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Jim French Stepstool

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Everything posted by Jim French Stepstool

  1. Jim French Stepstool
    I agree with this. If Peralta to Baltimore was a serious thing, I'd definitely start by talking Mayo. But I don't believe the Birds would go for that.
  2. Jim French Stepstool
    Even with a lack of consistent 3pt shooting, that's a talented enough frontcourt that you'd think they would get more done, on a more consistent basis. Any group that would rip off 5 wins in a row, then look as bottom-of-the-barrel horrible as they did vs Iowa & Illinois, then go toe to toe with OSU, Maryland & Purdue followed by what they turned in during the first ten minutes Tuesday---It has to be maddening to the hardcore fans of such a hoops-crazy state. I wouldn't be surprised if, with another loss or two, certain guys on that team start to mentally check out. Who knows, a couple might've already after falling short in West Lafayette. I think next season, we'll see their seventh new coach since Bob Knight left. And maybe it benefits UW. Harun Zrno, a 6'7" forward who averaged 20ppg in Bosnias' top league committed to the Hoosiers but UW appeared to be in his top 3 or 4 schools. Although why Woodson would be the main reason for Zrno choosing Indiana is beyond me.🤷‍♂️
  3. Jim French Stepstool
    Yet another good reason to not force the issue if the runout isn't there. Iowa defending in the halfcourt shouldn't be a deterrent, especially with Freeman out for the remainder of the season. This could be a good game for Crowl to re-establish his low post offense.
  4. Jim French Stepstool
    I've said it before, if there was someone else running point---if Hepburn had stayed, if Freitag was ready from day one, or even Cam Hunter was available to sop up some PG minutes as a combo guard---I remember Blackwell working off the ball last season, cutting, slashing off the wing or going baseline, and keeping defenders honest by also making threes. It was beautiful to watch. I give him a lot of credit for taking a large share of the PG responsibilities & still incorporating much of his strengths into the offense. And it allows McGee to be a sparkplug off the bench, which has worked wonderfully. @Playing Catch may be correct about his batteries maybe running a little low. Lots on his plate this season. When you have the ball in your hands as much as he does, there are times you need to let the game come to you a bit. As well as last night went, we forced a few runouts that weren't really there.
  5. Jim French Stepstool
    I feel this has something to do, in large part, with Blackwell running point & not being overly experienced at it. Given that lack of experience I think he's mostly doing a fine job. But a lot of the really good college PGs have been in that role since the beginning of their HS days & have a 'feel' for the flow of the game that can be taught but doesn't happen overnight. But they've also really embraced the faster pace--even when a more experienced lead guard like McGee is on the floor they're still pretty hopped up. But I agree, there are times when I feel it would benefit them to make people defend a bit longer, like I alluded to at halftime. You definitely want to make Indiana show that they can defend in the half court. Same thing when they go into Iowa City on Saturday.
  6. Jim French Stepstool
    Gilmores' jaw is just SET. Lots of confidence right now, on both ends.
  7. Jim French Stepstool
    Blackwell w/a real brain cramp on the late foul. Fortunately it didn't cost them. I can understand settling for 3s after the hot start from out there. And cutting off the driving lanes is maybe the one thing Indiana is kinda doing well defensively. I think the IU defense is vulnerable if you swing the ball & make them guard for more than 15-18 sec. That's what I'd like to see in the 2nd half.
  8. Jim French Stepstool
    Probably unlikely, but I was wondering if Greppi could grab a few minutes tonite. Ballo isn't a bad matchup for him, and if Crowl picks up a couple early fouls he might be an option. There's a precedent. Chris Hodges was briefly used a minute or two vs Edey over the years. Indiana is a real Jeckyl-and-Hyde group. Hopefully UW cures the 1st half turnover-itis.
  9. Jim French Stepstool
    A stat posted on another board that I just couldn't let go by................On the season, Carter Gilmore is 12-30 on 3pt attempts. A J Storr is 12-46.
