[Oskee] No comments?

[Todd Sweet]

The thing our guys need to realize about tonight is that the only record
that means anything is that Mizzou has lost the last 9 in a row.  They are
going to come out hard and intense and with their pressure defense if our
guys aren't ready at tip off the game could get out of hand very quickly.

 

I have to disagree partially that we are a young team.  Yes, Brandon and DJ
are young.  DJ played what was basically a college type schedule last year
in prep school (33 games and a lot of traveling).  We have three junior
starters and our first three players off the bench are a Sr. and 2 Jr.
(Keller, Jordan and Cole).  So to call us young would be wrong I think.
It's just that we depend on our freshmen so much for scoring that their
inexperience is becoming a disproportionate part of the winning equation,
and when they disappear our chances of a win go down significantly.  

 

I agree totally that we lack a Dee/Deron type of leader on this team and we
desperately need one.  Someone who can lead by example and light a fire
under everyone.  Someone who will go get a rebound.  We miss Chester more
than anyone dreamed we would right now.  Everyone maligned the kid for not
being a great player and now everyone is lamenting that we have no
toughness.  Weber got lambasted for recruiting Frazier, now he's getting
blasted for not recruiting anyone tough.like Frazier.  

 

If we can learn to play for 40 minutes, we'll be fine.  If not, we'll
struggle with inconsistency that will be frustrating to watch given the
amount of talent that we have.

 

Here's hoping we find the right gear early tonight.

 

Todd S

 

 

 

  _____  

From: oskee-bounces at heins.net [mailto:oskee-bounces at heins.net] On Behalf Of
Arbuckle, Jeanne
Sent: Wednesday, December 23, 2009 7:33 AM
To: Fighting Illini Sports Enthusiasts List
Subject: Re: [Oskee] No comments?

 

I think this is a very young team and they haven't played together that
long. They lack energy and emotion in some games. Hopefully, that will come
with more experience. I'm more concerned about not really having a good
leader. 

 

Georgia was a tough matchup for us. Their big guys are much stronger and
more aggressive than ours, and we did not seem to know how to handle that.
That's coaching, too.

 

All I want from Santa is a victory tonight. It should be possible if we play
well. Vanderbilt beat Missouri, but that game was at Vanderbilt.

 

From: oskee-bounces at heins.net [mailto:oskee-bounces at heins.net] On Behalf Of
Todd Sweet
Sent: Tuesday, December 22, 2009 9:53 AM
To: 'Fighting Illini Sports Enthusiasts List'
Subject: Re: [Oskee] No comments?

 

Robert,

 

This loss is just as bad if not worse than the others (although Bradley is
looking worse and worse).  Georgia was picked to finish last in their
division of the SEC.  We just played with no heart at all. That's the bottom
line.  Our guys (and I include the upper classmen in this) don't get it yet.
They just show up and think they will win because they're "supposed to win".
We got owned on the boards, out hustled and Georgia just plain wanted to win
this more than we did.  Heck, we can't even call it a road game because we
had more fans than they did.  It was a horrid effort and really puts us in a
bind down the road come tourney time.  I thought they woke up in the Clemson
game, but apparently they went back to sleep.  Until they figure out that
you have to play 40 minutes, we're going to have more bad losses this year.
Maybe Santa will put a 6'9", 270 pound banger in Coach Weber's stocking. :-)

 

At any rate, this makes the Mizzou and Gonzaga games must wins.

 

Todd S.

 

 

 

  _____  

From: oskee-bounces at heins.net [mailto:oskee-bounces at heins.net] On Behalf Of
Robert Mingee
Sent: Tuesday, December 22, 2009 9:31 AM
To: oskee at heins.net
Subject: [Oskee] No comments?

 

I just got around to watching the Georgia game last night because I had
recorded it while we were out of town.  I knew there was a reason to be
hesitant that they had really made a major step forward until seeing them
play well in a road game.  It certainly wasn't the worst game I've seen them
play, and in fairness, Georgia made some real circus shots down low.  But by
far the biggest thing that stood out was that we simply don't know how to
rebound.  Every friggin time a shot went up, the Georgia players immediately
reacted and attempted to establish position.  We, on the other hand, stood
around and watched.  There was one time when we had 3 guys under there and
Georgia had one, and the Georgia player was the only one that even JUMPED,
for heaven's sake!  That's coaching, plain and simple.  Bruce has got to
find a way to make that second nature with these guys.  If he's already
trying, he's got to try harder.  I am stunned that the rebound margin was
only 9, it felt a lot bigger than that.  And we really caught up late on
offensive boards, because we had very few at some point in the second half.

Aside from that, the defensive intensity was reasonable, though certainly
better in the second half.  We're willing to go for the steals and go after
the loose balls, so I really can't see rebounding being an effort issue as
much as coaching.  Tisdale really was trying hard to take it strong to the
hole, but he's just not big enough.  He ends up trying to go around instead
of through to potentially draw the charge, and his shot is just too awkward.
He's honestly better taking a short-range jumper, especially as polished as
his hook is.  Heck, Davis got stuffed on one shot by a kid a full 6 inches
shorter than him, unless the announcers misquoted the stats on the other
player, so we really don't have anyone capable of taking it strong to the
hole against a big man.  That could hurt in the Big Ten, but I think we can
succeed if we just play to our strengths and stick to the short-range
jumpers.  The obvious downside is we won't draw many/any fouls on the
opposing bigs, and won't take a lot of free throws.

I feel better after this loss than the Vegas flame-out, because I feel like
if we can fix the rebounding, we'll be in much better shape.  Georgia gave
an amazing effort, and like I said, made some unbelievable shots down low,
and we still only lost by 3 points.  Had that game been played in Champaign,
I'm fairly confident we'd have won.  I know they said we had a lot of fans
there, but it was still really close to their school, and a bit of a trip
for us.  We've got all season to figure out how to play on the road.  But
Bruce needs to treat this rebounding thing as top priority.

Anyone else?  Everyone already off for the holidays and away from email?
I'm off all this week and next, which will be a much-needed break.  A very
happy holidays to all the oskee gang!

-- robert

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