Haha, good one!!
Pregame: Illinois vs NC State, Tuesday, November 29th, 8:00pm CT, ESPNU
- Status
Haha, good one!!
Honestly we have no one who can. I think we might end up playing a lot of zone.
kaptain80
- STL
He got promoted on the opposing teams' Cover This Guy report. He's no longer the surprise freshman, but rather the expected sophomore.
I do agree as a general rule. Shooting, when it's a question of form, is the one thing in BB that can be practiced alone. Correct the form, then do a zillion repetitions. Weber did a nice job with Dee that one offseason as an example. Of course, there are some guys who just can't ever acquire a decent form and others who have very good form that can't buy a bucket in a game, which many if not most times is mental -- keeping calm and learning not to rush it, getting confidence, and learning when, where and how to get it off. JCL is great at catch and shoot but a decent D will take that away from him a lot of the time. Off the dribble he struggles with getting to the hoop and finishing, and especially with passing the ball when help comes on his drives (he throws too many of those away). And he doesn't really shoot as well off the pull-up, as you say. I've not really watched for it but it wouldn't surprise me if he is much weaker on pull-ups going one direction off the dribble rather than the other. The scouts would see that and have their guys close out on him on the side he shoots better from. Another part of his game that's hurt him a lot this year is he's getting in quick foul trouble and having to come out before he gets in a flow.
Have to disagree about one item here. All our bigs are not bad rebounders. Finke is averaging 6.7 rpg, second on the team, about 1/2 rebound behind Malcolm in 40 fewer minutes. Thorne hasn't gotten a ton of minutes and is at 4.9 rpg. Now Mav, have to agree. With his size and playing time, 2.4 rebounds per outing is way below par. But getting tired of the knocks on Finke. In many regards he has been our second best player.
my personal opinion is that the rotation of bigs is more important. Id like Black and Thorne starting. Have Finke come in and replace Thorne. Then have Mav replace Black and slide Finke down to the 4.
Some form of those combinations should provide us with good variation of players' skill sets. With the exception of the Finke/Mav lineup (which could easily only be used a few minutes at a time), a combination of post players and floor stretchers should provide an extremely challenging offense to defend. Our bigs are all surprisingly diverse in almost all the various skill types you want from 4/5 guys. I hate seeing Hill having to play more an a couple minutes at the 4 just because we have guys beyond serviceable that should be able to play 20 minutes at least each. If coaches cant find MULTIPLE combinations of these guys down low that can attack offensively, they dont deserve to be coaches.
Defensively, thats where you'll have to work some magic to find what works right.
This team will live and die by our down low presence--we should be good for 25+ pts from the bigs every night, which will make our 3 pt shots more lethal.
frozenrope9190
- Aurora, IL
Until they prove they can beat a team with a pulse, I'm going to go with them not doing it, no matter who starts.
And why is Thorne so god-awful? Never mind JCL, which is bad enough.
And why is Thorne so god-awful? Never mind JCL, which is bad enough.
Need to avoid looking at rebounding as a one dimensional stat. And also avoid per game metrics, those can be misleading. Finke's done a good job on the offensive glass, he and Hill are the best on the team there. However, he's not nearly as good on the other end of the court & that's where Thorne and Black excel. I (and others) have suggested pairing Black with Mav and then Finke/Thorne might work out better, you'd have more balance between offense & defense. Of course, Mav isn't doing much on the boards at either end.
The Worm
- CHICAGO, IL
Thorne's knees look as if they are preventing him from moving effectively. I feel for a guy when his body lets him down.
Regarding JCL, maybe he's just a slow starter? Finished last year pretty strong and is coming back from a preseason injury for the second straight year.
Need to avoid looking at rebounding as a one dimensional stat. And also avoid per game metrics, those can be misleading. Finke's done a good job on the offensive glass, he and Hill are the best on the team there. However, he's not nearly as good on the other end of the court & that's where Thorne and Black excel. I (and others) have suggested pairing Black with Mav and then Finke/Thorne might work out better, you'd have more balance between offense & defense. Of course, Mav isn't doing much on the boards at either end.
I agree with all of this. Finke has nearly half of his rebounds on the offensive glass. He is an above average offensive rebounder. Unfortunately he is probably below average on the defensive end.
Hopefully this is the game JCL breaks out. We really need him to be the consistent second threat. If he can do that the offense starts to look a whole lot better. I hate to put the pressure on one player but we need a second guy and he is the best option.
Or maybe he is coming off a broken hand and is part of a team that isn't meshing well against tougher competition. His minutes and sub patterns are off IMHO, no stability. He also has to develop his game beyond a spot shooter. He showed flashed of dribble drive and setting up his own shot. Needs to be a playmaker as well.
Illini1221
Peru,IL
JCL looks bad now because his shot isn't falling. Happens to every great shooter and it makes them look bad. I'd say relax on JCL.
He had his break-out 4 or 5 games ago, and then he broke bad again.
NCState has a defense like ours AND they have almost no inside presence. I say we keep feeding the bigs until their D starts giving us wide open 3s.
Anything done 4 or 5 games ago against the creampuffs doesn't really count as a break out. We need him to come alive against competitive teams.
I agree that going inside is a good strategy. Not only could it open up the outside but Inside-outside 3s are easier to make.
Was looking at our schedule the rest of the way and was reminded of this saying:
If you look at the schedule and you don't see any cupcakes, then you're probably the cupcake.
Let's just say I didn't see any cupcakes.
Lucas 6"0
Williams 6"7
Hill 6"6
Black 6"9
Finke 6"10
Lucas and Williams at the top of the 2-3. Black on Lucas side, Hill w/ Williams and Finke in the middle. Lots of length and athleticsm 1-5. If JCL isn't hitting shots I want Jordan taking his minutes, I know it's early but this is a MUST WIN. Hard to see us beating VCU in Florida, and BYU in the UC where we usually drink it up. We need a quality noncon win against an inexperienced but potentially top 25 team by the end of the year in NCSU. LETS GET IT TONIGHT BOYS!
Williams 6"7
Hill 6"6
Black 6"9
Finke 6"10
Lucas and Williams at the top of the 2-3. Black on Lucas side, Hill w/ Williams and Finke in the middle. Lots of length and athleticsm 1-5. If JCL isn't hitting shots I want Jordan taking his minutes, I know it's early but this is a MUST WIN. Hard to see us beating VCU in Florida, and BYU in the UC where we usually drink it up. We need a quality noncon win against an inexperienced but potentially top 25 team by the end of the year in NCSU. LETS GET IT TONIGHT BOYS!
It can happen. 10-3 in the non-con plus a 10-8 Big10 schedule and one BTT win probably gets us in the NCAA and shuts down the talk about Groce's job.
It totally CAN happen. I want it to happen. I just don't think it will. I hope they prove me wrong starting tonight.
What are the odds of getting bit by a shark while the shark is getting hit by lightning? I'll take that bet instead.
Need TJL and DJ on the floor more. Don't want to see Thorn and Morgan out there as much.
- Status