VS. Eastern Illinois

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sealhall74
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I was traveling last night but watched a replay this morning. Billy has a nice mix of guard talent to work with. The question this year as in just about every year I can remember is whether we have enough bigs to patrol the paint. Brandon has progressed very nicely in his first two years but he cant do it alone.
Embrace the pace of the race.
wiu712
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Defense, Ancum threes lead Leathernecks past Eastern Illinois.

From today's McDonough County Voice:
http://www.mcdonoughvoice.com/sports/20 ... n-illinois
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Neckfansince71
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Well Jalen Morgan really filled the void last night when Gilbeck got in foul trouble. It looked like they went with Hughes first and then moved to Morgan for the duration. The definition today for guards and forwards are so much different than when I coached and even more different when I played. In 1971 we always went with a 2 guard, 2 forward, 1 center lineup, with the guards 6' or less, the forwards 6'4" or less, and the center, well you can figure that out. Then basketball moved to a #1 point guard, #2 shooting guard, #3 swing man-ala either or, and then power forward #4, and post #5. The problem WIU has had in the past and something that was noted after St. Mary's was the fact that shooters were getting open looks for threes from the outside. Billy's boys locked that down last night, especially in the last couple of possessions. Any looks the Panthers did get which became made shots were hotly contested. The question becomes, you can always use a power bodied athlete offensively and they help on the defensive boards, but where do you put them so they don't get lost on the necessary defensive rotations the Necks are now doing. I really think that that aspect of the game is slowing Gavin down at the present time. Once again, these are just my thoughts after viewing the game last night. ;) jc
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sealhall74
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Neckfansince71 wrote: Thu Nov 16, 2017 3:25 pm Well Jalen Morgan really filled the void last night when Gilbeck got in foul trouble. It looked like they went with Hughes first and then moved to Morgan for the duration. The definition today for guards and forwards are so much different than when I coached and even more different when I played. In 1971 we always went with a 2 guard, 2 forward, 1 center lineup, with the guards 6' or less, the forwards 6'4" or less, and the center, well you can figure that out. Then basketball moved to a #1 point guard, #2 shooting guard, #3 swing man-ala either or, and then power forward #4, and post #5. The problem WIU has had in the past and something that was noted after St. Mary's was the fact that shooters were getting open looks for threes from the outside. Billy's boys locked that down last night, especially in the last couple of possessions. Any looks the Panthers did get which became made shots were hotly contested. The question becomes, you can always use a power bodied athlete offensively and they help on the defensive boards, but where do you put them so they don't get lost on the necessary defensive rotations the Necks are now doing. I really think that that aspect of the game is slowing Gavin down at the present time. Once again, these are just my thoughts after viewing the game last night. ;) jc
The Packline D does take some time to learn and master. But no better time to learn than against some of these cupcakes we are playing early. That said, I am not a big fan of the packline. What I see is that it makes players lazy ON OFFENSE (e.g screens are weak and most times ineffective). In practices, they become accustomed to defenders sagging off them allowing easy distribution of the ball around the perimeter. How many times in the past have we seen that "deer in the headlights" look from our players when a team comes out and applies really tough man-to-man pressure including ball denial.
Embrace the pace of the race.
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Neckfansince71
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You can only play in your face defense for so long. The Necks picked it up defensively in the last 8 minutes of the game. I am not saying that they were not playing good defense before that, but they really turned it on with 8 to go. That is much more sustainable than 20 minutes which is not really obtainable but made more obtainable when you play lean and lanky guards. ;) jc
wiu712
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ST_Lawson
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Neckfansince71 wrote: Thu Nov 16, 2017 3:25 pm Well Jalen Morgan really filled the void last night when Gilbeck got in foul trouble. It looked like they went with Hughes first and then moved to Morgan for the duration. The definition today for guards and forwards are so much different than when I coached and even more different when I played. In 1971 we always went with a 2 guard, 2 forward, 1 center lineup, with the guards 6' or less, the forwards 6'4" or less, and the center, well you can figure that out. Then basketball moved to a #1 point guard, #2 shooting guard, #3 swing man-ala either or, and then power forward #4, and post #5. The problem WIU has had in the past and something that was noted after St. Mary's was the fact that shooters were getting open looks for threes from the outside. Billy's boys locked that down last night, especially in the last couple of possessions. Any looks the Panthers did get which became made shots were hotly contested. The question becomes, you can always use a power bodied athlete offensively and they help on the defensive boards, but where do you put them so they don't get lost on the necessary defensive rotations the Necks are now doing. I really think that that aspect of the game is slowing Gavin down at the present time. Once again, these are just my thoughts after viewing the game last night. ;) jc
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meganeck
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I think obviously the game being played during the week and not on a Saturday probably held the crowd down some. Also with the men's team not being very good the past couple of years will hurt attendance. They are going to have to prove themselves before the fans come back.
wiu712
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Small crowds have also been a big concern for NIU Men's Basketball.

NIU has had two home games so far this season:
November 14 vs UW-Green Bay. Attendance = 858.
November 16 vs St. Francis (IL). Attendance = 514.
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ST_Lawson
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meganeck wrote: Thu Nov 16, 2017 11:10 pm I think obviously the game being played during the week and not on a Saturday probably held the crowd down some. Also with the men's team not being very good the past couple of years will hurt attendance. They are going to have to prove themselves before the fans come back.
This...we had some pretty full games a few years back when we had CC3 and Big TP. Exciting basketball, winning games, it brings in the fans (more so than winning does at football games, it seems...no issues with weather really with BBall games).
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