a great majority of the game the same ridiculously dumb plays continue to occur....
1.)Troy driving into traffic and either committing a turnover or hoisting up some awful shot that has no chance of going in
2.)The switching from man to zone and vice versa late in the shot clock that has several players lost (one time JBJ was so lost it was laughable). This drives me crazy.
3.)The inability to stop penetration and then horrible help defense. I am astounded by the number of lay-ups this team gives up. And it has been consistent with every game. Even the Creighton game, which was IU's best win to date, the PG had an absolute field day with a layup drill.
4.)Everyone but Robert Johnson ignoring the post players
5.)The selfishness of JBJ and sometimes Yogi and Troy. JBJ is the worst and I can't remember how many times he has taken it to the hoop against a big, throwing up a shot that is either blocked or clangs off the backboard when he has a wide open teammate to either dump off to for a dunk or an open 3. Troy and Yogi make selfish plays sometimes, but both are good at finding open teammates.
6.)Just an overall lack of BBIQ..Troy shooting 3's, and when a ball is knocked loose on D, Troy and JBJ both start sprinting to the other end before IU even secures the ball (they are probably coached that way). So sometimes the opponent gets it back and IU is down a man on D. Lunging for the ball on D. Gaping holes in the middle of the zone. Not talking on defense....etc.
7.)Overall all a very uninspired 25-30 minutes. If not for Robert Johnson and TB IU would have been down by 20+ in the first half.
I consider myself as about a diehard fan as there is, and there was a point in the game I briefly considered turning it off. IU got within 10 after a flagrant foul on TB. IU gets the ball back after the free throws and JBJ makes an incredibly lazy pass (he made at least 3 of those) which ND picked off and scored. Then the next time down the court Yogi goes to pass it to JBJ and he wasn't even looking (I don't know where the blame lies there as Yogi wasn't in distress and didn't need to pass, but JBJ was in never, never land) which led to another easy goal.
And then the light seemed to go on. Troy's hustle early in the second half also kept IU in the game as ND was on fire. Then the team started to play with more passion and tightened up the D a bit (let's just say the middle wasn't wide open), and the tide started turning. At that point the "potential" of this team begins to show itself, which again causes frustration with why it has to be this way. The team starts raining 3's and also rebounding improves and the IU makes a helluva run. While I was happy with the win, I still felt frustrated for the game overall.
I will say this...the team still appears to be united (watching the bench, the interaction, etc.), so it does not appear to be chemistry issues. And who knows, perhaps this was the defining moment of the season when the team pulled together and wants to start playing like they are capable. We will see. I will still be watching and rooting them on.
1.)Troy driving into traffic and either committing a turnover or hoisting up some awful shot that has no chance of going in
2.)The switching from man to zone and vice versa late in the shot clock that has several players lost (one time JBJ was so lost it was laughable). This drives me crazy.
3.)The inability to stop penetration and then horrible help defense. I am astounded by the number of lay-ups this team gives up. And it has been consistent with every game. Even the Creighton game, which was IU's best win to date, the PG had an absolute field day with a layup drill.
4.)Everyone but Robert Johnson ignoring the post players
5.)The selfishness of JBJ and sometimes Yogi and Troy. JBJ is the worst and I can't remember how many times he has taken it to the hoop against a big, throwing up a shot that is either blocked or clangs off the backboard when he has a wide open teammate to either dump off to for a dunk or an open 3. Troy and Yogi make selfish plays sometimes, but both are good at finding open teammates.
6.)Just an overall lack of BBIQ..Troy shooting 3's, and when a ball is knocked loose on D, Troy and JBJ both start sprinting to the other end before IU even secures the ball (they are probably coached that way). So sometimes the opponent gets it back and IU is down a man on D. Lunging for the ball on D. Gaping holes in the middle of the zone. Not talking on defense....etc.
7.)Overall all a very uninspired 25-30 minutes. If not for Robert Johnson and TB IU would have been down by 20+ in the first half.
I consider myself as about a diehard fan as there is, and there was a point in the game I briefly considered turning it off. IU got within 10 after a flagrant foul on TB. IU gets the ball back after the free throws and JBJ makes an incredibly lazy pass (he made at least 3 of those) which ND picked off and scored. Then the next time down the court Yogi goes to pass it to JBJ and he wasn't even looking (I don't know where the blame lies there as Yogi wasn't in distress and didn't need to pass, but JBJ was in never, never land) which led to another easy goal.
And then the light seemed to go on. Troy's hustle early in the second half also kept IU in the game as ND was on fire. Then the team started to play with more passion and tightened up the D a bit (let's just say the middle wasn't wide open), and the tide started turning. At that point the "potential" of this team begins to show itself, which again causes frustration with why it has to be this way. The team starts raining 3's and also rebounding improves and the IU makes a helluva run. While I was happy with the win, I still felt frustrated for the game overall.
I will say this...the team still appears to be united (watching the bench, the interaction, etc.), so it does not appear to be chemistry issues. And who knows, perhaps this was the defining moment of the season when the team pulled together and wants to start playing like they are capable. We will see. I will still be watching and rooting them on.
