Illini grade vs. Michigan State: B
PLAYER OF THE GAME
Tracy Abrams, Illinois. The freshman point guard doesn't put it up a whole lot, but it took some gumption for him to drill that late three-pointer with his team trailing by three against a Top 10 team.
BACKCOURT
Illinois B
Michigan State C
D.J. Richardson (nine points) cooled off after providing an early scoring punch, but his defense on Keith Appling (four points, five turnovers) shouldn't go overlooked.
FRONTCOURT
Illinois C-
Michigan State B
Meyers Leonard had probably his worst game of the season against the physical Spartans, who limited the 7-footer to four points and bullied their way to a 49-32 rebounding advantage (23 offensive).
BENCH
Illinois B
Michigan State B
The Illini reserves were outscored 10-6, but all six points came from freshman Myke Henry, who provided a pair of putback buckets when the offense was in need of a lift.
OVERALL
Illinois B
Michigan State C
Brandon Paul (18 points, nine rebounds, five assists) scored more points in the win against Ohio State (43) than his team did Tuesday. But anyone wearing blue will tell you a win is a win and no matter the score this one kept the Illini above water for the time being.
A "B" overall? Wouldn't that grade have dropped at least to a "D" if we had managed to snatch defeat out of the jaws of victory after Paul's missed free throws? The highest possible grade that I could come up with, even in victory, is a "C-". I mean, was the defense really that good or did Michigan State just miss a lot of shots and have their flu stricken superstar on the bench in foul trouble? Even with the defensive effort, I still saw us losing a bunch of rebounds to allow second and third shots. That was not an above average performance, and that's the definition of a "B" grade. It was brutal watching that game.
What is Richardon's grade?? He can't hit a shot. Maybe it's his wrist but the same thing happened last year. He can't make jumpers. It's a pretty consistent pattern now for two years. They need another shooter out there. It's Paul and Leonard or nothing. That's not going to cut it. And Weber leaves him in there when it is obvious he can't hit shots. He is playing sooo bad on offense and nobody seems to notice, especially Weber. He just gives him the playing time like it's an after thought even though he has absolutely lost his scoring touch. If it's the wrist, then sit him until it recovers. I can't believe Weber can't recruit a 3 point shooter. It's a huge gap in the offense. A good 3 point shooter on this team would have a field day with Paul driving and Leonard in the post kicking it out for open 3s.
Apparently the only thing that matters is how well you play on offense. Forget the fact that DJ held the 2nd or 3rd best point guard in the big ten to 4 pts and 5 turnovers. So DJ didn't shoot the ball well last night- nobody did! He has been in a min-slump the last few games but you don't take away your 2nd best defender just because he has been in a little slump. Everyone says "Bruce doesn't let anyone stay in the game. As soon as they make a mistake, he pulls them" and now you wanna take DJ out because he misses a few shots? c'mon! What is that going to do for a guy's confidence?
Is anyone but me baffled that on the average night we cant match up to the opposition and try and stop a #4 man scoring and rebounding machine with anyone but guards? if your giving up 50lbs and 5 inches, chanches are you are not going to have much affect. Outside of last night, Webber's strategy seems to be to put his 5-6 starters on the court and let the chips fall where they may? In big 10 and tourney play this will often result in a power forward eating us for lunch in the paint and we apparently will let him.
There is no way Weber can win with majority of fans right now. I heard everyone say "let's go small. why is griffey in? He is slow and perimeter player. Look at missouri! They are small and going crazy. Put Myke Henry in." So Bruce inserts 4 guards, and now all i hear is "why is bruce playing small? we cant rebound! Put someone bigger in!" Who else are we going to put in? Griffey is not a guy who will bang around with big ten players, Egwu picked up 3 gouls in 45 seconds, and Dimdje has played a total of about 12 mins this year and is too raw. And i remember a Michigan State guard going coast-to-coast one time. 1 time in about 30 possessions isn't bad. From all the negativity, you would think illinois lost by 30. WE WON THE GAME!!!!!!!!!!!! OVER A TOP 10 OPPONENT!!!! CAN WE ENJOY IT!!????? Was it a pretty win? definitely not. But there are only 3 letters that count: W-I-N
Webber doesnt have to win me over, I would settle for us looking competent as a staff and a team. If all you got and all you practice is defense, Its all about matching up with your opponent. How often do you see a big ten team look at the Illini and go small or 4 guards for most of the game? We are not good enough to force anyone in the big ten to match up to us. The reason its coming up is that were in the big 10 season now and size in the Paint matters. Maybe this is a recruiting issue then? Dont overload your team with guards for our "clogged toliet" motion offense and expect them to guard forwards in the big ten? Its not going to work consistently. Yeah, some of them are freshmen, i get that, they can still maul, foul, and block out the #4 man and keep him off the boards. It doesnt take a genius to do that. I dont care if Nanna gets 3 quick fouls if it saves Leonard from getting one and hopefully it wears our opponent out.
