So what needs to change?

[GatoLouco]

So something ain’t right. We were pulverized in two straight games.

I saw the most lopsided half of my life between “comparable” teams. I know we are prone to hyperbole after a loss, but I honestly can’t remember watching a half like this that wasn’t a major team against a doormat.

So what needs to change? I’m truly curious about hearing suggestions

 

[Alvious]

You got me.

 

[wildcatpn]

So something ain’t right. We were pulverized in two straight games.

I saw the most lopsided half of my life between “comparable” teams. I know we are prone to hyperbole after a loss, but I honestly can’t remember watching a half like this that wasn’t a major team against a doormat.

So what needs to change? I’m truly curious about hearing suggestions

IMHO, this is simply a group of players and coaches that need to look in the mirror and decide what they want to be. 53-13 is the kind of score you see in a half when a power 5 team is playing an exhibition game against a D2 team. They should all be embarrassed and pissed off and make a change mentally right now.

 

[willycat]

So something ain’t right. We were pulverized in two straight games.

I saw the most lopsided half of my life between “comparable” teams. I know we are prone to hyperbole after a loss, but I honestly can’t remember watching a half like this that wasn’t a major team against a doormat.

So what needs to change? I’m truly curious about hearing suggestions

ADMISISONS!!!

 

[cats_man_too]

Energy, ball movement, ball control, shot selection, rebounding, effort, and different defensive looks were all missing in the second half.

 

[lunker35]

So something ain’t right. We were pulverized in two straight games.

I saw the most lopsided half of my life between “comparable” teams. I know we are prone to hyperbole after a loss, but I honestly can’t remember watching a half like this that wasn’t a major team against a doormat.

So what needs to change? I’m truly curious about hearing suggestions

In fairness I love our talent, but Illinois is a team that could win the national championship this year. They’re that good, but we had no heart in the second half today.

 

[FitzFan]

ADMISISONS!!!

ASSMISISONS SANDTARDS!!!

 

[corbi296]

In fairness I love our talent, but Illinois is a team that could win the national championship this year. They’re that good, but we had no heart in the second half today.

Illinois win the national championship? Not the team I watched yesterday. Just in the Big Ten, Iowa and especially Michigan are on a completely different level than Illinois and NU.

Actually I think that Illinois and NU are fairly similar teams top to bottom. Talented but inconsistent. Lapses of judgement, effort, execution and questionable coaching decisions result in the kind of roller coaster performance you saw last night from both teams. NU played as poorly in the second half as Illinois did in the first half. When your shot isn't falling, you can choose to keep taking those same rushed, low percentage shots in the hope that your luck changes or you can make a deliberate effort to take better, high percentage shots to get yourself in rhythm. That means pounding the ball inside and taking the ball hoop to get higher percentage shots or get fouled. What that also does is contribute to slowing the momentum of your opponent. When you take rushed outside shot after outside shot which results in long rebounds and enables your hot opponent to get easier scores in transition before your defense has a chance to set up, you are only perpetuating the momentum that is going against you when your opponent is on a roll. NU was on that roll in the first half but made enough mistakes to limit the size of their lead and Illinois flipped the tables on them in the second half and NU was never able to stem the tide.

 

[lunker35]

Illinois win the national championship? Not the team I watched yesterday. Just in the Big Ten, Iowa and especially Michigan are on a completely different level than Illinois and NU.

Actually I think that Illinois and NU are fairly similar teams top to bottom. Talented but inconsistent. Lapses of judgement, effort, execution and questionable coaching decisions result in the kind of roller coaster performance you saw last night from both teams. NU played as poorly in the second half as Illinois did in the first half. When your shot isn't falling, you can choose to keep taking those same rushed, low percentage shots in the hope that your luck changes or you can make a deliberate effort to take better, high percentage shots to get yourself in rhythm. That means pounding the ball inside and taking the ball hoop to get higher percentage shots or get fouled. What that also does is contribute to slowing the momentum of your opponent. When you take rushed outside shot after outside shot which results in long rebounds and enables your hot opponent to get easier scores in transition before your defense has a chance to set up, you are only perpetuating the momentum that is going against you when your opponent is on a roll. NU was on that roll in the first half but made enough mistakes to limit the size of their lead and Illinois flipped the tables on them in the second half and NU was never able to stem the tide.

