Illinois Basketball: 5 observations from the Illini win over UNLV

3. Trent Frazier is still not taking enough shots

A win is a win and I love when the Illini win games. Some players came through on Saturday that really helped propel this Illinois team to a victory. But, I noticed throughout the game and looking at the box score after the game, why isn’t Trent Frazier taking more shots?

Illinois beat UNLV, but they were favored by seven points. They should have beaten this team. They were projected to win. But, they only won by three points. One reason I think it was such a close game at the end, besides for holding the ball and getting two shot clock violations, is that Frazier isn’t shooting enough.

Frazier ended the night with eight points on 3-of-6 shooting from the field and 2-of-2 from three-point land. What in the Wide, Wide World of Sports is going on? I see the flow of the game and the ball movement, but I feel like there is a reason he isn’t shooting it at times. I feel like sometimes when he gets the ball, he needs to shoot instead of passing. We don’t need to eat up the shot clock down to two seconds and then chuck up a bad shot.

Frazier shouldn’t be tied for last among starters in shots taken. He shouldn’t be outshot by anyone coming off the bench. This kid is way too talented to only be shooting six shots in a game. He made 50-percent of them and was 100-percent from three-point range. Get the man the ball and get out of the way. Something tells me Illinois will lose a lot of games this season if Frazier continues to only shoot six times