vs SIU (2-1) - 1/6/24 - 6 pm - Marquee

[Popsto4]

I saw Mal got knocked in the head on that last play and was slow to get up. Hope all is well!

He may be one of the 3 injuries I stated earlier.

 

[Popsto4]

Does anyone think it’s a coincident that Mal scored 8 in the second half? It’s apparent to me now that actions be ran for him as a shooter more often when a certain player is off the floor. Most would say that’s common sense to do. I say it need to be more of a cohesive thing offensively. Sure Mal has shot the ball poorly this year missing wide open looks. He makes more contested shots off the move more often than not. Last year that was telling, this year during his struggles it’s still telling. DB’s groin flared up again. If he’s a no go in the next game, Mal will get more shots that he’s better at knocking down. Will that translate into a win? I don’t know but hopefully it does. There has got to be a way offensively for DB and Mal to co-exist offensively. To me personally that’s the biggest issue this team face. On the other hand it’s difficult to put up good offensive numbers always guarding the opponents best offensive guard. I usually try not to post too much so this may be my last post for this season. It’s frustrating to watch. I know for a fact if the offense isn’t ran exactly to a tee the leashes on every single player is shortened. I do mean every single player. I don’t know if anyone has noticed but pay attention, some kids be taken out after making a bucket or two. That’s a head scratcher to me. I know missed defensive assignments from time to time can cause that but man, offensively we’re not good and there are a number of reasons for it.

 

[Popsto4]

I’m not sure why you specified Malachi only. I think it’s a whole team whole team challenge. Although appreciate him stepping in where he can, and playing through being banged up.

If it is as simple as putting him in at the 2 and only the 2 (or whatever his position is) and things would get humming then I’d hope the staff could see that, and implement that immediately.

I do agree this would’ve been a big win to get in regards to protecting home court in conference.

I specify Mal because he’s my kid. Having him play the 2 should allow the staff to run more actions for him. He’s getting his minutes so the staff still believes in his ability on both ends of the floor. At the 2 he’d even have more assists, currently he’s 2nd on the team with 25 assists to 15 to. All I’m saying is he will get the ball in different spots during the offense compared to the 3 spot believe it or not. At 50% from inside the arc this season, why not run actions for him at the 2 getting those shots? His midrange shot last night in the first half was action for him and it wasn’t called again the rest of the game. He may have the best midrange game on the team. DB get ther by his drives and is very good there. The difference being Mal is better at actions ran for him in that area. Each kid have a strength and a weakness. The staff as a whole I believe is seeing some things and missing others. That’s not a knock on coaching but rather just having the ability to see more than one way.

 

[ILLST25]

Friendly reminder that our team has ELEVEN SENIORS…. I am embarrassed. A team this old and with this much experience has got to have more pride than this… AND we should be able to execute better than this.

Like a previous post said - our wings give us NOTHING. How is it that we have Luke, Davis, and Pence give us exactly nothing. Last year we had Seneca with no post play. This year we have post play with Foster but no wing play. It’s a gaping hole to have no threat at the wing offensively. Luke is the type of guy who plays 25 min but has zeros across the board on his stat sheet besides fouls.

Lieb giving us no post play offensively is a major hole as well. Our offense is Burford and Foster. If those two aren’t hitting, we cannot win. Both of these guys specialize in 2s. How is this team so incredibly bad at 3s? Johnny is probably the best shooter on the team. Banks missing all those 3s and FTs was just brutal.

Our offense is abysmal.

 

[Popsto4]

Friendly reminder that our team has ELEVEN SENIORS…. I am embarrassed. A team this old and with this much experience has got to have more pride than this… AND we should be able to execute better than this.

Like a previous post said - our wings give us NOTHING. How is it that we have Luke, Davis, and Pence give us exactly nothing. Last year we had Seneca with no post play. This year we have post play with Foster but no wing play. It’s a gaping hole to have no threat at the wing offensively. Luke is the type of guy who plays 25 min but has zeros across the board on his stat sheet besides fouls.

Lieb giving us no post play offensively is a major hole as well. Our offense is Burford and Foster. If those two aren’t hitting, we cannot win. Both of these guys specialize in 2s. How is this team so incredibly bad at 3s? Johnny is probably the best shooter on the team. Banks missing all those 3s and FTs was just brutal.

Our offense is abysmal.

I stated in an earlier post Mal is playing the 3 this year which is traditionally the wing. I agree with you wholeheartedly on this. We do lack at the wing spot. Mal isn’t a 3 nor is he big enough for that position. Things are out of wack once again. Optimism is slowly leaving me honestly.

