Illinois Basketball: Illinois v. VCU: A Hot Take on Strategy
The Illinois basketball team can notch another win today if they can handle an excellent, but largely untested, VCU team.
VCU arrives with a 6-1 record and brimming with confidence.
This is how I think Illinois can do it.
The Illini got absolutely steamrolled by West Virginia on Thanksgiving. The reason for this, as everyone who watched knows, was the Mountaineers relentless press.
I have no doubt the Illinois coaching staff and players have been watching that tape to learn what went wrong.
But, hopefully, they watched the Temple vs. WVU tape as well, to see how to handle the press correctly.
Temple carved up Huggy Bear’s team from the get-go. The Owls were clearly prepared, and not intimidated.
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The Rams are not the Mountaineers, however, they play a very similar brand of basketball, pressing and running the entire game.
Clearly, the Illini will have a different game plan for today’s match at the Hoophall Invitational in Miami than whatever that mess was on Turkey Day. I hope it includes mixing it up.
Here is what I mean.
Offense
The Illini need a different look to start. I would start Abrams, Lucas, Hill, Black, and Coleman-Lands.
Yes, this is a smaller team than we are used to seeing, and I greatly value the Illini’s big men.
But of those 6-foot-10 or taller, only Michael Finke can really handle the ball, and even he is only “ok” at it. We need ball handlers and speed.
I would bring in heavy doses of DJ Williams and Aaron Jordan and sprinkle in the bigs now and again.
Jaylon Tate could occasionally spell Lucas or Abrams. But the bottom line is we need huge minutes from both of those guys to handle bringing up the ball.
In a nutshell, the Illini need to get the damn ball into someone not standing in the corner! Then face the press and move immediately.
Try not to pass the ball more than once. Have guys coming to the ball. Look for a fast break opportunity, or to hit someone stepping into the three.
Otherwise, set up your half-court offense and go!
Defense
I think the Illini really need to mix it up on defense.
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In the first half, I would like to see them throw multiple looks at VCU. Throw in a mix of zone, man-to-man, and press.
This should keep VCU on its heels and allow an early probe of is the offense to see where the weaknesses are.
At the half, the coaches should review what worked best in the first half and perhaps come out with a defense that mirrors what was the best of that assessment. Regardless, I would still mix it up.
VCU should not know what is coming at them at any given moment. Everything I have heard is that we have to be ready to play their game. That is the wrong strategy.
The Illini should try to wreak havoc on the Rams by forcing them to play our game.
The only way to dominate is to dictate. Dominating your opponent is the point of the game.
The Illini just showed us what they are capable of against NC State. They owned the Wolfpack in the second half. There is no good reason Illinois can’t bring that to the court every time.
Summary
On offense, Groce needs to play his best ball handlers and fastest players the most.
And on defense, the Illini should throw multiple looks at the Rams. Let’s dictate the game and keep them on their hind hooves.
If we do that, I think We Will Win!