Some off the record thoughts on the first game.
* Underwood will need to continue to evaluate lineups. Right now, they are starting 4 wings and face-up 4. That group will have chemistry and skill set issues, in my opinion.
* Not a shocker, but Ty Rodgers is not really a point guard and he's not playing a ton of minutes at the position. Multiple guys take turns bring the ball up. I do like Rodgers getting the ball in transition and leading the break. His size and strength in those scenarios is tough to defend.
* Dra Gibbs-Lawhorn will have to play a lot and possibly start. Underwood tried to downplay what Dra did on the court, but it was obvious that Illinois plays at a different speed with Dra in the game. His defense is sporadic. He can be disruptive because of his quickness, but can be a bit overaggressive and let guys drive then foul them.
* The poor start was because of lack of effort, which is a concern. Coleman Hawkins was probably the biggest culprit. He didn't take Jermaine Hamlin seriously and got muscled to the rim by him multiple times. EIU was quicker to the ball. They were getting a tone of ORB's early and coming up with 50/50 balls.
* EIU had 4 more offensive rebounds that Illinois. That shouldn't happen, but EIU also missed a ton of shots. They rebounded 14 of their 29 misses (28.5%). Illinois rebounded 10 of its 29 misses (34.4$)
* I love Quincy Guerrier as a driver. That's big boy basketball when he puts in on the floor. Now he needs to hit a few shots to keep defenses from backing off.
* The lack of guards on this team is obvious, so the redshirt of Sencire Harris doesn't make much sense in that regard. We'll see what happens with him.
* They really need to add a couple of more guards to the 2024 class. A versatile guard / shooter from the Portal is a big need. I'm not sure how much a reclassified Jeremiah Fears would help, but you obviously take him is he wants to come.
* Domask is solid but he needs to shore up his defense. Sincere Malone blew by him a couple of times and also beat him to the offense glass.
* Dainja is not happy coming off the bench, IMO, and I honestly don't think he should be. If you're going to spread the court with four wings, then Dainja is more effective than Coleman Hawkins at the 5 (both on offense and defense).
* TJ Shannon has a chance to be a first team All-American. One knit pick that I have about his game last night is that he didn't pull up for mid-range shots like he said he wants to do more of this year. He mostly put his head down and went to the rim.
* Marty Simmons said in the post game that the foul trouble didn't hurt them that much, but I would disagree with that. Once Sincere Malone and Jermaine Hamlin got into foul trouble Illinois made a huge run and EIU was toast.
* We didn't see the same ball movement that we saw against Kansas. The Jayhawks didn't guard the passing lanes, which is a staple of their defense. 15 assists on 29 field goals (52%) is pretty decent though.
* Amani Hansberry isn't going to score much against better competition, but he's a natural rebounder. He'll continue to get minutes because of that. I think he's going to have some trouble defending better and bigger teams inside, though.
What are your questions?
* Underwood will need to continue to evaluate lineups. Right now, they are starting 4 wings and face-up 4. That group will have chemistry and skill set issues, in my opinion.
* Not a shocker, but Ty Rodgers is not really a point guard and he's not playing a ton of minutes at the position. Multiple guys take turns bring the ball up. I do like Rodgers getting the ball in transition and leading the break. His size and strength in those scenarios is tough to defend.
* Dra Gibbs-Lawhorn will have to play a lot and possibly start. Underwood tried to downplay what Dra did on the court, but it was obvious that Illinois plays at a different speed with Dra in the game. His defense is sporadic. He can be disruptive because of his quickness, but can be a bit overaggressive and let guys drive then foul them.
* The poor start was because of lack of effort, which is a concern. Coleman Hawkins was probably the biggest culprit. He didn't take Jermaine Hamlin seriously and got muscled to the rim by him multiple times. EIU was quicker to the ball. They were getting a tone of ORB's early and coming up with 50/50 balls.
* EIU had 4 more offensive rebounds that Illinois. That shouldn't happen, but EIU also missed a ton of shots. They rebounded 14 of their 29 misses (28.5%). Illinois rebounded 10 of its 29 misses (34.4$)
* I love Quincy Guerrier as a driver. That's big boy basketball when he puts in on the floor. Now he needs to hit a few shots to keep defenses from backing off.
* The lack of guards on this team is obvious, so the redshirt of Sencire Harris doesn't make much sense in that regard. We'll see what happens with him.
* They really need to add a couple of more guards to the 2024 class. A versatile guard / shooter from the Portal is a big need. I'm not sure how much a reclassified Jeremiah Fears would help, but you obviously take him is he wants to come.
* Domask is solid but he needs to shore up his defense. Sincere Malone blew by him a couple of times and also beat him to the offense glass.
* Dainja is not happy coming off the bench, IMO, and I honestly don't think he should be. If you're going to spread the court with four wings, then Dainja is more effective than Coleman Hawkins at the 5 (both on offense and defense).
* TJ Shannon has a chance to be a first team All-American. One knit pick that I have about his game last night is that he didn't pull up for mid-range shots like he said he wants to do more of this year. He mostly put his head down and went to the rim.
* Marty Simmons said in the post game that the foul trouble didn't hurt them that much, but I would disagree with that. Once Sincere Malone and Jermaine Hamlin got into foul trouble Illinois made a huge run and EIU was toast.
* We didn't see the same ball movement that we saw against Kansas. The Jayhawks didn't guard the passing lanes, which is a staple of their defense. 15 assists on 29 field goals (52%) is pretty decent though.
* Amani Hansberry isn't going to score much against better competition, but he's a natural rebounder. He'll continue to get minutes because of that. I think he's going to have some trouble defending better and bigger teams inside, though.
What are your questions?
