Deleted member 747802
D
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I agree here. Like I've said repeatedly, this team is very immature or fragile as far as confidence goes. I think Underwood has had to handle this team with kid gloves big time this year. Many of our guys, probably with the exception of Ayo, just do not handle adversity or success well at all and tend to either get way too confident and come out uninterested or with less than maximum intensity, or they literally get punched in the mouth and immediately want to fight in some cases or crawl into a hole in other cases. Has to be extremely frustrating for a coach, I know it sure is for a fan. That's why he gets paid the big bucks, and we will see if he can earn them in the next 4-5 weeks.Brad's got to play it closer to the chest than that. He has to keep this one inside the locker room. Underwood really needs to do two things imho. First, they have to improve from the line... A lot. Kofi has to improve from the line... A lot. It's an unguarded shot for gawdsakes. Second, and I really believe this to be more critical, they have to remember to have some FUN while still playing disciplined basketball. We play tight and nervous, we make mistakes, and easy (super easy) shots don't fall. The other team smells blood in the water and the opponents suddenly look better. Our kids gotta loosen up. Izzo talked about it in the pre-Illinois presser. His team is feeling down and Izzo tells them to just play. Play solid defense. Get a rebound. Go down the court and set a good screen. Now maybe that shot falls and you get some confidence. Success leads to more success. Start small and build on it. That's it right there. We beat ourselves and opponents take advantage. We've got the talent. Just play. imho of course.