While Northwestern went two divisions beneath them to find a decisive, but meaningless win three other Big Ten teams moved quickly from preordained blowouts against turkeys into the cauldron of top twenty-five, NCAA tournament caliber basketball. The results were mixed and in some cases, bruising, but in return Illinois, Michigan State, and Ohio State received invaluable measures of how they stand at this early juncture and in some cases,what needs to change over the next five months if they aspire to the games of late March.
Get Illinois Early
Bookending two strong, confidence boosting dismantlings of Herb Sendek’s Arizona State and Sean Sutton’s Oklahoma State, the Illini played fifteen minutes of inspired, Duke killing basketball only to get stymied by a zone, breakdowns in help defense, and some bad fouls.
On display in Hawaii was an Illini team that has already absorbed several chapters of Bruce Weber’s handbook on dedicated knee-bending defense and equitable, ball reversal half court offense. Illinois put together several impressive stretches that evidenced a deep, versatile blend of veterans and promising newcomers who are already capable of overwhelming a solid foe. When executed efficiently Weber’s motion offense is something to behold and this year’s roster has a varied set of offensive weapons that will make it hard to defend.
Illini fans should be buoyed by the debuts of their new additions. Demetri McCamey has been thrown to the wolves a bit with his early assumption of heavy point guard minutes and there were more than a few rough stretches. But he has the big body and confidence that will pay dividends as the season progresses. Being one of the only natural point guards on the roster, the quicker McCamey’s evolution the better it will be for Weber’s ballclub.
In the short term the Illini need McCamey to take care of the ball and provide the kind of dribble penetration and dishing to the bigs that didn’t happen enough against Duke. These are well within his current skill set. His six assist game in the Oklahoma State win was proof of the same. When he adds consistent defense, movement off the ball, and a more reliable jumpshot he can lock up the point guard position for Weber for the forseeable future.
For the season at hand as McCamey evolves it will allow Chester Frazier to fall into his more natural role as two guard, lockdown defender, and lead by example intangibles guy. Along with Travis Walton, Frazier is the best defensive guard in the conference and is a warrior who never takes a series off. On a team that needs more demonstrative leadership it would be good to see Frazier and fellow seniors Randle and Pruitt getting more vocal, especially with the freshman.
Weber is said to be assessing candidates for a redshirt year, but has been impressed enough with the early play of his freshman to make the decision far from obvious. Mike Tisdale arrived in Champaign with some small town shyness and a polished face-up game. His length, touch, and confident minutes bode well for a high upside four years in Champaign. Mike Davis is another long, silky athlete whose early play suggests another versatile swing forward who, especially as he adds strength, can contribute in a variety of ways. Bill Cole is getting the least gametime so far, but has shown nimble passing ability and court sense that add to Weber’s good dilemma. Preferred walk-on Jeff Jordan is said to be the first and last in the gym and this work ethic and his clear athletic gifts will find him in possession of solid minutes as well as a full ride by the end of the season.
The most mature game of the new arrivals belongs to Rodney Alexander, not surprising given his two years of high level Juco service at Redlands. Alexander is an aggressive, bouncy athlete who will be a real asset on both ends. His nose for the offensive glass and his overall lack of modesty near the rack among taller players evidence a toughness and confidence that should rub off on his new teammates.
Weber has a deep team, but the loss to Duke pointed out some areas for attention. Duke’s aggressive defense had something to do with Illinois 32.3% field goal effort, but there was no dearth of open looks. Illinois had the kind of abysmal shooting night that highlights the role of designated shooters like Trent Meacham and Steve Holdren. As referenced above, it also points to the need for dribble penetration and generally more assertive, attacking offense. More aggressive pursuit of seams in the Duke zone Tuesday night would have mitigated the poor perimeter shooting and drawn fouls.
Poor help defense, especially on Gerald Henderson, and a few ill-timed, frustration fouls by seniors who should know better didn’t help matters. The defensive lapses are effort and practice related and will surely improve with a few Weber tirades. The latter issue points to the need for mental toughness and leadership. As this team increases its toughness and smarts it will not only be able to overwhelm good teams, it will be ready to go toe-to-toe against the best of foes.
Hello Mr. Stern
As Thad Matta feigns shock about Oden’s early departure and tries to diminish expectations of this year’s ballclub, it is clear the Buckeyes again have talent and the kind of senior guard leadership in Jamar Butler to play with a lot of teams. And, again, Matta has an NBA lottery pick on arrival in Kosta Koufos.
Admittedly, the Syracuse team on display Wednesday night was undeserving of its top twenty five status, playing Washington Senator defense and what appeared to be uncoached, playground offense. But it should not diminish what was an impressive performance by the Buckeyes. Butler is running the squad, stroking threes, and playing both ends of the floor with supreme, lethal confidence. Othello Hunter, one of the most underrated big athletes in the conference and obscured last season by the Oden hype machine was a terror on both ends. Evan Turner showed he is yet another extremely gifted Matta recruit who arrives in Columbus with great promise.