You haven’t watched much hoops then. They’re easily talented enough to be a final four team if not more. It’s their best team in a long time with two future NBA locks.

 

[TheC]

You haven’t watched much hoops then. They’re easily talented enough to be a final four team if not more. It’s their best team in a long time with two future NBA locks.

I agree. That Illinois team is good. You've got two NBA level players surrounded by some pretty talented, athletic wings who can all shoot. I don't know if they'll make the Final 4, but it wouldn't shock me either to see them go on a run.

 

[Purple Pile Driver]

Illinois win the national championship? Not the team I watched yesterday. Just in the Big Ten, Iowa and especially Michigan are on a completely different level than Illinois and NU.

Actually I think that Illinois and NU are fairly similar teams top to bottom. Talented but inconsistent. Lapses of judgement, effort, execution and questionable coaching decisions result in the kind of roller coaster performance you saw last night from both teams. NU played as poorly in the second half as Illinois did in the first half. When your shot isn't falling, you can choose to keep taking those same rushed, low percentage shots in the hope that your luck changes or you can make a deliberate effort to take better, high percentage shots to get yourself in rhythm. That means pounding the ball inside and taking the ball hoop to get higher percentage shots or get fouled. What that also does is contribute to slowing the momentum of your opponent. When you take rushed outside shot after outside shot which results in long rebounds and enables your hot opponent to get easier scores in transition before your defense has a chance to set up, you are only perpetuating the momentum that is going against you when your opponent is on a roll. NU was on that roll in the first half but made enough mistakes to limit the size of their lead and Illinois flipped the tables on them in the second half and NU was never able to stem the tide.

Illinois is loaded. They definitely can beat Michigan and Iowa. It wouldn’t be ab upset. Ayo is the best player in the league. Kofi is a monster that just took over by bullying guys. I am not convinced he will be more than an NBA back up because his hands are awful, but he is a college stud. The Freshman Cuebelo and Miller are at least as good as any recent player NU has brought in as Freshman. They will both be very good. This comes from a guy who can’t stand Red Ass Underwood and their entitled fan base.

 

[7th Cir. Cat]

So something ain’t right. We were pulverized in two straight games.

I saw the most lopsided half of my life between “comparable” teams. I know we are prone to hyperbole after a loss, but I honestly can’t remember watching a half like this that wasn’t a major team against a doormat.

So what needs to change? I’m truly curious about hearing suggestions

So something ain’t right. We were pulverized in two straight games.

I saw the most lopsided half of my life between “comparable” teams. I know we are prone to hyperbole after a loss, but I honestly can’t remember watching a half like this that wasn’t a major team against a doormat.

So what needs to change? I’m truly curious about hearing suggestions

Not trying to make excuses because you know I think Collins is suspect as an in-game coach, but Iowa is a Final Four team, Illinois has two first round NBA draft picks on the roster, and Michigan is a dark horse to make the Final Four and is coached by an NBA All-Star (their version of Fitz). I just think there was a considerable talent gap. Iowa, Michigan, and Illinois are REALLY good. Doesn't mean we are REALLY bad. No one would be shocked if all 3 of those teams were in the Elite 8, which is crazy. Let's see how we respond.

NOW is when Collins needs to earn his keep as a coach. We've been knocked down, do we get up?

 

[corbi296]

You haven’t watched much hoops then. They’re easily talented enough to be a final four team if not more. It’s their best team in a long time with two future NBA locks.

They may have two future NBA players but that doesn't mean they are a top team. Besides, I am not a fan of their big center and his game does not translate very well to the NBA game. Ayo is a different story. I've watched him play since he was a sophomore in HS and he is clearly a highly skilled basketball player but his talents as an individual player don't always translate to the full benefit of the team. Iowa and especially Michigan would stomp the Illinois team I have seen play this year 9 out of every 10x they play.

 

[corbi296]

Illinois is loaded. They definitely can beat Michigan and Iowa. It wouldn’t be ab upset. Ayo is the best player in the league. Kofi is a monster that just took over by bullying guys. I am not convinced he will be more than an NBA back up because his hands are awful, but he is a college stud. The Freshman Cuebelo and Miller are at least as good as any recent player NU has brought in as Freshman. They will both be very good. This comes from a guy who can’t stand Red Ass Underwood and their entitled fan base.

