Some may disagree with me, but I personally think this team has/had talent on the roster. I still can't believe all of the games we were absolutely crushed in, not in the slightest.
Lets look at some numbers on the season and how they played out.
M. Hill - if anyone said at the beginning of the season that he would avg nearly 19 pts/game, I'm quite certain everyone would be ecstatic. And he did it with ease really. Would have been nice seeing him hit 3's at a clip in the mid 30's, but 31% isn't horrible for a guy that is more of a mid-range scorer. Carried the team multiple games. Absolutely a net "PLUS" season.
K. Nunn - Had IL on his back a few games. Yet another very good year shooting the rock from 3 at a clip of 39% while averaging nearly 16 pts/game. The same posters that blamed IL's close games early in the year on NOT having K. Nunn are the same ones burning him now that the season is over. Its unreal, it really is. Great shooting and solid defense. He and Hill tied for team lead in steals (Hill had 1 more actually). Net "PLUS" season for K. Nunn.
Hill/Nunn combo - #2 scoring duo in the BT, and top 5 scoring duo in the Nation (i believe)... Again, ask anyone at the beginning of the season if that would be acceptable, and i'm certain 100% of us would be ecstatic. Absolutely a net "PLUS" for the season.
JCL - coming in, he had the highest probability of making an early impact out of the 3 freshmen. And, he didn't disappoint. Kid is going to score a ton of pts during his time at IL. Shot an astounding 42% from 3, and broke a record while doing so. 74% of his shots were from 3, and that was a bit troubling. But he did put the ball on the floor more as the season went on. Not because he simply wanted to, but because defenses were running him off the 3-point line. Great season for JCL in all, and showed why he was considered the top catch-and-shoot guard in the country as a Senior in HS. Also showed why you can't/don't try to just make him a PG. You try to make him a PG, and you deplete what his best attribute is, catching and shooting in rhythm. absolutely a net "PLUS" for the season
Mav Morgan - wow, the big impressed me (and everyone else i'm sure). But from the first time we all saw Maverick this year, we knew he worked hard to totally transform his body. Maverick Morgan should absolutely win "most improved player" in the BT. its a no-brainer for him to win the team award, unless John Groce gets to pick the winner. Then, its likely Alex Austin! : ) Mav Morgan shot an incredible 57% from the floor, and rebounded better than he ever has before. Averaged 8.3 pts/game. Think about that for a second, 8.3 pts/game!!!! At the beginning of the year, everyone was HOPING Thorne would average 10 pts/game. Mav Morgan was close to averaging that exact number we were hoping for from Thorne. Absolutely a net "PLUS" season for Mav
Finke - nobody expected Finke to come in and play that much right away. but he was forced into action, and responded by averaging nearly 8 pts/game (just a few less than what we hoped to get from Thorne). he also shot a very impressive 37% from the 3-point line. It was absolutely a net "PLUS" season for Finke.
K. Lewis - coming in, not many expected much from him. Below avg offensive numbers at his previous school, and not expected to do much. First time i saw him on the court, i knew he was better than J. Tate (as did everyone else NOT named John Groce). He could defend, drive, and hit an occasional 3. Check out these 2 players and predict who they are:
player 1: FG% - 37% 3-pt % - 25% A/TO ratio: 2.4
player 2: FG% - 33% 3-pt % - 27% A/TO ratio: 1.6
Player 1 is K. Lewis, and player 2 is the player that supposedly would have 'SAVED' the season, and is being looked at as next year's season-savor by plenty of posters on this website. K. Lewis' numbers were actually BETTER than those of our own Tracy Abrams. . . . . . K. Lewis actually performed better than i expected. for me vs expectations, i'd say he exceeded them personally.
Notes: Alex Austin, kid that couldn't even start at EIU, walked on at IL and played as many minutes/game as A. Jordan and DJ Williams. Must have been Austin's 32% FG% and 21% 3-pt percentage! Wait, didn't Groce mention how great of a shooter Austin was in practice??
So you read through all of those players, and see how they all pretty much had good seasons, and performed at a high/higher level than anticipated, yet they are STILL a team that went 15-19 and 5 - 13 in Big Ten play. 4 of those 5 wins were against MN and Rutgers. How does that happen? I think its quite simple to see the signs pointing to the coaching.
