Official 2008-2009 College Basketball Thread

[danman31]

Pitt escaped last year with only a 2 point victory there IIRC.

2 years ago they won by 3 in Buffalo.

[Jenksismyhero]

So two things about the Illini v Hawaii game tonight:

 

(1) Gus Johnson rocks. I can't believe the Big Ten Network got him to do this game. I hate Bill Simmons, but I totally agree with him on his love for Gus Johnson. He makes boring games sound like classics.

 

(2) When the Illinois players actually commit themselves to playing defense, they are a really good team. It makes their offense 10 times more fluid and effective. That'll be the goal this season - to get them to be consistent all year and play for 40 minutes.

[WhiteSoxfan1986]

So two things about the Illini v Hawaii game tonight:

 

(1) Gus Johnson rocks. I can't believe the Big Ten Network got him to do this game. I hate Bill Simmons, but I totally agree with him on his love for Gus Johnson. He makes boring games sound like classics.

 

They should clone enough Gus Johnson's so Gus could announce every single sporting event.

[whitesoxfan101]

I'll be at the December 20th game for the Illini against Detroit. I get to see them play in person quite a bit, but very rarely at Assembly Hall, so looking forward to it. Nice to see them win today, and they better be ready to run Thursday. Chicago State won't beat them, but they press all game long and David Holston is a stud at 2nd in the nation in scoring. Also, the Illini were outrebounded 39-14 and that's just unacceptable, even if they did kind of sleepwalk to an easy win tonight.

Edited December 9, 2008 by whitesoxfan101

[thedoctor]

I'll be at the December 20th game for the Illini against Detroit. I get to see them play in person quite a bit, but very rarely at Assembly Hall, so looking forward to it. Nice to see them win today, and they better be ready to run Thursday. Chicago State won't beat them, but they press all game long and David Holston is a stud at 2nd in the nation in scoring. Also, the Illini were outrebounded 39-14 and that's just unacceptable, even if they did kind of sleepwalk to an easy win tonight.

 

the rebounding thing will likely persist all year, as will the almost total lack of interior defense. the horses just aren't there.

 

that said, i really hope they do not consider taking the redshirt off of simpson. he could probably help in both regards, but i don't like the idea of burning a year.

 

as an aside, it's nice to see semrau showing some ability out there. i know folks where talking about running him off after he was a non-factor the past two years, but he's shown me a bit this year. frankly i'd rather have him out there than tisdale at this point.

[bigruss]

the rebounding thing will likely persist all year, as will the almost total lack of interior defense. the horses just aren't there.

 

that said, i really hope they do not consider taking the redshirt off of simpson. he could probably help in both regards, but i don't like the idea of burning a year.

 

as an aside, it's nice to see semrau showing some ability out there. i know folks where talking about running him off after he was a non-factor the past two years, but he's shown me a bit this year. frankly i'd rather have him out there than tisdale at this point.

I went to the game last night, first one as an official Illini!

 

Anywho, the rebounding was awful, but can easily be improved. So many times we had a big guy like Davis or Tisdale have a rebound, but another Illini would also be going for it, knocking the ball out of the original rebounder's hands and usually right into a Hawaii player. They just need to communicate better.

 

Tisdale looked awful, no confidence and poor moves. Meachum, I cant wait for Legion to take your place. Semrau is a good defender/rebounder when you need him. Frazier was hot last night. McCamey is really streaky. Davis is unbelievable, he needs to get more looks. His shot within 10 feet of the hoop is amazing.

 

Basically, I think the Illini need a playmaker, one who can open the offense up a bit more. We struggled early and often to get good shots, so we were stuck with alot of bad ones leading to a very poor shooting percentage. But the defense looked very good.

[whitesoxfan99]

I went to the game last night, first one as an official Illini!

 

Anywho, the rebounding was awful, but can easily be improved. So many times we had a big guy like Davis or Tisdale have a rebound, but another Illini would also be going for it, knocking the ball out of the original rebounder's hands and usually right into a Hawaii player. They just need to communicate better.

 

Tisdale looked awful, no confidence and poor moves. Meachum, I cant wait for Legion to take your place. Semrau is a good defender/rebounder when you need him. Frazier was hot last night. McCamey is really streaky. Davis is unbelievable, he needs to get more looks. His shot within 10 feet of the hoop is amazing.

 

Basically, I think the Illini need a playmaker, one who can open the offense up a bit more. We struggled early and often to get good shots, so we were stuck with alot of bad ones leading to a very poor shooting percentage. But the defense looked very good.

 

They shot 49% from the floor and got a ton of easy looks. They struggled for the first 5 minutes and last 5 minutes and routinely torched Hawaii's D besides that.

 

Right now you can basically tell how Tisdale will play within the first few possessions. If he makes a shot or does something positive he plays a good game. If he makes a mistake, misses a couple of shots he loses his confidence and has a terrible game. He has tremendous potential because he can be an outstanding offensive player but he is definitely a year away from having consistency. He obviously still needs to get much stronger in his base. I think his playing time is going to be very inconsistent this year, as you will have games like Kent St. and Georgia where he is terrific on offense and will get a ton of minutes and then other games like last night and Clemson where Semrau and Keller are going to get his minutes.