I never said they didn't have a lot of individual talent. They do. It's just talent that doesn't play consistently as a team. The whole is less than the sum of its parts with Illinois. I don't see that changing in part because I don't believe Underwood is the type of coach that can get that group to play cohesively and unselfishly as a team.

 

[GatoLouco]

Well not a lot of specific ideas. I'll throw some out there

Minutes
-Greer is a tough little guy. But he's no more than an able body to give 3-5 minutes or rest to a point guard. If he were at IA, maybe more minutes. But he's in a roster with some limitation on creating shots. He can't be out there for long. Less minutes for Greer
-Audige. Less minutes. Really talented, needs adjustment, needs to sit for longer
-Berry, more minutes, maybe it's time to throw him into the Wolves at PG and see what happens
-Young, more minutes, less time being the only guy in the lineup with ability to create a shot
-Buie, less minutes, let him come off the bench and be a spark, and work his way back to starter. Could have starter minutes coming off the bench anyway
-Nicholson, give him 3-5 minutes, does not need to be a part of the rotation, does not mean he can't get our there for a few. Might even have a game where he surprises you with a few buckets and stays out there for 10 minutes

Lineup
Change it. Several iterations sound intriguing to me
-Berry/Gaines/Kopp/Beran/Young
-Berry/Gaines/Kopp/Nance/Young
-Berry/Kopp/Beran/Nance/Young
Yep, Berry/Kopp/Young are the 3 steadies for this guy right now

Zone
Drop the 3-2, either 2-3 or matchup. Don't use it for long periods of time. Don't use it if we are not allowing points at a clip of over 75 per 40 minutes. Don't carry using it over half time. Use it for a few possessions and the moment you allow a 3 pointer drop it. Or don't use it at all, we are decent in man to man

Leadership
Have a conversation with Gaines and see how he can help with the locker room connection. And in game connection.

Substitutions
Ease more the bench players into the lineup. Quick 4 in, 4 out is asking a lot from the bench players to produce at a high level. It's frustrating to be a young fella like Berry and only get minutes with Greer and Gaines in the back court.

 

[Purple Pile Driver]

They may have two future NBA players but that doesn't mean they are a top team. Besides, I am not a fan of their big center and his game does not translate very well to the NBA game. Ayo is a different story. I've watched him play since he was a sophomore in HS and he is clearly a highly skilled basketball player but his talents as an individual player don't always translate to the full benefit of the team. Iowa and especially Michigan would stomp the Illinois team I have seen play this year 9 out of every 10x they play.

Cmon Corb, there is no way in Hell Illinois would get stomped 9 out 10 against Iowa or Michigan.

Also, over the past 2 years, Ayo has almost single handily been response for some of their wins.

As you know, I can’t stand Illinois, but this comment is over the top.

 

[corbi296]

Cmon Corb, there is no way in Hell Illinois would get stomped 9 out 10 against Iowa or Michigan.

Also, over the past 2 years, Ayo has almost single handily been response for some of their wins.

As you know, I can’t stand Illinois, but this comment is over the top.

Disagree. Michigan is more talented, deeper, plays harder and is better coached than Illinois. There is no comparison between those two teams in my opinion. Iowa less so but still at a different level than Illinois.

 

[willycat]

Well not a lot of specific ideas. I'll throw some out there

Minutes
-Greer is a tough little guy. But he's no more than an able body to give 3-5 minutes or rest to a point guard. If he were at IA, maybe more minutes. But he's in a roster with some limitation on creating shots. He can't be out there for long. Less minutes for Greer
-Audige. Less minutes. Really talented, needs adjustment, needs to sit for longer
-Berry, more minutes, maybe it's time to throw him into the Wolves at PG and see what happens
-Young, more minutes, less time being the only guy in the lineup with ability to create a shot
-Buie, less minutes, let him come off the bench and be a spark, and work his way back to starter. Could have starter minutes coming off the bench anyway
-Nicholson, give him 3-5 minutes, does not need to be a part of the rotation, does not mean he can't get our there for a few. Might even have a game where he surprises you with a few buckets and stays out there for 10 minutes

Lineup
Change it. Several iterations sound intriguing to me
-Berry/Gaines/Kopp/Beran/Young
-Berry/Gaines/Kopp/Nance/Young
-Berry/Kopp/Beran/Nance/Young
Yep, Berry/Kopp/Young are the 3 steadies for this guy right now

Zone
Drop the 3-2, either 2-3 or matchup. Don't use it for long periods of time. Don't use it if we are not allowing points at a clip of over 75 per 40 minutes. Don't carry using it over half time. Use it for a few possessions and the moment you allow a 3 pointer drop it. Or don't use it at all, we are decent in man to man

Leadership
Have a conversation with Gaines and see how he can help with the locker room connection. And in game connection.

