Let’s get a little celebratory around here. That was a good win. Not a pretty win. Not really a resumé-building win. But a good win, none the less. It was a win that could have quite easily been a loss. The Illini played hard. Often, they played a little too hard (see 48 free throws). Had we shot our FT’s a little better than 68%, we might have been able to breath a bit easier down the stretch. But events unfolded the way they did.
JoJo had a big game. I frequently cringe at his shot selection, but last night he hit 50% of his 10 FG’s, and also half of his six 3-pointers. Combine that with 14 of 18 FT’s and he wound up with a season-high 27 points. Jordy’s game was OK, but not as electrifying as we’ve seen from him. Mooring stepped up and frequently ran the show.
Our rim-protector, Big Brandon, delivered his obligatory double -double (22 pts/10 boards). I have to say, McCoy seems to be gasping for breath a lot. He’s got his hands on his knees at seemingly every break in the action. But his numbers tell a different story, so I won’t complain. But I can’t help but muse over how he will hold up to the rough-and-tumble action in the NBA. I’m afraid they’ll eat him alive.
And then there’s Shakur Juiston. He needs to figure out how to stay in the game. A couple of the calls against him in the second half, were questionable. But those are going to happen. If he didn’t pick-up the bad fouls, 90-feet away from the basket, earlier in the game, he could shake-off the later calls. We need Juiston in the game. He makes us a much better team.
A lot of good minutes out of Hardy. Beck also contributed off the bench. And Anthony Smith delivered one awesome, rim-rattling put-back dunk. I’m not sure what happened to Kris Clyburn? He played 22 minutes, but went 0-6 from the field. As I recall, he got beat-up a bit towards the end of the ORU game. Perhaps there were some lingering effects.
All-in-all, a successful night. We should be happy with our 8-2 OOC record. The two that got away in OT are painful, but perhaps we learned valuable lessons from them. The remainder of the slate, prior to MW play, looks entirely winnable.
It will be a long week until we go to Pacific (Stockton…I know). But our student-athletes must emphasize the “student” in their title, this week. I wish them well. And they should return with energy and focus. There’s no reason why we shouldn’t be 11-2 on December 31st, when Boise St comes to town.
Happy New Year!
Go Rebels!
JoJo had a big game. I frequently cringe at his shot selection, but last night he hit 50% of his 10 FG’s, and also half of his six 3-pointers. Combine that with 14 of 18 FT’s and he wound up with a season-high 27 points. Jordy’s game was OK, but not as electrifying as we’ve seen from him. Mooring stepped up and frequently ran the show.
Our rim-protector, Big Brandon, delivered his obligatory double -double (22 pts/10 boards). I have to say, McCoy seems to be gasping for breath a lot. He’s got his hands on his knees at seemingly every break in the action. But his numbers tell a different story, so I won’t complain. But I can’t help but muse over how he will hold up to the rough-and-tumble action in the NBA. I’m afraid they’ll eat him alive.
And then there’s Shakur Juiston. He needs to figure out how to stay in the game. A couple of the calls against him in the second half, were questionable. But those are going to happen. If he didn’t pick-up the bad fouls, 90-feet away from the basket, earlier in the game, he could shake-off the later calls. We need Juiston in the game. He makes us a much better team.
A lot of good minutes out of Hardy. Beck also contributed off the bench. And Anthony Smith delivered one awesome, rim-rattling put-back dunk. I’m not sure what happened to Kris Clyburn? He played 22 minutes, but went 0-6 from the field. As I recall, he got beat-up a bit towards the end of the ORU game. Perhaps there were some lingering effects.
All-in-all, a successful night. We should be happy with our 8-2 OOC record. The two that got away in OT are painful, but perhaps we learned valuable lessons from them. The remainder of the slate, prior to MW play, looks entirely winnable.
It will be a long week until we go to Pacific (Stockton…I know). But our student-athletes must emphasize the “student” in their title, this week. I wish them well. And they should return with energy and focus. There’s no reason why we shouldn’t be 11-2 on December 31st, when Boise St comes to town.
Happy New Year!
Go Rebels!
