Pregame: Illinois at Wisconsin, Tuesday, February 18th, 7:30pm CT, FS1

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#251      
You are on to something. We have NBA talent and a NBA-esque launch 3s strategy. Maybe we are coasting through the regular season doing just enough to make the post season, and then we turn it on...just like the NBA.
That's as positive as I can spin it. This team was built based on the 1 in and 4 out NBA philosophy. It's be a good time to see it work as planned. That takes a ton of pressure off the glass. I made a sarcastic comment, but it rings true. Ironically, thank God Ben was getting 30 minutes because that's the role he's going to play. They HAVE to start making shots.
 
#252      
I’m assuming you’re talking about shooting less 3s? I agree….first half was perfect against Michigan state in getting in the paint and scoring and kicking out for open 3’s. We have to take the open ones, can’t abandoned that. The one problem with young teams is they fall in love with the 3 as a way to get back into the game or looking for a kill shot which is what I think happens to us(KJ). Instead of doing what you do and getting to the rim and shooting free throws. No reason KJ shouldn’t have shot at least 10 free throws in the final 12 minutes. I think the common misconception here is that they aren’t having conversations and talking to them about it….they are. It’s about doing it and being comfortable doing it.
That’s fair. I think the main concern is that the coaching staff, who are being paid a significant amount, should be able to convey these lessons to the young athletes they’ve recruited. If they are struggling with that, it would seem there's a problem with the staff or recruiting.

Regarding Ben, I’m not convinced he can perform at the level the staff expects with the minutes he’s currently getting. Everyone here would love to see him go on a roll, but after 26 games, it seems unlikely to happen at this stage.
 
#253      
I appreciate your perspective and value your insights. However, many national commentators— including former coaches and players—have echoed the same concerns raised by people on this board. Could it be that they’re recognizing issues you might miss while viewing things through an “orange-tinted” lens, or do you believe their assessments are off-base?
How many national commentators view the Illini for 25 games? Or do they just jump on a slow news cycle and decide to focus on the Illini for a game. I have always liked Sean Harrington and value some of his insights but don't just dwell on his negatives and forget the good things he has observed about the Illini. And I'm afraid the banner snafu brought a lot of attention to the program. Nothing is ever as bad as it seems(MSU) or as good as it seems(Oregon)
 
#254      
Wisconsin is obviously playing great right now, but one tiny sliver of a silver lining is that we beat them back in December and Morez may have had his worst game of the season that night.

0 points and 4 rebounds in 13 minutes.

We are definitely not a better team without Morez and anyone saying otherwise is crazy, but this team has won against good teams without getting major contributions from Morez. He was pretty quiet in the Arkansas and Oregon wins. It's an uphill battle, but not impossible.
 
#255      
Do we really think KJ was getting to the rim all game and then just stopped because the coaches told him to? No. The 20% of bad 3s we take seem to over shadow the 80% of open looks we take. We had at least 3 WIDE open looks with about 7 minutes to go that we couldn’t make. You HAVE to take those shots. If you don’t take the open looks it becomes even harder to score inside. Also contrary to popular belief we were + when Ben was on the floor and -when he was off.
Dravyn comes in and gambles on defense like he always does and gives up 2 baseline drives for easy buckets.

And don’t make me go back to last year and find everyone’s posts about Tyler being a good offensive coach lol
Part of the reason KJ could get downhill was because of how much attention Ben draws as a shooter..you can’t help off. Look how much different driving lanes are with Morez in the corner vs Ben.
 
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#257      
I’m assuming you’re talking about shooting less 3s? I agree….first half was perfect against Michigan state in getting in the paint and scoring and kicking out for open 3’s. We have to take the open ones, can’t abandoned that. The one problem with young teams is they fall in love with the 3 as a way to get back into the game or looking for a kill shot which is what I think happens to us(KJ). Instead of doing what you do and getting to the rim and shooting free throws. No reason KJ shouldn’t have shot at least 10 free throws in the final 12 minutes. I think the common misconception here is that they aren’t having conversations and talking to them about it….they are. It’s about doing it and being comfortable doing it.
We were all worried about the youth on this team pre-season and now we're surprised by their youthful behavior?
 