Substitutions
Ease more the bench players into the lineup. Quick 4 in, 4 out is asking a lot from the bench players to produce at a high level. It's frustrating to be a young fella like Berry and only get minutes with Greer and Gaines in the back court.

Agree with less Greer and definitely a lot less of Audige and probably less Gaines. More Nance and Beran and they need Buie at the point. Who else is there? Maybe Nicholson can get some of Young's minutes.

 

[freewillie07]

Well not a lot of specific ideas. I'll throw some out there

Minutes
-Greer is a tough little guy. But he's no more than an able body to give 3-5 minutes or rest to a point guard. If he were at IA, maybe more minutes. But he's in a roster with some limitation on creating shots. He can't be out there for long. Less minutes for Greer
-Audige. Less minutes. Really talented, needs adjustment, needs to sit for longer
-Berry, more minutes, maybe it's time to throw him into the Wolves at PG and see what happens
-Young, more minutes, less time being the only guy in the lineup with ability to create a shot
-Buie, less minutes, let him come off the bench and be a spark, and work his way back to starter. Could have starter minutes coming off the bench anyway
-Nicholson, give him 3-5 minutes, does not need to be a part of the rotation, does not mean he can't get our there for a few. Might even have a game where he surprises you with a few buckets and stays out there for 10 minutes

Lineup
Change it. Several iterations sound intriguing to me
-Berry/Gaines/Kopp/Beran/Young
-Berry/Gaines/Kopp/Nance/Young
-Berry/Kopp/Beran/Nance/Young
Yep, Berry/Kopp/Young are the 3 steadies for this guy right now

Zone
Drop the 3-2, either 2-3 or matchup. Don't use it for long periods of time. Don't use it if we are not allowing points at a clip of over 75 per 40 minutes. Don't carry using it over half time. Use it for a few possessions and the moment you allow a 3 pointer drop it. Or don't use it at all, we are decent in man to man

Leadership
Have a conversation with Gaines and see how he can help with the locker room connection. And in game connection.

Substitutions
Ease more the bench players into the lineup. Quick 4 in, 4 out is asking a lot from the bench players to produce at a high level. It's frustrating to be a young fella like Berry and only get minutes with Greer and Gaines in the back court.

Yep. My one suggestion was going to be get Berry some time at lead guard. It's not his natural position, but if Buie isn't effective, the only other option can't be Greer. He's fine in short spurts but unless he's given the green light to be more aggressive (he actually had a nice drive that drew a foul in the second half, if I recall) it just kills the offense because he's rarely looking to shoot.

I am hoping that Julian Roper can turn into a similar player who can be a PG or SG.

 

[Purple Pile Driver]

Yep. My one suggestion was going to be get Berry some time at lead guard. It's not his natural position, but if Buie isn't effective, the only other option can't be Greer. He's fine in short spurts but unless he's given the green light to be more aggressive (he actually had a nice drive that drew a foul in the second half, if I recall) it just kills the offense because he's rarely looking to shoot.

I am hoping that Julian Roper can turn into a similar player who can be a PG or SG.

I thought Greer was one of the few bright spots.

 

[CatFan_Mike2]

So something ain’t right. We were pulverized in two straight games.

I saw the most lopsided half of my life between “comparable” teams. I know we are prone to hyperbole after a loss, but I honestly can’t remember watching a half like this that wasn’t a major team against a doormat.

So what needs to change? I’m truly curious about hearing suggestions

Definitely not comparable teams. Illinois could make a run to the Final Four while NU is a middle of the pack B10 team. Need more consistent play from the guys who can create their own shot. When Buie and Audige are not capable of penetrating the offense goes stagnant. This leads to bad shots as the clock runs down. Also need to rebound.

