Continuing their reign of underwhelmtion*
I didn't watch the first half of the Illini game last night, except for a couple minutes here and there. I was really hoping they would come on at 6 and then I could watch the entire game. Anyways, I'm not sure how the first half went, so I'll just have to assume I know how it went. Shittily. So I'm going to base my opinion of the game purely on the second half that I watched.
First, another poor, poor output on offense. We would have scored in the 60's if we could have made some fucking free throws, but in general I was very underwhelmed. I get really sick of watching the players just stand around while Chester dribbles the ball, only passing it around the backcourt while players are getting great position down low. Then with ten seconds left Chester creates and throws up a shot that's pretty ugly, but last night it was going in. That's not offense. That shouldn't be considered a reasonable option. It's not.
And why can't we make any fucking free throws? Do we not practice it? This is the second year in a row where we've been terrible from the free throw line. And we're LAST in the Big Ten this year in it. We should never be last in anything in the Big Ten, unless they keep a statistic called sucking. We can be last in that. And has anyone else noticed Shaun Pruitt's practice stroke he takes while he's at the line? I sure have. He never uses his legs when he does his practice stroke, but then he's obviously using his legs when he shoots actual free throws. Seriously, should I just coach the team?
I think the players on this team in general just have a terrible basketball IQ. I think that might be part of the reason why the Illini can never close out games. I would like to reiterate that I don't see the point of fighting through a screen along the baseline, because by going under it, you can basically pin your man in the corner and get in the passing lane. Yet the Illini continue to do it, and they continue to get burnt on it. But I just think in general that as the game goes on, the other team is able to make adjustments to what the Illini do, and that is how they go on runs. Meanwhile, the Illini don't seem to make the adjustments and they make the same mistakes late in the games that they make early in games. I mean, we just saw it two times in a row last night where Neitzel was coming off of screens and got a three. Part of that is on the coaching staff to help these guys realize the adjustments they need to make, but I think a huge part of it is just that the basketball IQ isn't there.
I can't really speak about a whole lot of good things about the game last night because I didn't see much. I was glad to see Chester scoring and shooting with more confidence, but I'm pretty sure it was just because it was a home game. Maybe I'm wrong and he has a great ability to forget about the previous game, but I don't thinks so.
Also, it's not like this was a great win for us. This was a win we needed, but we didn't beat their brains out, even though we probably should have after only giving up 17 points in the first half. MSU was coming off a huge high after nearly beating OSU at OSU, and this was their second road game in a row. They were pretty much set up for a let-down game.
I pretty much think the Illini backed into this win, kind of the same way that we backed into the Indiana win. This win doesn't leave me feeling confident about anything other than the fact that we'll probably play the rest of the home games this way: build a big lead, then give it up down the stretch, then we may or may not hold on to win.
We might as well be Purdue since we're only about 50/50 to win anymore games on the road.
So now the question is, even if we get that 10-6 or 9-7 record in the Big Ten, do we have a chance to get into the NCAA tournament hanging our hat on a win at a neutral site during the non-conference, and then winning at Minnesota, but defending (mostly) at home? And then even if we do make the NCAA tournament, is there any chance that we make it out of the first round?
I don't mean to sound all pessimistic, but this is what was running through my head at the end of the game last night. I'm just too used to watching this team blow games down the stretch to think that anything good can come from it, regardless of what (if any) tournament we play in at the end of the year.
I sure hope this team can prove me wrong with a vengeance.
*It's a word, look it up.
First, another poor, poor output on offense. We would have scored in the 60's if we could have made some fucking free throws, but in general I was very underwhelmed. I get really sick of watching the players just stand around while Chester dribbles the ball, only passing it around the backcourt while players are getting great position down low. Then with ten seconds left Chester creates and throws up a shot that's pretty ugly, but last night it was going in. That's not offense. That shouldn't be considered a reasonable option. It's not.
And why can't we make any fucking free throws? Do we not practice it? This is the second year in a row where we've been terrible from the free throw line. And we're LAST in the Big Ten this year in it. We should never be last in anything in the Big Ten, unless they keep a statistic called sucking. We can be last in that. And has anyone else noticed Shaun Pruitt's practice stroke he takes while he's at the line? I sure have. He never uses his legs when he does his practice stroke, but then he's obviously using his legs when he shoots actual free throws. Seriously, should I just coach the team?
I think the players on this team in general just have a terrible basketball IQ. I think that might be part of the reason why the Illini can never close out games. I would like to reiterate that I don't see the point of fighting through a screen along the baseline, because by going under it, you can basically pin your man in the corner and get in the passing lane. Yet the Illini continue to do it, and they continue to get burnt on it. But I just think in general that as the game goes on, the other team is able to make adjustments to what the Illini do, and that is how they go on runs. Meanwhile, the Illini don't seem to make the adjustments and they make the same mistakes late in the games that they make early in games. I mean, we just saw it two times in a row last night where Neitzel was coming off of screens and got a three. Part of that is on the coaching staff to help these guys realize the adjustments they need to make, but I think a huge part of it is just that the basketball IQ isn't there.
I can't really speak about a whole lot of good things about the game last night because I didn't see much. I was glad to see Chester scoring and shooting with more confidence, but I'm pretty sure it was just because it was a home game. Maybe I'm wrong and he has a great ability to forget about the previous game, but I don't thinks so.
Also, it's not like this was a great win for us. This was a win we needed, but we didn't beat their brains out, even though we probably should have after only giving up 17 points in the first half. MSU was coming off a huge high after nearly beating OSU at OSU, and this was their second road game in a row. They were pretty much set up for a let-down game.
I pretty much think the Illini backed into this win, kind of the same way that we backed into the Indiana win. This win doesn't leave me feeling confident about anything other than the fact that we'll probably play the rest of the home games this way: build a big lead, then give it up down the stretch, then we may or may not hold on to win.
We might as well be Purdue since we're only about 50/50 to win anymore games on the road.
So now the question is, even if we get that 10-6 or 9-7 record in the Big Ten, do we have a chance to get into the NCAA tournament hanging our hat on a win at a neutral site during the non-conference, and then winning at Minnesota, but defending (mostly) at home? And then even if we do make the NCAA tournament, is there any chance that we make it out of the first round?
I don't mean to sound all pessimistic, but this is what was running through my head at the end of the game last night. I'm just too used to watching this team blow games down the stretch to think that anything good can come from it, regardless of what (if any) tournament we play in at the end of the year.
I sure hope this team can prove me wrong with a vengeance.
*It's a word, look it up.
Labels: Illini, Illini need to close out games, why are the illini sucking
posted by Jtrouble at 8:16 AM
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