alamocityillini
- San Antonio
Nice breakdown. Thanks for posting.Rutgers fan here
Last game was an embarrassment and this isn't a good matchup for Rutgers. It is however a much different team at this point in the season and we do have Geo for this one.
Coleman Hawkins absolutely shut down Harper. Ron struggles against taller longer defenders. I've seen the board comments that he hasn't reached his potential but he was so so effective against Harper, I would give him minutes.
Cliff vs Kofi. Cliff is a more explosive athletic 5 and will do his best, but he doesn't have the weight to really stop him. Best case for RU is just having Cliff stay out of foul trouble which he has been excellent at. We have absolutely 0 depth at 5 to guard Kofi. Agee was playing early but he looks like he is 6'6. Reiber has shown a lot pf development and skill but he is very undersized compared to Kofi and will really struggle. We do have a walk on Luke Nathan who could at least stand his ground with his size, but would be a liability on offense and never plays.
On the other end attack Kofi with the PnR is what we want to see. Maybe Kofi picks up fouls dealing with Cliff's athleticism.
Paul Mulcahy since Northwestern has bee a completely different player. He is attacking confident and decisive with his play. Knocking down 3's. Layups. Turn around in the paint. Fantastic pivot foot. A larger defender on Paul could stop him in the lane, but it seems Illinois plays small at the 3. Either Paul or Caleb should have a significant height advantage at 6'6/7
Caleb's perimeter defense has been phenomenal lately with 14 steals over the last 3 games.
Geo and Harper continue to be streaky. Need at least one to show up
Such a great kid. I hope he has another good game against Rutgers. I’d assume they expect him to play a big role since he was made available for the preview.
Nice/Very good summary. Should be a close battle. 100% agree this is a good matchup for illinois. Last 2 games Illinois started HOT and 2nd half wasn't as effective.Rutgers fan here
Last game was an embarrassment and this isn't a good matchup for Rutgers. It is however a much different team at this point in the season and we do have Geo for this one.
Coleman Hawkins absolutely shut down Harper. Ron struggles against taller longer defenders. I've seen the board comments that he hasn't reached his potential but he was so so effective against Harper, I would give him minutes.
Cliff vs Kofi. Cliff is a more explosive athletic 5 and will do his best, but he doesn't have the weight to really stop him. Best case for RU is just having Cliff stay out of foul trouble which he has been excellent at. We have absolutely 0 depth at 5 to guard Kofi. Agee was playing early but he looks like he is 6'6. Reiber has shown a lot pf development and skill but he is very undersized compared to Kofi and will really struggle. We do have a walk on Luke Nathan who could at least stand his ground with his size, but would be a liability on offense and never plays.
On the other end attack Kofi with the PnR is what we want to see. Maybe Kofi picks up fouls dealing with Cliff's athleticism.
Paul Mulcahy since Northwestern has bee a completely different player. He is attacking confident and decisive with his play. Knocking down 3's. Layups. Turn around in the paint. Fantastic pivot foot. A larger defender on Paul could stop him in the lane, but it seems Illinois plays small at the 3. Either Paul or Caleb should have a significant height advantage at 6'6/7
Caleb's perimeter defense has been phenomenal lately with 14 steals over the last 3 games.
Geo and Harper continue to be streaky. Need at least one to show up
Y'all got a brutal next 5 games. If you can help scare up some Rutgers wins against PU and Wisc., it sure would be swell.Rutgers fan here
Last game was an embarrassment and this isn't a good matchup for Rutgers. It is however a much different team at this point in the season and we do have Geo for this one.
Coleman Hawkins absolutely shut down Harper. Ron struggles against taller longer defenders. I've seen the board comments that he hasn't reached his potential but he was so so effective against Harper, I would give him minutes.
Cliff vs Kofi. Cliff is a more explosive athletic 5 and will do his best, but he doesn't have the weight to really stop him. Best case for RU is just having Cliff stay out of foul trouble which he has been excellent at. We have absolutely 0 depth at 5 to guard Kofi. Agee was playing early but he looks like he is 6'6. Reiber has shown a lot pf development and skill but he is very undersized compared to Kofi and will really struggle. We do have a walk on Luke Nathan who could at least stand his ground with his size, but would be a liability on offense and never plays.
On the other end attack Kofi with the PnR is what we want to see. Maybe Kofi picks up fouls dealing with Cliff's athleticism.
Paul Mulcahy since Northwestern has bee a completely different player. He is attacking confident and decisive with his play. Knocking down 3's. Layups. Turn around in the paint. Fantastic pivot foot. A larger defender on Paul could stop him in the lane, but it seems Illinois plays small at the 3. Either Paul or Caleb should have a significant height advantage at 6'6/7
Caleb's perimeter defense has been phenomenal lately with 14 steals over the last 3 games.
