UIC vs. Loyola result

[bigm]

We won. There were some good moments and there were some bad moments. Sounds like a Charles Dickens' novel where "it was the best of times and it was the worst of times." We began each half on fire, then it was extinguish. But in the end, we won, which is something we should all be happy about.

Just some comments:
I think we don't have a good offense. This was my fear at the end of last season. We lose a lot of key players. The lost of Bailey didn't help. Tonight we can see it. We couldn't run any offensive sets. I'm not sure if we do have much sets to run, but whenever he tried it, it didn't work. We had to wait for some penetration or offensive rebounds to help us out. And in second half of the second half -- which is where we mad our run and broke away -- we had to relie on defensive.
But we should be happy that we played defensive. Granted Loyola shot well in the second half, we forced them to turn overs. This is the kind of game we need to help with our defensive motivation.
I thought Collum played great. I think he may be a good point guard after all. White once again looked great. But Banks struggled again.
After watching this team this far into the season, and that conference play has started, I think it's fair to make some early analysis of the team. I think Banks is having an OK season. And it's not going to get any better. Teams have figured him out and the screens are not going to work anymore, especially since we don't have any shooters. And that's a scary point. We need shooters. Bowens has talent, but he doesn't know how to use it. I like this guy. I just wish he knows how to use his talent to score some points. White is great. Being this young and playing the way he is playing is good. JS has good games and he has OK games. But at least I feel that we can count on him to play each night. Armond is having a good season. Not great, but good. He's our energy. He brings it each night. Poole is another constant we have. He doesn't put up big numbers, but we can rely on him to put up the same numbers everynight. I just wish he learns to use his body and post-up move more. He has what it takes to do well in the paint. Josip Petrusic needs to learn or at least try to jump. That's all I got to say about him. He gives us nothing else but potential rebounds.
I'm tried. Maybe I'll write more later.

[flyin30]

Yeah I agree with you BigM. Armond looked strong tonight. He had some key steals for us. And Jovan had some nice baskets as well. Its always ugly, but Jovan finds a way to score, he has a nice touch around the hoop.

[Jay C]

I think a big key to the win was rebounding. We had 12 offensive boards to Loyola's 3 which shows how aggressive we were on the glass.

It's also good to see us dishing the ball more instead of just standing around. I think this game was Rocky Collum's coming out party and we may actually have a point guard.

[Big D]

Well, I actually walked in the house at about 9:30 EST and quickly turned on the webcast.....we were down 9 with like 7 minutes to go or something. I was thinking to myself "Here we go again".....but then we just took over.....offensively and defensively.

Some of the keys just from the few minutes I listened....

• At one point in the game, when we had made 20 FG, only one of them was a jump shot....only one! This is not good, but it just shows how weak Loyola is inside.
• Wills and Nagy were just so happy with Collum's play in the last 5 minutes....they said he came in with a purpose....after playing tentative in the first half, and then being benched, he came out, penetrated, made a big 3 and big free throws, and made some great passes when it counted most.
• Our press was pretty effective tonight. Armond had like 3 steals in the last couple minutes....bigm is right, our defense got us back in this game....and making 7 consecutive shots sure did help.
• Finally, during the webcast and when the Flames were coming back, it sounded as if there was a good number of UIC fans there....was anybody there? If so, how was the UIC crowd?

I'm pretty happy with the results tonight. Sure, it was close, but even the past couple years, our games at Loyola have been close....so for us to come back from 9 down is a pretty big feat.

Looking forward, we need to win our games at the Pavilion....starting with Penn, which currently has a higher RPI than us....then with CSU and Detroit (which is especially a must win becuase I'm tired of losing to them).....

[Jay C]

Where were Bush, Bond and Boyd tonight? I noticed we played a thin lineup with only 8 players.

[bigm]

I just want to finish up a point I was trying to make earlier about our offence. I really believe that we are not capable of running offensive plays. Tonight there were many times when I noticed we wanted to run different sets. Each time it failed, we had to rely on penetration or offensive rebounds to get our points. Gosh, I would hate to imagine the outcome of this game if it wasn’t for our offensive rebounds. Then in the second half, when Loyola was making their shots, we had to rely on turnovers to get us back into the game. It’s scary to see that we couldn’t run our offensive. But the upsides of tonight were that we showed we could rebound the ball (but then again, Loyola is small), and we showed that we could play defense. I think the biggest key is that we played defense. With all of the criticisms we have been giving the team about defense, it is nice to see that the team actually won it on defense tonight.

