What the Hell Happened?

Alright, I took my shoelaces out, I'm not wearing a belt, locked up all of the pills (although I'm pretty sure that you can't overdose on Advil and cough drops) and I can't afford to have enough alcohol in my place to drink myself to death, so I guess I am almost ready to get into the debacle that occurred tonight.

Before we do that though, I think that it is fitting to post this video from Big Ten Network. It puts into perspective not only that it is just a game, but also that these players have to deal with so much more than most of us imagine. I have been talking about how I think that Chester Frazier will go down in history as my favorite Illini, and I have written about it a couple of times, but here is a video about why I feel that way.



On to the game:

I was lucky enough to miss the second half of the game because I had to go to a Physics class that I don't understand. I was texted by 3 different people about every 3 minutes with updates of the game so I was prepared when I got home. Thank God I didn't watch the game live, because I would have definitely broken all 3 of the expensive things that I own. Unlike most of my Illini posts, I am going to try to dissect them from the stand point of a non-fan.

First thing is that Illinois on most of it's possessions can get pretty much any shot that they want. The only shots that was taken that had a defender anywhere near the shooter in the first 4 minutes were inside the paint. However, Illinois has absolutely nobody who can step up and either make a shot or get fouled when it is needed. Demitri McCamey is not that type of player. He tries to be, but he is not at that level. I know that he was still sick this game and apparently he threw up at half-time, but he still is not at the level of other players in the Big Ten. The only other teams that don't have this type of player are Indiana and Iowa. Mainly I mean a ball-handler who is capable of creating his own offense consistantly outside of the normal offense. The other teams in the Big Ten have these players:

MSU - Kalin Lucas
Purdue - E'twan Moore and Robbie Hummel
Michigan - Manny Harris
Minnesota - Lawrence Westbrook
Ohio State - Evan Turner
Wisconsin - Travon Hughes
Penn State - Talor Battle
Northwestern - Kevin Coble

It is imperative that you have somebody who can get you a score when you need it all on his own. All of the players above get to the foul line quite a bit which helps slow down the game and curb opposing teams momentum. Nobody for Illinois can just make up his mind and say "I'm either getting to the hoop, or getting to the line on this play" Illinois gets to the line by passing and getting post defenders out of position, none of their fouls come on dribble penetration.

It is a testament to this team that they have won as many games as they have this season because they run their offense so well and are not selfish, but nobody on this team should scare anyone in the Big Ten. Look at Illinois' losses in the Big Ten this year. Michigan, Michigan State and Penn State, Illinois led late, and when it came to crunch time, nobody was able to step up and win the game on the offensive end. Minnesota was a horrific offensive performance, and you had nobody to keep them in the game even though Minnesota was not playing well either. Wisconsin was the only game where the Illini really weren't in the game from start to finish.

Mike Tisdale should dominate this league. He can get his shot anytime he wants, and the fact that he can shoot from 2o feet out normally would make him unstoppable. However, he is not good at posting up. There were at least 4 turnovers because he either lost his position, or there was a weak entry pass. He doesn't like contact at all and still moves away from contact on his shot rather than getting into his defender. At 7'1 there is nobody outside of Deshawn Sims who can block his shot clean without contact as long as he leans into it. Tisdale had at least 4-5 inches on everyone who defended him tonight, yet there was not one double team when he got the ball in the post. Why? Because a double team is used against players who post up in order to make a move towards that hoop. In Tisdale's case, he is either going to turn baseline and shoot a jump hook, or take a dribble to the lane and shoot over the top of the defender. It makes a double team pointless since his main move is baseline which is normally away from any help. If he did have an effective post move towards the hoop it would cause teams to help, which would leave a shooter or cutter open. This occurred a few times against Indiana, but Indiana doesn't count because they are barely a Varsity high school team.

He can't be content with just shooting over the top of everyone, because when he has nights like tonight where his shot isn't falling he needs to get to the line to score. I understand the argument that he is still skinny and doesn't have a solid base, but good post players use the defenders movement to get them out of position. How effective has the high low been with Mike Davis passing to Tisdale from the top of the key? As soon as Tisdale loses his position on the block though, he never seals his man to get a pass over the top or along the baseline. James Augustine was great at this because he would beat his man to the spot, and when the defender overplayed, James had the baseline with a only a backside guard between him and the hoop.

