5 huge observations from the Illinois basketball win over Oregon State

5. Illinois has a tendency to play hero ball too much at times

It is hard to pull out any negatives when the Illinois basketball team wins by 19 points. However, there is one thing that jumped out to me throughout the game against Oregon State.

Illinois did a great job offensively. I have no complaints about shooting, but there are too many times when some Illini players start playing hero ball.

Hero ball is when a player is just pounding the rock and trying to find her own shot. She holds the ball too long, and forces a drive into defenders or ends up taking a bad shot.

This type of offense kills any momentum the Illini have. Illinois needs to constantly move the ball around the court to find open shots, but when we play hero ball, one player is dribbling, and the rest are watching. This nearly always leads to a miss or turnover.

I saw it numerous times against Oregon State, and it isn’t just one player. There are a few players who tend to play hero ball. Ball movement is key in getting the offense going and winning games.

Let’s not get this misconstrued, though. Illinois played a great game and most of the time, the ball was being moved around the court. But the offense could be even more efficient. Let’s not let the offense get stagnant. Move the ball and keep the opposing defense on their heels.