Saturday’s boxing match at ScotTrade Center saved the lives of countless critters from Sikeston to Joplin. Missouruh’s toothsome Hatfield clan quit chasin’ varmints long enough to drink a skinfull, stagger indoors, and jeer their sophisticated northeasterly neighbors from the free state. We recall that Dred Scott lived in Missourah, and that was his main problem.
Nah, I exaggerate. Most of our fans are just as awful. But of course, they are McCoys. So there’s no love lost. Eleven thousand hillbillies in gold tried and failed to out-holler eleven thousand plainsbillies in orange. All 22,000 joined forces to boo Senator Claire McCaskill. Is it the centrism they hate? The illegitimate rape? I almost hope she raises their taxes.
They cheered for Tony LaRussa. Maybe they don’t know he’s an Eye Talyun, and educated.
HEY, LET’S TALK ABOUT RECRUITING!
So far, the Groce Administration hasn’t hosted many recruits for unofficial visits. At least not at football and basketball games.
But on Saturday, Illinois had four unofficial guests and one signee. Malcolm Hill was the signee. Michael Finke has verballed. Larry Austin Jr. is still wide open, with offers from just about everybody. And then there were two freshman from Saint Louis Chaminade College Prep. Jayson Tatum is a 6-foot-6 guard, and Will Gladson a 6-foot-7 center/forward. They were both rail thin, but that’s expected at age fourteen, even for those who aren’t taller than a door frame.
Finke and Hill both put away a ton of calories at halftime. Austin was noticeably taller, a legitimate (i.e., not inflated for basketball purposes) 6-foot-2.
All five recruits sat on the court, adjacent to the Illini bench, and just behind the photogs. (This was especially convenient for me.) Not far away, the greater Illini family occupied the rows immediately behind the Illinois bench. Front and center was Robert Archibald, who has retired from basketball.
Does that make you feel old?
If it doesn’t, this will: Finke, Hill, and Austin have no idea who Robert Archibald is. They don’t know who Ryan Baker is either, and he’s on television!
AND THEN THERE WAS BASKETBALL
The pundits said we’d lose when our threes failed to fall. After Saturday, optimists in Illini Nation said hey look, we shot terrible and were still in the game in the final minute!
And the pundits answered yes, and you lost.
As individuals named Brandon, Tyler, Tracy, etcetera — and as a unit called Fighting Illini — the strengths and weaknesses of the lads in orange are well-established, and familiar to those of us (you, me) who watch most Illinois games.
Toughness is not a problem. The smaller Illini held their own Saturday. It was violent.
Togetherness is still an issue. For the second game in a row, Tracy Abrams lobbed and Nnanna Egwu watched. They’re not reading each other.
And then there’s Brandon Paul, who sometimes seems to be miscommunicating with himself.
We all hope Brandon garners post-season awards. Right now, he seems eager to please the Academy. Unfortunately, he’s not eligible for an Oscar, and his acting is not always persuasive.
Brandon has the talent to play in The League. So far, he has not shown the necessary presence of mind. When I asked him about finishing at the rim, he said he got to the line 14 times. That’s certainly good enough for Euroleague. But when he misses the basket entirely, and the refs swallow their whistles, it’s just a turnover.
When Brandon plays within himself, he’s unstoppable. When he plays without himself, he’s a liability.
I was sitting under the basket at Gonzaga when Brandon hopped past Kelly Olynyk, and into the sky for a reverse lay-in. It’s one of the most impressive plays I’ve ever seen. Brandon covered ten feet across the floor, and ten feet in the air, all in two steps. Watching the replay on TV, I realized that Olynyk’s body blocked the camera’s view. So perhaps no one else noticed this thoroughly amazing play. At Maui, Brandon elevated and banked a lot of shots. In short, he executed. He displayed body control. He finished.
Against Missouri, he fell sideways and backward. Sometimes he got a call. Sometimes not.
Tyler Griffey is a great gym shooter. He’s not a good street-ball shooter. But few people are. It wouldn’t take long to make a list of those basketball greats who could hit a shot without first getting their feet set. Tyler kept Illinois in the game by hitting set-shots. In the last minute he abandoned the formula, hoisting an off-balance three. It was nowhere near close.
It’s these times when Tyler needs to remember his new-found ability to drive the lane. Illinois was down by five when Tyler missed that last trey.
John Groce said he wasn’t happy about shot selection, but he didn’t go into detail. I assume these are the details he had in mind.
I couldn’t tell if Missouri’s height intimidated Illini guards. Tracy Abrams encountered similar problems inside. DJ Richardson also stopped short on a drive, only to fling hopelessly toward the rim. Neither was available for comment after the game.
The other thing I’d like to know is why Joe Bertrand played only fourteen minutes in the second half. It seemed like he was everywhere, but only when he was in the game.
Bertrand had two steals and three rebounds, but he got his hands on a lot of other balls as well, disrupting Missouri’s possessions or extending Illini possessions. He hit 5-of-11 shots.
Whom would he supplant? That’s the tricky question, according to everyone. I disagree. I think Joe is the stretch four on this team. He played wing and point on Saturday, so I guess I’m crazy.
STRIPES
I try to take note when referees do a great job. Mike Kits, Ted Valentine, and that little Greco-Roman wrestler from the Gonzaga game were excellent in the orange end of the court. They seemed to get confused by Laurence Bowers take-down of Sam McLaurin, but then Sam probably responded with a colorful assortment of adjectives.
In dealing with game officials, John Groce brings the same nurturing, communicative approach that he uses on players. Groce pleaded for a call after Brandon Paul’s errant three-pointer airballed. When Ted Valentine told Groce he saw no contact, Groce nodded solemnly and said, “I trust you.” A similar conversation occurred in the Eastern Kentucky game, when Groce sought Brian Dorsey’s attention regarding interior roughhousing. “I didn’t see it, but I’ll keep an eye out for it,” said Dorsey.
With less than a minute to play on Saturday, Illinois had the ball in a two possession game. The clock went from :56 to :54 before Groce could flag-down Mike Kits for a timeout. (That’s just how loud it was.) After assigning a strategy to his team, Groce found Kits on the baseline: “Mike, if we score I’m going to call timeout again. If we score.”
ABOUT FAMILY
John Groce said nothing about “Christmas” during Saturday’s post-game press conference. But he had a message about family. He repeated the message he’d left with the team. It alluded to the Newtown massacre, and watching his boys sleep in their beds. It wasn’t maudlin, and it didn’t seem contrived. It was a simple reminder that, although the team lost a basketball game that afternoon, there are more important things in life. I hope Allison gets to hear it.
Then the Illini went their separate ways, each to be with his family, and Ibrahima Djimde to join his surrogate family in West Virginia. Someday Ibby will see his actual family again. If you feel sad for him, that’s okay. But keep in mind that where he comes from, they don’t have Christmas.