All of the blame can't be given to the post players though, because the guards don't look inside enough. I think you can attribute that to the fact that in previous years when the ball went into the post, you might as well run down and set up your defense, because that ball was never coming back out.

The only thing that keeps Illinois in games is their defense, because you are guaranteed to have at least 2 4-5 minutes stretches where Illinois won't score in games. When Jeff Jordan enters the game along with Calvin Brock, it is much easier for teams to shut down the other 3 players. Neither of these players look for their shots, and they only feel comfortable shooting in certain spots on the floor. For JJ it is on the wing at 18 feet, and Calvin loves the baseline or a pull up in the lane. Keller and Legion will shoot from anywhere on the floor, but only Keller is a threat to score. Chester Frazier is no longer a liability on offense because he has shown that he can hit open 3's and more importantly penetrate and dish at times, but he can't do it whenever he wants. This is the same as Trent Meacham, so you are left with McCamey, Tisdale, and Davis as your consistant threats. When none of those 3 have a good game, then you have a shitty night like tonight.

You also don't have to worry about Illinois in transition after a missed shot because all 5 guys have to crash the boards. Tonight Mike Tisdale tied his season high in rebounds with 10. On the flip side Chester Frazier has a game of 13 and 11. Even on steals, Illinois does not run the break well because realistically the only guard that is athletic enough to finish one on one is Chester Frazier. How many times have you seen Trent or Demitri miss contested lay-ins on the break?

Finally this team does not have a killer instinct what so ever!! They were up 9 tonight with 10 minutes left and couldn't get Penn State to tap out. They were up 6 at MSU with 10 minutes left and lost that one. Pretty much every game they have won other than Indiana at home and Northwestern they were destroying teams and they let up. They let everyone get back into games or at least let them get a run. They grind out there wins, which is consistent with a team that plays great defense, but has long lapses on offense. It is strange to see how they can go from showing great emotion one game to playing like the game doesn't matter the next. Both Purdue games they were into it, both Indiana games they were into it, but against Northwestern and Penn State they looked like they were on Xanax!

Now on to the positives:

We are 21-6, and have showed heart in every game except for Minnesota, we still have 2 games at home, and we are still sitting pretty for at least a 3 seed in the Big Ten Tournament. No matter what happens from here on, this season has been a pleasant surprise, and we are building a solid base for the future with good unselfish players who understand the way that Bruce wants them to play.

Mike Davis continues to rebound the ball well, with 9 rebounds tonight, and Mike Tisdale seemed to try much harder on the boards. Neither of them are just tipping the ball out as much as they used to do.

The defense is still amazingly solid, and the offense has been really good except for 2 games. Tonight, just like the Minnesota game, we were not shut down by great defense. We got all of the shots that we normally do, we just didn't make them. We just need to get to the foul line more consistently.

There is one other factor that has helped Illinois to this impressive record, but I am afraid to mention it because I don't want to jinx anything. Here is a hint. What has Michigan State, Purdue, and Ohio State all lost that Illinois has yet to lose? Now if this comes to fruition, I can't be blamed. (Think Brian Randle)


One final note about the game. Is anyone else really annoyed with the god damn camera angles that Big Ten network is falling in love with? I don't want to watch entire possessions from a camera on the opposite baseline. When you have a camera that shows the entire half court, why the shit do I have to watch only 6 players for 30 seconds at a time? Is the normal camera guy taking a leak? Is he outside having a smoke? You can't see the 3 point line, and you get no depth perception at all. It looks like you have 6 guys playing basketball in a Volkswagon when they use this angle. I am about to write an e-mail, but I am hoping that Mike Hall might read this first (Joker make this happen). By the way Mike, we at Durty Butter absolutley love everything that you do on "The Network". Also, maybe you can explain to me how Mizzou is ranked so far ahead of Illinois, because I am clearly missing something.

That is pretty much all I can come up with and to be honest, I really don't want to talk about this anymore. Stay tuned for a post about John Paxson's final Eff you to Bulls fans all over the country, and also we might be welcoming another writer, so you will probably have a much better and more enjoyable perspective to read.