Myke has some offensive game and can soak up some fouls. Nanna and Griffey can get in somebody's way at least? Ibby may not be of much offensive benefit right now, but at least he's not afraid of contact. For most of the season our blocking out for rebounds has appeared to be an accidental occurance where we happen to get in the way of the oposing rebounder. That or the opposing rebounder goes right over the top of us grabs the rebound and puts it in. Dont even bring up rebounding on most 3 point shots, everyone seems suprised when the ball is shot and are out of position to rebound. Our weakside rebounding on 3 pt shots is beyond embarrasing, its atrocious.
If the coach says they spend 80% of practice on (man to man) defense, so what do you have? a team that cant pass, penetrate, move the ball, push the ball, press, etc. Which is apparently what Webber wants and what we have. I dont know, maybe he figures they learned all the rest on the playground?
So you say people aren't matching up with our 4-guard lineup because they aren't good enough? Missouri has started 4 guards all year, they're ranked in the top 5 in the nation, and i have yet to see a team they were playing alter their starting lineup to match their 4 guards. I think being in the top 5 in nation qualifies them as being good enough.
And you also say we need our big guys to come in and "maul, foul. something" to opposing biggs to keep them off the boards. Sounds like a great idea to foul out Ibby, egwu, and griffey in the 1st half so Myers is the only big guy we have available for the last 20 mins. Brilliant! And Bruce and the staff aren't competent?? We are about 7 possessions away from being 8-1 in the Big Ten. I think Weber and the staff are doing a good job, especially after losing 4 seniors (3 of them being starters) from last year's team.
I don't think many people have embraced this team like they should, and it is a shame because this team plays hard and deserves more from some of these so-called "fans."
Not sure if illinihq will let me post to external sites, but we'll see:
http://espn.go.com/video/clip?id=7526109
I will excuse for attempting to put words in my mouth and the personal attack. Otherwise, please point out were i said that they should foul out in the first half?
They should do what ever it takes to protect the paint and keep Leonard out of foul trouble, and open up the opportunities for Leonard to score down low.
Mizzou, isnt the big ten, last time i looked and i qualified my comment. Just in case you didnt actually read it completely before you commented.
You didn't say anything about people fouling out in the 1st half but you did say that the illinois bigs should foul or "maul" opposing biggs. What i am saying is that even when Illinois didn't try to do that, Egwu got called for 3 fouls in a minute and dimjde got called for 1 right after that and meyers had at least 2 fouls on him at that point. so if we are intentionally fouling people to save a couple offensive boards, our biggs are going to garner A LOT of fouls in not a lot of time; leaving us at a huge disadvantage in the 2nd half/down the stretch. I'm all for protecting the paint and keeping leonard out of foul trouble and opening up opportunities for him to score down low. But it is a lot easier said than done.
I realize missou is not in the big ten but the big12 is another power conference. My point was that no one really changes their own starting lineup to match up with the opposition's starting lineup. I don't think it has anything to do with 1 team being good enough for the opposing team to alter, or not alter, their starting lineup. I think every coach says "this is what we do. We're sticking with it." Either way....go illinois!
How does "Adaptable" strike you? or possibly "Malleable"? If you like, exchange "competent" for either of those choices. To me they are part and parcel of the same thing, but whatever makes you happy.
I am really indifferent as to whether BW stays or goes, its getting stuck on stupid when something obviously isnt working that bothers me. When in the last 5 years have you observed a game and were blown away by our game planning and preparation? Or saw us do something compeletly out of the ordinary (for us) that upset an opponents strategy? UNLV last year is one of the few and that is because they gave us (and i mean gave us!) the open mid and backcourt. I will maintain that BW never intended to run but the players did it anyway and dismantled UNLV. Now visualize that game as the half-court wrestling match, with the game in the balance on every play, BW would have preferred to fit his system (not his players). Which one would you rather watch and play in? No contest is it?