 

And Keller is getting very close to really breaking out. His offensive game seems to be there now but he is just as bad as Tisdale on the defensive boards right now and is actually even worse with his post defense. With him it isn't about strength or athleticism obviously but I feel he still thinks he can overwhelm people with his athleticism like I'm sure he did in JUCO rather than getting in proper position on D and on the glass.

[zenryan]

watching Northern Iowa at Iowa on ESPNU.

 

Iowa is so boring its not even funny.

[bigruss]

They shot 49% from the floor and got a ton of easy looks. They struggled for the first 5 minutes and last 5 minutes and routinely torched Hawaii's D besides that.

 

Right now you can basically tell how Tisdale will play within the first few possessions. If he makes a shot or does something positive he plays a good game. If he makes a mistake, misses a couple of shots he loses his confidence and has a terrible game. He has tremendous potential because he can be an outstanding offensive player but he is definitely a year away from having consistency. He obviously still needs to get much stronger in his base. I think his playing time is going to be very inconsistent this year, as you will have games like Kent St. and Georgia where he is terrific on offense and will get a ton of minutes and then other games like last night and Clemson where Semrau and Keller are going to get his minutes.

 

And Keller is getting very close to really breaking out. His offensive game seems to be there now but he is just as bad as Tisdale on the defensive boards right now and is actually even worse with his post defense. With him it isn't about strength or athleticism obviously but I feel he still thinks he can overwhelm people with his athleticism like I'm sure he did in JUCO rather than getting in proper position on D and on the glass.

Well, from what I saw it seemed that the offense struggled to get openings, I could be wrong but thats my judgement. Yes they created some easy shots, but the offense struggled mightily at times to do anything. Maybe Im just remembering those parts more.

 

Keller looked very good. He was a surprise to me offensively.

[Heads22]

Lucca Staiger hits his first 5 3's of the game in 6 minutes. 7 in the first half. Now at 8.

[Heads22]

My God, we have a f***ing player with 21 points in the first half, and lose at f***ing home to f***ing Drake.

 

I hope your seat is getting hot, McDermott.

[Jimbo's Drinker]

My God, we have a f***ing player with 21 points in the first half, and lose at f***ing home to f***ing Drake.

 

I hope your seat is getting hot, McDermott.

 

 

How about you report on ISU victories? We would never hear from you.

[whitesoxfan101]

watching Northern Iowa at Iowa on ESPNU.

 

Iowa is so boring its not even funny.

 

For sure, but Lickliter is a very good coach and they are getting better, a trend I expect to continue. The Big 10 is really on the way up in the near future IMO with coaches like Lickliter, Beilein, Smith, and Crean now in the league to go along with guys like Izzo, Ryan, Weber, Matta, and Painter. To me, the only "weak" coaches in the league are DeChelis (I'm sure I spelled that wrong) and Carmody, and even their teams are showing signs of improvement so far this year, although where or not that lasts is debateable (I think NU is heading in the right direction talentwise at least).

[kjshoe04]

I don't think Weber is much of a coach really.

[Jimbo's Drinker]

I don't think Weber is much of a coach really.

 

Duh.

 

Weber is a high voiced screaming moron. His only success was from Bill Self's wonderful recruiting.

[whitesoxfan101]

I don't think Weber is much of a coach really.

 

I'm not going to argue this because you can make a case for it, but 2004-2005 showed he can win when great players are there, and although it's not fair to make the comparison, he's going to have some outstanding players in the coming years.

Edited December 10, 2008 by whitesoxfan101

[Chisoxfn]

I'm liking Lickliter. His system is a bit boring but he's a very good coach and Iowa is playing some solid basketball.

[Buehrle>Wood]

I don't think Weber is much of a coach really.

Weber wasn't much of a coach when it came to recruiting, but that's about it and even that has changed drastically.

[fathom]

DePaul needs to fire JW immediately. They lost to Morgan State tonight.

[Brian]

DePaul needs to fire JW immediately. They lost to Morgan State tonight.

 

That was awesome. I have personal hatred for DePaul.

[Heads22]

I love Lickliter.

[ZoomSlowik]

DePaul wasn't a very good team with Koshwal in the lineup, they're terrible without him.

[nitetrain8601]

That's when you hire a coach who was even mediocre at small schools. I have no idea in what DePaul was thinking when they hired him. Get a s***ty coach so he wouldn't leave the program?

[whitesoxfan101]

Illinois did a great job on Holston tonight, they held down Chicago State way more than I would have anticipated. And yeah, the Wainwright thing isn't working, I'd imagine he's in trouble after this season. Beyond that, my only two thoughts are first, Gonzaga is REALLY good. This is without question the most talented team they have had since they started this run of success 10 years ago, and they might finally make the Final Four this year. Also, Jordan Hill on Arizona might be the most underrated player in the nation. Really like his game, and I'd think in a draft class this weak, he'd be a first round if not borderline lottery pick.

Edited December 11, 2008 by whitesoxfan101

[Jimbo's Drinker]

Cole Aldrich says, Jordan Who??