illini80
- Forgottonia
No doubt this is true. Along with incredibly poor spacing. However we missed a lot of wide open looks too.
Wisconsin 72, Illinois 60 POSTGAME
Fighter of the Nightman
- Chicago, IL
Saw flashes from some players, but I have seen that all year. Robert's article about the near surreal flip-flop of Illinois and Wisconsin since 1992 is so spot-on it hurts. 14 in a row, what else is there to say? They frickin' own us. We now have a winning streak vs. two of the 14 teams in the conference. This has to be rock bottom, right?
L2 vs. Indiana (losing all-time series 87-92)
L3 vs. Iowa (winning all-time series 85-74)
L4 vs. Maryland (losing all-time series 5-9)
L3 vs. Michigan (winning all-time series 87-85 ... yikes, hang on fellas!!)
L2 vs. Michigan State (losing all-time series 59-61)
W1 vs. Minnesota (winning all-time series 123-67)
L1 vs. Nebraska (winning all-time series 14-8)
L2 vs. Northwestern (winning all-time series 134-42)
L2 vs. Ohio State (winning all-time series 105-78)
L3 vs. Penn State (winning all-time series 28-17)
L3 vs. Purdue (losing all-time series 87-101)
W2 vs. Rutgers (winning all-time series 6-1)
L14 vs. Wisconsin (winning all-time series 110-89)
Man, am I ready for a return to brighter days. I still have hope for next year (especially adding Kofi), but some of these guys need to figure it out. You have to have the basics down (effort being the most important) before talent can get you that far.
L2 vs. Indiana (losing all-time series 87-92)
L3 vs. Iowa (winning all-time series 85-74)
L4 vs. Maryland (losing all-time series 5-9)
L3 vs. Michigan (winning all-time series 87-85 ... yikes, hang on fellas!!)
L2 vs. Michigan State (losing all-time series 59-61)
W1 vs. Minnesota (winning all-time series 123-67)
L1 vs. Nebraska (winning all-time series 14-8)
L2 vs. Northwestern (winning all-time series 134-42)
L2 vs. Ohio State (winning all-time series 105-78)
L3 vs. Penn State (winning all-time series 28-17)
L3 vs. Purdue (losing all-time series 87-101)
W2 vs. Rutgers (winning all-time series 6-1)
L14 vs. Wisconsin (winning all-time series 110-89)
Man, am I ready for a return to brighter days. I still have hope for next year (especially adding Kofi), but some of these guys need to figure it out. You have to have the basics down (effort being the most important) before talent can get you that far.
90% of bigs in college basketball would struggle to guard Happ, and Kofi wouldn't be an exception, but this goes both ways. Kofi is a mismatch himself inside of 6 feet and will be very difficult to contain. I'd wish Reuvers good luck. We don't have other bigs who are consistently reliable on offense or in the rebounding category. It sounds incredibly luxurious right now to throw Kofi into last nights game instead of De la Rosa or Samba.
illini80
- Forgottonia
Somewhat playing devils advocate here, but how many games are you willing to lose to get them experience? IMO if we continue to lose winnable games like this one and don’t show development (ie win some games), we risk not only the CHANCE of losing our prize commit, we COULD see a mass exodus again. I mean losing games is no fun for anyone on the team. Would you stay in a losing program just to get a little playing time?
Deleted member 29907
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Guest
That's my point - Giorgi and AJ type skills were needed to guard Happ, along with help. Its not a knock on Kofi, he just would not be a good matchup (I'm not sure how i can state that more clearly). I'd suggest Reuvers would have been a challenge too because he works from the outside so well and we do play a deny defense. So then, what do you do with him on Defense? You just can't give up that side of the court. We have plenty of freshman who don't see the court early because of their defensive liability.
Would you sit on a winning team and pass out towels to the guys that play? Risk the chance of losing our prized recruit, what? Dude committed before we even had a B1G win! Lose games to get experience, yep. Worry about a mass exodus, not even a little, or should I say not even a chicken little.
Yeah, but the freshmen you're talking about aren't major forces on offense/the boards. Kofi might struggle to guard those guys but they'll struggle to guard him as well, plus good luck trying to get around him for a rebound.
Remind me, what offense were we running last year when Trent was making those 3s?
illini80
- Forgottonia
Lol. As I said, playing devils advocate. If you think there is zero risk of anything bad happening by losing out the rest of the season, good for you. I’m glad you have it all figured out.