Lets look at some numbers on the season and how they played out.
M. Hill - if anyone said at the beginning of the season that he would avg nearly 19 pts/game, I'm quite certain everyone would be ecstatic. And he did it with ease really. Would have been nice seeing him hit 3's at a clip in the mid 30's, but 31% isn't horrible for a guy that is more of a mid-range scorer. Carried the team multiple games. Absolutely a net "PLUS" season.
K. Nunn - Had IL on his back a few games. Yet another very good year shooting the rock from 3 at a clip of 39% while averaging nearly 16 pts/game. The same posters that blamed IL's close games early in the year on NOT having K. Nunn are the same ones burning him now that the season is over. Its unreal, it really is. Great shooting and solid defense. He and Hill tied for team lead in steals (Hill had 1 more actually). Net "PLUS" season for K. Nunn.
Hill/Nunn combo - #2 scoring duo in the BT, and top 5 scoring duo in the Nation (i believe)... Again, ask anyone at the beginning of the season if that would be acceptable, and i'm certain 100% of us would be ecstatic. Absolutely a net "PLUS" for the season.
JCL - coming in, he had the highest probability of making an early impact out of the 3 freshmen. And, he didn't disappoint. Kid is going to score a ton of pts during his time at IL. Shot an astounding 42% from 3, and broke a record while doing so. 74% of his shots were from 3, and that was a bit troubling. But he did put the ball on the floor more as the season went on. Not because he simply wanted to, but because defenses were running him off the 3-point line. Great season for JCL in all, and showed why he was considered the top catch-and-shoot guard in the country as a Senior in HS. Also showed why you can't/don't try to just make him a PG. You try to make him a PG, and you deplete what his best attribute is, catching and shooting in rhythm. absolutely a net "PLUS" for the season
Mav Morgan - wow, the big impressed me (and everyone else i'm sure). But from the first time we all saw Maverick this year, we knew he worked hard to totally transform his body. Maverick Morgan should absolutely win "most improved player" in the BT. its a no-brainer for him to win the team award, unless John Groce gets to pick the winner. Then, its likely Alex Austin! : ) Mav Morgan shot an incredible 57% from the floor, and rebounded better than he ever has before. Averaged 8.3 pts/game. Think about that for a second, 8.3 pts/game!!!! At the beginning of the year, everyone was HOPING Thorne would average 10 pts/game. Mav Morgan was close to averaging that exact number we were hoping for from Thorne. Absolutely a net "PLUS" season for Mav
Finke - nobody expected Finke to come in and play that much right away. but he was forced into action, and responded by averaging nearly 8 pts/game (just a few less than what we hoped to get from Thorne). he also shot a very impressive 37% from the 3-point line. It was absolutely a net "PLUS" season for Finke.
K. Lewis - coming in, not many expected much from him. Below avg offensive numbers at his previous school, and not expected to do much. First time i saw him on the court, i knew he was better than J. Tate (as did everyone else NOT named John Groce). He could defend, drive, and hit an occasional 3. Check out these 2 players and predict who they are:
player 1: FG% - 37% 3-pt % - 25% A/TO ratio: 2.4
player 2: FG% - 33% 3-pt % - 27% A/TO ratio: 1.6
Player 1 is K. Lewis, and player 2 is the player that supposedly would have 'SAVED' the season, and is being looked at as next year's season-savor by plenty of posters on this website. K. Lewis' numbers were actually BETTER than those of our own Tracy Abrams. . . . . . K. Lewis actually performed better than i expected. for me vs expectations, i'd say he exceeded them personally.
Notes: Alex Austin, kid that couldn't even start at EIU, walked on at IL and played as many minutes/game as A. Jordan and DJ Williams. Must have been Austin's 32% FG% and 21% 3-pt percentage! Wait, didn't Groce mention how great of a shooter Austin was in practice??
So you read through all of those players, and see how they all pretty much had good seasons, and performed at a high/higher level than anticipated, yet they are STILL a team that went 15-19 and 5 - 13 in Big Ten play. 4 of those 5 wins were against MN and Rutgers. How does that happen? I think its quite simple to see the signs pointing to the coaching.