 

[Birdfriend72]

Maybe I’m just naive to what Illinois State basketball is now and what it could be - how are we not able to recruit players who are capable of doing multiple things well? Darius Burford, our leading scorer, has 18 total assists in 13 games. That seems impossible. Myles Foster can’t shoot outside the paint. At all. Luke Kasubke can’t guard anyone. Over half of Poindexter’s shot attempts are from three this year and he’s shooting 26%. The Lieb conversation is ongoing here, but he’s bad. We are starting a PG who SIU didn’t want and they’re a middle of the road MVC team. I don’t want to be overly critical, it’s early for Pedon and we’ve been very bad before him. Having put that caveat out there… where’s the talent? If you asked the MVC coaches who they’d take from our roster you might get Foster, Burford, and Lewis and that’s it. It’s hard to see and worse to be a fan of. Feels bad, but we have bad players and seemingly a worse gameplan for their skill sets or lack thereof.

18 assist in 13 games is exactly the problem. When you don’t move the ball- and just dribble drive for yourself out of control. What do you expect. That player better be going to the foul line and shooting 90 percent consistently!

 

[Reggie Redbird]

He may be one of the 3 injuries I stated earlier.

It looked like a dirty hit on Mal at the end. We didn’t deserve to win the game with how we were playing and how we flat out refused to change our game plan. Poor FT shooting, launching 3’s we had no business taking, and not figuring out how to defend their best shooters (over 50% from 3). Fix 2, maybe 1 of those, and we win.

This one was disappointing because it felt like we had a good first 15 minutes and then fell apart. We keep in it, then again falter at the end.

Burford was forcing things too much, and Pedon finally pulled him. He was too amped up out there.

 

[Popsto4]

It looked like a dirty hit on Mal at the end. We didn’t deserve to win the game with how we were playing and how we flat out refused to change our game plan. Poor FT shooting, launching 3’s we had no business taking, and not figuring out how to defend their best shooters (over 50% from 3). Fix 2, maybe 1 of those, and we win.

This one was disappointing because it felt like we had a good first 15 minutes and then fell apart. We keep in it, then again falter at the end.

Burford was forcing things too much, and Pedon finally pulled him. He was too amped up out there.

I asked Mal about that foul he said it was dirty and he will remember it

 

[Racine Bird 3813]

SIU is top 10 in D1 for 3pt % and also top 10 in D1 for defending the 3pt shot. This stat was on TV last night about halfway through the second half. I was impressive with SIU’s defense. None of our shots looked easy.

 

[normalbird]

I got frustrated during the Richardson days. Poor results, poor overall effort, lack of coaching effectiveness, etc. It became more of an obligation than a pleasure to go to games. Please, please, don’t take me there again.

 

[Popsto4]

18 assist in 13 games is exactly the problem. When you don’t move the ball- and just dribble drive for yourself out of control. What do you expect. That player better be going to the foul line and shooting 90 percent consistently!

Speaking of assists, Mal is second on the team. He continue to play within the offense while struggling from the floor. He refuses to play the game the wrong way point blank period.

 

[ChiRedbirdfan]

Said it before BUT, “ This is Redbird Basketball”. Or what it has become. We have a couple pretty good guys down low, not Hank and Rick but decent. We have other decent role players, but we desperately need a couple guys that can score at will. How many times in the last seven years has a gunslinger came into Redbird and just out shot us? Hard to get, I get that, but ISU needs a scorer.

What? i hope you are not implying there is anything wrong with "Redbird Basketball" or Redbird athletics.....we have won the all mvc sports trophy 3 years in a row!!

 

[redbirds2000]

Does anyone think it’s a coincident that Mal scored 8 in the second half? It’s apparent to me now that actions be ran for him as a shooter more often when a certain player is off the floor. Most would say that’s common sense to do. I say it need to be more of a cohesive thing offensively. Sure Mal has shot the ball poorly this year missing wide open looks. He makes more contested shots off the move more often than not. Last year that was telling, this year during his struggles it’s still telling. DB’s groin flared up again. If he’s a no go in the next game, Mal will get more shots that he’s better at knocking down. Will that translate into a win? I don’t know but hopefully it does. There has got to be a way offensively for DB and Mal to co-exist offensively. To me personally that’s the biggest issue this team face. On the other hand it’s difficult to put up good offensive numbers always guarding the opponents best offensive guard. I usually try not to post too much so this may be my last post for this season. It’s frustrating to watch. I know for a fact if the offense isn’t ran exactly to a tee the leashes on every single player is shortened. I do mean every single player. I don’t know if anyone has noticed but pay attention, some kids be taken out after making a bucket or two. That’s a head scratcher to me. I know missed defensive assignments from time to time can cause that but man, offensively we’re not good and there are a number of reasons for it.

Hmmm...I sense there may be a frustration with Pedon amongst the team?

 

[redbirds2000]

What? i hope you are not implying there is anything wrong with "Redbird Basketball" or Redbird athletics.....we have won the all mvc sports trophy 3 years in a row!!

LOL! Football goes to playoffs and bball to the tourney. Every school except for us could win that trophy for the next 100 years and I would not care one bit!

 

[redbirds2000]

I got frustrated during the Richardson days. Poor results, poor overall effort, lack of coaching effectiveness, etc. It became more of an obligation than a pleasure to go to games. Please, please, don’t take me there again.

