[Oskee] wow

[John Livengood]

The announcers were making a huge deal about McCamey because...well, IT WAS A HUGE DEAL. ;-)

As soon as he went out with his 3rd foul, they went on a 26-4 run. If you look at the +/- for the game (i.e. the point differential when a player is in the game or out), McCamey was +26! Clemson didn't seem to want to press us when he was in the game, but when he was out, it was pretty ugly trying to get the ball up the court.

The problem is, we really don't have a decent backup PG. Jordan has been playing, but he really should be playing 5-10 minutes a game, not the 20 he's been playing so far. I think eventually DJ Richardson might be the guy, but he's not quite ready yet.

Hopefully this is a season changing win, things were looking pretty grim at halftime, amazing how 20 minutes of great play can change the outlook.

JL




________________________________
From: Robert Mingee <mingee at swbell.net>
To: Fighting Illini Sports Enthusiasts List <oskee at heins.net>
Sent: Thu, December 3, 2009 10:10:11 AM
Subject: Re: [Oskee] wow


I don't think I'd ever truly give up and not watch/finish a basketball game, but I freely admit I was tempted to start fast-forwarding at the beginning of the second half, since I took a break for dinner at halftime.  We just looked awful in the first half.  We seemed clueless about handling the press (WAY too much dribbling, not enough movement and passing), or even the tight half-court D, and just had no emotion or energy, so we were getting our butts kicked on the glass as well.  Sounds like from what the announcers said the pre-game walkthrough was the same way, and Bruce was really on them about it.  The announcers were making such a huge deal about how McCamey was on the bench, but honestly, I just don't think that was nearly the factor they were trumping it up to be.

Clearly something happened at halftime.  Whether Bruce finally got through to them, or one of the players finally stepped up and spoke out, who knows.  But you could just see it in their eyes at the start of the second half -- they were sick and tired of getting kicked around.  I never thought of Davis as the leader type, and he still wasn't vocal at all, but the intensity on his face and body language spoke volumes.  Shoot, even Tisdale looked fired up, and I honestly wonder at times if he's even fully awake out there. :-)

I have to wonder if the press and high-intensity D didn't ultimately backfire on them.  I was a little surprised they were still running it at the start of the second half with the lead over 20, not because we couldn't come back (clearly, though there's no way I'd have bet money we would), but because it takes a lot of energy.  They are deep, and were subbing a lot, but at some point you just run out of gas if you never allow yourself time to catch your breath.  They did back off on it occasionally once the run started, but it seemed too late.  I was a little disappointed that we never seemed to make them pay for it with fast-break points or wide-open looks underneath, but hopefully that'll come with time -- again, I thought we were dribbling way too much, and you'll never make a team pay for pressing that way.  It was really our D finally stepping up and just the overall intensity and energy level (and hitting shots, obviously) that sparked the comeback.

I'm sure we will still struggle often this season -- that's just the nature of a young team that still doesn't have a clear leader.  But last night showed that the talent is there, and when the guys turn up the intensity and play together, they can swing a game in the right direction very quickly.  And even though we didn't make as many FTs as I'd like to see down the stretch, we didn't panic, and we didn't give up.  I'm really glad we pulled it out, because I still feel that the damage done to team morale with a 3rd loss in a row, especially after clawing back from so far down, would have been extremely difficult for even Bruce to deal with, and he's one of the best in the business.  And man, it is really fitting that we helped win the first Challenge
ever for the Big Ten after (IMHO) we lost it for the conference last
year by losing to Clemson at home.

Now let's see if we can keep this momentum rolling!

I...   L...   L...   !!!!

-- robert




________________________________
From: "Arbuckle, Jeanne" <jarbuck at ilstu.edu>
To: Fighting Illini Sports Enthusiasts List <oskee at heins.net>
Sent: Thu, December 3, 2009 7:45:39 AM
Subject: [Oskee] wow

 
I guess we had to go through a lousy football season to
properly appreciate last night. I hope no one gave up at halftime.
 
Jeanne


      
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