 

[CappyNU]

Well not a lot of specific ideas. I'll throw some out there

Minutes
-Greer is a tough little guy. But he's no more than an able body to give 3-5 minutes or rest to a point guard. If he were at IA, maybe more minutes. But he's in a roster with some limitation on creating shots. He can't be out there for long. Less minutes for Greer
-Audige. Less minutes. Really talented, needs adjustment, needs to sit for longer
-Berry, more minutes, maybe it's time to throw him into the Wolves at PG and see what happens
-Young, more minutes, less time being the only guy in the lineup with ability to create a shot
-Buie, less minutes, let him come off the bench and be a spark, and work his way back to starter. Could have starter minutes coming off the bench anyway
-Nicholson, give him 3-5 minutes, does not need to be a part of the rotation, does not mean he can't get our there for a few. Might even have a game where he surprises you with a few buckets and stays out there for 10 minutes

Lineup
Change it. Several iterations sound intriguing to me
-Berry/Gaines/Kopp/Beran/Young
-Berry/Gaines/Kopp/Nance/Young
-Berry/Kopp/Beran/Nance/Young
Yep, Berry/Kopp/Young are the 3 steadies for this guy right now

Zone
Drop the 3-2, either 2-3 or matchup. Don't use it for long periods of time. Don't use it if we are not allowing points at a clip of over 75 per 40 minutes. Don't carry using it over half time. Use it for a few possessions and the moment you allow a 3 pointer drop it. Or don't use it at all, we are decent in man to man

Leadership
Have a conversation with Gaines and see how he can help with the locker room connection. And in game connection.

Substitutions
Ease more the bench players into the lineup. Quick 4 in, 4 out is asking a lot from the bench players to produce at a high level. It's frustrating to be a young fella like Berry and only get minutes with Greer and Gaines in the back court.

I just don't understand your hatred of zone defense, which you make very clear every game. In the 1st half last night, we played man on 19 possessions and gave up 18 points. We played zone out of necessity due to foul trouble on 17 possessions and gave up 10 points. Started the 2nd half in man and gave up 8 points in the first 3 possessions, switched back to zone, gave up only 2 points in the next 4 possessions before they finally figured it out and scored a bunch of points quickly. Maybe he took too long to switch back to man, but once he did, it was effective for the first 4 possessions or so before they figured that out too and the rout was on. 31 points on 21 man possessions vs 22 points on 12 zone possessions in the 2nd half.

Ryan Greer was +21 in 14 1st half minutes last night with 2 points, an assist and a rebound. Buie was -6 in 6 minutes with no points, a turnover and 2 fouls. Clearly, things did not work out great for either player in the 2nd half, with Greer at -20 and Buie at -15. Berry had a great 1st half last night, but he had been roasted defensively in the last few games and was -22 in the 2nd half.

In Berry's 7 1st half minutes last night, he was +10 playing with Greer, 5 points, a steal and a rebound, and -2 playing with Buie, 0 points, an assist and a steal.

The Greer/Gaines/Kopp lineups were cooking in the 1st half, a combined +23 in 12:16 (33-10). For whatever reason, Collins only played them together for 2:07 in the 2nd half, including the last minute of garbage time with Nicholson. They were outscored 6-0.

Berry did play PG for 1:02 in the 2nd half, we were outscored 5-0.

Collins tried an awful lot of lineups in this game, at some point players have to make plays. The turnovers and shot selection in the second half were just terrible, and that's not on the coach. It's on the players to stay focused and play good basketball. Instead they got broken mentally.

 

[GatoLouco]

Definitely not comparable teams. Illinois could make a run to the Final Four while NU is a middle of the pack B10 team. Need more consistent play from the guys who can create their own shot. When Buie and Audige are not capable of penetrating the offense goes stagnant. This leads to bad shots as the clock runs down. Also need to rebound.

Dude, I even put quotation marks in comparable. We are close enough to be reasonable to think being outscored by 40 in a half is not expected or accepted. It's not like IL played Chicago State.

 

[GatoLouco]

I just don't understand your hatred of zone defense, which you make very clear every game. In the 1st half last night, we played man on 19 possessions and gave up 18 points. We played zone out of necessity due to foul trouble on 17 possessions and gave up 10 points. Started the 2nd half in man and gave up 8 points in the first 3 possessions, switched back to zone, gave up only 2 points in the next 4 possessions before they finally figured it out and scored a bunch of points quickly. Maybe he took too long to switch back to man, but once he did, it was effective for the first 4 possessions or so before they figured that out too and the rout was on. 31 points on 21 man possessions vs 22 points on 12 zone possessions in the 2nd half.

