Isn't their leading scorer still out with mono? I think the Purdue game was the first he was out, and they may be able to make some adjustments, but I think the Illini have a damn good chance.
Pregame: Illinois at Northwestern, Tuesday, February 7th, 7:00pm CT, BTN
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Isn't their leading scorer still out with mono? I think the Purdue game was the first he was out, and they may be able to make some adjustments, but I think the Illini have a damn good chance.
Yes, Lindsey has only been out for 1 game but Northwestern is a well-oiled machine. If you watch them play, they play the game freely, they have a good offensive system, and most of all, the players have chemistry with one another, something that Illinois doesn't have.
Illini don't stand a chance if this play continues. This isn't the Northwestern of old. The former Duke assistants(Wojo and Collins) have their respective teams on an upward trajectory with a clear vision and identity. Groce does not.
Northwestern is a well coached team. We are the exact opposite. Whatever the spread is, northwestern will cover.
Getting absolutely terrible play from all of your seniors (some that are super seniors) is not a good way to win games in college basketball. And yes, Malcom is not playing well, I don't really blame him because he has to carry everything himself.
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No obligatory "THIS is a must-win if we want to make the NCAA tournament!" post? Have people *finally* given up on that ridiculous idea?
On the bright side, I'd rather the terrible play is coming from the seniors instead of the freshmen and sophomores. I like to think there's some hope for the future with our talented young players and very strong recruiting class coming in. Of course, this is assuming everyone stays following the likely coaching change.
Anyway, what annoys me about this team is that we're consistently bad. In recent years, while we haven't been great, we did have games where we played way above our level and pulled off upsets or close games against good teams. Even last year's team, despite their putrid record, managed to upset Purdue and Iowa and nearly beat Wisconsin in Madison. The only game this year where the team really exceeded my expectations was VCU, and I think that was mostly due to VCU playing a terrible game.
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Fighter of the Nightman
- Chicago, IL
NU fans have been waiting for decades to mop the floor with an inferior Illini team in hoops. Here's their chance. Judging by our attendance yesterday, we'll probably have quite a few orange shirts in the stands ... poor guys and gals. 
This is a must win if we want to make the NIT.
That train has sailed.
Illiini
- In the land of the Nittany Lion
NU Athletics >>> UI Athletics
Who'd have thunk it?
It ain't nohow permanent. It won't be long before they're saying, remember that one time when... :thumb:
I guess theoretically we could win out?
I'd be fine winning out... through the entire BTT and the NCAA Tournament.
Deleted member 4333
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I'd be fine winning out... through the entire BTT and the NCAA Tournament.
That'll happen.
I'd be fine winning out... through the entire BTT and the NCAA Tournament.
It's not mathematically impossible. That would put us at 20-11 at the end of the regular season, 24-11 going into the NCAA tournament (somewhere between a 5 and 7 seed, probably), and 30-11 at the end of the year. Groce extended for 5 more years, Malcolm Hill taken in the first round by the Warriors. Climb the ladder! Let's do this!
I guess theoretically we could win out?
We'd still need to do something in the BTT, unless you were including BTT in winning out
As bad as it's been, I've held out hope that the offense would get better as the season went on. And there have been times when Lucas was in there that we had a spark and looked pretty decent. But that said, we've reverted for the most part. I really don't expect much other than we hang within 10.
My new definition of insanity:
Watching Illini basketball do the same thing and expecting a different result.
Program badly needs to be shaken up. Just a question of when.
My new definition of insanity:
Watching Illini basketball do the same thing and expecting a different result.
Program badly needs to be shaken up. Just a question of when.
I've been trying to figure out if TJL is afraid to shoot, unconfident in his shot, or being told not to, but either way, he needs to shoot if he wants to be a 4 year starter IMO. Just like we've complained about with Khalid/Tate/etc, if the initiator of your offense can't/won't shoot, you become significantly easier to guard. I think our offensive regression with TJL/KN has mirrored the increase of game tape on TJL/KN, defenders starting to sag on TJL being the most notable change.
Gee, I'm not sure which is worse. I suppose it's worse if he lacks confidence only because the guy telling him not to will be gone next year. But if he's being told not to shoot, I hope that does not ruin him for the longer term.
