(02-17-2022 10:08 PM)DiehardHuskie Wrote:  Nice win. Looking forward to the game this Saturday.

Ditto.

And for those who don’t know, use the code CRAM on Ticketmaster for $5 tickets Saturday. Wear Black too.

(02-17-2022 10:04 PM)uiniu57 Wrote:  Didn't get to see or listen to this game. Assume we inbounded the ball sufficiently for a miracle win even though Huskies hit only four three-point shots while Akron nailed five.

Uh...yeah. We actually did inbound the ball better.

Once, in an odd sideline inbounds right in front of the Akron bench, Williams had trouble getting it in but Burno called timeout. Personally, I felt Williams hesitated twice when he had a spot to get the ball in.

Other than that, we did fine. There was actually one inbounds that was kind of creative. I think Crump was the inbounder (which will NEVER set me at ease) and the play clearly was drawn up to go deep past half court to Williams. It was from the baseline and Williams ran what would be a fade pattern in football across the court from right to left with two guards going toward Crump and the center (or probably Kueth since Okanu had already fouled out and Burno was keeping Makuoi as far away from the court...and the free throw line...as possible) ran to the opposite deep corner taking his defender with him. The throw was perfect and literally the only person who could catch it was Williams who was then immediately fouled.

I remember watching it and thinking I didn't recall ever seeing a team run a play like that.

Really impressed with Burno so far this season - with the players he has I thought this team may win 1-2 conference games all year. Hopefully we can get in the MAC tournament.

standings: https://getsomemaction.com/standings.aspx?path=mbball

GO HUSKIES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

To 57 and others that don’t understand, The team that makes the most 3pters usually wins if they make at least 5 more than the other team. When the two teams are within 5 made threes of each other then either team can win. Akron making 5 threes and NIU making 4 threes means that either team could’ve won. Also NIU got the ball inbounds and was fouled almost every time at the end of the game which sealed the victory.

Something about last night's game has been sticking with me as I've been trying to understand Coach Burno's decision making.

The scenario was a pretty crucial one, tbh and he had some pretty good options at his disposal. Ultimately, his choice was a good one but not one I would have made which is why I keep thinking about it (and, for the record, I've made my mind up on this long ago so when the situation came up, I was already thinking about why he chose to do it).

Anyway...here's the setup.

NIU ball and there's a foul called on Ali Ali (Huskies are not in the bonus so no FTs at this point) but Ali is upset or something and gets a technical foul. Now...Huskies get 2 free throws and the ball. At the time, the score was tied. This is a huge moment late in the game and one that very easily could have been a big difference maker (turned out...it didn't).

So, to shoot the FTs, Burno is only able to pick from the guys on the floor. Williams was not in the game but waiting to sub in so he wasn't an option. And to be fair, as good of a FT shooter he is, there's something about the down the stretch FTs that I think he needs to work on. He often goes 1 of 2 (or misses the front end of a 1 and 1) late in games. Otherwise, he's money.

Anyway, on the floor were 3 really good FT shooters. Trendan Hankerson, Kaleb Thornton and Zool Kueth.

Hankerson struggled early in the season with just about everything but also FTs but he's righted the ship in the last month or so regaining the consistency he's shown his entire career at NIU. He's also the de facto team leader.

Thornton has proven to be a very good FT shooter and has improved (imo) under Burno to be a more reliable scorer and not just a distributor (which he's really good at).

Finally, Kueth is, imo, the best FT shooter on the team. Not only does he rarely miss, but his form and stroke all just exude complete confidence. Like, when the ball comes out of his hand, there's no doubt in his (or my) mind its going to be pure. And its almost always pure...no rim...nothing but right in the middle tickling the net.

So...I'd rank those options as 1) Kueth (if this guy is on the floor for me...he's going to be shooting a FT), 2) Hankerson, and 3) Thornton

But Burno chose Thornton, who missed both FTs and then on the insuring possession, forced a pass, turning the ball over and then immediately committed a foul (probably a cascading of events stemming from the missed FTs).

Now, why did Burno choose Thornton. To be honest, all three options were good options. Those guys are reliable FT shooters.

Also, Thornton was pretty hot at the moment and had scored a few buckets in a row carrying the team for the moment. So, playing the hot(ter) hand seemed reasonable.

Again, for me, if I have Kueth on the floor, HE is shooting a free throw if I get the choice.

