Ok, lets get this out of the way. I want to be up front and say I didn't really watch film with IU coach Tom Crean. But he did give us reporter folks some insight into the decisions he makes regarding what to show his team.
One could guess that the Ohio State game was on the list of game's to watch in addition to some reels of the Illini and their season thus far.
What Crean said he saw from the Ohio State game was that his team wasn't under much duress when it tallied 24 turnovers. In fact, here's what Crean said the the IU coaching staff found from the film.
One of the big things for us, was that we showed them that of the 24 turnovers we had the other night only four of them we felt were forced by Ohio State.There were 20 times where we shot ourselves in the foot with a turnover.
IU had travel calls and errant passes cloud several of their early possessions and dug a whole that put the game out of reach well before the first media timeout.
But IU didn't only watch the bad. They needed to be reminded that they have gained some good wins this season, as evidenced by the continual climb of the Pittsburgh team IU defeated in the Jimmy V Classic.
Here was Crean's take on supplying his team what he likes to call the positive "flashes" they have shown.
We'll show them some losing plays that really cost us in that game, but we'll also show them winning plays. You never want to let a guy get too ahead of themselves or too full of themselves when you win, so you always try to find some things that'll bring them back down to earth, but you've got to perk them up some when you lose.
But the scope of film shown in the IU locker room isn't limited to only the Hoosiers and their next opponent. Crean used the Louisville- Kentucky game to show his team that the mental aspect of a game can change the eventual outcome.
Where it not for the calm dominance of John Wall and the always level-headed Patrick Patterson, Kentucky could not have pulled away for a 71-62 win.
And, as was given for the other video IU watched, here's Crean rationale.
I think it's really important they not only see themselves and the opponents, especially this time of year because it can get real boring.
