I'm a YMCA coach, but why wouldn't this work?:
5 - Morez
Stretch 4/5 - Tomi
3/4 - Will
Guards - KJ, KB
6th - Tre/DGL/Ben
9th - Booth/Davis
5 - Morez
Stretch 4/5 - Tomi
3/4 - Will
Guards - KJ, KB
6th - Tre/DGL/Ben
9th - Booth/Davis
Tennessee 66, Illinois 64 Postgame
- Status
Any insight as to Riley's performance? We can include the NW game in this analysis.
He's young, but he's getting a free pass from the wrath of the angry villagers on this board.
He's young, but he's getting a free pass from the wrath of the angry villagers on this board.
First of all, that really stinks that there are issues.
Hard part is MJ doesn’t give you a whole lot on offense. Both Ben & Tomi are big shooting threats which, in theory, creates more space. I do believe he should get some of the minutes for both of those guys.
DICKnaggie
- Champaign
Playing Devil's Advocate (bc I absolutely think MJ needs way more minutes), but Morez is not contributing anything offensively other than putbacks and short shots. It's the Ty model. Great rebounder, great defense, but not an offensive threat and a liability at the line at this point. We aren't really taking advantage of the roll ever, but moreso with Tommi with his height, and today, we totally did not take advantage of the pop, which MJ can't execute at a high level. Hope MJ develops offensively, bc it would guarantee him big minutes with everything else he brings.
Yeah, the improvement on defense since the Alabama game is one sign of growth for this young team.
Thats because Morez is the definition of "everyday guy". Brad can reshuffle these rosters all he wants at some point that message is going to wear thin.
An immensely talented kid that has wanted to play for Illinois since Jr high committed as soon as he could. This isn't a Ty situation where he was getting beaten out this would be a disaster if it comes to fruition.
Thinking same thing
Riley...was 1/9
Ben was at least above team avgs
2/5 (3p make and put back dunk).
If you told me that we had 6 assists on 15 total shots made, for the entire game against #1 team, and throw in we had 11 TOs and got out rebounded, I would have told you we probably got blown out by 20 plus. We are a pretty good defensive team. Have to figure out some offensive sets to get some easier looks. We will get there.
Oddly moved up in kenpom to 15. Defense is now number 10.
1. There clearly is potential and talent there in Riley. He's proven that.
2. He's young and inconsistency is understandable.
3. There clearly ISN'T potential for Ben to defend and rebound at our level. He isn't anywhere near quick enough of foot or strong enough. That isn't going to change.
4. My problem isn't with Ben. It's with the coach who's putting him into a role he isn't suited for and the fact that Brad is butchering our program's relationship with Morez through this foolishness. And our relationship with other recruits by extension.
Last edited:
At least he drove the ball and got to the line, had 10 pts and 5 boards tonight. And he's not a 5th year, one year option player, so he gets a way longer leash from me if I'm deciding playing time.
But, I'm not even a YMCA coach anymore. Was, at one time, but it seems like you have to prove coaching experience to express any critical opinions here. But I digress.
Last edited:
Explain Will deserving minutes. What has he done well recently?
He's been 7 of 25 and 0-12 from three over the last three games.
How many missed layups? How many times does he get to the elbow and pick up his dribble? Or get stuck in the lane with nowhere to go? How many times has he gotten bullied in the paint?
He's been awful, he's showing his youth, he's showing his need to be in the gym and you have him warranting more minutes?
Indy, I’ve heard “Preston Murphy to Illinois next year” talk over the past several months.
Any chance this is legit? If so, this solves many issues.
Any chance this is legit? If so, this solves many issues.
Ben is being ask to do the Luke Goode role but the difference is Ben is still in the starting lineup and not coming off the bench. Meanwhile Morez has outplayed Ben but is not getting enough minutes. Oh and I know Morez's free throw percentage might be a negative but guess what? Ben's free throw percentage is literally around the same as Morez's. Ben hasn't been great at the charity stripe either. I just find it funny that last season the staff harped on how bummed they were that the Dain-Coleman combo couldn't worked out and fast forward to this season we're seeing the opposite with Tomi and Morez on court together.
user name checks out again
That game was an old fashion fist fight. It was ugly offensively for that reason.