Illinithad
- Northeast Missouri
Coaching staff deserves a lot of blame for this season, I agree. But there also comes a point that the players have to take some ownership as well. It's almost like Illini fans are so obsessed with getting rid of Groce (and I'm sure he's gone) that they have given the players a free ride. We lose our man on the slip screen, we blame Groce, we miss wide open shot after wide open shot, we blame Groce. This isn't Junior High (although it's looked like it at times this year), these guys are young adults getting very nice scholarships, they need to man up. Coaching is a huge part of it with being prepared, but there comes a time when the player has to execute. The player has to recognize who their scorer is and close out on him, the player has to come up with the loose ball. The player has to knock down shots
Yes, Groce will be gone after this year and everyone will be celebrating. God knows who we'll get, but one person we won't get (in my opinion) is Jeremiah Tilmon. He will be just like Charlie Villanueva. We will watch him either at SLU or KU and wish we had him. I wouldn't be surprised if both of those coaches aren't already talking to him...because that's how they are.
After watching Saturday, I didn't even get mad or upset, it was more of a sad type of feeling now. It surprised me we lost to a Minnesota team at home that had lost five in a row. It tells me the team has maybe checked it in for this year (or at least part of them). Some were playing hard, but not getting it done. I see us winning one more game this year...maybe. And that's Penn State at home. Hope I'm wrong. I hate this because I'm a sports nut and college basketball is my favorite sport of all of them. Love the Illini but hate seeing the program go through this. It really hurts, probably more than it should in the big scheme of life, but I guess that's how it is for us fans.
Go Illini.
Yes, Groce will be gone after this year and everyone will be celebrating. God knows who we'll get, but one person we won't get (in my opinion) is Jeremiah Tilmon. He will be just like Charlie Villanueva. We will watch him either at SLU or KU and wish we had him. I wouldn't be surprised if both of those coaches aren't already talking to him...because that's how they are.
After watching Saturday, I didn't even get mad or upset, it was more of a sad type of feeling now. It surprised me we lost to a Minnesota team at home that had lost five in a row. It tells me the team has maybe checked it in for this year (or at least part of them). Some were playing hard, but not getting it done. I see us winning one more game this year...maybe. And that's Penn State at home. Hope I'm wrong. I hate this because I'm a sports nut and college basketball is my favorite sport of all of them. Love the Illini but hate seeing the program go through this. It really hurts, probably more than it should in the big scheme of life, but I guess that's how it is for us fans.
Go Illini.
Well, yeah, winning out that far would mean winning the national title. I'm fine with retaining Groce if we win the national title.
I can't imagine Groce and his staff telling anyone not to shoot. I think it is self imposed. You have to think many of our guys are playing tight and in some cases trying to do too much. They are very much aware of expectations and their current results. That is considerable pressure for a young kid.
Blaming players is simply ridiculous!
Who is responsible for recruiting the players in our program (developing the roster)? Groce
Who is responsible for teaching those players how to play the game in the manner the coaching staff wants them to play (developing the players)? Groce
Who is responsible for which players are on the court at any point during the game (sit them if they are not doing the job, you have the power)? Groce
You tell a kid not to shoot from certain spots based on whether you believe they can hit it or not. If I changed the name from Lucas to Tate in that sentence, you wouldn't argue it at all, so let's not get on Groce immediately if that is the case. It's entirely normal for guys to have a leash on where they shoot from/how often. We, quite simply, have yet to see evidence that TJL is a shooter. We also don't have evidence to say he's NOT a shooter. But the coaching staff in this case certainly does, which is why I am noting that as a possibility. If he's only hitting 35% from 3 in practice, that'd be entirely reasonable to tell him not to.
Based on some of the shots he has passed on, I can tell you he doesn't have, or feel like he has, the green light that JCL does, that's for sure.
His shooting mechanics really have quite a few flaws (they were evident in his high school tape as well, where he really seemed to like to lean back on shots to create separation), so it's really not unfathomable.
Just to be clear, none of that is meant to say he's not a good player, but I think we need to work a little harder to get him shots where he is comfortable. I'm a broken record on it, but our screening rarely creates separation between the ball handler and his man, but if we could fix that and get him to the FT line/midrange more consistently, that would help him/us a lot. Gets him more in his comfort zone as a scorer for that floater he has shown he likes, adding a FT line jumper off of the dribble would open a lot, and we already know about his vision. Still a bright future, but needs some development as a shooter, imo.
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