Illinois Basketball: 5 observations from the Illini loss to the Penn State Nittany Lions
4. Illinois is all about flash
This slide kind of goes hand-in-hand with a couple of slides ago. Illinois basketball could be a much better team than what we see out there if they cared more about substance and less about flash.
Yes, the NBA likes players who can chuck up the three-point shot and make it. Yes, it is fun to see Steph Curry do all of these fun things like shoot a three-pointer, turn his back to the basket, and then do a little dance because he knows it is going in the hoop. All of that is great, but Illinois isn’t that.
ILLINOIS BASKETBALL IS A BAD THREE-POINT SHOOTING TEAM.
At least the starters are anyway. I wish they would get that through their heads. We are terrible at shooting from long range.
For some of the game, Illinois had clarity, though. As I mentioned in a previous slide, Coleman Hawkins was getting the ball in the post and dominating. He couldn’t be stopped with his baby hook and his great step-through.
Dain Dainja had his moments in the paint as well. An undersized Penn State squad was struggling against his power.
Illinois was having success driving the ball as well. When the ball wouldn’t go in the hoop, we were getting to the free throw line. But do you know what is not flashy? Free throws.
So, per usual, Illinois falls back to their nasty habits and starts chucking up bad three-pointers. It is almost comical at this point. We have shot 30% or better from three-point range in just five out of the past 13 games, and we have only accomplished this one time in the past five contests. That is mind-blowing.
In that five-game stretch mentioned above, Illinois is 31-of-114 from three-point range. For those counting at home, that is 27.2%, and I rounded up.
Numbers prove Illinois is bad from beyond the three-point arc. It is killing this team that we are wasting possessions by shooting so many bad three-pointers. But none of that matters to some players. We are going to continue to chuck up three-pointers, and the end result will likely be a disappointment. All about flash, not about substance.