What is interesting is that as good as JT has become, he was not a good shooter as a HS sr......but he was athletically impressive as much as any on the court at the Bass Pro T of C. My guess is that he has put up several hundred thousands of shots since then in an attempt to become an elite shooter from distance...and quite successfully. And he is still a physically elite athlete even in the NBA.
Illinois 112, Eastern Illinois 67 Postgame
illiniswish09
- Northwest Suburbs
Oh it’s right my friend
I am really pulling for DGL. I would love for him to be our next Trent.
Same. I think I'll be picking up a #2 NIL jersey this year.
Guys Will Riley is not 17… he turns 19 in three months. There’s a reason why he was able to reclassify and be a bucket getter so quick.
That being said, I agree with most people that the one suck from this game was KB. Luckily, we know what we can (and probably will) get with him. It may take a bit for him to adjust to a different role and system after being successful elsewhere but I believe in him.
Illinois basketball is in good shape. I feel good about this year, and it’s not just because we had a good game tonight. Future is bright
That being said, I agree with most people that the one suck from this game was KB. Luckily, we know what we can (and probably will) get with him. It may take a bit for him to adjust to a different role and system after being successful elsewhere but I believe in him.
Illinois basketball is in good shape. I feel good about this year, and it’s not just because we had a good game tonight. Future is bright
Brad praised KB’s defense, so….
BamBam will be a great 6th man for us as the season progresses.
illinifan31
Former Krush Cow
- South Bend, IN
Will Riley put up 31pts and is only 17 years and 21 months old! Amazing!
It's going to depend on how he fares facing the length and athelicism that you don't find on EIU.
Adam Miller had a similar first game and now he's on year 4 and isn't sniffing the NBA(He's only 6'3 but still there is a lot of season left).
Bless you
It was very evident Will does not like high pressure physical style defense. His handle is loose and he needs strength. Go back and watch the few possessions Eastern did this to him. He was very uncomfortable. When they backed off and gave him space he killed them.
I think he will adjust to this throughout the season and progress when we play tougher competition.
With that being said..does anybody remember someone making two 4point plays in the same game? Crazy...
Our freshman are really good!
I think he will adjust to this throughout the season and progress when we play tougher competition.
With that being said..does anybody remember someone making two 4point plays in the same game? Crazy...
Our freshman are really good!
Like, seriously...why do we keep saying 17?
I could swear every single place had him at 18 when he committed. Him being 18 was the prime factor in the reclass in the first place.
I could swear every single place had him at 18 when he committed. Him being 18 was the prime factor in the reclass in the first place.
I think this all depends on the strength of the draft class. Waiting a year may or may not, be beneficial.
Did you factor in daylight savings?
Where did all of those points come from? The offense never seemed to really run smoothly. I don't want to see what it looks like when it faces any semblance of a real defense. (Oh wait, I've seen that.)
Overall an okay outing. The defense was pretty bad outside of DGL and Morez.
Boswell was underwhelming IMO. Early on he passed up several open 3s to drive right back into the traffic that generated the kickout. He made a number of bad passes. That isn't counting the no look passes, which had he looked, he would have seen that they were off. They were caught by good hands on the receiver, giving the defense time to correct. They were not good (or even fair) passes. He did not seem to do a good job starting the offense either. Game grade: C-. I would not be surprised if he was down to 5-7 minutes off the bench by mid season. DGL is outplaying him on both ends. KJ can slide over to the 1. (Though KJ needs to tighten his dribble. Several Big10 guards will have a feast if he tries to bring it up alone.)
Overall an okay outing. The defense was pretty bad outside of DGL and Morez.
Boswell was underwhelming IMO. Early on he passed up several open 3s to drive right back into the traffic that generated the kickout. He made a number of bad passes. That isn't counting the no look passes, which had he looked, he would have seen that they were off. They were caught by good hands on the receiver, giving the defense time to correct. They were not good (or even fair) passes. He did not seem to do a good job starting the offense either. Game grade: C-. I would not be surprised if he was down to 5-7 minutes off the bench by mid season. DGL is outplaying him on both ends. KJ can slide over to the 1. (Though KJ needs to tighten his dribble. Several Big10 guards will have a feast if he tries to bring it up alone.)
I just want to bring this up because it was not mentioned at all during the broadcast and only once in the game thread. If in fact it was our very own Genesis Bryant (I don't watch enough of the Illini gals games to know her by sight.) on that broadcast, she did a phenomenal job! Someone mentioned she had a Jazzy tone to her delivery, I agree! And I enjoyed her subdued but informative delivery to the broadcast. Does she need to show some 'excitement' in certain segments, maybe, I don't know what her role requirements are. I assume this was perhaps her 1st live broadcast???
Have not watched game yet, but not going to get overly excited about individual performances — though highlights of Will are impressive. Team beat EIU just like we expect them too. They just don’t have the manpower or offensive players to keep up with Illini. Happy with the win. Hopefully it is first of many this year.
I think this is going to be a very fun and frustrating team to watch. We are going to see some impressive offensive runs/games and, and I think we lose to a couple of teams we expected to beat. Hopefully it all leads to a late run in the tourney.
I think this is going to be a very fun and frustrating team to watch. We are going to see some impressive offensive runs/games and, and I think we lose to a couple of teams we expected to beat. Hopefully it all leads to a late run in the tourney.
I thought Davis had a night to forget also but 1 night does not a season make. On to the next one.
Joel Goodson
- dawgville
FWLIW, I agree:
yeah, it's EIU, but there's no doubt that we have a lot of weapons
yeah, it's EIU, but there's no doubt that we have a lot of weapons