Pregame: Illinois vs Maryland, Sunday, December 3rd, 7:00pm CT, BTN

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#26      

redwingillini11

redwingillini11
White and Sixth
North Aurora
redwingillini11
With the TO question, I ask, which is worse: having the defense set and contest a shot on a well drawn up play, or possibly having the defense not set on a play that has zero thought put into it. BU's strategy may be smart, but its only smart if his players know how to create a good opportunity on the fly, which they obviously have not learned how to do yet.
 
#27      

CAHALL15

C
Central Illinois
CAHALL15
JIllini said:
Might be a must-win if we still want to have a shot at the tournament. Not much room for error with how weak the Big Ten is looking. Really needed that NW game, if we lose this one too it will be a very uphill battle.
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I know you said “might”, but that’s a big stretch as a loss drops us to 6-3 overall with two conference road losses before January ever begins. A must win game implies that our future hinges on a particular outcome. If we run the table the rest of the year, does this Maryland game still negate us getting in the tournament? Of course not.
oleoleahy51 said:
Please educate me. I don't got no basketball smarts. How do you attack a zone defense? Get down the floor fast before defense can set up? Rely on 3-pointers? I'm sure opponents tried zone against Flying Illini and Dee Brown and Company. Good luck there.
I think speed and crisp passing, both of which those teams had in abundance, is the key.

I was thoroughly impressed by Lucas's performance against Rosemont's team. Fearless. Sorry he missed the free throws.

By the way, I watched the game on BTN. Announcers said location was Evanston and then Chicago. I'd say they weren't prepared; minor leaguers. I turned on 560 AM for Deon and Brian, who I think do a great job. But there was a delay: real time action was ahead of their broadcast. Why?

Thanks.
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Yes. Getting down the court before they get set is one way to beat the zone. Another way is to make 3’s at a high clip. However, the overall concept is penetration and taking advantage of defensive rotation. In the case of the 2-3 zone, a lot of teams try to get someone in the middle of the zone near the free throw line/elbows thereby getting the attention of multiple defenders.
 
#28      

TCTORNADO

TCTORNADO
TCTORNADO
We win the NW game with JCL and would be favorites for the Maryland game with him.
 
#29      

Portillos

P
Portillos
Yeah, I just saw that line, Illini +2. I know Vegas knows more than I do but man that line screams at you to take MD.
 
#30      

EllderIlliniFan

EllderIlliniFan
EllderIlliniFan
I find the criticism of BU at this point unwarranted. Give the guy a chance. The improvement in both the offense and the defense has been amazing so far. Not taking a TO at the end may not work perfect now but they are still learning. Down the road it could be key when they are used to it. I am totally encouraged by what we have seen so far. Will be there today. Looking forward to more exciting BB win or lose.
 
#31      

JoeJ

J
JoeJ
I think we are seeing zone defense often because we have done very well against mtm. BU, as any coach would, started with working primarily against mtm. If we continue to struggle against zone, we will see it more and more often.

Perhaps BW would play mtm against us, stubborn as he is. BU will get the zone offense clicking.

Need to get AJ the ball in position to shoot more often. He is ranked 5th in the country in ORTG, but does not get shots often enough.

GO ILLINI!
 
#32      

Deleted member 631370

D
Guest
Deleted member 631370
EllderIlliniFan said:
I find the criticism of BU at this point unwarranted. Give the guy a chance. The improvement in both the offense and the defense has been amazing so far. Not taking a TO at the end may not work perfect now but they are still learning. Down the road it could be key when they are used to it. I am totally encouraged by what we have seen so far. Will be there today. Looking forward to more exciting BB win or lose.
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I think it's fair to question certain decisions. But on the whole, yes......it's way too early to generate big conclusions at this point.

And that, by the way, includes the suggestion that he's a coaching genius. His track record is certainly very impressive. But this is a tough defensive conference unlike any conference he's ever coached in. He will have to make adjustments.
 
#39      

SescIllini

SescIllini
SescIllini
TCTORNADO said:
We win the NW game with JCL and would be favorites for the Maryland game with him.
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Absolutely not. JCL was a terrible defender and passer. If we have a 6-10+ defender/shot blocker with some offensive skills we win. Not sure Tilmon would of been that player but his decommittment left us very thin at big.
 
