Tennessee 66, Illinois 64 Postgame

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#353      
MULEDOG35
KingWolf11 said:
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.
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Is it your mac-n-cheese cabinet? That's my favorite. Just sayin. Relax, this team is going to be special in month or so.
 
#354      
KingWolf11
champaignpak said:
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.
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Adam Miller transferred after starting every game as a freshman. He hasn't hid to people how much regret he has leaving. Its just how it goes in these situations, it doesnt always make sense it just is how it goes.
 
#355      
HensonHall71
NashvILLe05 said:
The style Brad wants to play now has evolved since Morez committed. The days of being anchored by a post up big are gone.

I love Morez but since he can’t shoot from deep and stretch the floor, he’s going to have a tough time getting more minutes.
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This game was exactly the type we needed Morez in - we needed to be tougher on the glass and he’s the best rebounder on the team. Ben got one rebound (a great one) in 30 minutes with a billion missed shots to go grab, how is that even possible?

I really don’t understand why Morez isn’t playing more- especially when the matchup dictates it like tonight
 
#356      
AndyKaufmanstutor
He has ZERO inbounds plays. Whether that’s from under the basket or on the sidelines. My high school coach used to get us multiple hoops every game from in bounds plays. I can’t understand how I’ve watched his teams for years now without seeing a single well-executed out of bounds play
 
#358      
MULEDOG35
Ryllini said:
I'm encouraged. This team will fu*k come February/March.
Stop with the people are upset over Morez. This is a process. We are more than fine.
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Pernille Harder Football GIF by VfL Wolfsburg
 
#363      
BalloonsTheElephant
It's ok to be upset knowing we had control of the game from almost start to finish, but if you told me we lost on a last second layup, I wouldn't be upset. Knowing we are a couple of shots from being a top 10, 1-loss is all I need to know. If we got ran out of the gym like at Alabama I may be concerned, but we had a lot of positive moments and a lot of just dumb plays. Once we start cleaning it up, we will be a force when it matters most.

Brad needs better end game management, but his team came to play. He had them ready.
 
#365      
Frumundawood
This is next level copium.

We need to have players to play our preferred style of play, but we also need players to counter the way other teams play.

There’s a place on every team for a high motor athletic big that grabs boards and protects the rim.

I don’t know exactly how many minutes Morez needs to play, but I’m smart enough to know that BH putting up 5/1/1 in 30 mins while MJ rots on the bench against a long athletic team that rebounds well is egregious. And that’s even ignoring the fact that BH has been a no-show for the past several games.

It’s one of the most baffling things I’ve seen in the 35ish years I’ve been old enough to critically watch Illinois basketball. Right up there with BU letting Michigan State hunt Luke Goode the last 8 minutes of the MSU game last year in East Lansing to storm back and beat us while the answer—Ty Rodgers—sat incredulous on the bench.
 
#366      
Nuke Dukem
I didn’t get to watch the game live due to family commitments but I DVRed it and just finished watching. My uneducated takes: 1. Despite his TOs and freshman mistakes KJ is a stud. 2. Whoever is designing the inbound plays need to be placed on double secret probation immediately. Also, I am not an analytics nerd or basketball savant or even a YMCA coach but it seems to me that a freshman who can defend the rim, pull down something like 8 rebounds, score maybe 8 points and make 5 of 10 free throws is better than a guy who gives you 1 rebound, 5 points, and makes 0 of 0 free throws who also is 5th year senior and will be gone next year no matter how much playing time you give him? Can one of the smart guys on this board please tell me what I am missing?
 
#368      
jrichisamazing
I'm extremely impressed with where we are defensively and how consistently tough and engaged we are at this point in the year. I thought we would be much more up and down, and rely on hot shooting to win games.

I figured we would have trouble closing out games early in the year, and that's okay. BU can fix those things. But what is hard to fix is finding that tenacity on defense and ability to get locked in for 40 minutes. It looks like this team has that, which means once we find our flow on offense.....watch out!
 
#369      
Orange Roughy
So, is the Morez situation so bad that he may transfer at the break and be playing for some other team in Jan 2025?
 
