Deja Vú?

"My goal in sailing isn't to be brilliant or flashy in individual races, just to be consistent over the long run."

This quote comes from Dennis Conner, a famous competitive American sailor. Yes I know, this blog is about basketball, not sailing. But clearly this quote can pertain to all sports. Especially basketball. And if you take a look at this quote, it really does apply to the Eagles' young season.

This week played out eerily similar to last week. After their destruction of Clopton on Wednesday (as I wrote about in my previous entry), the Eagles faced two challenges over the weekend. St. Charles High at home on Friday night. And then, Imagine College Prep on Saturday at the Midwest Showdown Shootout. Let's start with Friday.

If fans thought the Eagles looked good on Wednesday night, then I can't imagine what they thought on Friday night. The Eagles played as well as they have all season. Led by Andrew Frank (24 points, 4-5 from 3-point range) and Adam Glenville (18 points, 11 rebounds), the Eagles soundly defeated the Pirates of St. Charles High by a score of 67-52. Surprisingly, what carried the Eagles last night was their shooting.
Yes I said shooting.
3 pointers no less.
The Eagles couldn't miss last night. They shot 67% (Frank 4-5, Glenville 3-4, Lehmann 1-2) from behind the arc, a staggering number for a high school team. The Eagles did a fantastic job of quickly moving the ball around, getting the open shot, and knocking it down, which, up to this point, is something that they've had trouble doing. FOr a long time, the Eagles have had strengths in these areas: athleticism, fast-breaks, drives, inside play. Their weaknesses? Outside shooting and free throws. On Friday night, the Eagles overcame one of their weaknesses, adding another element to their game. This is an encouraging sign. If the Eagles can begin to shoot well from the outside (although I must admit, 67% is a bit steep to expect in every game), teams who scout them will have no weaknesses to expose on the defensive side of the ball.

But like I said, this week ended like last week. With a rough loss. The Eagles fell to Imagine College Prep 43-37 on Saturday. And looking at the stats, it's clear what caused the Eagles to take a tumble to 4-2. Unlike on Friday, the Eagles were cold from long range Saturday. They dropped 45 percentage points in one day, shooting 2-9 from three. Like I said, this is one of their weaknesses. But after having such a hot night, no one would've expected such a hard shooting day for the boys. Cold outside shooting makes the Eagles game more one-dimensional. And no matter how impressive that one dimension is, the Eagles can't be the dominant team they want to be if they can't shoot from the outside.

Finally, there is one thing that haunted the Eagles on both nights. Free throws. The Eagles shot a combined 16-41 (39%) from the charity stripe this weekend. Yikes. That's a scary stat. If the Eagles can't hit their free throws, then any leads that they hold, unless they are commanding leads, are in jeopardy. And if the Eagles are in a tight game down the stretch, free throws will be a key part in taking home a W. In case I haven't stressed it enough, free throws are important. And 39% just isn't good enough.

Like I said, this week played out eerily similar to last week. After two very impressive wins at home, the Eagles fell short in a high-intensity game because of some missed oppurtunities. But let's look on the bright side. Senior Andrew Frank is getting better and better every game. Junior Adam Glenville is finding the form that made him the team's leading scorer last year. Brendan Norwine, Blake Meers, and Ben Pickett are all improving as the season goes on. And, aside from Saturday, the Eagles promptly dropped their turnover and shooting problems. Now all that remains is those pesky free throws. Next weekend, the Eagles head to Quincy, Illinois for the Quincy Shootout and then size up against Parkway West in the Family Arena for the GAC Shootout. If the Eagles can take home two wins, they will enter Christmas break at 6-2. If they want that to happen, then they'll need to stay consistent with the physical play, minimal turnovers, and hot shooting. They'll also need to solve this free throw problem. Fast. However, I'm confident that the Eagles will be able to shake off this loss and pick up two wins next weekend. Then they'll have all of Christmas break to iron out the wrinkles and avoid anymore weeks that leave Eagles fans with that odd feeling of deja vú.