Winthrop 84, Illinois 80 OT POSTGAME

#226      

Second and Chalmers

S
Second and Chalmers
liquidwisdom said:
The dude he was guarding scored @ 38 points! The (2) best defensive plays on him were by JCL. I hope you were joking.
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I mean, he fell asleep a couple of times, but in general made Johnson work his behind off for those points. And he was a steadying impact on offense and actually managed to hit some shots.

I don't think you should scapegoat individual players, but if you're going to do that, I'd say look elsewhere (Hill, poor Finke...)
 
#227      

gibb52

G
gibb52
Let's all step back from the ledge. This was a bad loss, no doubt. First major test of the season and we failed it.

Let's wait and see how the team and the coaches respond. We have 4 more major tests coming up. We can assess JG and his future more accurately in a couple more weeks.
 
#229      

bigillinfan11

bigillinfan11
bigillinfan11
coltjames03 said:
Apparently you didn't because Tate did a really good job on him. He made some great shots. If u think otherwise then your basketball knowledge is very low
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why do you feel the need to insult him? All he is saying is how much would have been worse if Tejon had played some. Also just because Tejon would have been playing doesn't mean Tate wouldn't have been playing or guarding Keon.
 
#230      

schnaurt

schnaurt
Phoenix, AZ
schnaurt
Serious Late said:
No, John Groce is the one subbing in 4 reserves with the team up 14-2.
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Quick question. Are the sub patterns all pre-determined regardless of game flow or how a player is playing? We seem to constantly pull the hot hand or sub at a time when the team is clicking.
 
#231      

Illinoy

I
Illinoy
I'd say you get the most connected guy on all levels and make money no factor. You can't give it to the players so you damn sure better give it to the coaches. I'd go after a guy like Kenny Payne(UK), or even Jerrence Howard and cover the Xs and Os with another couple guys. Or for proven head coaches you gotta go after Will Wade at VCU or Matt McCall at UT Chatanooga. I think in Illinois you have to consider recruiting as a major factor and get someone acknowledged by the locals. I would even put a filler out for Juwan Howard.
 
#233      

breadman

B
Herndon, VA
breadman
What a great post game blog!!! I absolutely love it! Keep it coming all night!
 
#234      

ATL Chief

A
Jacksonville
ATL Chief
Tate didn't lose us this game people. This was one of his better nights. Those 3 turnovers in a row under 4 min lost us this game. Plus the spinning fadeaway 35 foot bank shot.
 
#235      

westms77

W
Gilbert, AZ
westms77
Illini B-Ball Fan said:
This.

Ding, ding, ding - wakeup call, Illini, make your free throws, hold down the turnovers, play better defense, and you would have won this one. The team will think back on this one game a lot as they continue throughout the season. It actually should help them prep for all the tough upcoming B1G games. Take heart, it's only one game and even though it broke a consecutive string of November wins, the team learned a lot about itself tonight and will move forward with more confidence. Liked the balanced scoring and that Black is back. They'll be ok and will have a good season, go Illini.
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How about missing the tournament the last 3 years...maybe they should have thought back about the lesson they learned in the 48 losses over the last 3 years.
 
#236      

Ken

K
chitown
Ken
coltjames03 said:
Apparently you didn't because Tate did a really good job on him. He made some great shots. If u think otherwise then your basketball knowledge is very low
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He still got 38 but the we had 22 turnovers offensively and despite Tate making a three they went under every single pick and roll and ANY Guard with a well rounded offensive game would've torn Winthrop's defense up.

You somehow equate holding a one man team to 38 while at the same time grinding your own teams offense a halt as somehow being such a success that playing TJL any minutes wouldve caused us t get blown out .

Tate stayed with him and still got torched but is so bad on the other end it didnt make any difference. I wonder what wouldve happened if Johnson wouldve actually had to guard someone.
 
#238      

Berg88

B
Berg88
Illini B-Ball Fan said:
This.