Ryan Greer was +21 in 14 1st half minutes last night with 2 points, an assist and a rebound. Buie was -6 in 6 minutes with no points, a turnover and 2 fouls. Clearly, things did not work out great for either player in the 2nd half, with Greer at -20 and Buie at -15. Berry had a great 1st half last night, but he had been roasted defensively in the last few games and was -22 in the 2nd half.

In Berry's 7 1st half minutes last night, he was +10 playing with Greer, 5 points, a steal and a rebound, and -2 playing with Buie, 0 points, an assist and a steal.

The Greer/Gaines/Kopp lineups were cooking in the 1st half, a combined +23 in 12:16 (33-10). For whatever reason, Collins only played them together for 2:07 in the 2nd half, including the last minute of garbage time with Nicholson. They were outscored 6-0.

Berry did play PG for 1:02 in the 2nd half, we were outscored 5-0.

Collins tried an awful lot of lineups in this game, at some point players have to make plays. The turnovers and shot selection in the second half were just terrible, and that's not on the coach. It's on the players to stay focused and play good basketball. Instead they got broken mentally.

Zone is rolling the dice. You can get lucky, but your luck usually runs out. The better the competition the riskier it is. If it wasn't, it would be widely used. After all, it even rests the players a lot more and helps keeping them out of foul trouble.

Would not be so against it if we were bad on man to man defense. But we are not. Maybe I am just (unnecessary) risk averse and, in the end, your numbers will prove me wrong.

 

[combes]

They may have two future NBA players but that doesn't mean they are a top team. Besides, I am not a fan of their big center and his game does not translate very well to the NBA game. Ayo is a different story. I've watched him play since he was a sophomore in HS and he is clearly a highly skilled basketball player but his talents as an individual player don't always translate to the full benefit of the team. Iowa and especially Michigan would stomp the Illinois team I have seen play this year 9 out of every 10x they play.

Illinois beat Michigan twice last year. This years, remains to be seen, but look at Michigan’s schedule so far. Weak.

As for Kofi, he’s averaging 20 points and 12 rebounds in league play. NBA is not important at this point. Kofi is a heck of a college player and that’s what matters.

 

[jensberg]

I thought Greer was one of the few bright spots.

Agree re. Greer. He was a steadying influence while Boo couldn't do anything positive. Young also needs more minutes unless Nance is having his occasional assertive game.

 

[hdhntr1]

ASSMISISONS SANDTARDS!!!

Apparantly you would not make it

 

[FitzFan]

Apparantly you would not make it

Apparently not.

 

[corbi296]

Illinois beat Michigan twice last year. This years, remains to be seen, but look at Michigan’s schedule so far. Weak.

As for Kofi, he’s averaging 20 points and 12 rebounds in league play. NBA is not important at this point. Kofi is a heck of a college player and that’s what matters.

Look who shows his face. Haven't seen you prognosticating on the football board since you were crowing about Lovie's hire and Illinois having the best staff in college football. How did that work out?

Last year was last year. This year's Michigan team will stomp the Illinois team I saw play last night. They are more talented, deeper, they play harder and they are better coached.

 

[ThatkidfromHolland]

Zone is rolling the dice. You can get lucky, but your luck usually runs out. The better the competition the riskier it is. If it wasn't, it would be widely used. After all, it even rests the players a lot more and helps keeping them out of foul trouble.

Would not be so against it if we were bad on man to man defense. But we are not. Maybe I am just (unnecessary) risk averse and, in the end, your numbers will prove me wrong.

Zone takes away a certain option and slows the tempo and generates less fouls. It does this while leaving something open depending on the zone run. While I prefer man to man if nance and young are in foul trouble or the opposing team can’t make 3’s the zone we run makes sense. It also can be a decent change up if for some reason they aren’t playing good D.

 

[Jaycg15]

They are more talented, deeper, they play harder and they are better coached.

