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Post by SFJon on Mar 20, 2005 23:38:37 GMT -6
Hi,
Illinois fan here with some questions about your team.
Does UWM full court press continually against all teams or do they only attempt to press on selective basis or against teams they feel will be weak against it?
Do they prefer to play man to man or zone defense?
What are the senerios where they have lost this year and why?
Thanks to anyone that has the time to reply. I'll be happy to answer any question you guys have about Illinois if I can.
Regards,
-Jon
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Post by mikeb on Mar 21, 2005 0:24:12 GMT -6
Hi, Illinois fan here with some questions about your team. Does UWM full court press continually against all teams or do they only attempt to press on selective basis or against teams they feel will be weak against it? Do they prefer to play man to man or zone defense? What are the senerios where they have lost this year and why? Thanks to anyone that has the time to reply. I'll be happy to answer any question you guys have about Illinois if I can. Regards, -Jon Nice to hear another civil fan. they normally seem to come out with the press especially when we have some momentum. it comes out against almost every game (at least that I remember) but they are very confident switching up to zone and do a great job with it. they have a great ability to switch on the fly. we have only lost twice in conferenc mainly because we havent showed up to play and the other teams want it more which wont really happen again with the way they are playing as of late. The other 3 loses came to kansas, wisconsin, and valpo. valpo was another close game that came down to a foul call and we hung w/ kansas but wisconsin was our worst loss and we just shot horribly. i think the biggest problem we are gonna face is illinois' defense they seem excellent at disrupting passing lanes and stopping agustine in the paint will be our other problem (depending on wrights play and whether or not he gets in foul trouble or tired). if your gaurds play like htey did against nevada i think we have a real chance. the only other factor will be the crowd. illinois will obviously have a huge contiginount but most people i think dont realize milwaukee is closer to allstate arena than champagne so we will have a good turnout and everyone thats not an illinois fan will be cheering for us as well. i think its gonna be a great game. i dont know if i see illinois winning by more than 10 if that. its gonna be great. what do you see as illinois weakness? |
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Post by Ron Mexico on Mar 21, 2005 0:35:15 GMT -6
Great answer, but I would add that the press comes out when we don't have momentum (like the beginning of the BC game) as much as when we do have momentum.
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Post by SFJon on Mar 21, 2005 1:17:43 GMT -6
What do you see as Illinois' weakness? Illinois has obvious weaknesses like all team do. Illinois isn't an elite team if they cannot shoot the 3 reasonably well (above 40%). Skilled inside/outside big men have given Illinois fits at times. Even though it hasn't happened a lot this year. Illinois isn't very deep at either guard position. If 2 of Illinois' starting guards would get into foul trouble we could be force to play with a very odd line up. Or if Augustine and Powell were to both get into foul trouble and the guards were not picking up the scoring slack, Illinois could become very vulnerable. Another potential weakness is that Illinois *loves* to half court trap. They force a lot of turnovers with that style of defense. It has been *the* reason (along with giving up very few turnovers to the opposing team) why Illinois has won a lot of games because they usually take 5 to 10 more shots than the other team. The drawback to this system is that if the trap is beaten via the dribble or the pass, it usually leaves 3 point shooters wide open. Illinois was last in the Big Ten in 3pt% defense. I'm not sure Illinois can be pressed successfully. All 5 starters are quick and know how to pass. Also I wouldn't count on Chicago being anything other than a semi-home game for Illinois. Fans have been buying tickets for this game since literally the start of the season. I would assume that nearly all the tickets not allotted to the other 3 teams are already being held by Illinois fans. The final note is that Illinois' guards have not been shooting very well at all of late. So far the big men have filled in the scoring slack but this is new style for Illinois to win with. It's worked ok so far. I worry if the game were to be very close in the end that guards will try to win the game and they aren't playing with a lot of confidence right now. That or the guards legs are tired and it is hurting their outside shooting. That part is just a guess. |
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Post by pnthr30 on Mar 21, 2005 8:42:56 GMT -6
Hi, Illinois fan here with some questions about your team. Does UWM full court press continually against all teams or do they only attempt to press on selective basis or against teams they feel will be weak against it? Do they prefer to play man to man or zone defense? What are the senerios where they have lost this year and why? Thanks to anyone that has the time to reply. I'll be happy to answer any question you guys have about Illinois if I can. Regards, -Jon Always nice to have a little friendly banter with other teams........thanks for stopping by. - UWM has several types/styles/variations of press that it will put on throughout the course of the game depending on the situation and how the other team handles it. Typically, they press to speed up the tempo and try to wear the other team out. They play under the premise that the press will not only cause a few turnovers via steals, it will cause the other team to play outside of its comfort zone (i.e. make the other team play to fast, bigs handling the ball, reserves that must play due to fatigue, etc.). There are times when they go "balls out" and trap and steal, but usually the times for this are a few here and a few there (i.e. get a run and drop off of it for a bit). They mix up pressing style well. To be honest, I don't know what they are going to do against IL. I don't think we will be able to create a bunch of turnovers with the guards IL has........they may "token" press to keep the pace of play up, but again, I don't think that is going to be a real issue in this game. Overall, I think they will press, but will no doubt pick and choose their times when they really get after it and we won't see "the press" all that often this game. I doubt that they will back off completely - but it will be more selective. - UWM plays mostly man-to-man, but will throw in an occassional zone to mix it up. Like the press, they mix up their "D" fairly often (sometimes deny, sometimes trap, sometimes lay off a bit more) to keep the "O" on their toes. - Simply put, UWM has a hard time when teams slow it down. Given the personnel that UWM has, a half-court slow it down game does not suit us well. Luckily, I don't think IL will really slow the game down.........UWM is at its best when the game is frantic/hectic and there are passes being thrown all over the court, quick shots, and a lot of up and down/transition. UWM goes deep into their bench and there are 8-9 guys who get fairly decent minutes. UWM has been able to win several games in the last five minutes by simply wearing the other team out. It is not unusual for UWM to go on a big run right at the end of the game due to their "fresh" legs. Additionally, UWM is capable of scoring points quickly (as is IL), so this game will likely be a game of runs - whoever is not able to answer may be in trouble. UWM will need to play its best game yet, if they want to pull this one out. It is imparative for us to make a few shots early and "get comfortable" out there. Can it be done, sure.........but IMHO IL is head and shoulders better than Alabama and BC - and the matchups (style of play and individual players) are not as favorable for us. Should be a great game! |
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Post by lang on Mar 21, 2005 12:26:38 GMT -6
Thank you jon for reminding me that there are normal illinois fans and thank you for your educated assesment of your team. It should be a great game and go panthers
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Post by uwmfan04 on Mar 21, 2005 21:23:11 GMT -6
The fact that the Illini had the worst 3 point% defense in the Big 10 is interesting when looking at the UWM matchup. If we can get fairly open looks from beyond the arc and are shooting about as well as we did vs. Alabama and BC then this will be a very close and exciting game. UWM seems to handle pressure fairly well--a lot better than almost all of the teams we have defeated with the press.
Also--looking at Illinois' margin of victory against Farleigh D. and Nevada gives me even more confidence that UWM can reach the Elite 8!!
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Post by SFJon on Mar 21, 2005 22:46:24 GMT -6
The fact that the Illini had the worst 3 point% defense in the Big 10 is interesting when looking at the UWM matchup. You might be right but that number is a bit deceiving. Illinois was first in the Big Ten in lowest average points allowed. This is because Illinois forces a lot of turnovers. How many turnovers per game do your ball handlers allow? |
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