Many of us have a such a good feeling at the moment especially given our expectations following the DePaul loss combined with the key pieces we lost after last season. It’s been a really fun season so far and this team seems to have some toughness, grit and moxie. In the back of my mind though is it’s way too early yet.
1. JBO - he’s not 100% but his leadership and what he can do, even limited, is so impactful. He single handily has won many games for us the past 3 seasons with his clutch shot making and FT shooting. Think back to the Indiana home game last year as one of many examples. There was always a few JBO specials thrown in with 6-7+ made 3s in a game. If he somehow plays through the pain this year, his health may get to the point he’s extremely limited and if he sits out well then that’s that.
2. The B1G is an absolute grind and we have little depth. I love the shorter bench a lot with Fran but there could be that quad issue like CJ had or a rolled ankle like Luka & TC have had anywhere down the line at the worst time and we have a major drop off going to the next guy. We may be down to playing our walk-ons in big situations or minutes.
3. B1G officiating and scouting. We tend to see a ‘fade’ however real or not in the second half of the year. I personally think any struggles have more to do with the ramp up in physical play in our conference and the officials letting more go (‘let them play’). Early in the year there’s more emphasis on ‘freedom of movement’. With our strength typically being shot-making and our weakness being creating our own shots the physical, holding, grabbing, clutching play can stifle our scoring. We are not known for defense so this style of play causes us to struggle much more. Couple that with the B1G is full of really good coaches and scouting so by the second time through teams are forcing someone other than your best players to beat you and making us as uncomfortable as possible. The second half of the B1G schedule is brutal too.
The point is let’s continue to enjoy what’s happening. Be as positive and supportive as we can be even in the face of adversity. I’m not banking on anything though as there is a long way to go.
GO HAWKS!
1. JBO - he’s not 100% but his leadership and what he can do, even limited, is so impactful. He single handily has won many games for us the past 3 seasons with his clutch shot making and FT shooting. Think back to the Indiana home game last year as one of many examples. There was always a few JBO specials thrown in with 6-7+ made 3s in a game. If he somehow plays through the pain this year, his health may get to the point he’s extremely limited and if he sits out well then that’s that.
2. The B1G is an absolute grind and we have little depth. I love the shorter bench a lot with Fran but there could be that quad issue like CJ had or a rolled ankle like Luka & TC have had anywhere down the line at the worst time and we have a major drop off going to the next guy. We may be down to playing our walk-ons in big situations or minutes.
3. B1G officiating and scouting. We tend to see a ‘fade’ however real or not in the second half of the year. I personally think any struggles have more to do with the ramp up in physical play in our conference and the officials letting more go (‘let them play’). Early in the year there’s more emphasis on ‘freedom of movement’. With our strength typically being shot-making and our weakness being creating our own shots the physical, holding, grabbing, clutching play can stifle our scoring. We are not known for defense so this style of play causes us to struggle much more. Couple that with the B1G is full of really good coaches and scouting so by the second time through teams are forcing someone other than your best players to beat you and making us as uncomfortable as possible. The second half of the B1G schedule is brutal too.
The point is let’s continue to enjoy what’s happening. Be as positive and supportive as we can be even in the face of adversity. I’m not banking on anything though as there is a long way to go.
GO HAWKS!
