Virginia 70, Illinois 61 Postgame

#202      

pruman91

Paducah, Ky
I still wonder why ..........

We didn't press them the whole game.........Thought I read or heard that baylor put the press on the cavs after they fell behind so much and it allowed them to close the gap......................

Why no Sincere in the second half...................He really altered the pace of the ucla game for the Illini's benefit and he had a good first half against the cavs...

Not a lot of passes down low to Dain for him to get some buckets or rebs....................

I guess it is my mind pondering different strategy's that could be used for a different result.........

BU said we played a great first 36 minutes of the game , but stopped executing when we were up 2 points with 3:20 to go............Maybe then put on the press to confuse the cavs and unleash the Tazmanian devil Sincere Harris to keep our pace at a high level.........

I felt before the event started that we could win both games , or split the games , or lose both games as i had little info myself on the other 3 teams except that all three other teams were ranked and ranked ahead of us............

Am I happy going 1-1 ?...................nope.............But I witnessed enough to not be upset as I have been many times before as many of my questions regarding this year's Illini has been answered ........The biggest answer I have understood is this year's Illini will not play in fear or give up when faced with adversity...

Epps , Skyy and Sincere have exceeded my expectations and Ty will improve as the season goes on as he has a high motor and the will to improve.....

it's gonna be a long season of up's and down's and if the Illini just play their best and never give up , then I will be happy and excited to see where we end the season at............JMHO
 
#203      
Nobody crashing the offensive boards except for Dainja and Rogers when in.

Too many plays our 5 out offense had our guys staring at missed shots from 15 ft away and not moving. If people are gassed we need to get subs in to play hard like we did in UCLA game.

When defense is overplaying all over the court why are we only going backdoor 3x all game. Another crazy idea - you are allowed to set a pick for somebody not dribbling the ball. UVA executed text book motion offense while our guys took turns going 1 on 5.

On defense when our guy got beat nobody on team rotated to help.

I hope Brad has our team watch film Tuesday and keep a score card of non hustle plays. Then make the team run line drills for each infraction.
 
#204      
Got away from playing Harris. Our coach played their game Instead of playing ours. Hawkins and RJ need to grow up fast. Also on Meyers I’m embarrassed by that hook Meyers was trying to get. :(
That's kind of a dumb take on Mayer, if you didn't notice, he was out for the rest of the game. Hopefully, he'll not be out for long, we need him to get in tune with his game.
 
#205      
We clearly have worked more on our defense than offense up to this point. Our offense is very vanilla right now, and that's okay. We need to get Dain a few more touches each game, you can definitely tell that hasn't been emphasized much up to this point. Even BU has sounded somewhat surprised at how well Dainja is playing. Can't wait to see how we progress.
 
#207      
I said before that 1-1 would be a very good result. I still believe that but after beating UCLA, I sure was hoping for 2-0. They are going to have to figure out how to beat teams when Shannon is not going off. I was really hoping for more from RJ and Coleman but neither seems like they will ever be scorers. Coleman has a hard time on offense. Rodgers has not been anywhere close to what I thought he would be like based upon all the hype leading up the season. I realize he is a freshman but the other 3 freshman have greatly outplayed him so far. Epps has been the best freshman so far by a mile. That dude is going to be a stud. Harris is all energy. Love the defense. Clark will be here for at least 3 years. I don't see the NBA in his future. Maybe I am way off. Once Goode is healthy and they hopefully get more from beyond the 3 point line from Mayer, Hawkins and Melendez, this team could be really dangerous. Hopefully at least to the sweet sixteen this year.
Like I say in another post, Hawkins does not create for himself so I hope his teammates learn when and where to pass him the ball. RJ is really someone I hope who learns to create for himself. Maybe the coach should give him more opportunities? I am really lost on Mayer though. Doesn't look as good as advertised.
 
#208      
Like I say in another post, Hawkins does not create for himself so I hope his teammates learn when and where to pass him the ball. RJ is really someone I hope who learns to create for himself. Maybe the coach should give him more opportunities? I am really lost on Mayer though. Doesn't look as good as advertised.
Curious why you think RJ can learn to create for himself but Hawkins can't. I agree that Hawkins is a kind of one dimensional scorer RIGHT NOW. But I still think he has a good midrange game somewhere inside him. Just needs to unlock it.

My expectations for this year's RJ are more modest than most on here. I see him as a three and D guy with an occasional dunk on a backdoor cut. He has an All B1G future, but it would surprise me if that happened this year.
 
