Illini impress again

[Gary the Gargoyle]

I watched the USC and Butler games. The Illini were on fire from the three point line. I will be curious to see if they can keep that up during the year.

I'll expect them to be better defended in Big Ten play, but overall, they appear to have improved their shooting. The key that i've noticed has been the balance (beyond Brandon Paul). It seems that they'll struggle to get points in the paint.

[SFP]

Assuming teams are evenly matched (talent wise), I'll agree. That being said, Geno Ford could have coached his ass off last year, and Bradley still wasn't going to play with WSU.

Couldn't agree more! There are still glaring weaknesses on this year's squad which I hope GF is addressing with new recruits. We have a poor shooting team and without a natural PG it makes it that much harder to get the ball to an open guy who maybe capable of hitting 3s. The other weakness is real size. WE and JP are also not natural centers and Nate I'm suspecting is still a bit raw to be able to contribute for long stretches. Personally I like what I see from the team but as they say you can't squeeze blood from a stone.

[Da Coach]

Illinois was not so impressive today. They played Gardner-Webb at the Assembly Hall and it stayed close the whole game. Gardner-Webb took a 62-60 lead with 16 seconds left, then Tyler Griffey won it for Illinois 63-62 with a 3-pointer in the final seconds.

http://scores.espn.go.com/ncb/boxscore?gameId=323300356

[Future Walk-On]

Illinois was not so impressive today. They played Gardner-Webb at the Assembly Hall and it stayed close the whole game. Gardner-Webb took a 62-60 lead with 16 seconds left, then Tyler Griffey won it for Illinois 63-62 with a 3-pointer in the final seconds.
http://scores.espn.go.com/ncb/boxscore?gameId=323300356

+1

[Braves4Life]

Illinois was not so impressive today. They played Gardner-Webb

For some reason Gardner-Webb seems to play tough early in the season.

[ancona flash]

Having watched that game, GW played their butts off and they aren't your typical non-con Big 10 cupcake. They needed a ridiculous banked in 3 to take the lead late. U of I didn't hit a thing from outside early and looked thoroughly baffled with the zone.

UIUC will be a player in the B10 this year, they won't contend, but they will mess up someone's hopes for a title.