Before I begin, I just want to wish Mag a speedy recovery. Secondly, I was really proud of how the team stepped up tonight in this close loss and I'm glad to see Cam back to being more Cam even though he didn't hit his threes down the stretch. Also kudos to Palmquist for keeping us in the game with his knock-down threes when we needed it most.
Now, onto why we lost tonight. First, we were in the position to once again steal another game on the road and increase our lead as the second place team. Secondly, now, with this loss, it's going to be a mess in the middle where we will sit.
Here are my reasons why we lost. (1) Caleb thinks he's freakin' Steph Curry, when he is one of the WORST offensive players out there. And tonight, I don't know what the eff he was thinking, but he was dribbling around like a maniac trying to play hero ball. That's NOT his game. His game is driving to the basket or 15 foot jump shoots. PERIOD. He screwed up so many possessions tonight. I counted at least 7 wasted possessions. (2) The other reason we lost is because Paul didn't show up tonight. He played timidly, when he had the advantage all night to drive the ball and either get fouled, or dish it to Cliff or an open wing man. He did neither. And when he did get into the paint, he refused to shoot, which was a head scratcher. He could have taken at least 4 shots in the paint and he passed it up. And two of those times, rather than going to an open Cam or Andre, he passed to Caleb, who once again believed he should shoot because he's wide open. Hey, McConnell, there's a reason why Indiana and every other team we face leaves you open. It's because you can't hit an outside jumper, especially from 3 point land. What is Caleb shooting from 3 point land? Ten percent? Why Pike and the staff don't get all over him I don't know. Unless they do, and he still ball hogs.
We played hard nosed defense and I'm really proud of everyone. We held Indiana to no baskets in about an 8 minute stretch in the second half. But we were horrible with our offensive possessions, especially the glaring absence of Paul shooting and driving and Caleb thinking he's the MAN on offense.
We had a real shot at winning tonight, and those two really blew it. Now it's on to Illinois, which is another difficult place to play. I'm hoping we bounce back and go 1-1 this week, but even if we go 0-2 the toughest part of our schedule will be over. Even with Mag gone for the season, I still believe we can win 12 or 13 games and finish in the top 4 and get a double bye.
Now, onto why we lost tonight. First, we were in the position to once again steal another game on the road and increase our lead as the second place team. Secondly, now, with this loss, it's going to be a mess in the middle where we will sit.
Here are my reasons why we lost. (1) Caleb thinks he's freakin' Steph Curry, when he is one of the WORST offensive players out there. And tonight, I don't know what the eff he was thinking, but he was dribbling around like a maniac trying to play hero ball. That's NOT his game. His game is driving to the basket or 15 foot jump shoots. PERIOD. He screwed up so many possessions tonight. I counted at least 7 wasted possessions. (2) The other reason we lost is because Paul didn't show up tonight. He played timidly, when he had the advantage all night to drive the ball and either get fouled, or dish it to Cliff or an open wing man. He did neither. And when he did get into the paint, he refused to shoot, which was a head scratcher. He could have taken at least 4 shots in the paint and he passed it up. And two of those times, rather than going to an open Cam or Andre, he passed to Caleb, who once again believed he should shoot because he's wide open. Hey, McConnell, there's a reason why Indiana and every other team we face leaves you open. It's because you can't hit an outside jumper, especially from 3 point land. What is Caleb shooting from 3 point land? Ten percent? Why Pike and the staff don't get all over him I don't know. Unless they do, and he still ball hogs.
We played hard nosed defense and I'm really proud of everyone. We held Indiana to no baskets in about an 8 minute stretch in the second half. But we were horrible with our offensive possessions, especially the glaring absence of Paul shooting and driving and Caleb thinking he's the MAN on offense.
We had a real shot at winning tonight, and those two really blew it. Now it's on to Illinois, which is another difficult place to play. I'm hoping we bounce back and go 1-1 this week, but even if we go 0-2 the toughest part of our schedule will be over. Even with Mag gone for the season, I still believe we can win 12 or 13 games and finish in the top 4 and get a double bye.
