Illini grade vs. Gonzaga: A plus
Our breakdown of Satuday's 85-74 win at Gonzaga
Player of the Game: Brandon Paul
Remember the breakout night he had against Ohio State? This one might have been better. It was on the road and he seemed to time his baskets when his team needed them most. We’re seeing the National Player of the Week.
Backcourt
Illinois A+, Gonzaga D
Where’s all the great three-point shooting we heard about from the Bulldogs? While Kevin Pangos and his pals were looking for their games, Tracy Abrams and D.J. Richardson were helping out their pal Paul.
Frontcourt
Illinois D, Gonzaga A
In hindsight, perhaps the Bulldogs should have fired a few more passes to Kelly Olynyk. The guy with Adam Morrison hair didn’t miss and put the Illini in early foul trouble.
Bench
Illinois B, Gonzaga C
Joseph Bertrand was his usual productive self and Sam McLaurin helped on the glass. But the big moments belonged to Myke Henry, who hit a pair of key three-pointers. Nice to see John Stockton following his son David.
Overall
Illinois A+, Gonzaga C
Hello, Mike Thomas, this is John Groce’s agent. About that contract ... When the NCAA tournament selection committee looks at Illinois’ body of work, it’s going to get a gold star for the rare opponent win at The Kennel.
Great win for Illini. Exciting team to watch. Same personnel as last year minus Leonard. What a difference a coach makes.
Interesting that Butch Jones left Cincinnati for Tennessee and Thomas could not get him to come to Illinois. I think that says a lot about either Thomas or Illinois or both.
To the extent that he's a big wing (I personally think Brandon's closer to 6'5" than 6'4") who plays on the ball a lot and often has the floor spread for him to make something happen, yes, he's playing a similar role. But that's where the similarities end. Turner, by his junior year, was the unquestioned Ohio State point guard. Paul is much more of a straight-up shooting guard who shares lead guard responsibilities with Tracy Abrams. Brandon plays off the ball, running the baseline/coming off curls/spotting up for catch-and-shoots waaaay more than Turner ever did.
In the roughest, most macro of senses, he kinda plays the Evan Turner role. But they have very different games.
Brandon gets the A plus.Groce gets an A.Rest of the team a B minus.The problem is the Illini are one injury away from disaster or an off night for Paul.Paul's near perfection game,just how many of those can one come up with?Your grade comes from a win that was suppose to be a loss.B plus or A minus,stop drinking the koolade.
Great win in a tough environment. Congratulations to the whole team!
But some Barking Dogs of Criticism will actually complain that Brandon Paul's performance shows the true weakness of the Illini. He can't play that well every night. Sure they beat a good team from the WCC, but just wait til the Illini have to play against better teams in tougher arenas in the Big Ten. Gonzaga always loses to more athletic teams from the power conferences. Oh, and this simply mirrors the Illini's performance last year when Brandon Paul peaked against Ohio State and then the team fell apart. Oh, and don't forget that Coach Groce is simply winning with Weber's recruits.
So far, the Illini are not slowing down for any Barking Dogs. This year they are indeed the Fighting Illini.
Here we go with the "he won with Krueger's recruits, he won with Self's recruits, and now he won with Weber's recruits debate." Who cares!!! Enjoy the win! Makes me question the loyalty of so called "fans" who always have something negative to say...like nothing makes you happy. I bet even if we win National Championship someone on here will post something negative.
Our guard play was certainly the difference but I thought our bigs did a decent job of keeping their bigs off the glass. Even though our bigs didn't get many rebounds, they created space for our guards to get to the ball. All, while battling foul trouble as a group. I would have rated them a little higher.
Personally I think this was a better game for Paul. The OSU game was one of those where he was just simply on fire and kept hitting from outside. This game he was doing everything and that included hitting from outside, driving to the bucket and playing defense. He looked like an NBA player last night.
Regarding the Weber recruits... I'm guessing that was tongue in cheek.
John Groce is an awesome coach!! Beckman has no business coaching especially in the Big Ten. Coach Groce continues to prove that it is the coaching that makes a difference and that great coaches do win immediately in their first year. Beckman just so happens to be the worst hire in Illinois history and it is a shame! Thomas is an idiot and does not know what it takes to hire a great football coach or how to even go about it if you dont listen to the fans that pay your bills and keep blowing us off then we'll do the same to you dummy! I got your message loud and clear Mikey, the fans dont matter! Well, you made your bed and now you gotta sleep in it. hope you have fun adjusting your budget schmuck.
I dont understand when people talk about winning with someone elses recruits...First off the guy who left the recruits couldnt take them with him and 9 times out of 10 he was more than likely LOSING with them i.e. Bruce Weber and i like weber as a man and respect as a coach,but he had shortcomings in how to maximize the talents of his current players at ILLINOIS.
He is given another at a decent school and our new coach comes in and i see the same recruits using most of the skills they came to school with.Bertrand slashing,tyler hitting shots(and big time ones).i see Brandon being his all around self.i see DJ being the pillar defensive guy and hitting shots and others as well.All things these guys should have been able to do with Weber but it seems that that system didnt allow it .Groce system is all about skill enhancement So once he had a signed paycheck from the state of Illinois,guess whose recruits they became?.....And guess whose undefeated right now?Webers recruits or Groce?...lol.
More Like This
Most Commented
-
Wed, 8:58 am
-
Tue, 12:02 am
-
Thu, 2:13 pm
-
Fri, 10:41 am
-
Tue, 9:16 am
Most Viewed
-
Sat, 6:03 pm
-
Thu, 6:07 pm
-
Fri, 2:42 pm
-
Fri, 2:40 pm
-
Tue, 9:16 am
Social Media
Comments
News-Gazette.com embraces discussion of both community and world issues. We welcome you to contribute your ideas, opinions and comments, but we ask that you avoid personal attacks, vulgarity and hate speech. We reserve the right to remove any comment at our discretion, and we will block repeat offenders' accounts. To post comments, you must first be a registered user, and your username will appear with any comment you post. Happy posting.