And then there is Kosta. After only five collegiate games it is obvious he has the game that has likely already whetted the mouths of NBA general managers and Mike Conley, Sr. of the MAC Management group. Much trumpeted Kevin Love is going to be a productive collegiate in the Tyler Hansbrough, bullhead mode, but Koufos is a much more sophisticated, multi-dimensional big man. Even at this early juncture it is hard to find much fault with his combination of size, shooting, ability off the dribble, and passing.
Texas A&M’s DeAndre Jordan will provide a commensurate height test tonight, but Koufos should be able to take him away from the basket and exploit his mobility advantage. For the fan of smart, fundamentally sound basketball players, Koufos is a pleasure to watch. Enjoy him while you can.
With his smarts and strong fundamentals, foul trouble shouldn’t be as much of a problem for Koufos as it was a year ago with Oden. This should help but will not eliminate the glaring weakness of the Buckeye roster: a lack of depth. This is a team that can ill afford to commit cheap fouls, something it has avoided so far this season.
Of course, the troubling shallowness of this Buckeye team is not surprising given the exodus en masse last April. With Butler and Koufos and perhaps others leaving Columbus this spring, there will again be monster voids in Columbus. But, don’t let that get in the way of enjoying two of the more polished collegiate players in the country this year. Butler and Koufos are a two-man game that should be fun to watch.
Play Up
Northwestern should not continue it’s now two year trend of scheduling solid but unspectacular Division III teams. Even a program of fragile, incremental growth as Northwestern’s would be better served by a tough loss to a quality foe than a win against a Division III team that won’t count towards postseason RPI. The Benedictine blowout and near loss against Wheaton last year do little for team or program morale. A win is hollow and a loss or near loss embarassing when you play that far down. Carmody needs to stick to Division I.
Gunner From Madison
Hoopraker superfan Gunner From Madison weighs in on his beloved, and undervalued Badgers:
Hello Hoopsters,
Here is the inside story on the Wisconsin situation (4-0) for 07-08 after they lost 60 % of scoring to graduation. Bo Ryan has them hustling again with previous starter and Senior Flowers coming off the bench ( he took a medical leave of absence but decided to rejoin the team). Trevon Hughes is now point guard and moves the ball well but is smaller and we will see how he does against the Big Ten’s best and Duke and Marquette. The rest of the starters are all over 6′7″ so moving the ball and driving toward the basket could be an issue. Playing well on D won’t be an issue with these guys since its Bo’s middle name. Stiemsma (6-11) is doing well with 9 blocks and just 3 fouls with 5.3 reb and 4.5 pts per game in 4 games and will be a factor in the lane. In order to compete with MSU and Indiana Brian Butch will have to produce (score) more and one of the forwards ( Landry, Krabbenkroft) will have to move and produce as well. They should do well at home and we will see if a good scoring guard and forward develop. On with the season!
Good Win, Good Loss
Izzo’s 2007 recruiting class is yet another example of his ability to recruit not only talent, but with an intelligent regard for the longterm benefit of the program. Chris Allen, Durrell Summers, and Kalin Lucas are fabulous testaments to this fact. They will contribute mightily this season, but also won’t be signing with agents in early April. Izzo, like Weber and Bo Ryan, runs a basketball program that is about much more than year to year reinventions and reliance on lottery picks. It is about integrity, continuity, and of course, consistent excellence. It’s called pride in process.
The win against a scrappy Missouri team that Mike Anderson will surely have in the field of 64 come March was the kind of gutty road performance that was good for the team, especially the young players mentioned above. Playing in front of a partial Kansas City audience made this a reasonable imitation of a Big Ten road game.
The loss to number one ranked UCLA was a tough pill but again will pay dividends for the season ahead. The absence of Darren Collison from the Bruin lineup was essentially equaled by Neitzel’s flu-fed poor outing. Even with his three newcomers playing heavy minutes Izzo’s team played UCLA basically even. Kevin Love has a solid set of fundamental post moves, can pass, and has the bulk and tenacity to fill a box score. He is also a theatrical flopper and fooled the referees into calling some dubious, ill timed fouls on the Spartans.
Something says Izzo is going to be venting a lot of spleen in the direction of Goran Suton and his fellow frontcourters Drew Naymick, Marquise Gray, and Idong Ibok during practice this season. With his midrange game, passing, and good footwork Suton can often look like one of the better bigs in the conference. Foul trouble was a problem against UCLA as cited above, but there were a few occasions when Suton and the other Spartan big men failed to box out and yielded too many second chances for the Bruins. Consistency from Suton and his other key frontcourters will be obvious priorities for Izzo.
In the final analysis the loss came down to a few jumpshots. A healthy Neitzel is worth a few more at the bottom of the well and this game could well have gone in favor of the Spartans.