#258      
Youth is no excuse at this point. The season is almost over. We should be improving by this point, not getting worse. The youth excuse is a joke.

Tomi is a pro. He’s the same age as most Jrs/Srs.

KJ age wise is young, but he’s also played a ton of basketball and has been a pro since 16.

Boswell has played a ton of basketball.

There’s simply no excuses for this team’s output relative to talent, other than it’s poorly coached.
 
#262      
I think the men's and women's hoops programs need to hire their own doctors, maybe one medical and one psychological (for the men, anyway). Carle has got to be LOVING the business coming their way this season.
 
#263      
I actually think it's a wide lens in some cases. Most don't watch the games closely enough to actually see what is happening on the court only the end result of plays. Makes for a very skewed perspective on what is happening, for example people STILL thinking Ben is a bad defender when he is one of the most sound guys out there and almost never makes mistakes. Or that Dra being intense and making some visible high impact plays is all that matters.
Sorry, I have to respectfully disagree with you here regarding Ben’s defense. He is not one of the most sound out there and frequently does make mistakes. I’m not a Ben hater, nor want to pick on him. But I’ve watched him specifically on defense and he consistently loses track of his man (leaving wide open 3s or drives possible) and he gets shoved around quite a bit for being an above-average sized defender.
 
#264      
Sorry, I have to respectfully disagree with you here regarding Ben’s defense. He is not one of the most sound out there and frequently does make mistakes. I’m not a Ben hater, nor want to pick on him. But I’ve watched him specifically on defense and he consistently loses track of his man (leaving wide open 3s or drives possible) and he gets shoved around quite a bit for being an above-average sized defender.
Ben is honestly better on the ball than on help, I've found.
 
#265      
Do we really think KJ was getting to the rim all game and then just stopped because the coaches told him to? No. The 20% of bad 3s we take seem to over shadow the 80% of open looks we take. We had at least 3 WIDE open looks with about 7 minutes to go that we couldn’t make. You HAVE to take those shots. If you don’t take the open looks it becomes even harder to score inside. Also contrary to popular belief we were + when Ben was on the floor and -when he was off.
Dravyn comes in and gambles on defense like he always does and gives up 2 baseline drives for easy buckets.

And don’t make me go back to last year and find everyone’s posts about Tyler being a good offensive coach lol
Thank you! Many fans need to vent when their team loses. Coaches are the easy scapegoat.
 
#266      
Tre White better play now. You have to play him over Booth.
This is gonna get interesting…
Wide Eyed Wow GIF
 
#269      
Youth is no excuse at this point. The season is almost over. We should be improving by this point, not getting worse. The youth excuse is a joke.

Tomi is a pro. He’s the same age as most Jrs/Srs.

KJ age wise is young, but he’s also played a ton of basketball and has been a pro since 16.

Boswell has played a ton of basketball.

There’s simply no excuses for this team’s output relative to talent, other than it’s poorly coached.
Keep in mind other teams are improving, too. Scouting is also better. All things being equal, making shots matters. And as it turns out, we're not all that good at it.

I'm convinced some of that effort was aided by the nutty sequences in the middle of the second half. We were gassed. Every shot was short or pushed.
 
#272      
Need to steal one win (maybe Purdue or Wisconsin), and beat Iowa. Maybe steal one win in big ten tourney.

He should be able to practice with a cast. His game is mostly his motor anyway so rust should be a little less of a factor for him than someone who shoots threes or something.

It sucks, especially since he has become my favorite player on this team. But if they can get their shot together without him they’ll just be that much better when he comes back.
 
#273      
The men's team and staff should seriously take a look at what Shauna's women are doing. They're shorter-handed than the men, also struggle from 3, and yet continue to win at a high clip. It can be done.
 
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