Off The Rails

[JCT]

I watched several minutes of the Bradley game to try and figure out what's wrong. We looked slow, tired, and unhappy.

After the game I looked at the box score and team season stats. Our top player fouled out, we were 2 of 18 on threes, and missed half of our 14 free throws in the one point loss. Our top four scorers have each missed at least five of the 18 games this year, and only four players on the whole roster have played in every game.

Since I'm not as familiar with the women's game, I picked a random team (Evansville) from the middle of the standings to compare stats to see what they should look like. UE has fewer players available than we've have (only 10 have played for them this year as opposed to 13 for us), but they've had 7 players appear in every game as opposed to 4 for us. Three of their top four scorers have appeared in every game as opposed to 0 for us.

In conference games, we're last in the league (by far) in free throw and three point percentage. There are eight players on other teams that have made more three pointers in conference play than Loyola has made as a team. We're near the bottom of the league in field goal percentage (8th), three point defense (9th), rebounding margin (8th), and turnover margin (9th).

I'm generally a big supporter of the move to hire Swoopes. I thought she did fairly well last year, and I was really encouraged by the tough scheduling this year. While I'll cut a little slack for having a lot of injuries, this is the second year in a row where key injuries have been a factor. I'm really troubled, though, by the insane/embarrasing margin in all but a few of the losses-- it seems to me that even with injuries you can do things in game planning and sideline coaching to keep from losing by 25 points almost every game. And it seems to happen a lot that we're in games at halftime only to be demolished in the second half.

In the Bradley game, we lost by one point after missing half our free throws and almost 90 percent of our three point shots. It seems to me that's more of a player execution issue in that particular game, yet we're terrible as a team throughout the season in both those areas. I was under the impression that the new players she brought in were of much higher athletic ability than players we've had in the past, but I haven't seen much evidence of that, even earlier in the season before injuries set in.

[galena rambler]

JCT,
I also watched a good part of the Bradley game. The team looked terrible! I really expected them to be doing much better. As you intimated, there is no "fire" in their play. There was very little evidence of good "hard nose" basketball. Where were the screens, players taking charges, passing out when double or triple teamed? A lot of the defense was waving at the ball as the player drove past. What happened to face guarding the opponent with the hot hand? etc. etc.

[LU 86]

How about this explanation.
Grace Calhoun didn't know what she was doing
Rob Kelly didn't know what he was doing
Susan Malisch didn't what she was doing
Tom Kelly doesn't know what he's doing.
The Coach is more concerned about the me in team than the girls she recruited.
How about Eric Simpson is laughing so loud I can hear him.
I want to know how Tom Kelly keeps his job when he makes a million dollar mistake with this contract and where can I get a job like that.

[lusuperfan]

Free throw shooting and shot selection are 1a.) and 1b.) fundamentals. That's a billion percent on the coach for the team being last in free throw percentage and for just chucking up 3s like a middle school team.

[goramblers2011]

Another loss tonight by 6 down in Carbondale. SIU is 10-9 (5-3 MVC).

We led by 8 at half.

[LU 86]

nice to know we gave ISUr their first win of the year.

[JCT]

nice to know we gave ISUr their first win of the year.

No, it's not. Especially after this weekend.

[LU 86]

you are one hundred percent correct. i walked right into that one

[goramblers2011]

We lost to a winless team...by 16 points. What

[lusuperfan]

In her end of the season meeting with our new AD, Sheryl Swoopes will probably quote Eric "Otter" Stratton: "You can't spend your whole life worrying about your mistakes! You f***ed up...you trusted us!" Hopefully Kelly and Malisch are there as well because this line would really be more apropos if it was directed at them.