https://www.cbssports.com/college-b...erwood-admitted-defeat-and-changed-his-style/
I think something that has been lost in the narrative of the season is the tremendous coaching job that has been done by Brad Underwood. These changes really came as a surprise to me at the beginning of the season, and I frequently commented that we felt like a new team with a learning curve rather than a team returning 70% of our minutes. We were fortunate to have a fairly easy non-conference schedule (3 losses in Maui would have really hurt our NCAA Tournament chances) to adapt.
One of the reasons I was so confident in this team (and I'm usually wrong with my predictions so I don't deserve many kudos here for finally being right once) is that I could see that we had a balanced lineup and the right scheme for our talent. Even when we were playing well at times earlier in the year, you could see that we were thinking instead of reacting and you were left wanting more. The fundamental changes to reduce fouls and easy layups for the other team raised the floor of this team tremendously. Then when we started to master the new wrinkles on offense, you could see the number of turnovers decline precipitously (although the first half last night was the exception -- hence the halftime deficit) and then the floor rose again.
You could also see that we were winning with fairly low shooting percentages (and losing with even worse ones) and there was plenty of reason to believe that the 3-point shooting would improve from the historically low pace early in the season (Frazier, Ayo, and Giorgi should all be on the upswing and even Feliz is shooting with confidence now.) Guys are playing within their roles and you can anticipate the good look from 3 rather than guys just jacking up shots. The confident shot is more likely to go in. There were two times where we didn't shoot the expected shot (I think both were Frazier -- one was his charge into Haarms and the other immediately preceded a 3-second call) and both led to turnovers. So there is still room for improvement (also will help when we don't commit technical fouls) but I think now we are seeing what this team really is. T-Rank gives us a 94% chance of making the NCAA Tournament and there is every reason to think we will maintain a high level of play.
What is even more exciting is that Underwood will be coaching future years of Illini teams and is capable of making these kind of changes when his scheme needs tweaking. That kind of no-ego approach to coaching really raises the ceiling of where his teams can go in March. Recruiting was already going well and now we're going to be able to sell good coaching, player development, and overall relevance. It's just a really great time to be an Illinois basketball fan.
I think something that has been lost in the narrative of the season is the tremendous coaching job that has been done by Brad Underwood. These changes really came as a surprise to me at the beginning of the season, and I frequently commented that we felt like a new team with a learning curve rather than a team returning 70% of our minutes. We were fortunate to have a fairly easy non-conference schedule (3 losses in Maui would have really hurt our NCAA Tournament chances) to adapt.
One of the reasons I was so confident in this team (and I'm usually wrong with my predictions so I don't deserve many kudos here for finally being right once) is that I could see that we had a balanced lineup and the right scheme for our talent. Even when we were playing well at times earlier in the year, you could see that we were thinking instead of reacting and you were left wanting more. The fundamental changes to reduce fouls and easy layups for the other team raised the floor of this team tremendously. Then when we started to master the new wrinkles on offense, you could see the number of turnovers decline precipitously (although the first half last night was the exception -- hence the halftime deficit) and then the floor rose again.
You could also see that we were winning with fairly low shooting percentages (and losing with even worse ones) and there was plenty of reason to believe that the 3-point shooting would improve from the historically low pace early in the season (Frazier, Ayo, and Giorgi should all be on the upswing and even Feliz is shooting with confidence now.) Guys are playing within their roles and you can anticipate the good look from 3 rather than guys just jacking up shots. The confident shot is more likely to go in. There were two times where we didn't shoot the expected shot (I think both were Frazier -- one was his charge into Haarms and the other immediately preceded a 3-second call) and both led to turnovers. So there is still room for improvement (also will help when we don't commit technical fouls) but I think now we are seeing what this team really is. T-Rank gives us a 94% chance of making the NCAA Tournament and there is every reason to think we will maintain a high level of play.
What is even more exciting is that Underwood will be coaching future years of Illini teams and is capable of making these kind of changes when his scheme needs tweaking. That kind of no-ego approach to coaching really raises the ceiling of where his teams can go in March. Recruiting was already going well and now we're going to be able to sell good coaching, player development, and overall relevance. It's just a really great time to be an Illinois basketball fan.