#370      
Thaillini22
That's possible? Jeez, we're not really teaching tomorrow's leaders today, are we!?
 
#371      
AndyKaufmanstutor
Your last sentence says it all. And, if Johnson has already moved on, so be it. Underwood has shown time and again he can fill spots through the portal. His skill set so far makes him look like a slightly better version of Dainja. He’s not going to develop an outside shot during his time at Illinois (whether that’s one year or four). He’s not going to be a dominant big like Kofi as he’s only 6’9” so how is he going to fit in this offense in a major way now or in the future? He’s replaceable if he leaves.
 
#372      
illinitiger
jrichisamazing said:
I'm extremely impressed with where we are defensively and how consistently tough and engaged we are at this point in the year. I thought we would be much more up and down, and rely on hot shooting to win games.

I figured we would have trouble closing out games early in the year, and that's okay. BU can fix those things. But what is hard to fix is finding that tenacity on defense and ability to get locked in for 40 minutes. It looks like this team has that, which means once we find our flow on offense.....watch out!
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On defense progress (and offensive woes)....You are right,...we can have hope and encouraged by our defense improvements.
Finding flow on offense is a good target. Unfortunately we are designed to shoot 3p from every position....but honestly don't shoot 3p shots consistently well. If our entire offensive concept is predicated on shots that we aren't making...we will be challenged all year!

On the " Blame Ben" crusade...reminds me of the "Blame Damonte" crusade a few years ago. There must be a human psychological flaw that drives people to get caught up in blaming one person for the teams losses, when there are much more systemic problems contributing to a loss.

On Morez concerns...I love that player and know he will be great in the future (hopefully with us)....the Tim Anderson and other off-season staff moves possibly strained Morez' start. The question I have is will returning Antigua offset the loss of our prime recruiters.. My hope is Antigua can bond, develop and retain Morez to be our feature player in future years...tbd.
 
#374      
DMark59
If he had them ready KJ would not of had seven turnovers including the one that in essence cost us the game!!!!! He had seven turnovers but in reality he damn near had a few more!!
 
#375      
BashCtIllini
What's the point of recruiting a top 30 Fr, if you aren't going to play them? We know better than most how many guys transfer each year. We know guys that don't get the minutes they think they deserve are gone. So far, against our weakest opponents of the year, Morez has never gotten more than 21 minutes. These are the games we should be getting him minutes to get used to the speed and physicality.

Of course, when your entire team is new, you put yourself in a bind, because you also need those minutes to get your starters experience with each other. One of the many reasons, I'm no fan of this massive roster turnover we've been seeing.

However, the biggest debate seems to be Morez should get more of the minutes Humrichous is getting. In the few minutes Morez has received, he's been effective. He's a rebounding machine, by far #1 on the team at .492 per minutes. Ivisic is #2 at .336. The nation's leading rebounder is getting .386 per minute. Now granted, the low number of minutes Morez gets inflates his value, but it also shows you how much of a beast he is. Humrichous is dead last on the team at .117 rebounds per minute.

Morez is offensively limited at this point in his career, but he has been effective there, too. He's 6th on the team at .361 points per minute, but he is above Boswell and Humrichous. Humrichous is last on the team, of guys that see the court, on points per minute too. I just see no reason Morez shouldn't get at least 5 more of Humrichous's minutes. I don't think anyone is saying just plant Ben on the bench, but many are saying Morez brings an element of toughness we need to the game.

Quite frankly, I think Underwood is infatuated with the 3pt shot. We take a TON of 3s, always have, with him as the coach. I believe right now we are 4th in the nation in 3s attempted per game, and 193rd in 3pt % made. If you don't shoot the 3, you're a secondary player (unless you're Kofi). But just look at Dainja last year. The guy was far from a perfect player, but when he actually got to see the court, he delivered. Hansberry never got to see the court, and now he's getting 11 and 7 at West Virginia. Dain is actually getting similar numbers. We had 2 bigs now getting 11 and 7 we just let walk. I fear Morez could be the 3rd quality big we lose.
 
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