Man Tennessee can bring the heat, but we just matched it. Anytime you can match a Coach Barnes defense stride for stride you’ve accomplished something. We just did.
An 8th great team can’t hang a 100 on us anymore.
Man Tennessee can bring the heat, but we just matched it. Anytime you can match a Coach Barnes defense stride for stride you’ve accomplished something. We just did.
An 8th great team can’t hang a 100 on us anymore.
I hate losing. I was also very strongly encouraged by what I saw against Tennessee today. The ‘Threes R Us’ offense has evolved into a vastly more impressive and multipronged offense, which after the Northwestern performance I honestly find very reassuring. The improvement since Northwestern is extraordinary.
After having had a chance to read through comments here tonight, I see many here expressing thoughts that I share. In essence, Coach Underwood is an excellent coach overall (recruiting, culture and chemistry and trust, team-building, leadership, offensive strategy, teaching defense, strength and conditioning and nutrition, representing the School, as examples.)
And yet: he and the current staff have evidently not yet been able to effectively teach or incorporate every single aspect of basketball that is needed for a team to win championships (Underwood’s goals, yours I think, and mine). This evaluation, fleshed out briefly below and pertinent to this season’s team, is based on Coach Underwood’s entire body of work at Illinois, and at the programs he led before we were fortunate enough to recruit him here. In my view, improvements needed to finish sculpting a championship-level team include:
--Passing: the issue here is primarily on the perimeter, where every game we throw a lot of casual, low-velocity passes. Some of these get picked off for easy transition baskets for the other team. It would be a good idea to use a few more ball fakes, fake throwing passes I mean.
--Sideline out of bounds: my God are we panicky and unprepared! This can be outright embarrassing at times. We need to devote some practice time to this, ASAP.
--Baseline out of bounds plays. I saw a very good one tonight, so we’re getting better. But we could do -- literally, and I know what the term means -- an order of magnitude better. Bruce Weber's teams absolutely feasted on this action, (like him or not as a coach in general, and he was not my kind of coach
--Defense: getting much, much better but we still handle screens in a black-and-white fashion when it would be smarter to use a variety of approaches depending on individual defender/attacker matchups, location on court, time and score. We can do a little better here.
--Rebounding is getting better. Ben H is just not a rebounder, but he can improve his blocking-out. In general, a bit quicker recognition of emerging blockouts and moving to the ball off the rim around the perimeter would help some. It’s a recognition issue, not physical speed that I’m talking about, and this can be tuned up.
--Handling pressure: we are outrageously suspect against pressure, with our scheme (is there one?) and tactics right now rating “poor” even by the standard of a successful HS team. Yes, I mean that.
--Staff personnel, and probably responsibilities for the various phases of the game, need to be changed in the coming year in order to fill in key gaps. I don’t think this can be improved until next year, but maybe I’m wrong. Coach Underwood is pretty slow to implement effective changes in-game, but remarkably successful over his long career in making game-to-game and season-long changes that dramatically help his teams win.
I have all but certainly missed some issues, but I am confident fellow posters here will correct the errors, oversights, omissions and misguided views expressed here. *wink*
And I want to note that I think this season’s team has extraordinary potential, that the job of molding the team into one that wins championships is very daunting, and that I badly hope and wish that our head coach and his staff (and for Pete’s sakes, the players!) succeed.
ILL ---
After having had a chance to read through comments here tonight, I see many here expressing thoughts that I share. In essence, Coach Underwood is an excellent coach overall (recruiting, culture and chemistry and trust, team-building, leadership, offensive strategy, teaching defense, strength and conditioning and nutrition, representing the School, as examples.)
