by Adunk33 » October 29th, 2019, 11:37 am
ILST was down by as many as 15 points to D2 Truman State, but came back to win 74-68 last Wednesday.
Nine of the 11 Redbirds have not played a college game (outside of the Italy trip) in over a year. It was very clear there were nerves in play. They started the game not having Matt Chastain (broken thumb), Ricky Torres (ankle), or Taylor Bruninga (foot) available. All three, if healthy, are expected to be significant contributors. About 9 minutes into the game, Keith Fisher III also we out of the game. He was hyperventilation and couldn't catch his breath. He sat the rest of the game as a precaution.
The guys this board know- Copeland and Idowu both are clearly playing with more confidence, knowing their roles have increased from a season ago. Senior Jaycee Hillsman was the player of the game for sure- He's a 6'6/7 3 or 4 spot and scored 12 points and collected 11 rebounds in 29 minutes.
DJ Horne reminds me of a young Paris Lee. Smooth jumper and committed on the defensive end. The freshmen the league will be on the lookout from ISU, though is Antonio Reeves from Chicago Simeon. He started the game really nervous but when he settled in, everything look easy for him.
Overall, the nerves lead to tightness on offense, which lead to mental mistakes on defense. The team needs to work on FTs for sure. 13-20. If the nerves are there for next week's opener vs Belmont...things could get ugly really fast.
Feel free to ask any questions about the team. Didn't feel like typing my typical player-by-player run down.