Geo and Harper continue to be streaky. Need at least one to show up
Brutal schedule...Y'all got a brutal next 5 games. If you can help scare up some Rutgers wins against PU and Wisc., it sure would be swell.
I would. If Cliff gets in early foul trouble the game might be over before it starts. If Kofi is ever in the game when Cliff is on the bench, the ball should go inside to Kofi every play. You won't believe how bad a mismatch our backup 5's are against him. They stand zero chanceSounds like we need to go to Kofi non stop. Maybe BU should make a rule. Each possession, nobody is allowed to shoot a jumper until Kofi gets a paint touch. Except Plummer. He can shoot whenever he wants.
He'll end up being a player. Give him a little more time.I am not in the CoHawk fan club. He is a very weak passer, not a good ball handler and I absolutely go nuts every time his man shoots by him and he reaches for a foul, generally a 3 point play.
To me he just hasn't shown he can be competitive in the Big. I hope he proves me wrong but he is in the last part of his 2nd year and hasn't shown much.
He’s going to do great things for us.I am not in the CoHawk fan club. He is a very weak passer, not a good ball handler and I absolutely go nuts every time his man shoots by him and he reaches for a foul, generally a 3 point play.
To me he just hasn't shown he can be competitive in the Big. I hope he proves me wrong but he is in the last part of his 2nd year and hasn't shown much.
I saw Mulcahey's game against NW. The announcers were apologizing for being surprised he was playing so well. He has played out of his mind. That is why I believe Da'Monte Williams is the best defensive matchup for him. Grandison won't be able to hang with him. RJ Melendez will probably guard him also so that Da'Monte can guard Harper some. Harper too strong for Melendez. Mulcahey more than Harper is the key to the game. He is making that offense hum. We'll probably have Coleman Hawkins on Harper as much as our coach can allow.Nice breakdown. Thanks for posting.
What we seem to be forgetting here is that Kofi is never guarded by one player--usually two or three if the help comes quick. Northwestern did it pretty effectively, stripping him six times. I still don't believe all that ripping and clawing, however, didn't include plenty of fouls.I would. If Cliff gets in early foul trouble the game might be over before it starts. If Kofi is ever in the game when Cliff is on the bench, the ball should go inside to Kofi every play. You won't believe how bad a mismatch our backup 5's are against him. They stand zero chance
Probably. But expect Monte to spend alot of time on Mulcahy with RJ helping and playing significant mins. Expect Jake to spend some time on Geo. Expect Hawkins to get significant mins on Harper. Gonna be a team D effort. Since an ugly home win against Iowa by 2 points in the 40's, their offense has exploded and caught up with their defense.This will be tough defensively for us with them playing much better of late. Who does Plummer guard? McConnell? He's got 6-7 inches on him, but he's the least offensive threat. This is my guess, and it's completely a guess:
Geo - Trent (Can't put Plummer on him. He'll get torched)
Mulcahy - Jake
Harper - Monte
McConnell - Plummer
Omoruyi - Kofi (Only one I'm confident about)
I think our bench players get quite a bit of tick this game, especially if they're hot offensively. Our bench matches up better than our starters. If Omoruyi gets in foul trouble early they don't have anyone else that can really match up with Kofi. This will be a tough matchup for us.
McConnell, Geo, and Mulcahy are all players who can come in for strips and steals on drives and post ups. It will be interesting to see what the strategy is, but overall it might be let Kofi get his and stop everyone else. I would prefer that strategy for the most part with surprise quick doubles if he dribbles.What we seem to be forgetting here is that Kofi is never guarded by one player--usually two or three if the help comes quick. Northwestern did it pretty effectively, stripping him six times. I still don't believe all that ripping and clawing, however, didn't include plenty of fouls.
as alot of people have said, "baby steps" to get back and keep improving. Defense and rebounds (including much needed offensive ones) much more than points right now.Hawkins is very good interview and very humble. Know one would like to be relegated to a lesser role, but he handled those questions like a pro. I for one hope he stays focused as I think he will have a big effect for this team and in years to come.
In my mind it should start on the defense end for him. He is so athletic and we really don’t have a defender like him. If he can do that he will find himself on the court a great deal more.
I am rooting for the kid as he really is a “stand up” person and in todays world there are less and less of those.
... '06-'07 was frustrating, and '07-'08 was a disaster.
I have a soft spot for Bruce. He's a good coach, and has acknowledged the many mistakes he made at Illinois, his first power conference HC job. Foremost among these was coaching not to lose and recruiting certain players who might have been uber-talented but didn't fit. From the beginning I had my doubts because of his sideline demeanor.
He needs a few offensive put backs to get the confidence in his offense going. If someone is telling you not to shoot jumpers, the other team picks up on that pretty easily.Such a great kid. I hope he has another good game against Rutgers. I’d assume they expect him to play a big role since he was made available for the preview.
Side note, however they are doing the background is really annoying with the halo effect of the true background.