Another thing I want to mention is tonight’s telecast. I forgot the names of the announcers of tonight’s game, but I must say I felt as though they were rooting for Loyola all night. Now both of them seem to know a lot about both programs. But I always felt as if they were waiting for Loyola to come back, to make a run, to be patience with the ball, and so on. Another thing is that the announcers incorrectly identify several of the Flames players. They called Poole Williams, Williams Poole, and they even messed up Banks. I don’t know. It was kind of annoying. At the end of the game, when they showed highlights, they showed highlights that favor Loyola: the miss dunk by Williams; a block shot of banks; a dunk by one of Loyola player. What is that? Maybe because it’s Loyola’s home game. I don’t know. I can’t wait to see if there’s any difference when they telecast a Flames game at the Pavilion. Did anyone feel this way tonight?

[UICJohn]

BigD, I was there. There was a pretty decent showing for UIC fans considering. I was thinking of not making the trip given the weather and all, but I couldn't miss it.

Loyola fans are asses. They talk crap before the game and then lose and talk even more crap afterwards. I just don't understand their logic.

[UICJohn]

Bigm, I am not sure, but they might have been pro-Loyola because it was a Loyola telecast? I am not sure on this, but we're both Chicago teams and it was a home game, so that could be the reason why.

[WarriorFlame]

A couple of observations from the game:

1. UIC HAS LITTLE CONFIDENCE RIGHT NOW. That is the ultimate reason for these inconsistencies. They played about 8 minutes of inspired basketball against Loyola and that was enough to win the game. All year, we have looked like a team that is thinking far too much on the court and not simply playing basketball.

2. THE PRESS WAS EFFECTIVE BUT COULD HAVE BEEN BETTER. I counted 5 times where we had the point guard trapped in the backcourt and he was able to throw a casual pass to the center of the floor. In a 2-1-2 press the 1 HAS to try to make a play on the ball when the pass comes over the middle. That was only guy to pass to on several occasions and we didn't have anyone there looking to deflect. Other than that, the press was certainly effective in slowing Loyola and forcing them to initiate the offense with 20-25 seconds left on the shot clock. There were several occasions were they settled for bad shots because they didn't have enough time to get a good look. Also, if I was Jimmy, I would look at running a 1-3-1 press with Bowen at the top. His long arms and athleticism could really make it difficult to move the ball into the frontcourt.

3. ROCKY COLLUM MAY BE THE ANSWER AT POINT. I don't believe he knows the offense yet and he still seems confident with the ball. His passing is slightly above average but he is very solid with the dribble and seems to respond well under pressure. It's also nice to have another free throw shooter on the floor.

4. ELLIOT POOLE SHOULD BE AN NBA PROSPECT. UICJason and I were conversing about Elliot's inability to make a quick move in the post. He falls prey to his initial instinct which seems to be always dribble the basketball. If he were to catch the ball and go straight to the pivot foot, he would be unstoppable. His footwork is as good as you'll see in the HL and comparable to some of the best big men in the country. He has great hands and has been SO much better at the FT line. There is no reason the Elliot shouldn't average 20 points and 10 boards before he leaves UIC.

[EzE]

What was with that move that Banks made at the end of the game when they were inbounding? That was nuts!

[WarriorFlame]

EzE said:

What was with that move that Banks made at the end of the game when they were inbounding? That was nuts!

I don't think that was a "move" as much as a desperate attempt to throw the ball off a Loyola player to retain possession. The ball missed everyone, Armond taps it over the shoulder and the game is sealed. Certainly not a textbook play, but something that could have worked out far worse.

[Rambler63]

1. I am almost certain that it was a UIC telecast. The camera on the sideline went up to the UIC huddle during every time out, but not the Loyola huddle. Jimmy Collins was interviewed live, but not Whitesell.

2. If it appeared to you that the announcers favored Loyola, it might have been because the Ramblers were such underdogs starting 3 freshmen and 2 sophomores. The Ramblers got a total of 8 minutes (out of 200 court minutes) from the only availabile senior. Talking up Loyola also makes the rivalry look a little less one-sided than it has been.... Loyola's last victory against UIC was January 17, 2002.

3. Loyola fans are not asses, at least not compared to any other team in the league. I saw people from the UIC crowd talking trash, ripping up free hats (for Loyola Health Systems, not the basketball team-- I thought I should have informed the idiots that the hat represents the only trauma center for the West Side, and they therefore should probably support the existence of Loyola Medical Center because their life might someday depend on it... whatever). Were Loyola fans supposed to be shy and contrite in their own building? That's absurd. Spend a few minutes with Butler or UWM fans and get back to me about Loyola fans.

4. I have no idea why UIC is so bad this year, but if a bunch of lowly-regarded freshmen and sophomores could take you guys to the final minute (not to mention having a 9 point lead with 7:36 left in the game), you guys have problems. I feel that next year, when you guys don't have Banks and Williams and Loyola has more experience, you will lose the Away game against Loyola.