  10. Jim French Stepstool
    '04 was a good example of that. I don't remember where they were in the computer rankings, but UW rose to 10th in the polls & received a 6 seed but went to Milwaukee. Beat Richmond in a 6-11 game that was a little too close for comfort before getting bounced by Pitt. Unless they hang a major skin or two on the wall (MSU, Purdue) I'd guess they're in one of the three regionals west of the state. But like @Oxysaid, it's really too early to speculate.
  11. Jim French Stepstool
    He shot the ball well in HS, and I thought he'd at least be somewhat of a threat at this level because he's big enough to get his shot off within a halfcourt set. But he was totally remade as a 'dirty work' guy at UW, and a pretty good one. That takes a lot of energy, takes a lot out of your legs. If he can continue to at least be a threat, then teams have to guard him on the perimeter & that can be huge AFA opening up the paint.
  12. Jim French Stepstool
    (exhale). So for one wonderful, glorious hour in February of 2025, Carter Gilmore went back in time to his HS days when he was abusing Waukesha South, Mukwonago & Sussex Hamilton. To not only have the game of your career, but have it when it was desperately needed------there are no words. And he did it while trying to slow down Martinelli on the other end. Kudos also to Klesmit for a nice 2nd half, and to Tonje for being Tonje. The immediate concern is adjusting to what's going on early AFA how we're being defended. Too many 1st half TOs, again. Doubling the output in the 2nd half works though😎.
  13. Jim French Stepstool
    On the offensive end, no doubt. Unless Klesmit can get & knock down a couple early looks in the 2nd half, this may be a game where McGee should get the lions' share of PT.
  14. Jim French Stepstool
    Northwestern prepared for us very, very well. I've seen NW do this defensively to UW before, but you'd hope this Badger team wouldn't respond so poorly to excellent defense--and make no mistake, their defense WAS excellent. But I'm seeing cutters into the lane fumbling passes, passes at peoples' feet, etc. They've once again taken a UW post player out of the game--Crowl had only one good look all half--we just need the 'extra' pass to be executed better. And don't settle. Tonje had a couple really questionable 3pt shots. Fortunately one of them went in. Continue to at least look to drive. Only issue I had defensively was late closeouts on a handful of NW threes. Let's get Blackwell back on the floor & go from there.
  15. Jim French Stepstool
    Northwestern. They always strike me as the type of opponent where how the scout team prepares you is really important. Martinelli & Barnhizer both play what many refer to as an 'old mans' game', relying on positioning, being in the right spot on the floor & making good decisions in the half court. Barnhizer is out with an injury today, so that is good news. If we can keep any of their guards from going off & having a hot game you'd think UW will be in good shape. But they usually defend well & this is a group that's beaten a couple of teams the Badgers have lost to, so hopefully that (plus it's a road game) has their attention. NW has had some really effective post-doubles vs UW in the past, making life tough for people like Happ & Wahl. I'll be interested to see if they do that today or play Crowl sraightup with Nicholson. I'll guess the latter.
  16. Jim French Stepstool
    A subpar year so far for him, for sure. But I suspect they stick with him AFA playing time, starting, etc. because he's shown what he's capable of, and the staff knows how valuable getting him in a groove would be. To combine "effective Max" with the ability of Blackwell & Tonje to get into the lane would be awesome. What I thought hurt even more than the poor shooting was when he combined it with some poor decisions & flat out dumb play earlier in the season. At least that's (mostly) been cleaned up. It's his last go-around. hopefully he finds his stroke.
  17. Jim French Stepstool
    I acknowledge the Q1, Q2 stuff as being important, It's just a little too nebulous for me to follow it THAT closely. What's most important to me is to limit the 'bad' losses, and hopefully have zero. It's just the nature of this league that you're going to get chopped down if you don't come ready to play, or if the other team brings urgency. Illinois has fallen victim to that. Win the games the computers say they 'should' win & see what you can do with the rest. I think I'll be happy with that. RU being Q1 now, that surprises me.
  18. Jim French Stepstool
    Hopefully 'Zona keeps rolling. Big win for them over Iowa State. Not your fathers' UNC, but Pitt beating them was good to see.
