[Oskee] Fw: Wow...

[Robert Mingee]

This went just to Todd rather than the whole list -- sorry for the duplicate, Todd (and thanks for talking me off the ledge :-)

-- robert



----- Forwarded Message ----
From: Robert Mingee <mingee at swbell.net>
To: Todd Sweet <trsweet at ilstu.edu>
Sent: Sun, November 29, 2009 8:04:59 PM
Subject: Re: [Oskee] Wow...


Yeah, this is what happens when my primary rooting interests are Illini football (sucks), Bears football (sucks in a much more unexpected and spectacular fashion) and Illini hoops, the last being the most fanatical by far. Despite my best efforts to relax and enjoy this season with a lot of new faces and take whatever happens good or bad in stride, I've already pinned a lot of hopes on the hoops team thanks to the total collapse of the other 2, with no real grounds for it (defeating the Blue Hose and Terriers back to back doesn't inspire fear in the hearts of many :-).  It's my own fault...

I guess what surprises me most about getting outhustled is that Bruce seems so old-school, and has really preached that in the past, but other of his teams have suffered from the same thing, while many have not.  My hope is he's just having a hard time getting all the new kids to buy in without a vocal leader like Chester in the trenches.  I knew we would miss him much more than his accomplishments on the floor would indicate, and this is exactly what I was expecting.  Man, can you imagine how far up some of those rear ends his foot would be right about now?  This is the first team Bruce has had here where that piece was missing.  I was (and still am) excited that Jordan came back afterall, because while he doesn't seem as vocal or in-your-face as Chester, he seems like a lead-by-example type who gives his all -- let's face it, he had a pretty good role model :-).  McCamey just still doesn't seem committed enough yet (but he seems to be improving), and
 Davis is simply too quiet and doesn't seem the leader type.

Here's hoping we learn from it, put it behind us, and lay the smack down on Clemson on the way to the Big Ten's first Challenge victory so I can FINALLY not have to by my Wake Forest alum friend yet another beer this year.  But I promise not to come back here and spout off more doom and gloom regardless of the outcome :-).

-- robert

p.s. - yeah, I forgot to mention Cole has been a pleasant surprise so far -- I hope he keeps it up.




________________________________
From: Todd Sweet <trsweet at ilstu.edu>
To: Robert Mingee <mingee at swbell.net>; Fighting Illini Sports Enthusiasts List <oskee at heins.net>
Sent: Sat, November 28, 2009 10:07:19 PM
Subject: RE: [Oskee] Wow...

 
Come in off the ledge, Robert. J
 
This is exactly the kind of stuff we
discussed a couple of weeks ago.  The rebounding issue has to be solved.  The
freshmen will get better at defense.  In addition, teams have already figured
out that if you shut down our guards, we struggle because our bigs are not
aggressive around the basket.  There are definitely some issues, but I feel
fairly confident that this is a team that is going to get better throughout the
year, and really begin to hit its stride at the right time.  
 
I am, however, completely with you on the being
outhustled part.  Absolutely no excuse for that.  And if you’ve watched any
hoops over this thanksgiving weekend, you’ve seen teams that go after the ball
on the boards with reckless abandon and tenacity.   And I haven’t seen anyone
on our team get like that, except perhaps Bill Cole in limited minutes.
 
The good news is, our early big ten
schedule is very favorable to start (and yes, very tough at the end). 
Hopefully, that will give the younger guys time to figure it out.  We need Paul
and Richardson to score and defend if this team is going to be successful.
 
Todd S
 
 
 

________________________________
 
From:oskee-bounces at heins.net [mailto:oskee-bounces at heins.net] On Behalf Of Robert Mingee
Sent: Saturday, November 28, 2009
9:22 PM
To: oskee
Subject: [Oskee] Wow...
 
What a major flameout.  I figured out I could watch
for free last night and watched the last 7 or so minutes to see us implode
against Utah.  I was pretty pissed, but after I calmed down I reminded
myself it's a young team and this is to be expected.  Besides, Utah has been pretty
good in the recent past under Majerus.  I decided to reserve judgment and
see how they rebounded tonight.

So much for that.  That's 2 games in a row with a total collapse down the
stretch.  Missed FTs.  Stupid TOs  And by far the worst of all,
getting outhustled and outrebounded when it counted (no idea what the total
stats were for either game, and not sure I care - when it mattered, we missed
them).  And it wasn't the young players making these mistakes, but they
were not having any positive impact either.

This is clearly not close to a top 25 team, and obviously we'll drop out next
week.  This is a team that needs to show major improvement to even finish
in the top half of the conference, let alone consider post-season play.  It's
a long season, so I'm not going to panic, but I am disappointed that we're not
where I'd hoped we'd be.  I am afraid we're going to get humiliated
against Clemson on the road and cost the B10 its first Challenge win after way
too many years.  And I'm very afraid of the damage that 3 straight loses
will do to the mental state of a team with no real leader (I'm not convinced
McCamey is that guy yet).  Man, do I hope I'm wrong.  There will
still be time to fix it, but it won't look good if we end up in post-season
contention.

-- robert


-- Sent from my Palm
Prē
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