Something changed about the Illini offense last night.
Instead of trying to feed the low post from the top of the key, Illini guards & wings drove to the basket and then reversed the ball to the top.
I wish I had more cleverly annotated pictures of these actions. The few I have don’t begin to describe the number of times Illinois faked Purdue out of its collective jock.
There are plenty of pictures of Bill Ek’s ass, and Terry Wymer’s ass, which were captured when Illini penetrators (mostly Ayo) drew the defense inward before passing the ball outward. All baseline photographers capture many pictures of “ref butt.”
The actions differed so dramatically from previous Illini games, one is forced to wonder whether Brad Underwood is holding back sets for deployment in particular games, as if he’s figured out how this “scouting” thing works, and seeks to eliminate its efficacy.
Every once in a while, I dream that a coach draws out a scheme for an entire season. Do You? It’s what Bill Cubit was meant to do as Tim Beckman’s OC. It never seems to happen.
It’s crazy to even think that someone could be so longviewed in his scheming, right? But what if you’re a genius who’s spent your entire career toiling as an assistant & JC coach. Do you start drawing your grand plan on the off-chance that you might, some day, get the kind of chance you’ve always dreamed of?
The following is fact: Underwood drives a constantly expanding, conceptually evolving offense. And he’s done it while elevating the Illini defense to the top of the league. As he said last night after learning Purdue’s players said Illinois out-toughed its hosts: “There’s no greater compliment.”
When was the last time Illinois basketball was fun to watch?
Math nerds liked the Weber Motion. Results nerds liked Self’s hi-lo. Neither provided as much explosive entertainment as Lon Kruger’s teams. But Kruger never had the dynamic athletes that this 2020 team provides.
You’d probably have to go back to the 1980s to find a comparably entertaining Illini offense.
This team isn’t on par with the Flyin’ Illini. It’s too early for that. But if you remember 1982, when Bruce Douglas initiated his lob connection with Efrem Winters, you can start to appreciate where this team might be heading.
It’s a good place.
That said, there are still problems this team needs to fix moving forward. The obvious one is that Alan Griffin needs to consult with some professionals. His on-court demeanor needs addressed.
We’ve talked about it a lot, and he’s acknowledged that he’s completely different off-court. He needs to be different on court. He’ll be Kendrick Nunned from this Illini squad if he can’t stop kicking opponents in the nuts.
Kofi is. like many youngsters, a sponge for learning. It’s exciting to watch him develop good habits, and eliminate bad ones.
He got played Tuesday night, when that Morrissey lookin’ Dutchman lollygagged down the floor, thus coaxing Kofi to doddle as well. Nojel Eastern slipped behind the defense which Kofi was expected to anchor.
You can imagine he’ll hear about it, and that you won’t see this sort of thing happen again.
This team is developing so fast, it thrills us Olds. I can’t remember seeing this kind of gelling, and individual development, within the course of a single season.
Isn’t it fun?