Comments on: The Morning After: Illinois

By: Jerry

Jerry — Sun, 10 Feb 2008 19:36:28 +0000

I donot think we are in bad shape but the next games will tell.

It appears that the key to our winning will be to outscore the other team by having a lethal offense.

Our dribble drive, kick and pop offense is run by DUKE, NC alot of very good teams so though I donot like it myself it can be successful even though it looks unorganized

But we have 3 weaknesses in this offense

1. Gordon does not kick to anyone until too late for the pop
2. DJ does not play as well facing the basket or on dribble drives so he stops the flow
3. Intensity to keep the flow moving if the first drive does not yield a good shot

I am looking for signs that we can fix #1,#3 and then DJ can do what he does best , pop or backem down

By: Jerry

Jerry — Sun, 10 Feb 2008 11:36:28 +0000

By: james

james — Sat, 09 Feb 2008 23:47:35 +0000

chester frazier may not be the best point guard , he may not even be a decent point guard at all. but being able to guard one of the best guards in college basketball gets my attention. this kid is tough and for anyone to say for one minute that he posesses no skill at all is stupid. it was very unnecessary for him to bump gordon , but i can remember when basketball was played with toughness and was competitive. we shouldnt always pay attention to the things we can see but what we can not. i play basketball and things happen ten times worse on the court that you dont even know about. i think gordon handled it with class , and chester was just trying to intimidate him. i have a lot of respect for the 2. eric gordon is a great basketball player who seems to handle adversity very well. its no doubt he will be a superstar. p.s. this is chester frazier's big brother

By: Fozan

Fozan — Sat, 09 Feb 2008 19:14:30 +0000

Agree, even my 11 year old kid (which becamce a hoosier fanatic by defualt) made comments about CKS abilities!! imagine that. It's watching 5 individual players playing basketball, that's how I see the hoosiers. CKS stayed with the zone defense even after Illinois broke it so many times. Well, if something is not working, chang it!!. No set plays on the offensive front, nothing.

By: Snipper

Snipper — Sat, 09 Feb 2008 18:43:08 +0000

I agree with everything you said except your overly high regard for IU's talent level and Sampson's recruiting ability. It seems obvious that , except for Gordon, the 2007 recruiting class was over-rated. After Gordon, Ellis is the best of the group, but he's a mediocre shooter and makes poor decisions with the ball. Crawford has raw ability but makes more bad plays than good ones. Thomas is awful. McGee? Is he so bad he can't contribute at all, even when depth is a problem? Yes, Holman is injured, but he looked awful when he saw very limited action before he was hurt. Minus DJ and Gordon, the Hoosiers will be in serious trouble next season.

By: CoveyDale

CoveyDale — Sat, 09 Feb 2008 16:52:38 +0000

and I would rather win the right way with Knight than win the wrong way with Sampson.

all those criticisms are accurate. as great of a job that KS did last year, he's done an equally bad job this year. it's weird to say it but at 19-3 this team has actually underachieved.

By: Jerry

Jerry — Sat, 09 Feb 2008 13:41:46 +0000

Sorry but I think you are dreaming about time travel. Knight is a historically great coach but should have been fired , like Tubby, for losing too much in an elite program………..not for his antics. I would rather win with Sampson than lose with Knight

By: Jerry

Jerry — Sat, 09 Feb 2008 13:33:39 +0000

Right on ! Since many teams run their offense off the bounce ( ie Duke ) it can look sloppy thus your last sentence should be a clue that the coach( ie coach K ) may not be the problem .

So many guys on these posts seem to give Gordon a pass. Personally I think Gordon is a major offensive problem becasue he does engage the other players such that other players elevate THEIR game. We stand around waiting to get him the ball and then when he gets it , we stand around some more because he does not dish . We are thus stuck with 2 options instead of 4 or 5.

Again you are right about PLAYERS. A PLAYER is different than a guy with skills. Gordon right now is a guy with great skills, but not yet a PLAYER

By: BobKnightFan

BobKnightFan — Sat, 09 Feb 2008 10:32:34 +0000

Did anyone else hear Kelvin's comment AFTER the game? He was asked what he said to EJ at halftime to produce such a huge 2nd half. Kelvin gave his lil shit-eatin grin and said…”I told him to shoot it everytime you get it…” I thought Mike Davis resigned and moved to UAB…I thought Bracey moved on to the NBDL or Europe or Siberian Basketball…AT WHAT POINT IN THE PAST 120 YEARS DID BASKETBALL BECOME A 1 VS 5 GAME? It is sad to see a program that has such a RICH tradition of teamwork and basketball history has come to this. The Kelvin era has taking an eerily similar road to that of his predecessor…great recruiter but SHITTY game coach. Perhaps…and I'm just living in a DREAM world here…just maybe Bobby left TTU to make a final run at #4 with his beloved Hoosiers???? Hey…if you're gonna dream…dream BIG!

By: chimoose

chimoose — Sat, 09 Feb 2008 01:38:46 +0000

2 items to note today . . . it bugged me to no end that Ellis didn't sit out towards the end of the game. His dead legs were surely the reason that he missed 2 layups and 2 free throws down the stretch.
Second, I am surprised that nobody mentioned the foul that Pruitt laid on DJ White at the end of the first OT . . . shouldn't he have gone to the line to shoot 3 free throws?