#40      

bobbob

B
bobbob
westvilleillini said:
I think this was a misstep too but let's not act like its a calling card of BU's. If and likely when we lose this game and many others this season, it won't be from being poorly coached.
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In the clip above you, BU literally says he never wants to call a TO in that situation...
 
#41      

AEX

AEX
Danger Zone
AEX
CoalCity said:
LOL who's gonna play defense for him? He pretty consistentlty gave up more points than he scored.
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Yeah, I think JCL would have been on the bench next to Mark Smith (rightly or wrongly).
 
#42      

GortTheRobot

G
North Bethesda, Maryland
GortTheRobot
We dropped two close games, either or both of which we could just as easily have won and many are questioning BU, and assuming this is a loss. Okay, it's a message board, and everyone is more than entitled to express themselves, but this is not a Weber or Groce team. If nothing else, we have exciting young players who are playing an exciting brand of basketball. Will there be frustrating games? Absolutely. But I am still very happy to see us playing the way we are now, and I have HIGH hopes for the near future. Maryland could win, but so could we...I wouldn't have thought that last year.
 
#43      

kuhl84

K
Orlando, FL
kuhl84
TCTORNADO said:
We win the NW game with JCL and would be favorites for the Maryland game with him.
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With the stress fracture or without? Committed to the team, or showing up on his own schedule?

He is a great talent and I wish him the best, but he's not on the team so it is a moot point. He was a poor wing defender and ball handler. Medical issues may have greatly contributed to his lack of lateral quickness. He needed to fix the stress fracture whether he stayed or left, so I doubt he would have been playing either way at this point in the season.

So much sarcasm in your posts, its hard to ever know when you are serious and when you are just trying to generate conversation
 
#44      

Calvin

C
Calvin
Whitmans Sampler said:
5:05 mark. For all of you wondering about the no late-game timeout
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Love that he trusts his players. We all want to win, but I like that he puts them in the best position possible, and then lives with the call.

I really want to see us win one of these early games. Guys seem close, but haven't gotten over the hump. Trust the process....
 
#45      

TheLegendaryOne24

T
TheLegendaryOne24
AEX said:
Yeah, I think JCL would have been on the bench next to Mark Smith (rightly or wrongly).
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LOL

You guys are pretty rough on Mark Smith but the sad part about it is as much as you all criticize Smith if he were in the game the outcome wouldve been different. Smith is a play-maker and can create and make plays for others.

DWill may have been a close runner for Mr. Basketball but that still doesn't take away from the fact that Smith was considered the best player in the state (whether all the Illini critics like it or not)

He missed one a backdoor cut but did take a charge (first half) blocked a shot and got a foul called. You all act like Smith is not giving an effort on defense but like everyone else he's trying.

You all talking about BU being a teacher of the game (what does sitting Smith on the bench for the remainder of the game) what does that teach any player. Talk to the player and give him an opportunity to make mends...

It will be okay because Smith is a gamer and will do what he has to do for the Illini this season....then we will see.....
 
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#46      

Oldtoysrock

O
Sarasota, Florida
Oldtoysrock
AEX said:
Yeah, I think JCL would have been on the bench next to Mark Smith (rightly or wrongly).
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I agree with BU, Mark Smith will figure it out, he’s got a lot of pride, he won’t be on the bench for Long.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Pro
 
#49      

JFGsCoffeeMug

JFGsCoffeeMug
BU:1 Trash cans:0
Chicago
JFGsCoffeeMug
Hey, you know what would be great? A win. Got to protect home court in conference.
 
#50      

TALKTOCHUCK

T
TALKTOCHUCK
PlayAZ said:
Party over there.....sipping the spiked Orange and Blue early:chief:
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Absolutely agree with TC here. We barely lost to NW and we may win tonight. JCL is a good player that would dominate in the offense but maybe not the D or pace.

I also think we would have won if Mark Smith would have played more against NW & that we should have take a timeout to set up a last shot.

Given all that, I am so excited to see this team play again. I predict we win by 4
 
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