Much love and respect to packer nation supporting us and me the past 2 years! It has been awesome upholding the standard for the green and gold 🧀. It has been more than a blessing and i will never forget my time here and the relationships I made! Fins Up 🐬
Matthew 6:33-34
But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.
The best offenses don’t run plays. They hunt advantages.
That’s the lens the Illinois Fighting Illini men’s basketball uses every game.
The first question isn’t what do we run? It’s what’s our biggest strength and where is their biggest weakness?
Everything flows from there.
Illinois talks constantly about creating, attacking, and maintaining advantages. One action into the next. Spacing as a weapon. Letting individual skill shine when there’s a switch, and flowing right back into team advantage if the defense stays home.
Shot selection is the backbone of it all.
They simplify it: gold (layups), silver (threes), bronze (midrange) shots. And then they practice different constraints so players feel it.
For example:
No-dribble possessions. Scores only off cuts. Offense made intentionally hard.
Why? Because constraints teach players how many ways a possession can still produce a gold-medal shot.
Early in the season, they were playing fast, but the shot quality wasn’t good enough. So they adjusted. Now they’re one of the slowest teams in the Big Ten.
Not because slow is better. Because it fits their strengths.
The result?
~50% of shots from three
~43% at the rim
~7% midrange (mostly late clock)
That’s not accident. That’s alignment.
Takeaway: Great offense isn’t about pace or volume, it’s about discipline, spacing, advantages, and repeatedly choosing the best shot available.
Listen to coach @TyUnderwoodILL
Jalen Williams said yesterday that he’s competing with Cason Wallace to see who can get the most steals.
I asked Mark Daigneault about his team’s desire to challenge each other:
“You have to have a team that can generate its own energy, and that’s what great about these guys.”
Quotes to hang in your locker room:
-Body language never whispers, it screams
-Success is not owned, it's rented. And the rent is due every day
-Never be the player whose body language is louder than their voice
-TGHT - The Game Honors Toughness
MIKE LEACH ON EMBRACING HARD
"Nothing is really fun unless it's hard ...
You're pushing yourself. All of a sudden you're making great plays.
You're doing things that you've never done before...
Never hope that it's easy."
~ via @WSUCougarFB and @DrewMaddox