|
|
 Now back to your regularly scheduled program.....there was actually a basketball game last night and it was a pretty damn good game.....a heartbreaker for IU fans as 'the biggest underachiever in college basketball' banked in a three pointer to win it for Wisconsin. Still, it was a good Big Ten game.
Wisconsin was playing 'Bombs over Bloomington' in the first half as they hit eight three pointers in the first half to keep themselves in the game. IU came out with a lot of intensity and fire as they were led by D.J. White who was blocking and dunking all over the place.
I'll get into the Sampson stuff a little later today but let's run down this game real quick.
Scroll Down to Continue Reading
|
|
 It's kind of hard to keep the opposing team off the boards if you are watching the shot go up instead of boxing out. Kind of a weird way to start this recap? Go back and look at the tape. You want to know why Wisconsin's starting guards outrebounded their post players 17-6....that's why. Look, the zone IU is playing is fine and they are trying really hard at it but if the perimeter defenders don't find a player to box out, it's almost pointless. D.J. White can't hold back four guys from rebounding. He's good but not that good. That's my rant for the game.
Ok, maybe one more. After going 6-6 from the field in the first half D.J. White only gets four more shots the entire game? I know Wisconsin started keying on him in the second half, but you have to find a way to get the big man the ball. He's the one that got IU off to their hot start last night and he should have been the one to put the nail in the coffin, which never happened.
Time for some praise. DJ. I think that's all that has to be said at this point. Dude is a Manimal. The IU zone defense looked more active than usual but Wisconsin was hitting the three's in the first half. You can't really put too much blame on the kids for that one. In most cases they had a hand up in the face of the Wisconsin shooters but they were just flushing them in. DeAndre Thomas looked ok in his eight minutes of action. I think that's about all the quality time he can put in at this point. I'm going to pass on Eric Gordon at this point because I think that a superstud should be able to lead his team to victory in a game like this. That's tough love from me.
The last few plays of the game were an adventure. Was it a travel??? I can't say and I've rewatched the play five times this morning. IU's last second shot attempt was a debacle as their worst 3-pt. shooter took the final shot. There are differing opinions on whether or not to call a timeout in that situation, so I have to differ to Sampson's judgment because he deals with his players on a daily basis....hindsight is 20/20
In the end, this was just one of those Big Ten games where teams go back and forth and something magical, at least for Wisconsin, happens at the end. If you had a ticket to the game, you can't complain much because you got your money's worth.
So what happens now.....who knows? The coaching situation is up in the air, the players don't know how to react and their is still basketball to play. Hopefully the team can push aside the Sampson problem and put in a good effort on Saturday because if they don't....Michigan State will wipe the floor with them and the thought of Purdue coming into Bloomington is scary.
|
6 Comments
Leave a comment
|
|
|
2008 Cubs Preview
Pretty good game from the Hoosiers. I thought the Badger shooters were a little toooo open on a lot of those 3's in the first half.
Speaking of DJ, I read a Dickie V article in USA today this week where he listed his top 5 for National POY. DJ was not mentioned anywhere, not even an honorable mention. How is this happening? Is it because the mythical Eric Gordon is overshadowing him? Because he definitely is not outplaying DJ. I'm not saying DJ should win the damn thing, but he should be in the conversation.
Speaking of EJ. I think your being a little tough on him for not leading the team to victory. He had 16 or 17 points in the second half. Yes, DJ should have touched it more, but Gordon led IU in the second half. Not his fault that Ellis drove the length of the court and took a bad shot to end the game. BTW, have the Hoosiers ran one good set this entire season to end a half or at the end of the game? I don't know if a timeout would have helped. Either Sampson can't seem to draw up decent plays or the players can't execute them.
And yes, that was a travel at the end of the game.
It's going to be interesting to see what happens with Sampson and the team. ESPN College Gameday is making their first appearance at Assembly Hall on Saturday. It'd be a shame if this controversy and the possible firing of Sampson takes the Hoosiers attention off of this nationally televised game.
Also, another Gordon comment.
It was good to see him go back to attacking the basket last night and getting to the line.It was also nice to see him attempt and hit some mid-range pull up jumpers last night. We've all been talking about how his game is lacking in that area and he came through in that regard last night.
I just re-watched the replay and it's hard to tell if it's a travel. His foot is moving, but he doesn't have control of the ball. It's a tough call. Plus I think his left foot could have been his pivot foot and it was his right foot sliding around.
You think LeBron or MJ lets anyone take the final shot of the game? By this point of the season the players should know the pecking order and if they don't, Gordon should let them know. Time and time again he's deferred to his teammates or not gone to get the ball in situations where he is supposed to be 'the man' taking the shots. I know he's a freshman and all, but I expect a little more out of him.
After Wisconsin went 3-17 from 3 pt. land on Saturday you couldn't expect IU to be defending two feet extended past the three point line.
I agree with Buck in that I thought a bunch of those 3's were due to the player being a bit too wide open. I'm not sure if anyone will agree wit me on this but that zone they play is almost a box and one with 4 guys scrambling around and DJ just holding the paint. It seems that if a pass goes, say, in the short corner and it forces DJ to step out a bit to at least get a defender on the opponent then the defense seems to get confused with a lack of communication on who should be where. I would like to see them run a match up zone, Temple style, but I think it's too far into the season to be teaching that method. Whether a travel or not, I originally thought there was a forearm shiver from the Wis. guy but I was on the opposite end of the court so I couldn't tell exactly.
If they are going to run this 2-3 zone, then they needed some quicker guys running the baseline....taber and stemler leave too many guys too wide open....personally I am disappointed with the loss, IU only made brief adjustments to the 3 pointfest and often they did it after the Badgers hit about 4 in a row...
Did you miss this from my first half recap of the OSU game?
Why doesn't IU play JaMarcus Ellis at the 4 spot? It's obvious that IU is committed to using their zone defense the rest of the season so it's not like Ellis is going to be beaten up in the post. One of the things IU has struggled with the past few games is the ability to close out on shooters and get to the shooters on the baseline because Stemler/Taber have had that assignment. While Ellis is a lazy defender, maybe Sampson can motivate him enough to run that baseline, close out on shooters and take care of that problem.....