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Awfully tough to win when you shoot less than 27%

lou v

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Aug 27, 2004
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Northwestern shot just 26.8 percent from the floor and got blown out on the road by Indiana, 66-46.

Ice cold
 
Yup, hit the nail right on the head as usual. Others here on the board have suggested it is coaching or lack of effort, but when you can't shoot ,you can't shoot.

Well, Chris Collins, Joey Meyer and Clark Kellogg all seem to disagree with you. NU can control shot selection, trying to get to the line to disrupt runs, cutting harder, running some offensive sets to set up easier shots, increasing defensive intensity to create offense off defense, pounding the offensive glass for easy put-backs, etc. Any of these things can create higher percentage opportunities and help reverse momentum.

It seems that you are often content to say, "Welp. Just wasn't our night."

This team (coaches and players) needs to learn to win when things aren't clicking if they hope to get more than a few more wins this season.
 
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Well, Chris Collins, Joey Meyer and Clark Kellogg all seem to disagree with you. NU can control shot selection, trying to get to the line to disrupt runs, cutting harder, running some offensive sets to set up easier shots, increasing defensive intensity to create offense off defense, pounding the offensive glass for easy put-backs, etc. Any of these things can create higher percentage opportunities and help reverse momentum.

It seems that you are often content to say, "Welp. Just wasn't our night."

This team (coaches and players) needs to learn to win when things aren't clicking if they hope to get more than a few more wins this season.
Best reply to our problems I have seen! Thanks
 
Well, Chris Collins, Joey Meyer and Clark Kellogg all seem to disagree with you. NU can control shot selection, trying to get to the line to disrupt runs, cutting harder, running some offensive sets to set up easier shots, increasing defensive intensity to create offense off defense, pounding the offensive glass for easy put-backs, etc. Any of these things can create higher percentage opportunities and help reverse momentum.

FWIW, Brian James mentioned all of these things in his halftime interview on WGN Radio. He also bemoaned the fact that we kept taking 3-pointers beyond the NBA 3-point line and said that we need to work harder to get closer and take those shots from the actual arc.
 
Well, Chris Collins, Joey Meyer and Clark Kellogg all seem to disagree with you. NU can control shot selection, trying to get to the line to disrupt runs, cutting harder, running some offensive sets to set up easier shots, increasing defensive intensity to create offense off defense, pounding the offensive glass for easy put-backs, etc. Any of these things can create higher percentage opportunities and help reverse momentum.

It seems that you are often content to say, "Welp. Just wasn't our night."

This team (coaches and players) needs to learn to win when things aren't clicking if they hope to get more than a few more wins this season.

I think this is more on the players than the coaches. This team has three seniors and a red shirt junior playing most of the minutes. They shouldn't need to be reminded when missing shot after shot after shot that they need to work it into the post or take it strong to the glass to drawl a foul.

Really, how many long shots in a row do you need to miss before you work to open up the inside game? Pardon (or Benson) didn't take one shot the first 15 minutes of the game. In that same timeframe NU took only three layups and missed them all...Falzon, Gaines and Lindsey.
 
Well, Chris Collins, Joey Meyer and Clark Kellogg all seem to disagree with you. NU can control shot selection, trying to get to the line to disrupt runs, cutting harder, running some offensive sets to set up easier shots, increasing defensive intensity to create offense off defense, pounding the offensive glass for easy put-backs, etc. Any of these things can create higher percentage opportunities and help reverse momentum.

It seems that you are often content to say, "Welp. Just wasn't our night."

This team (coaches and players) needs to learn to win when things aren't clicking if they hope to get more than a few more wins this season.

Collins said many of the same things after the game:

"I want to give them credit. I thought their defense was good. I don't want to say it was just all us. I thought they were active, I thought their principles were good, I thought they had good energy, I thought their big guys fought inside against Dererk with their coverages and that contributed to us not playing good offense. That being said, I don't think we cut with the precision we needed to. I didn't think we were screening hard. I didn't think we were being strong with the ball, so I think you combine them both and you see something like this. But make no mistake; I think Indiana played very hard and very well on that end of the floor."
 
Well, Chris Collins, Joey Meyer and Clark Kellogg all seem to disagree with you. NU can control shot selection, trying to get to the line to disrupt runs, cutting harder, running some offensive sets to set up easier shots, increasing defensive intensity to create offense off defense, pounding the offensive glass for easy put-backs, etc. Any of these things can create higher percentage opportunities and help reverse momentum.

It seems that you are often content to say, "Welp. Just wasn't our night."

This team (coaches and players) needs to learn to win when things aren't clicking if they hope to get more than a few more wins this season.
The team is what the team is. And while they did say getting to the line is a way, the way the team is made up, we do not really have the personnel to do that well. Maybe Gaines and Brown and to some extent Pardon but others, not so adept.
 
I think this is more on the players than the coaches. This team has three seniors and a red shirt junior playing most of the minutes. They shouldn't need to be reminded when missing shot after shot after shot that they need to work it into the post or take it strong to the glass to drawl a foul.