5. Again, for those that don't know, I went to Loyola undergraduate and got my Master's at UIC. I happen to prefer Loyola for a number of reasons that don't need to be chronicled here. I am glad that you have a growing interest in basketball, but sometimes I think you folks as fans have an exaggerated sense of self-importance, and it's very clear that most of your fans are extremely fickle. Not very becoming-- and you cite Loyola fans as asses! Ha!

6. I like your reasoning for calling Loyola fans asses-- "They talk crap before the game and then lose and talk even more crap afterwards. I just don't understand their logic." In other words, no arguments have relevance if you lose. That is precisely the logic I would expect from a product of a UIC education-- and I suppose you also think that the biggest box office means it's the best film, and that Britney Spears is a better artist because she sells more records.

7. Loyola beat UW-Parkside in the exhibition season.

8. When I was born, Loyola was Loyola, but UIC was a notch above a junior college located on Navy Pier. Bulldoze a neighborhood, shower state money all over the near West Side, and all of a sudden you have a legion of humorless jerks with a sense of purchased entitlement. It's like magic!

Thank you, folks! We'll see you next month!

[Lee]

Guest-Rambler63 said:

1. I am almost certain that it was a UIC telecast. The camera on the sideline went up to the UIC huddle during every time out, but not the Loyola huddle. Jimmy Collins was interviewed live, but not Whitesell.

2. If it appeared to you that the announcers favored Loyola, it might have been because the Ramblers were such underdogs starting 3 freshmen and 2 sophomores. The Ramblers got a total of 8 minutes (out of 200 court minutes) from the only availabile senior. Talking up Loyola also makes the rivalry look a little less one-sided than it has been.... Loyola's last victory against UIC was January 17, 2002.

3. Loyola fans are not asses, at least not compared to any other team in the league. I saw people from the UIC crowd talking trash, ripping up free hats (for Loyola Health Systems, not the basketball team-- I thought I should have informed the idiots that the hat represents the only trauma center for the West Side, and they therefore should probably support the existence of Loyola Medical Center because their life might someday depend on it... whatever). Were Loyola fans supposed to be shy and contrite in their own building? That's absurd. Spend a few minutes with Butler or UWM fans and get back to me about Loyola fans.

4. I have no idea why UIC is so bad this year, but if a bunch of lowly-regarded freshmen and sophomores could take you guys to the final minute (not to mention having a 9 point lead with 7:36 left in the game), you guys have problems. I feel that next year, when you guys don't have Banks and Williams and Loyola has more experience, you will lose the Away game against Loyola.

5. Again, for those that don't know, I went to Loyola undergraduate and got my Master's at UIC. I happen to prefer Loyola for a number of reasons that don't need to be chronicled here. I am glad that you have a growing interest in basketball, but sometimes I think you folks as fans have an exaggerated sense of self-importance, and it's very clear that most of your fans are extremely fickle. Not very becoming-- and you cite Loyola fans as asses! Ha!

6. I like your reasoning for calling Loyola fans asses-- "They talk crap before the game and then lose and talk even more crap afterwards. I just don't understand their logic." In other words, no arguments have relevance if you lose. That is precisely the logic I would expect from a product of a UIC education-- and I suppose you also think that the biggest box office means it's the best film, and that Britney Spears is a better artist because she sells more records.

7. Loyola beat UW-Parkside in the exhibition season.

8. When I was born, Loyola was Loyola, but UIC was a notch above a junior college located on Navy Pier. Bulldoze a neighborhood, shower state money all over the near West Side, and all of a sudden you have a legion of humorless jerks with a sense of purchased entitlement. It's like magic!

Thank you, folks! We'll see you next month!

Yes, with the same result as the last 4 years solid. Those grapes must be delicious.
Purchased entitlement, thats rich, coming from your legions of rich suburban dissapointments. Loyola is the definition of purchased entitlement.

[Chuck A]

WarriorFlame, I agree with just about everything you said, except maybe Collum being the answer at the point. He could be, but right now he is still learning the offense like you said.

I also can see the effect Martell had on Cedrick Banks' game. There was one play last night where Collum didn't zing the ball into Ced in the right place and the ball was stolen. This has also exposed a weakness in Ced's game. He has depended on Martell so long in his career that he doesn't really know how to play without him. No one has done the job of replacing Martell, no matter how much Martell works with the point guards in practice. Ced is suffering from the loss of Bailey and needs to mentally adjust if he wants a career overseas.

[WarriorFlame]

For the most part, Guest-Rambler raises some interesting issues. Lee, I think Loyola, the school, does not represent purchased entitlement. Loyola, the community, well...that's a different story.