Ultimately, the Huskies won and the Tech FTs didn't end up mattering (in regards to the W).

So, I'm curious if any of you have any other insights or opinions. I don't think there was necessarily a bad choice out of the 3 options, I just would have done it differently.

(Also...I don't see the guys in practice or know nearly as much about them as Coach does...so caveats aside)

Results haven’t always been there but they’re competing in almost every game. Hopefully Hankerson comes back for his free COVID year next year. Burno should be able to recruit some bigs with his offense.

(02-18-2022 09:06 AM)Big Red Wrote:  Something about last night's game has been sticking with me as I've been trying to understand Coach Burno's decision making.

The scenario was a pretty crucial one, tbh and he had some pretty good options at his disposal. Ultimately, his choice was a good one but not one I would have made which is why I keep thinking about it (and, for the record, I've made my mind up on this long ago so when the situation came up, I was already thinking about why he chose to do it).

Anyway...here's the setup.

NIU ball and there's a foul called on Ali Ali (Huskies are not in the bonus so no FTs at this point) but Ali is upset or something and gets a technical foul. Now...Huskies get 2 free throws and the ball. At the time, the score was tied. This is a huge moment late in the game and one that very easily could have been a big difference maker (turned out...it didn't).

So, to shoot the FTs, Burno is only able to pick from the guys on the floor. Williams was not in the game but waiting to sub in so he wasn't an option. And to be fair, as good of a FT shooter he is, there's something about the down the stretch FTs that I think he needs to work on. He often goes 1 of 2 (or misses the front end of a 1 and 1) late in games. Otherwise, he's money.

Anyway, on the floor were 3 really good FT shooters. Trendan Hankerson, Kaleb Thornton and Zool Kueth.

Hankerson struggled early in the season with just about everything but also FTs but he's righted the ship in the last month or so regaining the consistency he's shown his entire career at NIU. He's also the de facto team leader.

Thornton has proven to be a very good FT shooter and has improved (imo) under Burno to be a more reliable scorer and not just a distributor (which he's really good at).

Finally, Kueth is, imo, the best FT shooter on the team. Not only does he rarely miss, but his form and stroke all just exude complete confidence. Like, when the ball comes out of his hand, there's no doubt in his (or my) mind its going to be pure. And its almost always pure...no rim...nothing but right in the middle tickling the net.

So...I'd rank those options as 1) Kueth (if this guy is on the floor for me...he's going to be shooting a FT), 2) Hankerson, and 3) Thornton

But Burno chose Thornton, who missed both FTs and then on the insuring possession, forced a pass, turning the ball over and then immediately committed a foul (probably a cascading of events stemming from the missed FTs).

Now, why did Burno choose Thornton. To be honest, all three options were good options. Those guys are reliable FT shooters.

Also, Thornton was pretty hot at the moment and had scored a few buckets in a row carrying the team for the moment. So, playing the hot(ter) hand seemed reasonable.

Again, for me, if I have Kueth on the floor, HE is shooting a free throw if I get the choice.

Ultimately, the Huskies won and the Tech FTs didn't end up mattering (in regards to the W).

So, I'm curious if any of you have any other insights or opinions. I don't think there was necessarily a bad choice out of the 3 options, I just would have done it differently.

(Also...I don't see the guys in practice or know nearly as much about them as Coach does...so caveats aside)

Yeah, I was POed. Missed both technicals. We inbound and Thornton immediately turns it over and then immediately fouls. A turn of potential 6 points.
Thornton is like that. He makes some great baskets and it seems to go to his head that he can now do anything, and then turns the ball over. Easily leads the team in turnovers. Easily leads the team in assists as well.

(02-18-2022 07:41 AM)dc1 Wrote:  To 57 and others that don’t understand, The team that makes the most 3pters usually wins if they make at least 5 more than the other team. When the two teams are within 5 made threes of each other then either team can win. Akron making 5 threes and NIU making 4 threes means that either team could’ve won. Also NIU got the ball inbounds and was fouled almost every time at the end of the game which sealed the victory.

Yeah, the team that makes the most field goals usually wins. But amazingly enough, not always. Our home loss to Akron we made more field goals and 3ptrs but they made 9 more free throws and won by 6.

