imo, one of Underwood's best traits is his loyalty/stubbornness. i also think it's one of his worst traits. get a little creative and start Coleman and have him guard Dickinson. put Kofi on somebody else or (gasp) have him come off the bench. throw a (reasonable) curve ball once in a while. make the other team adjust to you instead of stubbornly just doing the same thing that everybody is well prepared for (until the game is out of reach). i'm not criticizing Underwood, but i do think he's a little too stubborn and inflexible at times.
Pregame: Illinois at Michigan, Sunday, February 27th, 1:00pm CT, CBS
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I think peoples strengths as their weakness is a lot more common that people think of.
While Hawkins would be good on Dickinson on the perimeter, that's not how it would play out. Dickinson would simply back him down in the post and score at will. I don't like him but that is what he is good at. Hopefully we get BBV back to help body him up. A better use of Hawkins might be on Diabate.
Crazy as it sounds, I’m actually more optimistic about this game after OSU. We finally did a small ball lineup with Hawkins at the 5 and it worked (even though we still lost). Underwood said he was excited about using it more in the postgame comments.
I wanted us to try that lineup earlier in the year, and it took Kofi having an all time bad game and BBV out and desperation for it to happen, but at least it finally happened. Hawkins has had lulls in focus but he’s also not been able to play to his strengths most of the time with a clogged floor. In the 5-out small ball lineup he’s got space to work with and make things happen and the guards have space to drive or kick it out for open shots.
The key is, can we adjust the lineups fast enough when we recognize something isn’t working in game. Sometimes Kofi-ball will work, sometimes it won’t, and same goes for the small ball lineup.
I like our chances against Michigan and I like our chances better in March because we added this lineup to our arsenal but it will be up to our coaches and players to read the game and adjust quickly enough.
I wanted us to try that lineup earlier in the year, and it took Kofi having an all time bad game and BBV out and desperation for it to happen, but at least it finally happened. Hawkins has had lulls in focus but he’s also not been able to play to his strengths most of the time with a clogged floor. In the 5-out small ball lineup he’s got space to work with and make things happen and the guards have space to drive or kick it out for open shots.
The key is, can we adjust the lineups fast enough when we recognize something isn’t working in game. Sometimes Kofi-ball will work, sometimes it won’t, and same goes for the small ball lineup.
I like our chances against Michigan and I like our chances better in March because we added this lineup to our arsenal but it will be up to our coaches and players to read the game and adjust quickly enough.
skyIdub
Winged Warrior
Lol...it's hilarious to read through some of these "negative" posts. It's as if none of you take a second to remember this team hasn't played at full strength at any point this season.
The resident contrarians love to come in and give us a dose of "reality" with their wordy assessments...but then mostly leave out the most important part of our lack of rhythm and chemistry.
A fully healthy Curbelo, a non suspension for Kofi, full boat of practices, and a tiny dose of illness luck....this is a 4 loss Top 10 team.
As for scUM...they'll win if they shoot lights out from outside. We'll lose if we go soft for 10+ minutes.
Play even up? We win by 6 on the road.
It's a simple game.
The resident contrarians love to come in and give us a dose of "reality" with their wordy assessments...but then mostly leave out the most important part of our lack of rhythm and chemistry.
A fully healthy Curbelo, a non suspension for Kofi, full boat of practices, and a tiny dose of illness luck....this is a 4 loss Top 10 team.
As for scUM...they'll win if they shoot lights out from outside. We'll lose if we go soft for 10+ minutes.
Play even up? We win by 6 on the road.
It's a simple game.
How much zone has Illinois seen recently? I think OSU played some the other night. MIchigan has been playing zone on multiple possessions recently.
I know that there are the Positive Pete's and Negative Nancy's. I get it. You're definitely glass half full, which is fine. It's may not be reality based on what the eye sees or what the results show.
You're looking at the world of reasons of why we haven't played well and why we magically will. No Curbelo, no full practices, no chemistry and so on...with the assumption that this "would have" been a 4 loss team. There is not one fact in your wordy assessment. It's all opinion. It's not a 4 loss team, they haven't played a complete game, they're losing games because of everything that has already been pointed out, ad nauseam. Those are all factual items that the eye can see....with three regular season games left. Those are inarguable points.
