have to be way better than decent to get 8-9 big ten wins when 12 teams are among the best 35-40 in the country.
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- Thread starter 7th Cir. Cat
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have to be way better than decent to get 8-9 big ten wins when 12 teams are among the best 35-40 in the country.
Illinois only has three recruits for 2020. Adam Miller (5*), Andre Curbelo (4*) and Coleman Hawkins (3* 6-10 kid from California who just broke into Rivals 150 at #137).
There are two transfers sitting out, both 6-6 shooters. Jacob Grandison and Austin Hutcherson plus an injury redshirt Benjamin Bosnans-Verdonk. BBV is a 6-8 kid from Belgium who was on the Belgian National team and was expected to get time this year. Stress fracture curtailed that.
So Illinois loses 2 seniors plus Ayo and adds 6 players but only 3 in the recruiting class.
Never hear better this season and we might have been last year if we had a starting PG which we did not.
He would have been more ready than anyone we had. And by this year he would have had that year of experience to know what he had to do to get ready. Right now we are not even to the point with Buie where he is where Lathan would have been last year and we had the more experienced guys in other holes such as Pardon and Law when healthy. More than likely he would have been worth a couple more BIG wins last year. As far as this year, the loss of Gaines is pretty big
If last year's team would have competed for an NCAA bid with an average point guard, the 2017-18 team with a senior BMac must have cruised into the tournament!
Not sure NCAA bid but maybe NIT. But it was a huge factor both last year and this year though by next year it is more of a non factor if Buie continues to develop. Otherwise, I agree. The loss of Lathon was huge. Going forward, by next year it should be behind us
Interesting. I think CCC is doing a pretty good job this year despite the horrendous record. This is coming from a guy who thought he was really bad last year.
I agree on both counts. He was really bad last year, and is doing a good job this.
The comment was about last year and how Lathon would have saved us.
This year.. I like that he seems, at least publicly, during the games, more of a motivator than a punisher. I like his rotation and minute distribution. But, in fairness, when you do not expect to win, it's easier to excuse the coach.
Good God, do you even watch the games. Your Young bashing is approaching your anti-White Sox bashing. To my recollection, Young has been WAY better than anyone on this board predicted. Who else has an inside game on this team? Now you are projected a raw player with limited offensive skills and a HS player you have never seen play are going to suddenly push him aside. If you are right, NU is going to the tourney, because Young is a legit B1G player.
I don’t think I was. If Jones or Nicholson push Young off the starting Center position in 21-22, that will change the lineup, but Jones doesn’t look close to doing that at the moment, so I went with my best guess for a couple years from now. I think Young looks solid and looks like he will always work hard, so if the other two out work and/or out talent him by then, it’s probably a good sign for the program,
There have been more plays to the basket recently, which is a positive but the inability of our offense to create and hit open 3's is a glaring weakness. Nance , Young and Beran should receive passes down low, drawing double teams allowing them to hit the open man for easier 3's. All our 3's are contested and therefore difficult. Every team we play has multiple wide open 3's that kill us.
I guess what I am saying is we need a new OC, wait a minute, this the BB board
I guess what I am saying is we need a new OC, wait a minute, this the BB board
Guess we will see Young's progress or lack of it. The w sox are just a second team in Chicago.
Agree. My sense last night was that NU packs the zone a bit against MSU because they are bigger (not longer, bigger), more athletic and get to rim. When MSU was patient and moved the ball they'd eventually find someone as wide open as the grand canyon.
Teams want to shoot 3’s. Why are we so afraid of defending the bigs one on one? They will get some easy baskets but we won’t get killed with 3’s like every game now. Garza is the only guy I remember that killed us inside. I will take my chances they don’t shoot 60% over an entire game from the 2 point range.
My only explanation is:
1) afraid of getting in foul trouble. Even if we don't know if we will actually get in foul trouble
2) belief that Kopp/Beran/Nance will be beaten off the dribble. When, again, we have good size on the help side. And when guards who are good slashing are the dream for attacking a zone as they will split the defenders and keep it off balance very easily. Open shots galore.
How often is zone used? Someone can probably look up the numbers. But I'm thinking it's not more than 20% of the time in college basketball. And tends to be used by inferior teams with lack of athleticism.
The better the players, the less it is used. It requires perfection in adjustments or it creates open shots. Works wonders with really young kids, though teaches them nothing.
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Any idea why Effective Field Goal Percentage is not a stat that is usually a part of the box score? Seems like the sky rocketting use of the 3 would have made it common by now
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We are so young and thin that preventing fouls is huge. And our guys are still a little slow getting to spots which increases the potential for fouls. I think the y will be better next year but we are not there yet. If we are going to use zone a lot, why not look at the Syracuse ameba zone? Behiem has been using it for decades and has been pretty successful