1/4

 

[Wildcat_Alumi_Group]

Well not a lot of specific ideas. I'll throw some out there

Minutes
-Greer is a tough little guy. But he's no more than an able body to give 3-5 minutes or rest to a point guard. If he were at IA, maybe more minutes. But he's in a roster with some limitation on creating shots. He can't be out there for long. Less minutes for Greer
-Audige. Less minutes. Really talented, needs adjustment, needs to sit for longer
-Berry, more minutes, maybe it's time to throw him into the Wolves at PG and see what happens
-Young, more minutes, less time being the only guy in the lineup with ability to create a shot
-Buie, less minutes, let him come off the bench and be a spark, and work his way back to starter. Could have starter minutes coming off the bench anyway
-Nicholson, give him 3-5 minutes, does not need to be a part of the rotation, does not mean he can't get our there for a few. Might even have a game where he surprises you with a few buckets and stays out there for 10 minutes

Lineup
Change it. Several iterations sound intriguing to me
-Berry/Gaines/Kopp/Beran/Young
-Berry/Gaines/Kopp/Nance/Young
-Berry/Kopp/Beran/Nance/Young
Yep, Berry/Kopp/Young are the 3 steadies for this guy right now

Zone
Drop the 3-2, either 2-3 or matchup. Don't use it for long periods of time. Don't use it if we are not allowing points at a clip of over 75 per 40 minutes. Don't carry using it over half time. Use it for a few possessions and the moment you allow a 3 pointer drop it. Or don't use it at all, we are decent in man to man

Leadership
Have a conversation with Gaines and see how he can help with the locker room connection. And in game connection.

Substitutions
Ease more the bench players into the lineup. Quick 4 in, 4 out is asking a lot from the bench players to produce at a high level. It's frustrating to be a young fella like Berry and only get minutes with Greer and Gaines in the back court.

Point guard is Ty Berry's natural position. That is why we feel in love with him in the first place and recruited him. To remind us of what this kid can do as point guard see the video below...check out how deep he fires the 3 from when he is comfortable in his NATURAL POSITION. Let's start putting Ty Berry as point guard like 5mins here & there so we can get him comfortable playing that position for us...the sooner we do this the faster he will give us what we need to WIN.

 

[Vassar69]

Point guard is Ty Berry's natural position. That is why we feel in love with him in the first place and recruited him. To remind us of what this kid can do as point guard see the video below...check out how deep he fires the 3 from when he is comfortable in his NATURAL POSITION. Let's start putting Ty Berry as point guard like 5mins here & there so we can get him comfortable playing that position for us...the sooner we do this the faster he will give us what we need to WIN.

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Being comfortable out there probably has a lot more to do with the fact that he’s playing against high schoolers instead of college athletes in the best conference in the country.

 

[IGNORE2]

1. Don’t bench Boo - unless you are ready to see him in the portal. Not who starts, it’s who finishes.

2. Audidge seems like a great 6 man candidate. Kinda like the little guard for the bulls a few years ago. Kinda guy to have on the floor in closing minutes.

3. Young is very nice. But don’t get to in love. If you put scores on the floor, I think he can work against any center.

4. I’ll say it - kopp is another great 6 man on a great team. He can’t consistently get himself a shot. I would even think about Boo Berry Beran Nance Young for some evaluation. Maybe get Nichols a little more experience.

5. Greer and Gaines should be specific scenario plug and play. Both have things to offer in the right situation, neither are major players on great teams.

I would like to see more Boo and Berry playing interchangeably. Berry needs some limits on what he chucks up and encourage to thing more PG. I think that would open more opportunities for Boo.

 

[IGNORE2]

My rotation would be - for some evaluation -
Boo
Berry
Beran
Nance
Young

Kopp
Audidge
Gaines
Nichols
Greer

And I would pepper that zone in at least 33% to keep fouls low.

 

[Booty Maximus]

Illinois win the national championship? Not the team I watched yesterday. Just in the Big Ten, Iowa and especially Michigan are on a completely different level than Illinois and NU.

Actually I think that Illinois and NU are fairly similar teams top to bottom. Talented but inconsistent. Lapses of judgement, effort, execution and questionable coaching decisions result in the kind of roller coaster performance you saw last night from both teams. NU played as poorly in the second half as Illinois did in the first half. When your shot isn't falling, you can choose to keep taking those same rushed, low percentage shots in the hope that your luck changes or you can make a deliberate effort to take better, high percentage shots to get yourself in rhythm. That means pounding the ball inside and taking the ball hoop to get higher percentage shots or get fouled. What that also does is contribute to slowing the momentum of your opponent. When you take rushed outside shot after outside shot which results in long rebounds and enables your hot opponent to get easier scores in transition before your defense has a chance to set up, you are only perpetuating the momentum that is going against you when your opponent is on a roll. NU was on that roll in the first half but made enough mistakes to limit the size of their lead and Illinois flipped the tables on them in the second half and NU was never able to stem the tide.