Your theory that, with the same three games left, the light is going to turn on, everything is going to click and this is going to turn into a team capable of playing evenly well for 40 minutes. It's a theoretical, excuse based take. Again, that's fine, but it doesn't make the other guy wrong.
This idea that those who believe what they see vs those who believe what they think they will see are two different trains of thought, neither wrong.
The beauty is that we'll find out in the next three weeks.
skyIdub
Winged Warrior
I'm glad you responded. My assessment wasn't wordy at all in direct comparison. Of course it's my opinion. I never suggested otherwise.
Having a complete team practicing together and developing chemistry and rhythm isn't "magically" playing well. It's also not a "world of reasons"...it's actually one. A reasonably healthy complete team for the majority of the season.
I didn't posit any such "theory". I simply pointed out that in all of your (and others) wordy attempts to point out all of the flaws...you conveniently leave out how fractured this team has been all year. It's really easy to sit back and Monday Morning QB all of our mistakes and flaws. It's much harder to maintain a broader confidence that this team has all the components of a championship team if fully healthy and practicing/playing together with consistency.
If you don't believe it is a factor...ok...opinions as you said....but it's obnoxious to think otherwise.
It's pretty easy to sit back and nitpick flaws and mistakes.
this looks awesome at first glance but a little too deep for me right now...
My simple perspective...
"we can sure be good, but we have flaws...we will have to play and show our best, to finish season strong".
.....does that about cover it?
Regardless, can someone put beer in cooler and wake me tomorrow when the game starts?
Look, we obviously don't know the outcome of tomorrow's game, and you very well could be right because the basketball gods are weird, but these takes are just hilariously pessimistic. I get these teams are trending in two different directions right now, but a couple points to consider -
1. Kofi has outplayed Dickinson each time they've gone against each other in their career. This whole "Dickinson is going to be an incredibly tough matchup for Kofi, does everything well that puts Kofi in a bind" take is an exaggeration. Yeah, Dickinson can hit the 3, but he's not automatic. He can put it on the floor from 10-12 feet out but he's not some super quick 5 that's going to blow by Kofi. Advantage Kofi in literally every other aspect of the game.
2. Where do you get this 83-70 score? We've been the best team on the road in the conference over the past 2 years and haven't lost to Michigan in the Underwood era. We have clearly shown we are the better basketball team this year. The line is likely going to open at like -1 or -2 Michigan. Please do not go to your local gambling establishment and bet this alternative spread, the teller will laugh you out of the window.
Fair response.
I admit that negativity has creeped in since really.... Rutgers?
I think that all of the injuries, missed practices, etc have been a cause for some bumps and bruises along the way. We've had more than our share of bad breaks, but when does that excuse(for lack of a better term) expire? If they win three in a row, then it just took time, but if they lose 3 of 4, they could just never recover? So, that argument will be relevant regardless of how the season ends?
Anyway, we're drilling down on the Michigan game in this thread. Just prognostications. Like I said, the OSU game ripped the heart out of me. That was a gut punch....worst one of the year. I am definitely in the see it to believe it mode and as we sit here today. Now, a psychologist may say that I'm protecting myself against another heart stomper.
I love this team. I love watching this team. I have no real faith Illini will win this game. I think they will win, and wouldn’t be surprised if they won handily. But I can’t say I have faith they will. Regardless though I’ll be in front of my TV cheering them on.
The game within the game tomorrow, as BU has clearly stated his focus is on March. Looking forward to see how much full court/5 out we see. Does a Kofi/Coleman rotation and style change take place when they sub?
Ugh. We all love this team, because we are Illini. But it has been brutal to watch the 2nd half of about the last 5 games. I have the remote in hand to change channels and then cross my fingers and switch back with the hope that their fortunes have reversed. Nope.
As for those who posit that without illness, suspensions, and injury we would be All World. To cite Dennis Green, we are what our record says we are. Conversely, it has been said over the years that Gonzaga would not be a 2 loss team if they played in a different conference. But they play where they play.
One more thought, Michigan is no longer playing out of their minds incited by the removal of their coach. That is over with after the one game they played. Now their mindsets are back to whatever passes as normal for them.
And another thought, it was posted here that our players will be playing angry. Well, I hope not. They should play confident and calm and determined.
skyIdub
Winged Warrior
Gmab....literally no one has posited anything even remotely like this.
