One Frame At A Time: Illinois Comment Count

Ace

Let's enumerate the wonderful things about this GIF:

  1. The Orange Crush is very bad at casting spells, judging by the two dudes right behind Nik Stauskas.
  2. Stauskas staring down 6'11" Nnanna Egwu for a couple seconds, going "yeah, I got this," and coldly hitting a three in his face.
  3. Derrick Walton meandering back on defense as soon as he sees Stauskas is going to shoot.
  4. Andrew Dakich beginning his roll the dice flourish while the ball is still mid-flight.
  5. Andrew Dakich, period.
  6. Exasperated Orange Crush girl throwing up her WTF hands at the very end.
  7. The Illini fans in the far corner whose will to move/exist has been completely destroyed.

This GIF, by my highly scientific ratings, comes in at #6 for the Illinois game. You're gonna want to hit the jump and watch the rest.

[JUMP and make Tracy Abrams bail the heck out]

As usual, click the links/stills to open each GIF in a lightbox, and don't forget to vote for your favorite at the end of the post.

HONORABLE MENTION

Cheerleading is repetitive (this GIF covers 45[!] seconds, so it opens in a new tab). Stauskas starts the trolling earlyDerrick Walton drive and kick to Caris LeVertWalton and-oneYesyesnononononononoooalright.  ZAK IRVIN DRIVE AND KICK ASSIST THIS IS NOT A DRILLJohn Beilein won't allow TV Teddy to be unjustly offended. GroceFaceSpike loses musical chairs. BENCH MOB BUCKET.

SPECIAL INCLUSION: MattaFace/SMHBuckeye

A serendipitous request from friend of the blog Jane Coaston. This loop couldn't be more perfect—the fan on the left is forever shaking/rubbing his head in disgust, while Thad Matta is in an eternal state of gum-smacking disbelief.

10. Fantastic Finishes

I did my best to capture the exact moment Caris LeVert shoots in each one of these GIFs. It's like he spent the game trying to one-up his own degree of difficulty.

As you should always do when Michigan does something well on the same end of court as their bench, keep an eye on Dakich in both the above GIF and the following:

My man in charge of the fold-out chairs was on point.

9. Bing, Bang, Boom

As this play unfolded, my Twitter timeline filled with praise for (1) Stauskas's ridiculous entry pass into a small window out of a double team, (2) Horford's nearly as impressive kickout from the baseline, and (3) the universe, which determined that even Michigan's iffiest outside shooter (among players that actually attempt threes) would have it going that night. This is the basketball equivalent of a flawless 3-on-2 rush in hockey.

8. He Bought The Fake

Or: Tracy Abrams Hilarious Failed Shot Contest, Part I

7. The Townshend

A relatively elaborate celebration from Dakich, naturally beginning while the ball is still in the air. The Pete Townshend windmill flourish at the end kills me.

6. Hex Fail

A zoomed-in view of the GIF at the top of the post gives a better look at the failed spellcasters, how close Egwu came to blocking the shot, and some bonus Illini fan ennui at the end. Full GIF below:

This isn't the last you'll see of Dakich, who nearly got his own post today. (Yes, there's going to be a Best of Dakich post after the season. The people have spoken.)

5. Illinois Fandom

Missed dunks are always funny. They're even better when the crowd reaction encapsulates the state of the game and just being an Illinois fan in general. ENHANCE:

Foam Finger Guy is wonderful, of course. Don't miss out on the woman two rows above him posing for an Edvard Munch painting, then transitioning seamlessly into a full double facepalm. Also, way to sneak in and pad those rebounding stats, Spike. Crafty move.

4. Shhhhhhhhhhh

Poor Tracy Abrams played this about as well as anyone could; as a reward, he ends up on a poster—that is, if the poster has a wide enough angle to show just how hard he bailed out.

This part probably wasn't necessary, but damn if it wasn't appreciated anyway:

Alternate view of the steal, slam, and its rim-rattling aftershock.

3. Moonwalk It In

Great wraparound pass by Spike, left corner Stauskas three is automatic, and Dakich steals the show once again. Yes, he's already moonwalking(-ish) when the ball reaches its apex. Then Stauskas turns to troll the entire student section.

Zoomed slow-mo of Stauskas and the Orange Crush features a Marcus Hall wannabe and a fan turning his distraction attempt into a demonstration of the human reproductive process. 

2. 16 Shots, 14 Swishes, 48 Points, 33 MB, 452 Frames

Three-point supercut GIF opens in a new tab because it has to. I posted this in the comments of yesterday's mini GIFs post, and it comes in handy here:

If GIFs take a really long time to load for you, there are browser extensions that will delay playback until each GIF is fully loaded.

Chrome: GIF Delayer

Firefox: GIF Delayer

There's also the Chrome extension GIF Scrubber, which lets you have movie-like control over playback. That one is a lot of fun to play around with.

Using GIF Scrubber to turn this montage up to ludicrous speed comes with my full recommendation.

FRAMES OF THE GAME: I DON'T HEAR YOU

U-S-A! U-S-A! U-S-A!

[Nik Stauskas invades, patriotism dies.]

Cold. As. Ice.

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Comments

Elmer

March 6th, 2014 at 11:15 AM ^

I never realized at the time just how important the commitment of Dakich was.  He's going to make UM basketball even more enjoyable over the next few years.  Can't even imagine how entertaining it will be if he makes the rotation as an upperclassmen.  

BlueCube

March 6th, 2014 at 1:38 PM ^

I saw the moon walk right away and thought GIF!!!!!

Another great moment during the game (at least on the station I was watching) was the commercial for the new Muppet movie about half way through the 4th quarter. I started laughing. I knew the game was over then.

mgobaran

March 6th, 2014 at 12:16 PM ^

Someone wrote a post on the MGoBoard about Caris having a "Crackhouse" type game. Seems like the orange crush brought out the "Crackhouse" game in everyone, especially Stauskas. 

Troll Level: Game Blouses.

michmaiku

March 6th, 2014 at 12:42 PM ^

Was he just trying to prove with that balloon to GRIII on the baseline that he could make the same crazy inbounds pass Caris did at the death v. Purdue?  

Mr. Yost

March 6th, 2014 at 12:42 PM ^

Don't forget about LeVert AND...I mean AND! his defender both heading back down court before Nik shoots the ball.

It's one thing for Walton and now LeVert to head back early. But now Illinois is like "Fool me once, shame on me...fool me 14 times...I'm not waiting around for 15."

Ace

March 6th, 2014 at 12:58 PM ^

...forgot to include another Stauskas three and Dakich gem [click to embiggen]:

Yes, Dakich gets out of his chair and starts stretching the moment Stauskas gets the ball.

Indiana Blue

March 6th, 2014 at 1:45 PM ^

at the end of the half was easily the single worst ending to a half the Illini fans have ever witnessed.  If you listened to the crowd, there is the single largest amount of carbon dioxide expelled from any fans as I have ever heard in my life !!!  I am surprised that half of the arena didn't passed out from the lack of oxygen!  Truly hilarious !

Go Blue!