Ding, ding, ding - wakeup call, Illini, make your free throws, hold down the turnovers, play better defense, and you would have won this one. The team will think back on this one game a lot as they continue throughout the season. It actually should help them prep for all the tough upcoming B1G games. Take heart, it's only one game and even though it broke a consecutive string of November wins, the team learned a lot about itself tonight and will move forward with more confidence. Liked the balanced scoring and that Black is back. They'll be ok and will have a good season, go Illini.
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Unfortunately, this has not been the response of any other Groce led team when they've lost these games.
 
#240      

Obelix

Obelix
Obelix
Adnarel said:
I'll simply remind you that John Groce is not at the free throw line throwing up bricks in extra time. John Groce is not the one mishandling post feeds. John Groce is not the one failing to lock down loose balls. John Groce is not the one forgetting to play defense against Mr. Undersized Peg Leg.
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Groce is the coach. No excuses for not being able to handle/preserve a 10-pt lead at home against Winthrop late in the game. The coaching staff has responsibility for managing/preparing the players. The players are not without fault either, but that is not the game to make excuses for the coaching staff.

Both players and coaches have to collect themselves and make the tournament.
 
#242      

Kingo24

Kingo24
Kingo24
Obelix said:
Embarrassing loss. No excuses on the coaching staff for not being able to handle a 10-pt lead that late in the game, at home, against Winthrop.

What is disappointing is that we still lose to a team like Winthrop despite Abrams being better than expected. Tate had a terrible turnover in OT, but he was not the reason we lost either.

Many fans overestimate the talent on this team. Still unacceptable to lose to Winthrop at home, but this is not as deep or as talented of a team as many believe. Yet, it is imperative that coaches/players collect themselves and we try to make the tournament.

What I don't understand is the number of dumb plays. Example: 1:30 left in OT, we are down and trying to come back, we roll the ball from out-of-bounds trying to save some seconds, then Abrams proceeds to pick up the ball and just walk it up the court. If you are just going to walk the ball with no urgency, why even bother to roll the ball?
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Perhaps the average talent and the dumb plays are related?
 
#243      

Gunner23

G
Panama City, Florida
Gunner23
Monte Carlo said:
Might want to check Finke's stat line. I think he hit 50% of his shots and went for 18 and 5, something like that. Better than pretty much everyone else on the team. And Coleman-Lands has to be get more than 6 shots.
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If he could have controlled the loose ball at the end of the OT...OR...if he could have rebounded the missed front end of the 1 and 1 in the OT (back tapped over him)... What might have been? Needed something in the clutch...He just didn't have it tonight... He will have it later in the season.
 
#244      

Serious Late

Serious Late
Peoria via Denver via Ann Arbor via Albuquerque vi
Serious Late
Here we are, once again hoping we are hitting our low point early in the season (whether November or January). Fingers crossed this isn't the team we can expect despite 4 years of evidence suggesting the contrary.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G930A using Tapatalk
 
#245      

Adnarel

A
Adnarel
Second and Chalmers said:
Kevin Keatts at UNCW, Ben Jacobson at Northern Iowa, Archie Miller at Dayton, Jeff Capel at Duke, Will Wade at VCU, Dan Hurley at Rhode Island, you could go on.
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Quality post, thank you for that.

Assuming we turn the season around and dance, it's obviously a no-brainer to retain. Assuming we fail in that regard, but are close, the incoming freshman class reaalllly makes me hesitate in firing. I'd hate to lose that crowd. Assuming the season turns into a tire fire, it's our sad duty to reset the program and probably say goodbye to at least Tilmon, if not more.
 
#248      

Crew Chief

Crew Chief
ILL
Crew Chief
Fool me once...
I stuck with BW for too long because he took us to the NC, but after tonight I cannot do the same for Groce. No excuses, this is his team all the way (except for TA who also was our best player tonight). For those who will criticize this post, we are talking Winthrop...Winthrop. This is no where close to where we should be at this point and this is not where we deserve to be. In my opinion, this is the best team on paper since 2006 and we should've ran them off the court; but, instead we give up 10 with 2 1/2 minutes to go. !!!!ing embarrassing. No such thing as a good loss.