I opined that we would be a 4 loss team....... by objectively looking at our losses and the results of altered line ups, less minutes, and reduced depth at the PG DIRECTLY related to the injuries to Curbelo and the 3 game suspension of Kofi.
Do you really honestly believe we would not be significantly better without all of the issues....hell even half as many.....that has disrupted the lineup?
If you actually don't, I urge any of you to go back and watch last years games at the end of the year with Curbelo in a clear rhythm running the offense. Hell, even look at the Purdue second half for a glimpse of what he would mean to this offense and it's consistency.
It's LITERALLY why we have 10 minute lulls in these games.
Every one of the Big Ten teams has a critical weakness or two:
Illinois-The guards are small, we play 4 of them and they are susceptible to teams with bigger, stronger perimeter play (see Branham from OSU, Jaden Ivey, Arizona)
Purdue-Can be overly dependant on Ivey, Williams, and Edey -- and Williams and Edey play the same position. Look at their loss today where they only got 13 points from players other than this Big 3.
Wisconsin-questionable point guard play and depth. Highly reliant on Johnny Davis.
OSU--2 future pros and the rest of the lineup is uninspiring. Can have rebounding issues.
The coaches of each of these teams face the same challenge over the next month--how do they fine tune their teams to best ensure success in the tournament.
For us, there are a few things to focus on:
1) What is our counter to Kofi having an off game, like he did against OSU. The 5 out with Hawkins seems promising.
2) We need to get tougher. How do we get back to dominating on the boards and with loose balls?
3) How do we continue to integrate Curbelo for maximum impact?
I'm not worried about the Ws/Ls in the remaining Big Ten season. I want a deep tourney run, and I suspect most feel the same way. After last year's disappointment, it's the tourney run that matters.
Illinois-The guards are small, we play 4 of them and they are susceptible to teams with bigger, stronger perimeter play (see Branham from OSU, Jaden Ivey, Arizona)
Purdue-Can be overly dependant on Ivey, Williams, and Edey -- and Williams and Edey play the same position. Look at their loss today where they only got 13 points from players other than this Big 3.
Wisconsin-questionable point guard play and depth. Highly reliant on Johnny Davis.
OSU--2 future pros and the rest of the lineup is uninspiring. Can have rebounding issues.
The coaches of each of these teams face the same challenge over the next month--how do they fine tune their teams to best ensure success in the tournament.
For us, there are a few things to focus on:
1) What is our counter to Kofi having an off game, like he did against OSU. The 5 out with Hawkins seems promising.
2) We need to get tougher. How do we get back to dominating on the boards and with loose balls?
3) How do we continue to integrate Curbelo for maximum impact?
I'm not worried about the Ws/Ls in the remaining Big Ten season. I want a deep tourney run, and I suspect most feel the same way. After last year's disappointment, it's the tourney run that matters.
Zone is not going to happen. The zone is easy to beat if you don’t execute it well
BU can switch up the defense on where we put on the pressure and trap like he did when he first showed up. You can’t play that style long but it can switch things up
Tacomallini
- Washington State
I am 100% relatively motivated to watch this game! Did I use that correctly?
InDaAZ
- Eugene, Oregon
I’m low-key excited to watch this game relative to a 10x stock market position.
Well.... looks like down goes PURDUE!!!Now we just need a Wisconsin loss and to win out!
Love that the conference has been, and looks like it will be, a slugfest down to the wire. 4 teams with only 5 losses (4 for Wiscy, but they have some tough games remaining @Rutgers and Purdue).
As for Illinois, if we're looking at this team as a NC contender, they have plenty of question marks and weaknesses. I don't think that's a fair way to look at the team though --way too many injuries this year. This is a really good team with a solid floor. Really happy to have a team that's looking at the 3/4 line, and fighting for the conference championship going into the last few games.
It's also a team that relies on Kofi and good outside shooting. Either one of those struggles and we tend to look good, but not great.
Going to be tough without one of our emerging players (RJ) but hopefully they're hungry in Ann Arbor. I'll be at this one rooting for them
If you start Coleman on Dickinson he (Coleman) will have two fouls by the first media timeout and spend the rest of the half on the bench.
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