About a third of our turnovers came when White was on the bench taking a breather. You could tell even in the first half, before they put the screws on their press, that no one besides White could reliably get the ball past the halfcourt line. I didn't like how we waited two seconds every time before taking the ball upcourt to let the press set up before pushing against it. In breaking the press, Doyle and Turk got called for a 10-second violation, Crisman made two passes into the stands that I remember, Turk made one, and White one when the wheels were coming off late in the second half.

Doyle is obviously the most talented guy on the floor. But that talent-- paired with his total of 16 games of experience-- comes with a downside, which is that he hasn't yet reached the point where he knows what he can probably do on his own. There are times when he senses his high level of talent and thinks he can do some things that he can't or shouldn't-- hence the high number of turnovers. I think he should be dialed back half a notch, maybe limited to 28 minutes instead of 32+, and taught to play within himself a bit more.

Dokubo didn't get into the game until midway into the second half, made a steal in his less than one minute of playing time, and was yanked. Turk, Doyle, and Crissman are two guards that simply don't have enough ball handling ability to reliably break a well-schooled press like the one ISUr put on. Nixon played seven minutes but didn't look very solid (especially for a senior), and Pickett's status is ????? (still on the roster, but hasn't played at all since six minutes in the UIC game).

So I guess the heart of my questions go to the rotations and playing time. Why did Nixon, for instance, get more minutes than Osborne? I understand O'Leary being out there, but his body type and game were simply not a good matchup with ISU's two big men. Why wasn't Dokubo given more of a chance to play, given the problems breaking the press? I understand O'Leary being out there, but his body type and game were simply not a good matchup with ISU's big men.

I watched the pregame warmups, and you know who looked more than ready to play some minutes? Jeremy King, who hasn't played more than a minute in any game since he started at Mississippi State. It seems to me that if we have a substantial overall height advantage but we're getting outscored in the paint 34-22 because of a single player (Lynch, who had 11 points, three blocks and three steals in 25 minutes-- well above his season averages), you might want to try to limit that guy, or get him in foul trouble. Between Johnson, Osborne, O'Leary and King, we had 20 fouls to work with on that count.

I don't have any complex or brilliant inside knowledge or experience about x's and o's playing basketball. My biggest claim to fame with a basketball in my hands was when I beat my elementary school friend Mark West (Jerry's son) playing ball in his driveway. And I don't know the internal stuff-- who is getting over a cold, or who was caught breaking a curfew, or who has shown inability to perform certain tasks in practice. So maybe I'm waaaayyy off base.

I guess I continue to beat the same drum....that this is a young team.....nobody really looks confident other than Turk and I am not sure he should!...Everybody has talent but everyone has a deficiency. So to me will they improver on their weaknesses. I really think losing our Assst. coaches has slowed down development. But other than Joe Crisman I think I have seen improvement in everyone.
I still am curious as to what happened with Cully Payne...as I think with Jeff White and him sharing the point we would be a little better...although CUlly turned it over a lot last year.
My final thought is that Coach Moser is like one of the acrobats on the Ed SUllinvan show trying to keep all those plates spinning
Turk great shooter......not so hot on defense and handling the ball
Christian THomas.......not much you can do about height maybe the most complete player on the team(also on of the few upperclassman)
Jeff White....have seen improvement ..probably still needs to improve on the ball defense,
MIlton Doyle......all the tool just improve decision making.
Cody Johnson some offense...... lost defensively and needs to rebound better.
Oleary some offense.........looks un-confident and walks in cold weather w/o shoes.
Osbourne ????????seems to have all the physical tools
However looking forward to Arch Madness.....I think we will be a much better team by then.
.

Don't want to burst your bubble, JCT, but Mark's father was GERRY West, a Gynecologist.
.

In 1970, this was gynecologist Gerry West's house. Gerry was evidently a big Lakers fan, as evidenced by a Jerry West #44 jersey folded on top of the dryer one time when I visited, and the actual Jerry West often hanging out in Gerry's den watching a lot of TV from a recliner. Basketball hoop has since been removed from over the garage.

https://www.google.com/maps/preview#!da ... !2e0&fid=5

Was he a certified gynecologist or just an amateur gynecologist, like Wilt Chamberlain?

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Cigarboy sucks!

One of the TV guys said that Pickett was out with a concussion.
Also, Crisman can shoot the 3. He passed up at least two good looks that I recall.

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Let's go Braden!