Thursday, November 29, 2007

Maryland Musings

Shooting aside, I continue to see things to like in the Illini basketball team. Rebounding, conditioning, althleticism, motion, defense, etc. Too bad shooting is so critical to the game.

The Illini seemed a bit rattled at moments in a very hostile environment, but they still played tough. Maryland was not impressive, and that's a game we could have won had the seniors shown up, but given shooting percentage, the Illini were doing good to be down only 2 points with 1 minute left.

My guess is that practice this week will have these themes: free throw shooting, layups, ree throw shooting, passing inside, free throw shooting, shooting from less than 5' from the basket, free throw shooting, jump shots, free throw shooting, 3-point shooting, free throw shooting...

Randle and Pruitt have loads of potential to dominate down low, and they should not be outscored so soundly in the paint. Alexander, McCamey and Meacham provided some offensive bright spots. And I love watching the whole team rebound. They go after the ball with purpose. And even though they didn't score, it was good to see the big guys finally go to the basket with purpose as the game was winding down.

This will be an interesting season, but with so much potential and room for improvement, we will find more to cheer about.

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# posted by Alma Mater : 10:17 PM


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