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I won't reply to posters who aren't capable of coherent/genuine arguments, but I'll reply to you.
Here's the upside:
- Illinois went from a Top 100 team in experience to sub-300. Meaning they went from very experienced to very inexperienced quickly. (For another example of this this season, look at what happened to Wisconsin.)
- Illinois is learning a brand new style of play. They're moving from a very average style to a fast-paced tempo. Especially on defense. Combine that with inexperience, and you'd have been a fool to *not* expect some struggle this season.
- Mark Smith was bad. Straight up. He was given a lot of opportunity early in the season, as I'm sure you know, but it became painfully apparent to Underwood and everyone else that this dude not only wasn't The Answer that people wanted... he honestly isn't even a true PG. And he certainly wasn't committed on defense. This ties to the good news...
- Trent Frazier is dope. Underwood moved from Smith to Frazier, and the PG position immediately had better defense, better shooting, better A:TO... better everything. Rumors are Smith was talking about transfer for over a month now, because he knows what we all know-- Frazier is almost certainly the starting PG next year. And he's likely to be a 4-year guy for Underwood, which is *great* news for the future.
- Te'Jon Lucas, Aaron Jordan, and Kipper Nichols make a nice core to bring back. All played good minutes, all will bring back nice experience. Underwood plays a deep bench which'll be good for both the style of play and player development. (Rumors are that Leron Black will consider going pro/playing overseas-- if he came back, it'd obviously be a bonus.)
- Underwood brings in Ayo Dosunmu from Chicago next year, a five-star combo guard, Top 25 in his class. (Weird how people who question Underwood's recruiting prowess don't bring up that he already bagged the top player in the state of Illinois for next year, the only five star from Illinois in the class!) He'd go nicely alongside Frazier in the backcourt.
- Underwood wants to do three things, three things his team's have done from Stephen F Austin to OSU to now. Turn opponents over, crash offensive boards, and make 3 pointers. The first two areas, this Illinois team did exceptionally well. Top 5 in the *country* turning opponents over, and Top 30 in the country in offensive boards-- impressive considering they play five guys 6'7 or under, and huge improvements in both of these areas compared to the Groce era. The biggest problem is these guys just couldn't shoot. They'll bring back guys who shot 36, 38, and 44 percent, respectively. If Black comes back, he shot 50% in limited attempts. They'll lose Smith, who can't shoot; Alstork, who can't shoot; Finke's a likely transfer too, but he also can't shoot. They'll bring in Dosunmu, who can shoot. There's reason to hope that next year, they can shoot closer to 38% as a team and get that offense humming.
You can look at the record and get mad, but be honest-- you knew they wouldn't be good this year. This was a transition year. And just like with Wisconsin, I like Illinois's chances to improve notably next year. Hopefully Underwood can snag Tevian Jones, an upside wing from Culver City, who seems less likely to be enticed by the Arizona offer now that they're in a shitstorm, and grab a grad transfer to help shore up the bench. My movies: http://russellhainline.com
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