And yet: he and the current staff have evidently not yet been able to effectively teach or incorporate every single aspect of basketball that is needed for a team to win championships (Underwood’s goals, yours I think, and mine). This evaluation, fleshed out briefly below and pertinent to this season’s team, is based on Coach Underwood’s entire body of work at Illinois, and at the programs he led before we were fortunate enough to recruit him here. In my view, improvements needed to finish sculpting a championship-level team include:
--Passing: the issue here is primarily on the perimeter, where every game we throw a lot of casual, low-velocity passes. Some of these get picked off for easy transition baskets for the other team. It would be a good idea to use a few more ball fakes, fake throwing passes I mean.
--Sideline out of bounds: my God are we panicky and unprepared! This can be outright embarrassing at times. We need to devote some practice time to this, ASAP.
--Baseline out of bounds plays. I saw a very good one tonight, so we’re getting better. But we could do -- literally, and I know what the term means -- an order of magnitude better. Bruce Weber's teams absolutely feasted on this action, (like him or not as a coach in general, and he was not my kind of coach
--Defense: getting much, much better but we still handle screens in a black-and-white fashion when it would be smarter to use a variety of approaches depending on individual defender/attacker matchups, location on court, time and score. We can do a little better here.
--Rebounding is getting better. Ben H is just not a rebounder, but he can improve his blocking-out. In general, a bit quicker recognition of emerging blockouts and moving to the ball off the rim around the perimeter would help some. It’s a recognition issue, not physical speed that I’m talking about, and this can be tuned up.
--Handling pressure: we are outrageously suspect against pressure, with our scheme (is there one?) and tactics right now rating “poor” even by the standard of a successful HS team. Yes, I mean that.
--Staff personnel, and probably responsibilities for the various phases of the game, need to be changed in the coming year in order to fill in key gaps. I don’t think this can be improved until next year, but maybe I’m wrong. Coach Underwood is pretty slow to implement effective changes in-game, but remarkably successful over his long career in making game-to-game and season-long changes that dramatically help his teams win.
I have all but certainly missed some issues, but I am confident fellow posters here will correct the errors, oversights, omissions and misguided views expressed here. *wink*
And I want to note that I think this season’s team has extraordinary potential, that the job of molding the team into one that wins championships is very daunting, and that I badly hope and wish that our head coach and his staff (and for Pete’s sakes, the players!) succeed.
ILL ---
Decaf, mein freund. Decaf.
In your opinion the answer to my question is, "It won't work because Will would ruin it." Right?
Okay, how about Tre there instead of Will?
I'd love to see someone, even one of our coaches, demonstrate our offense on a dry erase board.
illiniswish09
- Northwest Suburbs
The Morez stuff is highly concerning… Has to get cleaned up ASAP… We cannot lose him
I know very little so likely to happen again. But nobody knows for sure
JFGsCoffeeMug
BU:1 Trash cans:0
- Chicago
Freshmen need to learn how to value each possession, especially late-game ones. It's frustrating before they figure it out. But games like this give them opportunities to learn that important lesson.
Learn from it and grow.
Learn from it and grow.
I'm going to pay a visit to my favorite cabinet in the house and take a deep breathe, but if Brads ego gives us one year of Ben over being able to watch Morez grow in this program I'm not sure I will ever get over it.
the discussions here are so incredibly stupid over here. *If* morez has decided to transfer already then thats on him its not on the coaches. He has a future here and he is part of the long term plan. Ben has the potential to be good and brad is trusting him right now even when it doesn't make sense to us. Also technically morez's starting spot is taken by tomi who has been great so theres that too. I do not think morez is even thinking about leaving yet. Ben will improve or else he will be dropped. Dropping him because of 3 games is short-sighted. Everyone wanted will to start over Tre and now will is the one in the slump. These things happen with new teams and they will all continue to improve. What matters is that they are at their best in Feb/March into April. As coach and the players say the goal is the natty, we learn along the way and that includes brad.
- Status