[Oskee] Illini let game slip away

Mon Jan 19 10:56:22 EST 2009

We lost to a better team.  No shame in that.

Date: Mon, 19 Jan 2009 06:55:09 -0800From: cgoldens at yahoo.comSubject: Re: [Oskee] Illini let game slip awayTo: oskee at heins.net

IMO, the stage of the game where we lost this game was sometime around (IIRC) the 7 min mark, we were up 9, just got steal and a fastbreak.  McCaey throws about the worst pass possible (no one was near it) and MSU comes back and has it to a 3 pt game within (I think) less than a minute, it was really quick.  We lost the game there, momentum swung there and it was over.  We make that basket, it's 11 pts and we are still rolling and IMO we win this game.

Once again, Trent shows that he can't create his own shot and gets totally shut down, then he starts rushing and forcing shots, typically missing.

I agree the McCamey Jekyll in Hyde is worrisome, we get his bad side in any big game, we lose.  I always seemed to think that he usually played well in big games and fizzed in games against lesser competition, but it you really never know what you are gonna get with him.

I'd almost rather have trailed the game by 6 the whole time and lost, than to have been ahead for75% of the game then crap out like that.  I didn't expect to win, but at the 7 min mark, I started to.  Oh well....

Looks like MSU is @ the hall on March 1.

From: Todd Sweet <trsweet at ilstu.edu>To: Fighting Illini Sports Enthusiasts List <oskee at heins.net>Sent: Sunday, January 18, 2009 8:34:27 PMSubject: RE: [Oskee] Illini let game slip away
I'm not so sure it's a mental toughness issue as it was a physical toughness issue yesterday.  MSU's players were simply stronger to the point of overpowering younger, less physically developed players.  We were a bit outmatched athletically, also.  Give Tisdale and Davis 2 more years of weight lifting and you'll see them overpower people too.  The Breslin Center is an extremely tough place to play, let alone win.  I'd rank it as one of the tougher home venues in the country.  The good news is that a loss at MSU doesn't do anything to hurt our tourney resume.  A win would have been icing.

As for Legion, I think he took a couple steps forward, and  at least one backward.  This seems to be his growth pattern.  He does some good things, some great things, and some things that are so out of the flow they are hard to fathom.  Overall, I think he's making progress toward fitting into the lineup and he certainly turned out to be a big boost on a day when the rest of our guards couldn't buy a basket.  Legion just needs to temper his shot selection just a little bit and he will be fine.

I think the bigger concern is McCamey Jekyl and Hyde act.  We just can't have him disappearing like this (and making some boneheaded passes to boot).

A few interesting stats that I heard after the game yesterday:

- MSU had 33 missed shots yesterday, and got 18 offensive rebounds off of them, better than 50% of their misses.

- MSU had no made baskets in the last 14 minutes of the game that were not layups.

- Illinois again had an extremely high assist to basket ration (I think 21 assists on 23 made baskets) and I believe we lead the country in that stat.

Overall, this team is far, far ahead of our expectations for this year (and I'm a pretty optomistic person).  If we can just hold home court we'll have 21 wins minimum.  I know we were all waiting for the hot recruits to come and save our program, but adding those recruits to these much improved veterans will be an even better mix.  I'll enjoy this year for the pleasant surprise that it is, and look forward to being national power again in a couple years.

Todd S

-----Original Message-----From: oskee-bounces at heins.net [mailto:oskee-bounces at heins.net]On Behalf Of gtillini95 at aol.comSent: Sunday, January 18, 2009 8:50 AMTo: oskee at heins.netSubject: Re: [Oskee] Illini let game slip awayI'm not sure it was MSU's speed that completely did us in, but they ran us out of the gym during some very important stretches.  It's fairly obvious that they're stronger more mentally tough at this point in their careers.  Unfortunately, I personally think the toughness part is something you show up with as a freshman and not an attribute that comes with experience.  Don't get me wrong, the Illini can take a punch.  But yesterday may be the difference between Final Four tough and second round tough.  We'll know the real story after Sparty's return trip to Champaign.  Do we get a return trip?Did Legion take a step?OWW!Geoff-----Original Message-----From: Kevin Kemna <kemna at hughes.net>To: oskee at heins.netSent: Sat, 17 Jan 2009 6:25 pmSubject: [Oskee] Illini let game slip away
FLAVOR00-NONE-0000-0000-000000000000 0.000000 ; 

Well the Illini lead by 7 at the half and 9 points in the second half but
Let the Spartans regain the lead around the 4 minute mark.
Tough point in the game when Chester was fouled and came down on his back hip area.  Trent missed the one and one for Chester
and that was the first time the Illini hadn't repulsed a Spartan run.

We got to take the next two home games.

Go ILLINi

Kevin

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