The News-Gazette.com Weblog

On Women's Basketball

Bradley review

Posted by: Tony Bleill

Sunday, December 7, 2008 12:52 AM

One of the neat things about covering the annual game at the United Center is that the press seating is located courtside. Unlike games at the Assembly Hall, where I watch from a spot just above A Section, the United Center seating is located behind the basket on Illinois' end of the court. It allows for a reporter to get a good feel for the game, which you can't always get at the Assembly Hall.

I mention this because I felt from the opening tipoff that the Illini on Saturday were not playing nearly as hard as Bradley. It seemed obvious, and that's not usually the case. And Jolette Law comfirmed my suspicions after the game, saying her team's effort simply wasn't what it needs to be. I agree. I have no idea why it was lacking, and if I knew why, I could probably sell my secret to coaches across the globe. It happens, and it perplexes coaches everywhere.

I do know this, however. If the effort doesn't get ramped up in a hurry, the Illini are headed toward one of their worst seasons in recent memory. Finishing last in the Big Ten is not out of the question. (If you're thinking that spot is reserved for Northwestern, think again. The Wildcats -- as evidenced by narrow defeats to Kansas State, Marquette and Clemson -- are much, much improved.)

I suppose the next question is, can Illinois get it turned around? The road gets no easier. Next up is a trip to Wisconsin-MIlwaukee, which just lost in double overtime at Wisconsin. If Las Vegas put up a line on that game, the home team would be favored by a couple points. Then it's North Carolina. Hide the women and children for that one. And then Purdue at home. More ugliness. And a visit to Penn State, where Illinois hasn't won since the Carter administration, or so it seems. If the Illini don't beat UW-Milwaukee, they could be staring at 0-for-December.

Wish I could be more positive, but I gotta call it like I see it. If there were good moments Saturday, they came from Lydia McCully, who took a step forward in accepting more responsibility on offense. She scored the first six points of the second half to fuel a mini-rally that soon fizzled. The Illini need more of that from her to have any measure of success.

The rest of Saturday's thoughts:

--The Illini offense again was stagnant, bogged down by too much dribbling, not enough movement and passing. There was one possession in the second half, with 14:39 left, that Law can use in a film session to show exactly how it's supposed to be done. The Illini whipped the ball around to every person on the court, going inside to Jenna Smith, who kicked it out. Finally, after a couple of ball reversals, the ball wound up with an open McCully, who nailed a 15-footer. It was a thing of beauty. The Illini need more like it.

--As usual, the opposing defense was collapsing on Smith, who clearly is frustrated by the attention. She had a couple shots blocked on Saturday, and at times was so surrounded that she couldn't get the ball above her head to shoot. Moving the ball into and out of the post has been one of the many problems with the offense, as too often the Illini are standing while Smith is trying to find an open teammate. And, unfortunately, the Illini's shooters aren't taking advantage when they do have open looks. Illinois -- which was shooting 37.8 percent coming in -- finished at 32.3 percent. Can't do much about that except by getting in the gym and working harder on shooting.

--Bradley was picked to finish eighth in the Missouri Valley, but the Braves are 6-1 and appear to be better than advertised. They have upgraded a bit in terms of athleticism and have a couple of nice inside players in Monica Rogers and Sonya Harris. Guard Skye Johnson can score. Coach Paula Buscher hasn't had much success at Bradley, posting a 101-133 record in her ninth season. The Braves haven't had a winning MVC record in her tenure, and they've had only two winning seasons (16-12, 15-13). Not sure how that translates to further employment -- at a BCS program, those are numbers that probably would get you bounced. But I'm guessing the Braves will finish above .500 this season, and they might move up the MVC food chain a bit.