Illinois State Loses to Creighton; Down 0-2 in Conference

After tonight's loss to Creighton, Illinois State is now 9-5 overall and has suffered two straight losses to begin Missouri Valley play. They were very much in their last two games and also came up just short in losses to Northwestern and Louisville. With only a win over Dayton to be proud of, this solid Illinois State team now has their back against the wall and will need to go on a conference tournament run in order to appear in the NCAAs. This a tournament quality team that has the makeup of a Cinderella, but their backs are now against the wall.

In the Missouri Valley, it is all about the team, but this game was attended by a lot of NBA scouts to see Doug McDermott against Jackie Carmichael inside. Neither covered each other as Echenique was in charge of handling Carmichael and Illinois State refused to play McDermott straight up. Carmichael finished with 10 points while McDermott had a quiet 15.

Neither brought their "A" games tonight, but were big parts of keeping their teams in it despite of it. Illinois State opened up the game by consciously leaving facilitator Grant Gibbs open. It turned out to be a mistake as Gibbs was able to hit open jumpers and make smart decisions. After abandoning that look, Illinois State decided to throw a 2-3 zone at Creighton for the rest of the game - another thing Grant Gibbs exploited. Grant Gibbs proved he is no slouch tonight. He is a coach on the floor type, but if you allow him to make decisions, you can bet he will make the right ones. Going up against the zone, Gibbs was the guy who was able to get into the holes of the defense and find teammates cutting to the rim. Illinois State lacked the length on the wings to contest these shots and left Carmichael in hopeless situations. Man to man defense would have been Illinois State's best bet tonight, not a zone that got torched from both inside and outside the arc.

The defensive schemes Illinois State played asked a lot of Carmichael as a rim protector and put him in some bad situations. He picked up 3 fouls - all while Illinois State was in the zone. The fouls weren't the reason Carmichael only played 29 minutes though. I don't quite understand that one. He was taken out of the game 5 times and wasn't given a chance to establish a rhythm. Illinois State's guards jacked up a lot of quick 3s and they didn't slow down to get set plays for Carmichael. It took until the final minute for them to realize that they could have done some damage with their senior power forward in the pick and roll situation. Carmichael is at his best when setting screens or quickly slipping away.

This down game for Carmichael does allow me to talk about some of his negatives though. I've been busy hyping him up and trying to get people to recognize him to criticize parts of his game that need work.

Just by looking at the numbers, his bad assist to turnover ratio jumps out. For a guy who is under control in the post, has good skills, doesn't get pushed around, and plays smart this is a bit surprising. He does a nice job passing too. But Carmichael will occasionally try to force a drive from outside of 15 feet which rarely ends well. He also struggles to get separation in the post which results in getting the ball stripped more than he should. Overall. turnovers happen when you are such a focal point inside.

The lack of separation gets to me though. Its not that he can't create separation - he has good footwork and skills in the post, is quick, and has the body to carve out space. It is just how he chooses to take his shots. On fadeaway type shots, Carmichael doesn't actually fadeaway, instead he turns around and goes straight up. And then on plays where he should be aggressive and not fadeaway, he leans his upperbody in, but keeps his arms out in front of him - rendering his strong frame useless. If Carmichael learned the mechanics of the fadeaway jumper as well as learned the way to properly use his strength when shooting, his offensive game would be more consistent. The way he goes about it now, it looks like he is too conscious of trying to draw contact than to create open looks for himself.

Carmichael is now 9-27 from the field in conference play. Their next game is against Northern Iowa who did a great job being physical with Anthony Bennett earlier this season.

All-American Doug McDermott

After playing alongside Harrison Barnes in high school, Doug McDermott is used to being overlooked. He was a solid big man alongside Barnes that did the little things. His play was admired, but not celebrated. His teammate Barnes was being compared to Kobe Bryant. Nobody was comparing McDermott to Larry Bird.

Barnes left North Carolina to be a lottery pick over the summer and now finally McDermott has a chance for the spotlight. He went into this season as the top returning scorer in college basketball and one of the favorites to win National Player of the Year. His team is no longer underlooked either - they look to be a legitimate top 15, maybe even top 10 team.

Now McDermott has expectations. His game will be placed under a microscope. All of this, yet Im not sure fans understand what his game is all about.

McDermott is an outstanding shooter, hitting over 48% from deep last year. But that shouldn't define his game. If anything, the mystique of his shooting ability may be overrated, which in turn underrates what all he brings to the table.

McDermott only made 1.5 3-pt shots per game last year. He's far from a product of his father's system. He's far from a one trick pony that runs around screens all day to get him open looks. He's not one of those leading NCAA scorers playing on a high possession team or a team that doesn't win. He doesn't take bad shots and he isn't even the focus of the offense. 

His dad isn't the coach of Grinnell College and McDermott isn't Jack Taylor. McDermott is a basketball player and one of the best in the country.

All in all, McDermott is different from your average NCAA scoring leader.

Despite his preseason accolades, its time for him to get credit for all he does. None of it is circumstantial - he is legitimately one of the best players in the country. He is. I'm not sure people really believe that when they place him on All-American teams.

First of all, McDermott is a heck of a post player. That is his bread and butter in the college game. Around 3 shots per game come from deep, but plenty more come from inside the paint (nearly 3 quarters). McDermott is a relentless worker in the post, never allowing the opponent to catch him relaxed and at mercy of being pushed around. McDermott is the aggressor and takes it to the opponent before they can take it to him. He sprints down the court as if there is a sale on prime real estate near the rim each and every time.

McDermott gets to the line and is doing his best job at it this year. He's getting to the line nearly 7 times this year in only 29 minutes. He does an excellent job drawing contact and does an even better job at finishing through it. He displays great body control and is able to use his body to get his short shots at the rim off against longer defenders. He absorbs the contact, shows great concentration on the rim, and has great touch with either hand. The biggest thing may be his competitiveness - he is not going to be denied getting the rim.

McDermott can score through the Hansbrough method, but also has great footwork in the paint and a high skill level. Consistently finishing up and unders, hook shots, and occasionally a turnaround jumper, McDermott is one of the most skilled post players in the country. And one of the most true.

All this talk about stretch forwards and McDermott's transition to the SF in the pros, yet McDermott is a pure power forward at Creighton. Its a huge part of his game. He relishes the contact and the physicality inside. He rebounds well despite his 6-8 wingspan and his shortcomings athletically. His feel for the power forward position is outstanding and would be tough to take away at the next level.

He shows great feel in the paint without the ball - not just with his constant work to get open in the post, but coming around screens and finding the soft area of the defense. His savvy knowledge of how to get open combined with his constant fight to get open equates to him getting good looks. Simple really. 

Creighton's offense is one of the best in the country and very fun to watch. In a lot of ways, McDermott is just another player. He almost looks like a role player with the way he has to scrap on offense. He doesn't have a large amount of plays for him and he scraps at the hoop. He crashes the offensive glass, runs the court in transition, really, he does just about everything to get the ball in the hoop. There is a lot that goes into McDermott scoring 23 points per game and the biggest thing is hustle. I'd say he gets half of his points off hustle, but then again, his scoring ability is testament to his motor. 

Getting through a McDermott article without touching much on his shooting is actually quite easy. Its not his game. He shot over 60% from the field last year. That is truly remarkable. There is so much about McDermott's game you are missing out on if you just assume he is a shooter. 

And there will be so much about his game in the pros that you will miss out on if you treat him just as a spot up threat. 

Herein lies the hard part - what to make of McDermott's pro potential.

And with that, I'm out. Somethings are just more fun to watch unfold.