MAR-CO? OH NO!

Once again, a superiorly coached team showed that Marco is not the answer when IU’s back is against the wall. For the second time this season, the number one ranked team in the country came to Bloomington, and for the second time the year, the number one team prevailed.

Final score: UConn 88. IU 80. And folks it wasn’t that close.

"I keep saying this over and over, Marco [Killingsworth] is definitely the presence we need. When he goes out of the game it definitely affects our play. Every time Marco goes out it hurts us. Marco's our guy, and there is no secret to that."--Mike Davis

And that’s your problem, “coach.” Everybody knows that you have designed your offense around one player. And you said so yourself, when Marco goes out, the team suffers. And that’s a shame because you have an entire team of talented players ready to take over games. But since you only run plays for Marco, you leave the rest of the guys to fend for themselves when he’s not in.

I think making your team one-dimensional--and announcing that strategy to everyone--indicates a poor coaching job and zero common sense.

So what’s the problem with Marco? Why am I so hard on him? Other than he gets winded, in foul trouble, and can’t shot free throws, nothing. Except maybe this.

I wonder what pitch Davis used to get Marco to come to IU. It’s as if he said, “I can get you to the NBA if you play for me.” Marco’s game is all about stats and not about game impact. Well, except for all the negative impact he has.

"When we push the ball early, good things happen for us. Against this basketball team [UConn], you got to get it up quick and make plays. I thought Earl came in with the speed to match their guys and did a great job. Playing that way takes us to another level."--Mike Davis

But “coach,” I have a problem. How can you push the ball when your offense is about dumping the ball into Marco? Good things happen when you push the ball, yet Marco is your man. Trying to have it both ways is not working.

Your best all-around player, Robert Vaden, even agrees with you: “Earl gave the team a big spark. He penetrated, pushed the ball up the court, got into the lane and got the team some open shots.”

And when dribble penetration was working, Davis still thought he should put Marco back in the game and pound the ball inside. Even though that strategy hadn't worked all game.

Some final thoughts:

• The answer is not Marco, its quickness.
• What is with Billy Packer’s love fest with Marco? He’s just gushing about how exhausted Marco is and all the effort he’s exerting. Maybe he’s just out of shape.
• At the 6:12 mark of the second half, Billy says Marco should come back in so IU can make one more run at catching up, even though IU had used speed and dribble penetration to catch up. Marco did make a nice pass to Vaden after coming in. However, I worry that the game will be slowed down when speed was getting us back in the game. The fear turned into reality.
• We go zone and immediately UConn scores because nobody covered the weak side.
  Ben Allen is a smart fouler. Yes, he gets caught out of position, but he will not let his man score easy baskets. He did that twice.
• Why give Marco the ball at the 3-point line?
• At 3:18 left, Marco does a poor job defending the pick and there is no additional weak side help and Boone gets a dunk plus one. Ole!
• IU’s player of the game according to CBS is Wilmont: 14 points on 5 of 14 shooting. THAT’S our player of the game? Thanks for point out the stat, too, CBS. Dicks.
• The style of play changed for IU with Marco in the game. The ball MUST go to the middle, which clogs the lane and prevents our speedsters from being effective.
• Ben Allen missed too many shots. He was in position for his shots. This was a good game for him regardless. He just needs to finish around the basket.
• Marco was once again rendered below average, yet the announcers had to bring up the Duke game again.
• Vaden is such a key cog to this team. He does so much. He’s smart, he’s got a nose for the ball, and he seems to be around most of the plays. Yet he’s not the central focus of the offense. It’s Marco. That’s just stupid.
• When UConn got around to finally taking advantage of its height advantage, it rolled over IU, no matter who was in. When IU realized how effective its quickness could be, it climbed back into the game. Monroe and Calloway were terrific during a stretch.
• Ultimately, it was IU’s inability to adjust to the game and refusal to stray too far from giving the ball to Marco and chucking threes that cost us this game. Oh, that and the matador defense. Ole!

Any final words?

“That is a great basketball team, the best I’ve seen,” Indiana coach Mike Davis said. “They’re so physical and have so many weapons you have to try and take away, whew, I’m glad that one’s over.”

So are the rest of us, “coach.” So are the rest of us.