Illinois, Iowa, Michigan and Wisconsin are starting to separate themselves in the Big Ten and not much difference between those 4.

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T-Rank College Basketball Ratings and Rankings. And fun.

barttorvik.com

NW looks to be NIT bound again, is the NCAA going to have an NIT this year?

 

[flight 33]

Look who shows his face. Haven't seen you prognosticating on the football board since you were crowing about Lovie's hire and Illinois having the best staff in college football. How did that work out?

Last year was last year. This year's Michigan team will stomp the Illinois team I saw play last night. They are more talented, deeper, they play harder and they are better coached.

Lol...someone is getting a little angry...

 

[willycat]

Definitely not comparable teams. Illinois could make a run to the Final Four while NU is a middle of the pack B10 team. Need more consistent play from the guys who can create their own shot. When Buie and Audige are not capable of penetrating the offense goes stagnant. This leads to bad shots as the clock runs down. Also need to rebound.

Agree that NU is probably in the middle of the pack but Illinois is no Final Four team.

 

[GatoLouco]

Man I’d love to be middle of the pack. Guaranteed bid if that were the case.

I’d also be happy with NIT.

You guys are a lot more confident than me

 

[rogerkim]

My two cents:

I was kind of stunned at the chicken-little, sky-is-falling, fire Collins now rhetoric on this board after the Pitt loss. Seemed like an over-reaction to me. Similarly, while I was happy at the team's play in their first three Big Ten wins, I think talk of an NCAA tournament bid was premature.

I tend to take a middle-of-the-road approach. Yes, these last few losses were bad. But they were to teams that are very, very good. We can debate all we want about whether IL is a Final Four team and whether Iowa or Michigan is the best team in the Big Ten. We didn't play our best in any of the three losses and we ran into teams that played much better than we did.

But I'm not sure many of us would have predicted a .500 record after 6 games in conference play at the beginning of the season. Honestly, given this opening schedule: MSU, Indiana, OSU, Iowa, Michigan, IL - how many of us would have predicted a split? Especially coming off last season.

Based on the games I've watched, here is my assessment: we are a better team than we were last year. We have better talent and depth overall than last year, and the team has a better mental fortitude than last year in terms of closing out wins when we have the lead and not faltering when other teams make a run. Last season, we folded pretty much every time the other team made a run at us. This year, we have held on at times.

The talent gap in the Big Ten is narrow from top to bottom. If a middle of the pack team (us) plays well, it has a chance to knock off a top tier team. If a middle of the pack team plays poorly, it is likely to get demolished. If a top tier team brings its "A" game, only another top tier team will likely have a chance to win.

We played some of our best basketball against MSU, Indiana and OSU. I don't think we actually played that poorly against Iowa - they just simply got hot from outside. (Some of Bohannon's 3s were just ridiculous.) Michigan and IL played well and we were overmatched, plain and simple. Yes, we played a terrible 2nd half against IL. It happens, even to the most talented teams in the country - that's why we rarely see a team have a perfect season - almost everyone, even Final Four level teams, drop a game or two.

In the end, I don't think this points to any particular deficiency in our lineup or any particular flaw in the coaching staff. We are in the toughest conference in the country. In order to win, we need to at least have a B+ game in any given night. If we play our A game, I like our chances with anyone in the conference. But our margin for error is slim. The margins of error for most teams in the Big Ten is slim as well.

I remain cautiously optimistic about our season. I think we will have a better record than last year. I think our team is moving in the right direction and I like the players we have. They're not perfect, but they have the talent to compete and are starting to learn how to win. But it's still a learning process for them. I think Coach Collins is the right coach for Northwestern. He's not perfect, but then I don't think any coach is. But college basketball, even more than football, is dependent on recruiting. And I think he has proven to be a good recruiter. Over time, I think he will get our team to be consistently competitive in the Big Ten, which is saying a lot, given how tough this conference is.