Alright, had a few minutes to look at some league stats this AM. LU leads the MVC in points allowed defensively and field goal percentage offensively. And is tied for last in the conference standings. Those two items should be good indicators of a solid team, which we're not right now.

Did some rough math. The league average is 22 FTAs per game, LU gets 18. League average is 54 FGAs/game, LU gets 50. Obviously speculative, but if we get to the league average in FTAs and FGAs, that's about 7 more points per game - which helps LU win a lot more close ones. So how do you get there?

LU is DFL in offensive rebounds, getting 2 per game less than league average.
LU is DFL in turnovers, giving it away 2 times more per game than league average.

Add two off rebounds and cut out 2 TOs, there's 4 more FGAs and 4 more PPG. Attack the rim and get fouled two more times per game, and you're right there.

Even a LITTLE transition would help LU find some quicker looks at the basket. We get next to nothing in the way of fast break opportunities.

I'm oversimplifying things here, but the devil is really in the details. And there isn't a huge disparity in the numbers. Keep doing what you do well and get better where you're bad. That's what good coaches teach their players to do.

I guess I was doing something similar this morning. One of the things I was looking at what effect foul trouble had on key players, and how we've done against them. An item that stuck out for me was SIU's Desmar Jackson, the league's second leading scorer. Jackson averages 20.2 ppg, which amounts to 30.2% of his teams total scoring. He torched us for his season high in points (31) in a four point SIU win on our floor. (How different would our record look if we had pulled off that win?) Jackson was only called for two fouls in that game. In games where Jackson is called for three or more fouls, SIU is 2-10 on the year, and one of those was a home game against a non-DI. In games where Jackson is called for two fouls or fewer, SIU is 4-4.

With Milton Doyle and Jeff White, we've got two players who are very good at attacking the rim. I've seen Turk and Crisman do it less successfully, and Nick Osborne has surprised me with a few of his moves. Why not use them more to get to the line and make key players sit a little longer?

08 I really enjoyed your post!

I think so much of it comes down to those turn overs! With our FG% if we could just improve to 7th or 8th in TOs.... How many more wins would we have? So... are all of these TOs due to how young we are? Shouldn't the game "slow down", for a majority of our players next year...or do they just not have the talent to make that happen?!?!

Talk amongst yourselves...

Frankly, sick of the youth excuse and don't really want to ever hear it used. We're going to be young again next year. Will have to live with it.

Our half court offense is better to watch this year, but it's still pretty rough. Screening is abysmal. The other night, early in the game, we actually had a great ball screen play! Johnson sprinted from the block to a wing ball screen, Doyle came off and dragged his man towards the top of the key. Johnson rolled hard and Turk replaced Doyle. Doyle kicked back to Turk who immediately drove baseline. No help from Johnson's man as he had him sealed off. Turk has only his guy to beat, gets to the basket, +1 for a three point play. Johnson doesnt get an assist but deserves it.

After that, I counted zero good screens - all game. Maybe a few so-so screens, but when do we see consistent solid picks?

Good screening should help cut down TO's because the offense finds more natural flow if defenders are in recovery mode.

I think you should offer up your expertise to help the team.

_________________
Cigarboy sucks!

Eh, I don't think my thoughts would be overly welcome. Besides, my offensive resume wasnt exactly impressive in college. But concepts are concepts. Big believer in it's not what you do but how its done. Screening is easy to correct! I'll definitely be there tomorrow and will share thoughts post game.

08 stop by tomorrow. I will be there with The Calculator Lady although there will be two other "gentlemen" in our seats with us.
Isn't your charity auction coming up soon? I didn't get a notice.

Will do, Streak. My folks are coming in for the game tomorrow so my pops and I will probably also find a way over to Bruno's for a beer.

Hope all's well. I've stepped down from the board of that non-profit, but appreciate you remembering. I may join another one soon and will be sure to reach out.