Do it. You make 5 million dollar$.
On the everybody OOB/press breaker …it would be great if it was a novelty…and just run occasionally. But not only that…
We run it almost precisely the same way.
The ends go long…then a little V-cut to the elbow and a button hook back to the receiver from the inside dude.
Can we stop blaming Domask for being asked to do something he doesn’t have a lot of experience doing? Dude, goes the extra mile…puts his head down and does what he’s asked consistently. With no Marcus this year, we’d really have something to cry about.
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Again without a PG the team had a 7 point lead with 40 seconds to go and the ball in the hands of the best guard in the conference. Not having a PG is not why they blew that lead in the last 35 seconds. Maybe the defense in the first 39 minutes is better but the offense could not have been improved.
80'sIllini
- Arizona
Agree with everything in this post. I'd still give Brad another 2 years after this season; he is recruiting well, but if we still don't get to the second weekend in the NCAA tournament by then and we continue to make the same type of mistakes mentioned above during that time, we should look to move on from him. He is, after all, I think the 10th highest-paid coach. If so, his performance should exceed what it would be if we don't get to the second round after what would be 10 years by then.
Well, that would make me sad, so please don’t say it.
Illini4Chief
- TENNESSEE
It's like the team does not learn anything from experience.....kindy shakey if this team is going to NCAA...that first game is really scarry , dont matter who we get matched with....lotta teams looking at this tape.....
"Criminally stupid comments..." Ah, there's the hyperbole we've been missing in these 32 pages. Thanks for fixing that.
Except there is absolutely nothing statistically that shows Illinois is playing 4 on 5 when Ty is on the floor. Ty currently in B10 play has a 1.172ppp offensive efficiency on 18.9% possession share. That is good for 19th best within the B10. That is not the numbers of a black hole on offense or a void. By comparison, Coleman has a 1.232ppp offensive efficiency on 18.6% possession share in conference (7th best in the B10). If you look at offensive impact, Coleman is considered +3.6pts better offensively than the average player. Ty? +3.3.
You're making it seem Ty just drags the team down out there on offense, when that is far far far from the case. Ty statistically is Top 500 in offensive efficiency, just outside top 500 in effective field goal percentage, top 200 in offensive rebounding, he's our best rebounding guard, he's 2nd best assisting guard, our best guard in steals, our 2nd best guard in blocks, our 2nd best defensive guard.
So at what point do we actually appreciate Ty for what he is vs what imaginary guard you want him to be? I think everybody in the universe knows he's not going to walk out and be Steph Curry, but Ty just being Ty is damn good. You don't trust Ty for "reasons", those reasons being he's not a stereotypical PG and you don't trust that. Fine. But he's what we've freakin got. John Stockton ain't walking through the door this season. We need to just accept that and move on. TSJ isn't Michael Jordan and Coleman isn't Tim Duncan yet we still play them in crunch time. Why? Because they're the best we have and they're pretty damn good at what we do.
Honestly this Ty argument infuriates me. There is no basis in reality where he hasn't been one of our Top 5 players this season and he has done nothing to show he shouldn't be on the court to close a game out other than "reasons" where he's not some fans PG of choice, and that seems to include Brad. Just makes no sense to me, I'm sorry.
Isn't this 5 way switching defense the same one we've abandoned in recent years because it doesn't work? Someone is under the understanding that it is working this year? Call me crazy but I prefer a defensive strategy where our best D players guard their best O players. This defense just promotes other teams to run their best O players through a screen being set by the person that's being guarded by one of our weak D players and then amazingly they have their best O players on one of our weak D players. Just amazes me how this can continue game after game and not try a straight up man to man.
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