Brad is stubborn as a mule. He's making strides....but this was a huge swing and miss today. This game literally begged anyone with a lick of BB sense to throw those guys in for a spark....and a rest for the others.
That is true. On the upside, it is part of what has made him the successful coach he has been to this point. Also, “knowing is at least half the battle;” and I’m pretty sure he’s at least introspective enough to know …that stubbornness can be both a strength & a weakness.
You could say the same about Izzo to a higher degree. Pundits, and even this board like to count him out again and again…partially because he doesn’t run 180 degrees in the opposite direction with some absolutist idea of analytics. Basketball analytics are still in their infancy.
They’re really really smart statistics. They are not an end all be all. They are a tool; and should be used as such.
Ex. Of what I’m talking about with Izzo: Sending 3-4 guys to the offensive boards…embracing mid-range jumpers to a certain extent…post-ups…
Sorry about the tangent…but it is actually germane to Brad. Bootyball is closer to Chuck Daly’s Pistons than it is Steve Kerr’s Warriors. You have to do what your personnel dictates. That remains true.
Look at the success we have had with this move toward Shrews/Booty-ball and embracing the midrange shot a little more it has opened everything else up more. Also we’re at our best when we’re hitting the boards hard on D and O… that is not even debatable.
So I give credit to Brad for that.
But as to the playing time and rotations. I have to admit there’s a lot of times I just don’t get it. I don’t get this board’s frequent take(s) on PT either.
I haven’t forgotten several people being hollered at for merely hoping: Goode, RJ, & Podz got 30 sec. of PT once or twice. Ridiculous. They ARE on our roster right? What’s so bad wanting to see them get some valuable PT. Valuable to EVERYBODY in the long run btw.
PS: I love Domask. He’s my favorite Illini since Feliz. But for a coaches kid & and an otherwise fundamentally sound player…it has surprised me his tendency to sometimes, flippantly flip passes to the wing with one hand AND then also trying to corral rebounds with one hand. The problem with the one handed rebounds is obvious. No tip, tip, tippy…grab the SOB with two hands and be done with it. The one handed pass is problematic IMO because you can’t pull it back/stop the pass if need be. Even on a full court baseball pass it’s nice to have that other hand at the ready to stop it at the last moment. I’ll bet he ran some down & backs in his dad’s gym for doing those lazy one handlers.
Call it old school if you want. Call it a sacred cow. But that little league coach that told you it was a good idea to cover your glove with the other hand when catching pop ups wasn’t wrong.
