3. Illinois is a much better team when everyone is involved
Individually, Illinois has a ton of talent. If you pair the majority of Illini players up one-on-one, then I think they can take their opponent.
But when you put all of the Illini talent together on a team, they need to work together. It is one of the most frustrating things in the world to watch an Illinois basketball team not move the ball and just pound the rock. This happens too often with the current squad.
I think it is clear, and in the Missouri game, it was made even clearer, that Illinois is a much better team when everyone is involved in the game. We can’t just have players standing around watching the ball. That is when the offense gets too stagnant and we go on droughts.
In the first half against Missouri, this happened a lot. I also believe it has happened in multiple losses this season. Illinois has a tendency to go too much isolation basketball and not even ball movement. This can work at times, but it is not an efficient style by any means.
Illinois was able to come away with the win over the Tigers, but this game could have been a blowout if we just shared the ball more and were less concerned about getting our numbers. Teamwork is truly the key to Illinois running a better offense.