Illinois Basketball: 3 Observations From the Michigan Victory
Dec 17, 2016; Chicago, IL, USA; Illinois Fighting Illini head coach John Groce reacts during the first half against the Brigham Young Cougars at the United Center. Mandatory Credit: Mike DiNovo-USA TODAY Sports
The Illinois Basketball team welcomed in the Michigan Wolverines last night in a must-win game for both programs.
Illinois dominated the game and eventually finished off Michigan 85-69. The Illini needed this win to keep their postseason hopes alive.
Here are my three observations from the Michigan victory.
Ball Movement Equals Points
In the most recent loss to Indiana, the Illini only had three players that scored double-digit points. This really hurt the team against a high-powered Hoosiers ball club.
But, last night against Michigan, Illinois found their groove and scored at will. The offense flowed beautifully and they couldn’t be stopped.
I attributed the success on the scoreboard with the ball movement on the court.
Illinois finished the game with 21 assists as a team last night. This is the most assists by the Illini this season against DI opponents.
The leader on the assist front was true freshman Te’Jon Lucas. He was a sparkplug last night, but I will get to him later.
Illinois had six players score in double figures last night. Maverick Morgan was the leading scorer with 16 points.
Malcolm Hill was the second leading scorer with 15 points. He did his job last night and went home. He is a real blue collar type of player.
Newcomer Kipper Nichols contributed 13 points for the Illini. He showed us what he can do on the court and I want to see more of him in the near future.
Jalen Coleman-Lands had a good night with 12 points while shooting 4-of-5 from the three-point arc. Leron Black and Michael Finke then both put up 10 points apiece.
This was a great team effort scoring and if Illinois can keep the ball moving it will create open shots for these players throughout the season.
Dec 21, 2016; St. Louis, MO, USA; Missouri Tigers guard Terrence Phillips (1) and Illinois Fighting Illini guard Te
Te’Jon Lucas is the Real Deal
Before the season started I projected out what players would get how many minutes. The point guard position was one that I really thought I would be spot on.
My mindset to begin the season was that Tracy Abrams would get the bulk of the minutes with Te’Jon Lucas getting roughly 10 minutes per game to start the year.
Lucas would then gradually continue getting more minutes until it was a timeshare between Abrams and Lucas.
This was the image I had in my head, but for the first 16 games, this was not the case. John Groce continued to play Jaylon Tate over Lucas.
Groce hasn’t used Lucas the right way and he actually didn’t even play him in four games this season. But, last night things might have started to change.
Lucas finally got to play extended minutes in a meaningful game. He played 23 minutes and had 5 points and 8 assists.
Last night, Lucas brought energy, scoring, and distribution that we haven’t seen this season or for that matter in years.
Hopefully, Groce continues to play Lucas for extended minutes. I am thinking he should be around 15-20 minutes with Abrams still getting the majority of the workload.
If I see Tate back on the court as the No. 2 point guard the next game, I will lose a lot of hope and faith in what Groce is doing.
Feb 3, 2016; Piscataway, NJ, USA; Illinois Fighting Illini guard D.J. Williams (0) dribbles the ball in the first half at Louis Brown Athletic Center. Mandatory Credit: William Hauser-USA TODAY Sports
DJ Williams Decline
When DJ Williams entered the Illinois basketball program I thought he was going to be a superstar player. He has the physical gifts to be really good.
But, throughout his year and a half with the Illini something has derailed and now he has taken a leave of absence from the program.
Nothing has been confirmed on what is going on with Williams, but many speculate that he is done with Illinois and will likely transfer to another school.
This makes complete sense for him and his basketball future. Williams was not getting playing time and he is a kid who needs to be on the court.
I was always confused why Williams was not on the court because of his natural basketball gifts. But, wherever he ends up I hope nothing but the best for him.
As far as Illinois is concerned, this doesn’t hurt the program too much. They have talent at that position with Kipper Nichols and incoming freshman Javon Pickett.
I don’t think there would have been room for Williams to do much next season and for the sake of his basketball career, a transfer is probably the right decision.
Williams is going to be a player I will keep an eye on in the future. I hope he succeeds wherever he goes, but last night showed to me that Illinois will be just fine without him.
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