  19. Jim French Stepstool
    That sums it up well. During the MD run in the 2nd half, it started with a three from a guy who hit 4 all season to that point. Then a 25 footer, then later on one that banked in. In a road game, raucous crowd, good opponent, that stuff kinda seals it. I thought we defended pretty well, but MD guarded extremely well. Feeding Crowl in the post looked like a good counter but they started to double at times. And while I don't know the final numbers, it didn't seem like we were all THAT much stronger with the ball in the 2nd half. Queen & Reese just cause a LOT of issues & those two in the Badgers' heads were a big part of some of the missed 2 footers. And Gillespie got comfy & very effective as the game unfolded. Not a good day from 3 for UW, but we never really got many comfortable looks either. And not a good night to have the FT% take a night off. I kinda hope Crowl, in the home stretch of his career, limits the 3pt attempts to late-in-the-clock stuff. We need him to either score in the post, or draw doubles & pass out of them. McGee spent much of the 2nd half as the primary ballhandler, which was smart. But at the end of the day the MD D was just too consistently good.
  20. Jim French Stepstool
    It almost looked like they allowed a lot of physical play then decided "whoops" & started blowing the whistle more. We'll see I guess. Tonje definitely needs to be judicious on the drives.
  21. Jim French Stepstool
    Twenty minutes in, it looks like this is going to be a tough one to get, as I suspected. But I don't feel too terrible about this because we had our hands tied behind our backs through a large chunk of the half w/Blackwell & Tonje on the bench, and there have been many times in the past where there is a TO issue & it gets cleaned up really well in the 2nd half. If that happens & neither of the above two pick up their 3rd quickly, we got a shot. MD is doing a great job of stopping the dribble drive. Keep looking for Crowl in the post. And clean up the 2nd & 3rd looks.
  22. Jim French Stepstool
    IMO it's a real tribute to the coaching staff that they've been able to acclimate Blackwell to the PG role while still giving him enough freedom & opportunities to average 16PPG or whatever it is. I agree that you don't really want to do anything to halter his aggressiveness and yes, it'll probably mean a few more TO's than we'd like. It seems like a no-brainer that when they're both in the game McGee would be the primary ballhandler, but that hasn't always happened. Without looking it up, it does seem the TO #s have been a little high lately. Hopefully it's just a blip.
  23. Jim French Stepstool
    Looking at Reese & Queen, this feels like a game where we actually COULD play Winter & Crowl together more than we usually do. Reeses' scoring position is always inside the arc, and Queen tries maybe one 3PT per game but has only made a couple all year. I love the strides Amos has made, but he's probably not quite physical enough yet to increase his minutes vs these guys. Barring foul difficulty I think the minutes will be meted out in the usual way. As well as their bigs are playing, the key might be making things tough on Gillespie, who is on a roll. Make him put up tough shots & disrupt his decision-making. It'll take different people rotating on him to try to wear him down. Janicki could be an X factor there.
  24. Jim French Stepstool
    Big if, but IF Crowl &/or Winter can hit a couple from deep early it would certainly benefit the dribble drives. What makes it a big "if" is we usually don't start out that way--the 3PT attempts from the bigs usually have been coming as a result of Tonje, Blackwell or McGee penetrating effectively enough to warrant keeping a big near the lane. then a kickout. I agree somewhat with Beilein in the case of Winter. Crowl is stronger & has recently had a pretty good nose for the ball off the boards. Especially in this game, I'd rather see the 5th-year 7 footer do some successful dirty work.
  25. Jim French Stepstool
    Reese & Queen have been very productive. What makes it tough is MD is getting them the ball, and doing it in the right places. Almost all of their work is done down low, and Gillespie has 17 assists in their last two games. Hopefully Blackwell & McGee can make the entries tougher, and it looks like Crowl can mostly anchor down in the paint defensively which is good. Would be nice to get one of the bigs in foul difficulty. This would be a terrific road win, and perhaps a springboard.
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