(02-18-2022 10:27 AM)El Duderino Wrote:  

(02-18-2022 07:41 AM)dc1 Wrote:  To 57 and others that don’t understand, The team that makes the most 3pters usually wins if they make at least 5 more than the other team. When the two teams are within 5 made threes of each other then either team can win. Akron making 5 threes and NIU making 4 threes means that either team could’ve won. Also NIU got the ball inbounds and was fouled almost every time at the end of the game which sealed the victory.

Yeah, the team that makes the most field goals usually wins. But amazingly enough, not always. Our home loss to Akron we made more field goals and 3ptrs but they made 9 more free throws and won by 6.

So what you're trying to get dc1 to understand is that the team that scores the most points regardless of whether it's by threes, twos, or free throws, wins the game. Either that or ESPN, CBS, BTN, Fox, etc. should show a continuous tally of threes made so that the viewer will know to stop watching if Team A gets to five more made treys than Team B. Might also suggest that dc1's theory of basketball be expanded to include making free throws to seal a victory as opposed to simply being fouled almost every time the ball is inbounded.

I agree big red I would’ve gone with Zool Who is shooting .857 from the line for the season over KT who was at .738. That said, Zool had only been playing for two minutes at this point and KT had been in much longer and made a few buckets during the stretch. KT may be more clutch in Burno’s mind and/or Coach may have been going with his gut and trying to instill/build KT confidence as he has a few seasons left as a Huskie. I do trust Burno decision more than mine but always interesting and easy to second guess

(02-18-2022 11:14 AM)huskies77 Wrote:  I agree big red I would’ve gone with Zool Who is shooting .857 from the line for the season over KT who was at .738. That said, Zool had only been playing for two minutes at this point and KT had been in much longer and made a few buckets during the stretch. KT may be more clutch in Burno’s mind and/or Coach may have been going with his gut and trying to instill/build KT confidence as he has a few seasons left as a Huskie. I do trust Burno decision more than mine but always interesting and easy to second guess

I definitely believe Burno went with Thorton because he is a building block guy for next year & he wanted to show confidence in him Thorton is an exciting player, if he continues to grow and make better decisions, watch out. I like his fearlessness

(02-18-2022 10:18 AM)El Duderino Wrote:  

(02-18-2022 09:06 AM)Big Red Wrote:  Something about last night's game has been sticking with me as I've been trying to understand Coach Burno's decision making.

The scenario was a pretty crucial one, tbh and he had some pretty good options at his disposal. Ultimately, his choice was a good one but not one I would have made which is why I keep thinking about it (and, for the record, I've made my mind up on this long ago so when the situation came up, I was already thinking about why he chose to do it).

Anyway...here's the setup.

NIU ball and there's a foul called on Ali Ali (Huskies are not in the bonus so no FTs at this point) but Ali is upset or something and gets a technical foul. Now...Huskies get 2 free throws and the ball. At the time, the score was tied. This is a huge moment late in the game and one that very easily could have been a big difference maker (turned out...it didn't).

So, to shoot the FTs, Burno is only able to pick from the guys on the floor. Williams was not in the game but waiting to sub in so he wasn't an option. And to be fair, as good of a FT shooter he is, there's something about the down the stretch FTs that I think he needs to work on. He often goes 1 of 2 (or misses the front end of a 1 and 1) late in games. Otherwise, he's money.

Anyway, on the floor were 3 really good FT shooters. Trendan Hankerson, Kaleb Thornton and Zool Kueth.

Hankerson struggled early in the season with just about everything but also FTs but he's righted the ship in the last month or so regaining the consistency he's shown his entire career at NIU. He's also the de facto team leader.

Thornton has proven to be a very good FT shooter and has improved (imo) under Burno to be a more reliable scorer and not just a distributor (which he's really good at).

Finally, Kueth is, imo, the best FT shooter on the team. Not only does he rarely miss, but his form and stroke all just exude complete confidence. Like, when the ball comes out of his hand, there's no doubt in his (or my) mind its going to be pure. And its almost always pure...no rim...nothing but right in the middle tickling the net.

So...I'd rank those options as 1) Kueth (if this guy is on the floor for me...he's going to be shooting a FT), 2) Hankerson, and 3) Thornton

But Burno chose Thornton, who missed both FTs and then on the insuring possession, forced a pass, turning the ball over and then immediately committed a foul (probably a cascading of events stemming from the missed FTs).

Now, why did Burno choose Thornton. To be honest, all three options were good options. Those guys are reliable FT shooters.

