ISU game thoughts

[bauman]

Fun game inspite of our cold spells. Like to see us come out firing. How can we eliminate long scoring droughts?

Good to win a game when our shooting was pretty poor (18 % from 3-land). Hopefully we get that corrected for next game. We won with sub-par efforts from some of our key players (KC, CE & CS), which gives real hope for the next game(s) when you would expect better from all three players. In another thread it was mentioned that CE was tired-if so I would hope the coaching staff would get him some rest prior to next Monday's game-his 3-pt shooting has gone south recently and if he is not making treys he is not adding much to the team's effort-we need him to regain his shot. Thanks for the usual good games from KM, WR and a great effort from BC-they were key to winning.

[moytoy12]

Fun game inspite of our cold spells. Like to see us come out firing. How can we eliminate long scoring droughts?

Good to win a game when our shooting was pretty poor (18 % from 3-land). Hopefully we get that corrected for next game. We won with sub-par efforts from some of our key players (KC, CE & CS), which gives real hope for the next game(s) when you would expect better from all three players. In another thread it was mentioned that CE was tired-if so I would hope the coaching staff would get him some rest prior to next Monday's game-his 3-pt shooting has gone south recently and if he is not making treys he is not adding much to the team's effort-we need him to regain his shot. Thanks for the usual good games from KM, WR and a great effort from BC-they were key to winning.

BC with an 18 foot jumper too, who knew?

[Runnin'Billiken]

BC with an 18 foot jumper too, who knew?

He shoots them in warm-ups all the time

[bsheldon]

Yeah, I yelled out "no" when he released it--only to be pleaseantly surprised. If he can add that to a regular part of his repitoir he should be geeting more floor time than he is. He had a really good game.

Also I was very glad to see the "get willie out so they can't foul him" strategy employed down the stretch.

[Guest BillikenReport]

Yeah, I yelled out "no" when he released it--only to be pleaseantly surprised.

And I said "that's good" as soon as he shot it.

Conklin worked on that shot a lot during the offseason, but he hasn't had many opportunities where it seemed like a good idea to shoot it from there.

[bsheldon]

"Fun game inspite of our cold spells. Like to see us come out firing. How can we eliminate long scoring droughts?"

At the beginning of the second half we had good looks--just missed 5 in a row. At the 5 minute mark they switched to a zone and we settled for 3's. We didn't even try to get the ball inside for 5 possessions in a row. Willie was out for this part and no other big was getting good position. Plus JJ was the only one actively looking inside during that stretch.

I think the dry spells are a by-product of our youth--it just comes with the territory. We missed some good looks-just like we have all year. The biggest issue I see is we quit attacking the rim--(not that we are know for that.) When our shots from the outside go dry we have to take the ball to the hoop and maybe get fouled and get to the line. KM is the only one who does this regularly. I honestly don't know if KC or CS have the quickness to do it all the time--it really depends on who they have guarding them. Ususally it is guys that are every bit as quick or quicker than them.

[DirtyRican]

And I said "that's good" as soon as he shot it.

Conklin worked on that shot a lot during the offseason, but he hasn't had many opportunities where it seemed like a good idea to shoot it from there.

I think that should be his main focus on the offensive end besides setting screens. He is really not effective banging down low and can't finish at all and if he can hit elbow jumpers it would really help.

[JohnnyJumpUp]

Anyone know where the refs were from? They weren't A-10 refs, were they?

[drkelsey55]

He shoots them in warm-ups all the time

Watched Conklin make three consecutive "threes" while warming up. Scary thought if he could do that in a game.

[Billsrmajic]

"Fun game inspite of our cold spells. Like to see us come out firing. How can we eliminate long scoring droughts?"

At the beginning of the second half we had good looks--just missed 5 in a row. At the 5 minute mark they switched to a zone and we settled for 3's. We didn't even try to get the ball inside for 5 possessions in a row. Willie was out for this part and no other big was getting good position. Plus JJ was the only one actively looking inside during that stretch.

I think the dry spells are a by-product of our youth--it just comes with the territory. We missed some good looks-just like we have all year. The biggest issue I see is we quit attacking the rim--(not that we are know for that.) When our shots from the outside go dry we have to take the ball to the hoop and maybe get fouled and get to the line. KM is the only one who does this regularly. I honestly don't know if KC or CS have the quickness to do it all the time--it really depends on who they have guarding them. Ususally it is guys that are every bit as quick or quicker than them.

Did anyone else notice a difference in the confidence level at the beginning of the game? It felt like for the first 8-10 minutes we were playing very loose and confidently. It's hard to put into words, but it just seemed the jump shots were shot with the confidence of someone who knew they were going in, not hoping they were going in (like a good shooter who is playing you in HORSE and knows he's going to beat you because his shots are going in). I haven't noticed that much this year, and it really stood out for me. I definitely didn't see it the remainder of the game. But at the beginning, I was thinking that this is what it's going to be like next year. Anyone else feel the same way?

[FromDaEastSide]

Anyone know where the refs were from? They weren't A-10 refs, were they?

Refs were Brent Hampton, Bob Testa & Louie Andrakakos. Timmerman in the blog said that Hampton was the ref that T'd Rob Lowery against X on Saturday.

[Scoop]

Did anyone else notice a difference in the confidence level at the beginning of the game? It felt like for the first 8-10 minutes we were playing very loose and confidently. It's hard to put into words, but it just seemed the jump shots were shot with the confidence of someone who knew they were going in, not hoping they were going in (like a good shooter who is playing you in HORSE and knows he's going to beat you because his shots are going in). I haven't noticed that much this year, and it really stood out for me. I definitely didn't see it the remainder of the game. But at the beginning, I was thinking that this is what it's going to be like next year. Anyone else feel the same way?

I agree. I really enjoyed that stretch where it seemed like they could do whatever they wished. However, it eventually turned into sloppy basketball. Hopefully, they will grow into playing an agressive, confident style while staying under control.