The effort is there for this team, for now. When Indy St, BU, and SIU boat race us by 20+, it will be interesting to see how if the effort maintains. I see 1 game left in January where I would be confident in predicting a Redbird win.

 

[SgtHulka]

Mr Johnson #10 is quite excellent at creating space between he and his defender when he has the ball. Heckuva game for him and honestly very hard to guard...but I just don't understand.

At least tonight...that whole damn offense is 100% keyed through him in one way or another. Last 5 minutes of the game...WHY are we even allowing him to accept an inbounds pass...why are we allowing him to control the ball after the game he's had??? Easy for me to say as I'm an idiot know-it-all, but I would be in full court denial with him. Yeah they're going to pick you to death but talk and communicate. In a game like this, especially going down the stretch, he'd have a hell of a time getting the ball at all. Obviously other guys can beat you but he's the ignition AND the clutch. Keep the basketball out of his hands.

We didn't deny him an inbounds one single solitary time. We didn't even try to deny him. That's bizarre coaching to me. I've seen this over and over with us the last 2 yrs. We're in a tight situation, game on line or down a point or 2...and we just let the ball get inbounded with no attempt at denial. I don't understand that.

Preach. Until we hire the Hamshlonger as head coach were going to flounder.

Johnson had 26 points and 9 assists. Well more than half of their points. We did nothing to alter his game in the second half. No traps no inbound denial no nothing. The last 10 minutes we just let him stand unopposed dribbling 20 seconds off the game clock over and over. Shoulda challenged him and forced him to pass. In the first half he threw a few wild passes that led to them not scoring from forcing him towards the sidelines

I fear we are living Richardson 5.0. Hoping we find a way but I'm quickly losing hope.

 

[redblood]

Agree with most everything on here. It is also frustrating with all the confidence and excitement about our roster depth early on, no one can come up with a decent five to play now. Sad state of affairs, plenty of blame or whatever to go around.
Is it time to be bold for once and turn the keys over to guys recruited to be foundation players- Pence and Kinzinger?

 

[SlackBooDom]

To add on to my earlier point… what we define as “success” is so embarrassing. There are guys in the country who can score 6-8 points with ease over the course of a few possessions. When we have a guy score 8 points in a half we talk about it like the offense is humming. It’s sad. We’ve had a player eclipse 20 points in a game four times. How bad is that? Our point guard shoots 56% from the line. Burford shoots 21% from 3. Pops is saying we need to run sets for Malachi and the offense should go through him and he’s 15/59 from three. I realize it’s the middle of the season, but we need to scrap the offense and implement some type of motion. If we are easy to guard and lack skill, it’s going to keep happening. Move. Cut. Screen. The hardest player to guard is a player who is moving around. Right now we just stand in spots. I watched the game back this AM after attending last night and there was a stretch in the first half where we went 14 possessions in a row without a screen away from the ball. The only pressure we ever put on the defense is when Burford drives. It has to change.

 

[Aggie]

People going to be upset with some of this but time we discuss it. Does ISU continue to go down the road of trying to be the little big ten, or big whatever? Or do we do something radical and hire a coach and system that is offense, first, second and third? So what we give up 90, we score 94 and win. Running and gunning and attract the players that are pure scorers? But they may also struggle on defense. I am of the opinion that you can teach defense easier than offense. At least it would be a lot more entertaining than watching us not score for 5 minutes at a stretch. A couple years ago Samford hired a coach that was all run and gun. It was actually really fun to watch. I know different conference and all that, but our recent formulas for about 30 years now have not worked. If we ever are going to attract talent in the days of the portal why not concentrate on players that can score at will but maybe get passed over because of their defensive liabilities. Bombs Away!

 

[Popsto4]

To add on to my earlier point… what we define as “success” is so embarrassing. There are guys in the country who can score 6-8 points with ease over the course of a few possessions. When we have a guy score 8 points in a half we talk about it like the offense is humming. It’s sad. We’ve had a player eclipse 20 points in a game four times. How bad is that? Our point guard shoots 56% from the line. Burford shoots 21% from 3. Pops is saying we need to run sets for Malachi and the offense should go through him and he’s 15/59 from three. I realize it’s the middle of the season, but we need to scrap the offense and implement some type of motion. If we are easy to guard and lack skill, it’s going to keep happening. Move. Cut. Screen. The hardest player to guard is a player who is moving around. Right now we just stand in spots. I watched the game back this AM after attending last night and there was a stretch in the first half where we went 14 possessions in a row without a screen away from the ball. The only pressure we ever put on the defense is when Burford drives. It has to change.

Yes I did say that partly because he’s a completely different player coming off screens and such. Plus he know when to pass the for an assist which is really unnoticed because fans want to see buckets. I think he’s second on the team in assists. Seeing the game and knowing the game is completely different on so many levels. If the offense is ran through Mal with more moving parts, posting, more screens, high pick n rolls, cuts and flashing the team would certainly look different. Say what you want about shooting percentages but know the skill set and weaknesses of each player and it could look differently also