#209      
I am very impressed with Skyy Clark's poise and game. While he struggled some defending UCLA Tyger and UVA Clark they are probably the best PG he will see this.

Skyys combination of handles, size and outside shot will open up the lane for drives ala Ayo in his prime.

Defenses are doubling and triple teaming TSJ. That is why Jayden has been getting to the hoop and why Skyy will be able to. I think Skyy is still getting over his knee
 
#210      
Curious why you think RJ can learn to create for himself but Hawkins can't. I agree that Hawkins is a kind of one dimensional scorer RIGHT NOW. But I still think he has a good midrange game somewhere inside him. Just needs to unlock it.

My expectations for this year's RJ are more modest than most on here. I see him as a three and D guy with an occasional dunk on a backdoor cut. He has an All B1G future, but it would surprise me if that happened this year.
RJ has shown flashes last year that he could drive around or lost his man on the way to the basket (has not seen much of that this year. ) Coleman, on the other hand, did not do as much as that last year IMO. Perhaps he can develop a mid range jumper but at this point, I cannot remember I have seen much of that. I am not expecting RJ to be a super star but I hope he can drive to the basket and score at least 1-2 times per game in half court setting.
 
#211      
I am very impressed with Skyy Clark's poise and game. While he struggled some defending UCLA Tyger and UVA Clark they are probably the best PG he will see this.

Skyys combination of handles, size and outside shot will open up the lane for drives ala Ayo in his prime.

Defenses are doubling and triple teaming TSJ. That is why Jayden has been getting to the hoop and why Skyy will be able to. I think Skyy is still getting over his knee
Skyy is good but he is almost too moderate. RJ, too.
 
#212      
Skyy is good but he is almost too moderate. RJ, too.
Understand where you are coming from, they have seemed a bit tentative. Not worried at all about Skyy. He is super steady as a freshman, is a student of the game, and by all accounts a very hard worker; plus he is coming off a serious knee injury. Kid is strong already and will only get better as he gains more experience and he gets further along from the injury. I am a huge RJ fan, but he has been a little unsteady to start the season. He just seems unsure or too deliberate, not sure why. Maybe the expectations are weighing a little heavy, or maybe he just needs time to figure out his role on a completely new team. I think he will figure it out by the time the B10 rolls around. The talent of both has shown up in flashes, they just need time to become consistent IMO.
 
#213      
Understand where you are coming from, they have seemed a bit tentative. Not worried at all about Skyy. He is super steady as a freshman, is a student of the game, and by all accounts a very hard worker; plus he is coming off a serious knee injury. Kid is strong already and will only get better as he gains more experience and he gets further along from the injury. I am a huge RJ fan, but he has been a little unsteady to start the season. He just seems unsure or too deliberate, not sure why. Maybe the expectations are weighing a little heavy, or maybe he just needs time to figure out his role on a completely new team. I think he will figure it out by the time the B10 rolls around. The talent of both has shown up in flashes, they just need time to become consistent IMO.
I agree. The only thing I will say is perhaps coach should design more plays for RJ? I guess this is not my place
 
#214      
That's kind of a dumb take on Mayer, if you didn't notice, he was out for the rest of the game. Hopefully, he'll not be out for long, we need him to get in tune with his game.
Understood.
Obviously I don’t want him hurt.
While watching the game, it just looked to me like he came from behind the guy and got up and under the guys arms on purpose to try and get a call.
If I’m wrong i apologize.
 
#215      
Understood.
Obviously I don’t want him hurt.
While watching the game, it just looked to me like he came from behind the guy and got up and under the guys arms on purpose to try and get a call.
If I’m wrong i apologize.
Nah, no apology needed. The event looked more harmless than it turned out, unfortunately.
 
#216      
Understand where you are coming from, they have seemed a bit tentative. Not worried at all about Skyy. He is super steady as a freshman, is a student of the game, and by all accounts a very hard worker; plus he is coming off a serious knee injury. Kid is strong already and will only get better as he gains more experience and he gets further along from the injury. I am a huge RJ fan, but he has been a little unsteady to start the season. He just seems unsure or too deliberate, not sure why. Maybe the expectations are weighing a little heavy, or maybe he just needs time to figure out his role on a completely new team. I think he will figure it out by the time the B10 rolls around. The talent of both has shown up in flashes, they just need time to become consistent IMO.
Thinking Skyy hasn’t lost confidence but trying to be a distributor rather than a scorer. Less about him and more about the teams chemistry. Like to see Rodgers play the high post against the zone and destroy it. Good fit for Hawk also.