Really, how many long shots in a row do you need to miss before you work to open up the inside game? Pardon (or Benson) didn't take one shot the first 15 minutes of the game. In that same timeframe NU took only three layups and missed them all...Falzon, Gaines and Lindsey.
While your point is good, to be fair, did you see many opportunities to get it inside to Pardon or Benson early in areas where they could be good offensively?
 
FWIW, Brian James mentioned all of these things in his halftime interview on WGN Radio. He also bemoaned the fact that we kept taking 3-pointers beyond the NBA 3-point line and said that we need to work harder to get closer and take those shots from the actual arc.
Collins also said in his post game presser that he was totally disappointed in they're offense effort. He specifically stated that they didn't run hard cuts or set strong screens. if you watched the game he was constantly urging the players to pick up past the center line on defense. The under 30 % shooting is a real problem, especially from Lindsey and I still feel that the major problem right now is mostly mental. Either guys are playing with injuries or they just aren't getting along with each other or the coaches.
 
Yup, hit the nail right on the head as usual. Others here on the board have suggested it is coaching or lack of effort, but when you can't shoot ,you can't shoot.
If you can't shoot, you are me. I can't shoot either. Of course, I don't make the stupid fouls either, mainly because I can't get anywhere close enough to make them
 
Collins also said in his post game presser that he was totally disappointed in they're offense effort. He specifically stated that they didn't run hard cuts or set strong screens. if you watched the game he was constantly urging the players to pick up past the center line on defense. The under 30 % shooting is a real problem, especially from Lindsey and I still feel that the major problem right now is mostly mental. Either guys are playing with injuries or they just aren't getting along with each other or the coaches.
Or maybe all of the above and even some things not mentioned
 
"Toughness", or lack thereof. Tough screens, cuts, fighting for rebounds, taking to the hole in traffic to draw a foul, tough defense. This year's team is a shadow of its last year's self regarding toughness. It's too bad, had such high hopes.
 
Yup, hit the nail right on the head as usual. Others here on the board have suggested it is coaching or lack of effort, but when you can't shoot ,you can't shoot.

Well, I think the coach calls plays. I think the coach subs players. I think the coach recruits players. I think if we were harping on the players you cry unfair to pick on these guys giving it their all...and the coaches contribute...
 
Well, I think the coach calls plays. I think the coach subs players. I think the coach recruits players. I think if we were harping on the players you cry unfair to pick on these guys giving it their all...and the coaches contribute...
Wasn't picking on anyone. There were countless shot attempts we missed that were open with zero defensive pressure. Sometimes, you do have off shooting nights. You don'the win many games when you miss that many open looks. We even had more shot attempts than Indy and lost handily, an extremely telling stat, imo. We had those same shots vs. Minny, we just made a bunch more of them The only shot Scottie made was a dunk-- we just don't have the margin for error for that to happen.
 
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It seems that you are often content to say, "Welp. Just wasn't our night."

This team (coaches and players) needs to learn to win when things aren't clicking if they hope to get more than a few more wins this season.

About 10 years ago, I used to live next door to an assistant coach at one of the Chicago D1 schools. He knew I was an NU alum, he was friendly with BC so he followed our program, and we'd talk hoops if we ran into each other in the elevator or in the hallways of our building.

After one particular NU loss to Iowa in which we couldn't hit the broad side of a barn and Iowa seemingly couldn't miss, I made the "sometimes it's just not your night" comment to him without really thinking about it. I got a (polite) 5 minute lecture about how you can never think that way, how there are always things you can change up to increase your opportunities and decrease theirs, and how it's a failure of both players and coaches when you have a night like that.

I do still think that there's only so much you can do in a given situation. I don't think there was any way NU was going to shut down Trae Young last month, for example. But it was a great example of how coaches think and how they want their players to think, because if you're out there thinking "it's just not our night" you're never going to play hard enough to have any chance of winning. To use the Oklahoma game as an example, maybe you're not going to shut Young down - but if you shut everyone else down, you're still going to have a chance.
 
About 10 years ago, I used to live next door to an assistant coach at one of the Chicago D1 schools. He knew I was an NU alum, he was friendly with BC so he followed our program, and we'd talk hoops if we ran into each other in the elevator or in the hallways of our building.

After one particular NU loss to Iowa in which we couldn't hit the broad side of a barn and Iowa seemingly couldn't miss, I made the "sometimes it's just not your night" comment to him without really thinking about it. I got a (polite) 5 minute lecture about how you can never think that way, how there are always things you can change up to increase your opportunities and decrease theirs, and how it's a failure of both players and coaches when you have a night like that.

I do still think that there's only so much you can do in a given situation. I don't think there was any way NU was going to shut down Trae Young last month, for example. But it was a great example of how coaches think and how they want their players to think, because if you're out there thinking "it's just not our night" you're never going to play hard enough to have any chance of winning. To use the Oklahoma game as an example, maybe you're not going to shut Young down - but if you shut everyone else down, you're still going to have a chance.

We had more opportunities than Indiana. Didn't help us much because we shot in the 20s.
 
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