[Oskee] wow

Thu Dec 3 12:06:35 EST 2009

I'm not a frequent contributor to the list, but I read everything that comes through.  One of the big differences in the second half that I haven't seen mentioned yet was the zone defense.  That zone really cut the production of Booker and also forced Clemson deep into the shot clock at times where they had to throw up a bad shot (similar to the last two years of Illini basketball).  Kudos to Weber for keeping an open mind about zone defense, because I think it was a key part of the comeback.  I still love a good stifling man to man defense better, but until the freshmen learn to hustle on defense and use their feet to defend instead of their hands, the zone could be a useful tool at times.

________________________________
From: Todd Sweet <trsweet at ilstu.edu>
To: Fighting Illini Sports Enthusiasts List <oskee at heins.net>
Sent: Thu, December 3, 2009 10:50:54 AM
Subject: Re: [Oskee] wow

Even I, ever the guzzler of orange koolaid
that I am, pretty much wrote this one off.  That’s about as bad a
half of basketball as I remember watching in a long, long, time.  But I
did watch the whole thing and nearly hurt myself when we pulled out the win.

To answer your question Robert…yes,
McCamey IS that important to this team.  We did get a big assist from
Clemson when they took their foot off the gas (didn’t I just post
something about teams coming back from 20 down? J).  I think Clemson
would have pressed more in the second half but they had some foul trouble to
watch out for.  But clearly McCamey is the only point guard we have who
was poised enough to handle that pressure.  Even though he only scored 2
points, I think him just being back on the floor settled down everyone
else.  Finally, Richardson and Paul just played and stopped thinking so
much.

So what changed in the second half?  

Well, they should write a Christmas story
about How the Illini stole a win, because our teams heart grew three sizes last
night.  Yes, heart.   It made us play with pride, hustle for the
loose balls, rebound harder, defend harder, focus better.  We played in
the second half with heart…and big ones.

How remarkable is that not only did we
come back, but did it only 10 minutes?!  It was amazing to watch, and a
game I’ll remember for a long, long time.

Todd S

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From:oskee-bounces at heins.net [mailto:oskee-bounces at heins.net] On Behalf Of John Livengood
Sent: Thursday, December 03, 2009
9:27 AM
To: Fighting Illini Sports Enthusiasts List
Subject: Re: [Oskee] wow

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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