Your point is clear, I just don't understand where you're going with it. Of course he wouldn't be a good match up. But just because he wouldn't be a good match up defensively doesn't mean you wouldn't play him, especially considering our front court depth. While Tev, Griffin and Samba don't see much time due to defensive liabilities, they don't have nearly the offensive impact Kofi would. Kofi just went up against Armando Bacot, Brandon Huntley Hatfield and Jeremiah Robinson Earl (all top 20 blue-blood caliber recruits) and had some very suspect moments on defense. Definitely wouldn't say he was an ideal matchup defensively, but he finished with 17 and 8 and did whatever he wanted inside the paint.
ILL in IA
- Iowa City
We were running the Trent offense last year.
Deleted member 29907
D
Guest
We'll have to agree to disagree on whether or not his offense would offset his defensive challenges enough for BU to put him on the court. I do recall BU stating more than a few times that if players are not ready defensively, they are not seeing much court time.
One thing I think we can all agree on is that we're glad Happ is moving on - let's hope Reuvers does not become Happ 2.0
I'd agree completely if we had front court depth. For now, Kofi is our front court depth. I'd be surprised (and very pleased) if guys like Samba or Higgs are better options next year.
Deleted member 29907
D
Guest
Kofi is no doubt a big add for next year. Clearly gives us depth once he's up to speed on our D and O. Giorgi has been such a nice surprise partially because he came in with an understanding of the O and because he has great feet.
I am hoping Samba sticks around and develops - he seems to get it. Giorgi needs to sharpen his 3 point shot if we hope to play both Kofi/Samba and Giorgi at the same time. With the offense we run - i am still scratching my head on where Giorgi fits easily if not at the pinch post. Clearly he needs to be on the floor as much as possible. Any ideas?
The improvement is Leron Black and Giorgi B are a huge plus for the coaches. Giorgi is looking like a top 5-6 BIG recruit. Can 't believe how further ahead he is of Tevian, Samba, and several of our veteran players. Giorgi makes smart plays and plays with passion/heart. Not afraid of the moment or being the man.
Also feel that Damonte is playing very solidly, hoping for a bit more HRF. But he is doing a lot of the intangible stuff that are unselfish.
Also feel that Damonte is playing very solidly, hoping for a bit more HRF. But he is doing a lot of the intangible stuff that are unselfish.
UncleBob
- San Clemente, CA
I have no problem with the teaching moment, but sit them down and explain it to them then put them back in the game. They are not going to gain any confidence by playing 2 minutes (yes 5 minutes for Tevian) and getting yanked after the first mistake and sitting the rest of the game.
The Dave
- CA
The outcome of this game was easy to see (I told someone yesterday to take Wisconsin and lay the points) but if you gave me 10 guesses I never would have figured out how we got to that outcome (stopped Happ? Won the foul game? Couldn't hit the broad side of a barn from the FT line?).
I did see one really encouraging thing...All the Cofi talk with moving Giorgi to the 4 concerned me. Only because I didn't know if Giorgi could really play the 4. We play him exclusively in the post where he has shown NICE skills. That one play where he got it on the wing, made a move and hit the pull-up gave me hope for him playing a different position next year (even if this is positionless basketball).
I did see one really encouraging thing...All the Cofi talk with moving Giorgi to the 4 concerned me. Only because I didn't know if Giorgi could really play the 4. We play him exclusively in the post where he has shown NICE skills. That one play where he got it on the wing, made a move and hit the pull-up gave me hope for him playing a different position next year (even if this is positionless basketball).
Really, I thought we went through Black a bunch? In any case, were we setting a bunch of screens or was Trent basically doing what he has this year, other than making a lot more shots.
Deleted member 11196
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Guest
This seems to be an ongoing problem... We definitely need players who can MAKE shots... We don't need any more players that 'miss a lot of wide open looks'.... We already have plenty of those... IMHO...
Illini_1979
- Oregon
Well, I didn't watch my DVR copy of the game (usually only watch the wins, of which there have been far too few) but I did watch the highlights.
We looked really good for those 2.5 minutes. Unfortunately not quite as good for the other 37.5 minutes.
Illiniaaron
- Geneseo, IL
This team probably only wins a couple of more games this season no matter who plays....does 1-19 vs. 3-17 really matter?
BU needs to know the pulse of the team, particularly the individual players not getting much playing time. If he is concerned that they might leave without more time, he should play them somewhat more. He can't afford to lose players that can help next year. If he does, he puts himself at risk. This season is not redeemable. We can not have three years in a row like this.
illini80
- Forgottonia
I may be in the minority, but I think it does. Maybe not a lot, but 1-19 means we lost to one of if not the worst program D1 programs in the country.
Put it another way, a couple signature wins over Wisconsin and someone else, a is a sign of team that’s progressing and not that far away. I’m not predicting any mass exodus or decommits. I’m also not interested in benching all the upperclassmen and playing the freshman just because they will be here longer if it means we lose every game. I highly doubt it makes a significant difference in how the freshman play as sophomores. Jmo