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These weren't the most impactful plays on Saturday night, coming at the tail end of our 30-0 run with the game already pretty much out of reach, but highlights the brilliance and craftiness of our most experienced players and shows what kind of an advantage they have.
The sequence begins at 48-23 when Illinois misses a 3 and Newton collects the rebound looking to push. Karaban streaks down the left side towards the hoop with Diarra following toward the wing. Newton drifts and looks towards Diarra, which draws the defender's attention to Diarra and away from Karaban, before throwing a 45-degree, partially-no-look pass to Karaban at the rim. Shannon, who was paying attention to Spencer on the right wing, could only react too late and committed the foul on Karaban's dunk.
The second was immediately afterward, on defense, where the ball ended up out of bounds on Illinois's offensive baseline. Spencer is kind of lurking in the paint and sagging off of his man, who drifts well above the 3-point line, 15-20 feet away. Spencer keeps glancing back at the inbounder to see where he's looking. Illinois thinks they have an easy inbound pass. They did not. As the passer goes into his motion, Spencer sprints out to the 3 point line for the easy interception, leading to a fast break assist to Diarra. He baited them into throwing that pass and set up the pick the whole way.
These guys might not be the most athletically gifted, but are among the headiest we've had, and use it to utterly demoralize the opposition.
The sequence begins at 48-23 when Illinois misses a 3 and Newton collects the rebound looking to push. Karaban streaks down the left side towards the hoop with Diarra following toward the wing. Newton drifts and looks towards Diarra, which draws the defender's attention to Diarra and away from Karaban, before throwing a 45-degree, partially-no-look pass to Karaban at the rim. Shannon, who was paying attention to Spencer on the right wing, could only react too late and committed the foul on Karaban's dunk.
The second was immediately afterward, on defense, where the ball ended up out of bounds on Illinois's offensive baseline. Spencer is kind of lurking in the paint and sagging off of his man, who drifts well above the 3-point line, 15-20 feet away. Spencer keeps glancing back at the inbounder to see where he's looking. Illinois thinks they have an easy inbound pass. They did not. As the passer goes into his motion, Spencer sprints out to the 3 point line for the easy interception, leading to a fast break assist to Diarra. He baited them into throwing that pass and set up the pick the whole way.
These guys might not be the most athletically gifted, but are among the headiest we've had, and use it to utterly demoralize the opposition.