Also, Thornton was pretty hot at the moment and had scored a few buckets in a row carrying the team for the moment. So, playing the hot(ter) hand seemed reasonable.

Again, for me, if I have Kueth on the floor, HE is shooting a free throw if I get the choice.

Ultimately, the Huskies won and the Tech FTs didn't end up mattering (in regards to the W).

So, I'm curious if any of you have any other insights or opinions. I don't think there was necessarily a bad choice out of the 3 options, I just would have done it differently.

(Also...I don't see the guys in practice or know nearly as much about them as Coach does...so caveats aside)

Yeah, I was POed. Missed both technicals. We inbound and Thornton immediately turns it over and then immediately fouls. A turn of potential 6 points.
Thornton is like that. He makes some great baskets and it seems to go to his head that he can now do anything, and then turns the ball over. Easily leads the team in turnovers. Easily leads the team in assists as well.

The thing about Thornton is he's a ridiculously good passer and sees lanes and openings others don't (and has the ability to fit the ball through there).

His teammates have to be ready at all times. If you're open...even for a split second...he very well may get you the ball.

So, and I don't know what percentage...but it's enough to make a difference, a lot of his "turnovers" are because his teammates don't know the ball is coming or are ready for it. Sure, he forces things from time to time (like that play last night) but you're going to get that with a guy like him and I can live with it.

(02-17-2022 09:08 PM)pantone1935 Wrote:  I will tell you what! Williams is a PLAYER!!!!


GO HUSKIES!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hashtag three of six.

Best basketball player to don a Huskie uniform since TJ Lux.

(02-18-2022 11:26 AM)ChicagoHuskie Wrote:  

(02-18-2022 11:14 AM)huskies77 Wrote:  I agree big red I would’ve gone with Zool Who is shooting .857 from the line for the season over KT who was at .738. That said, Zool had only been playing for two minutes at this point and KT had been in much longer and made a few buckets during the stretch. KT may be more clutch in Burno’s mind and/or Coach may have been going with his gut and trying to instill/build KT confidence as he has a few seasons left as a Huskie. I do trust Burno decision more than mine but always interesting and easy to second guess

I definitely believe Burno went with Thorton because he is a building block guy for next year & he wanted to show confidence in him Thorton is an exciting player, if he continues to grow and make better decisions, watch out. I like his fearlessness

If my memory is correct (and I'm pretty sure it is) the Huskies don't have a go-to guy for FTs like, in years past, even if there was a better option, you went with German.

I think Coach has basically rotated the good shooters through Tech FTs this year and, like was mentioned earlier, is a building block type approach.

In a year or two, the go-to guy could easily be Williams (but he has to improve to be that guy, imo) or someone else who isn't on the roster yet.

(02-18-2022 12:01 PM)chihuskie Wrote:  

(02-17-2022 09:08 PM)pantone1935 Wrote:  I will tell you what! Williams is a PLAYER!!!!


GO HUSKIES!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hashtag three of six.

Best basketball player to don a Huskie uniform since TJ Lux.

Incorrect.

(02-18-2022 12:05 PM)Big Red Wrote:  

(02-18-2022 12:01 PM)chihuskie Wrote:  

(02-17-2022 09:08 PM)pantone1935 Wrote:  I will tell you what! Williams is a PLAYER!!!!


GO HUSKIES!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hashtag three of six.

Best basketball player to don a Huskie uniform since TJ Lux.

Incorrect.

You're thinking of Allen Rayhorn then? Or Tim "Marshall" Dillon? [Those would be incorrect because I said "since TJ Lux."]

(02-18-2022 12:13 PM)chihuskie Wrote:  

(02-18-2022 12:05 PM)Big Red Wrote:  

(02-18-2022 12:01 PM)chihuskie Wrote:  

(02-17-2022 09:08 PM)pantone1935 Wrote:  I will tell you what! Williams is a PLAYER!!!!


GO HUSKIES!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hashtag three of six.

Best basketball player to don a Huskie uniform since TJ Lux.

Incorrect.

You're thinking of Allen Rayhorn then? Or Tim "Marshall" Dillon? [Those would be incorrect because I said "since TJ Lux."]

Ever hear of Eugene "Geno" German??

The reason why Kueth is so good at FT's is because he is so Zool.

(02-18-2022 12:35 PM)Schaefer Beer Wrote:  The reason why Kueth is so good at FT's is because he is so Zool.

Zool's cool.