I know I might rile some of my fellow UIC Flames, but in my opinion (and the two teams have played quite a few games) Bruce Pearl is a better coach than Jimmy Collins at this point. Maybe Collins will wake up and become more creative and not be so loyal.
What I mean by loyal is he hasn't shown me the ability to go to someone else and develop that player's game. There have been times during Collins tenure that he could've drawn up plays for players like Aaron Carr, Jonathan Schneiderman, et al. It just seems to be Cedrick left and Cedrick right. No matter what play is called, it winds up being the same design: Cedrick cutting off of screens until he gets open. This not only wears Banks out, but it doesn't allow the other players to fully participate in the scoring of this team. The post players get most of their points on stick backs.
There were a couple of times in the waning minutes that Collins called a play that was designed for Karl White or Marceattus McGee (whoever was at the point at the time), but overall it's just the Cedrick Banks playbook.
I know I'm rambling, but bear with me:
1. Marceattus McGee needs to come off the bench. He needs to buy a shot and some penetration moves. He is just awful from the 3-point line and his mid-range game isn't any better. McGee dribbles the ball too much without much positive result.
2. Karl White is the real deal. Collins refused to sit McGee and let White run the show. With White in the game, the Milwaukee zone would've been neutralized and the man-to-man wouldn't have been doubling on Cedrick. The young man also has excellent speed and penetration moves. He also has a much better shot than anyone else on the team except Banks.
3. Jovan Stefanov is a defensive and mental liability. Joah Tucker had Stefanov for lunch. Stefanov alone cost the Flames at least 4 turnovers. Since he is 100% healthy, there is no excuse for his play and since he is 100% healty, I can't see where the all-state accolades came from. Maybe he'll improve, but until then, he needs to sit.
4. Justin Bowen, even though he supposedly improved his shot, should just concentrate on rebounding and shooting from the 12-15 foot range. He shot a couple of ill-advised 3's which didn't go in.
5. Elliott Poole on many ocassions, has the opportunity to knock down a short jumper, but refuses to pull the trigger. He makes a jab step, but the defending doesn't bite. He just needs to shoot that shot and take his chances. He is a much better shooter than Armond.
6. Could someone please tell me why Collins had Cedrick Banks posting up anybody? I don't care who it was, whoever Banks was trying to post up had a multitude of back-up help. It was a silly play call and worthless. Nothing at all came of those post plays.
All in all, I think sometimes a coach can focus on his agenda a little too much- sticking to his desired gameplan no matter what. This of course could be detrimental to the team as a whole. Others, knowing that plays are designed for Banks, are hesitant about shooting the rock and constantly dribble around waiting for Ced to break free of his defender. This takes away from their game. All of this makes for frustrating nights when Banks is not on or his defender is right in his jock.
We have 3 road games before coming back home on Dec 21. We could conceivably come back to the Pavilion with a 2-6 record. 4 straight 20-win seasons seem to be seriously in doubt.
--Mr. Jordan is a regular poster at UIC Flames Message Board. This is his first article for MOPSquad Sports.
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