The defense after the first 7-8 minutes was simply awful. You have to either load up and minimize paint points, or stay glued to guys on the perimeter and try to limit threes. You can’t give a team both, and that’s what we did tonight.
My concern is that UCLA just gave teams the blueprint for how to attack Illinois. Drive the ball repeatedly because Illinois struggles to stay in front of the ball. The bigs really struggle to guard away from the basket. Stojakovic is not particularly quick. Even Kylan is big and strong, but he can be had by quick guards. He’s tough and a warrior, but he’s not fast. Donovan Dent blew by Kylan repeatedly. I also remember the game against Ohio State where Bruce Thornton scored 40 and got wherever he wanted all night. That is just one example.
I am NOT saying Kylan is a poor defender. I AM saying he struggles with quickness. Our entire team, in my opinion, struggles with quickness.