Purdue 89, Illinois 58 POSTGAME

#51      

CARPET

C
CARPET
I want to congratulate our Coach and Team for playing with heart and soul all Season.

This is without a doubt a special group of players. I am proud how these guys played through the last whistle on every game this year.

This basketball team sent a message this week-they are going to be dangerously good come next year. The Bomb Squad (3 point shooters) are only going to get better. I am very excited on what the future brings for our team.
 
#53      

CoalCity

C
St Paul, MN
CoalCity
CARPET said:
I want to congratulate our Coach and Team for playing with heart and soul all Season.

This is without a doubt a special group of players. I am proud how these guys played through the last whistle on every game this year.

This basketball team sent a message this week-they are going to be dangerously good come next year. The Bomb Squad (3 point shooters) are only going to get better. I am very excited on what the future brings for our team.
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Let's hope you're right. These guys sure showed what they can do when they all play to their potential. In their interviews they all seemed to be looking forward to working with Fletch in the S&C program offseason so it will be interesting to see what they look like physically next year.

:chief::illinois:
 
#57      

illini8507

illini8507
illini8507
IlliniDrums89 said:
Are you serious? Are we watching the same team? I want to be optimistic, but... :confused:
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Considering our three biggest weaknesses are pg play, rebounding, and overall depth, and we will be better in each category next year without losing anyone of note, assuming health, I don't see how he could be wrong
 
#58      

Obelix

Obelix
Obelix
CARPET said:
I want to congratulate our Coach and Team for playing with heart and soul all Season.
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I like Groce but let's not go overboard with these statements. This season does not deserve any congratulations, despite the injuries.
 
#60      

blackdog

blackdog
Champaign
blackdog
GForce said:
We'll be pretty experienced next year so we should have no trouble scoring, with pgs and soph leaps and all that. But Christ almighty we need to learn how to play defense or none of that will matter.
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The defense was SOOOOOOO much better at the end of the season. Obviously not good this past game but that was also playing 3 games in 3 days. They looked dead from the start.

The last couple weeks before the tournament though it was easy to see the improvements compared to early in the season. Remember when teams could get wide open 3s or drive at will? Those were the crappy non conference teams too. Much more resistance later against stronger teams.
 
#61      

Geno33

G
Missouri illini Fan
Warrenton Missouri
Geno33
ski300 said:
Oh well, this one was never a game. You could tell early they didn't have the same crispness as the last two games.

Glad to have this season over. I am looking forward to next year.
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I agree they didn't look very sharp.I'm sure playing the third game in three days played a Hugh part in that. Tired legs against a Purdue team playing their first game.:chief::usa:
 
#62      

Obelix

Obelix
Obelix
HoustonIllini said:
Grumpy? They played hard, with honor, and can certainly be congratulated. We might not like the on-court results, but they represented the University in the very best light. Congrats to the entire team on completing the season with your heads held high.:chief:
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I am not grumpy at all, but it is a huge exaggeration to extend congratulations on this season. Despite the injuries and really bad record, did Groce and staff coach well? C'mon, I like Groce and have supported him on this board, but nobody can say with a straight face that they coached well this season, actually I do not believe even the most avid supporters have said that. You look at the entire season, do you believe Groce coached well?

I'd understand if the team also played consistently hard and with intensity, or "TNT" or whatever. But our intensity on defense was surprisingly bad despite the injuries. It does not mean that there were a few games that that the team played better, or everyone always had a bad game, or that some players did not improve, but as a team, it is not that we played consistently hard on defense and with intensity, despite our offensive shortcomings and injuries.

Off the court, there were two major incidents that made national sports headlines, Paul and Black. It now appears that there may be even a third unexpected arrest/booking. Not the best examples of "control" within the program and respect for rules and coaching staff, certainly some dark spots representing the University and the basketball program.
 
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#64      

IlliniReb

I
Dallas-Fort Worth
IlliniReb
Obelix said:
I am not grumpy at all, but it is a huge exaggeration to extend congratulations on this season. Despite the injuries and really bad record, did Groce and staff coach well? C'mon, I like Groce and have supported him on this board, but nobody can say with a straight face that they coached well this season, actually I do not believe even the most avid supporters have said that. You look at the entire season, do you believe Groce coached well?

I'd understand if the team also played consistently hard and with intensity, or "TNT" or whatever. But our intensity on defense was surprisingly bad despite the injuries. It does not mean that there were a few games that that the team played better, or everyone always had a bad game, or that some players did not improve, but as a team, it is not that we played consistently hard on defense and with intensity, despite our offensive shortcomings and injuries.

Off the court, there were two major incidents that made national sports headlines, Paul and Black. It now appears that there may be even a third unexpected arrest/booking. Not the best examples of "control" within the program and respect for rules and coaching staff, certainly some dark spots representing the University and the basketball program.
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What? Did I miss something? Please elaborate