"Adaptable" and "competent" do not mean the same thing. As far as wanting illinois to adapt during a game, i don't really have a problem with changing things if it isn't working. But, for the most part, it is working: we're 16-6 (or close to it.) Not saying that we are an offensive juggernaut (we are most certainly not) but we've won a lot more games than we have lost. Again, this is a relatively young team with only 2 guys seeing significant playing time before this year (DJ/Brandon)and it is going to take a little time for everyone to run the motion offense well. and bruce did adapt a little bit against michigan state. He tried playing Egwu and Leonard at the same time but Egwu picked up quick fouls and that was done. He also left Henry in for the last possession of the game rather than going with Bertrand. It may be a small difference but it worked. As i have stated, Illinois is about 8 plays away from being 8-1 in the conference and having bruce be named big ten coach of the year, if not national coach of the year. I don't think we really need to do something extremely out of the ordinary.
I am not saying you are one of these fans, but i think people see the score of "42-41" and think we played terrible and without energy. The team played with a lot of energy and heart...we just weren't hitting shots. As someone else posted "i'd rather win 42-41 than lose 97-93." As far as preparing well for a game, Illinois has beaten 4 top-10 teams in the last 4 years. You have to prepare pretty well to do that-you don't just show up and beat a top10 team every year.
I'm enjoying the game, but for more reasons than 42-41. The sight of Henry, Egwu, and Ibby (even for just a bit) is exactly what this team needs. If not for wins today, for wins in the future.
This team's top end will be found with Leonard/Egwu at the post positions, not Leonard/Griffey. I'd include Shaw but evidently he hasn't shown enough to warrant the playing time.
That horrible to watch game was great, we won and Griffey with ZERO minutes.
To the guy who wants to bench Richardson - the steadiest, most consistent player -... really? Because the 2nd highest scorer can't score? But he was the 2nd highest scorer... But he can't score?
I know you hate Weber, no matter how many wins against Top 10 or Top 100 teams his teams get, but you know, pick something consistent to complain about, like, "He can't coach!" That's always a good one.
Great win Illinois! Take some ibuprofen today! Thought I was watching a rugby match for a while.
And remember, Myers Foul Machine Leonard is the second coming of Bill Russell!
Despite the hype from Klee Klub and Moses Saint Tate, Leonard better count on playing another year to learn how to play. The NBA would eat the whiner alive right now.
A dandy win. Maybe the can Weber talk will subside for now. He seems like a good enough coach who sometimes recruits players with not much between the ears or in their hearts.
I was wondering when Loser Saint Moonpie would come out of hiding after a win.
Please post the link to anyone calling Leonard the second coming of Bill Russell. Like must of the nonsense you spew that's just a lie.
Klee and Tate both say Leonard isn't ready for the NBA. I realize reading/comprehension is not a skill everyone can master, but they've laid this out for you numerous times. Another lie.
Tate in fact has said this team isn't very good to anyone who would listen, but that doesn't fit your ignorant agenda so you continue to lie.
No heart? No way you could have watched the last two games and say the players have no heart. Another lie.
Do you and the rest of the crybabies text/email each other as well or do you just post here?
Go Illini.....Big WIN!
The only way this performance gets a "B" is because the average performance has become so bad, that it has become the "C" benchmark. I give it a "D+" for average underperformance, anemic offense, lack of movement, and pathetic half court offense, completely out rebounded, no defensive pressure, etc. etc.
I raised it from an "F" for character building, Leonard going for a couple of back door slams, Paul driving to the hoop a couple of times, tracy Abrams fighting hard on defense and making a clutch three, and our (heaven forbid) playing some bench and our subs fighting hard and giving us some minutes. Cudos to coach for actually drawing up some play's during the timeout to get Leonard some jams. God almighty, lets try that some more?
I was anticipating seeing a MSU power basketball team pound it into the paint and eat us alive with our 4 guards chucking bricks and Leonard out by the 3 pt line. Thank goodness, two of thier starters were sick and non-factors in the game or we would have been staring at a 15 pt deficit with 8.1 sec to go.
How painful was it to watch Dawson push the ball up the court, crossover dribble and keep multiple Illini spinning around and on thier heels, go coast to coast for a layup. I wish we had someone who could master such a basic fundamental of basketball and consistenly do it in a game. Its much more exciting and productive to hold it up, pass it around, stand around, look confused, listen to Webber scream and either turn it over or clang a 40 footer off the rim with 2 secs on the shot clock. Sarcasm off.
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