Tag: Rebounding

Wisconsin coach Greg Gard after loss to Illinois: ‘How does [center Steven Crowl] have no rebounds?’

Greg Gard discussed Steven Crowl’s rebounding struggles postgame

The Wisconsin Badgers fell to Big Ten rival Illinois 86-80 on Tuesday night, extending their current losing streak to three games.

A significant story of the game was rebounding. Illinois entered as one of the nation’s top rebounding teams, while Wisconsin has struggled in that area. Those divergent trends led to Illinois grabbing 40 total rebounds to Wisconsin’s 29. The Badgers’ 18 defensive rebounds were barely more than Illinois’ tally on the offensive end (15). That discrepancy explains where the game was mostly decided.

Related: Big takeaways from Wisconsin basketball’s loss to Illinois

There is one glaring number on the box score in that regard. Wisconsin starting center Steven Crowl finished with zero rebounds in 19 minutes, to go along with just nine points on 3-of-9 shooting.

The veteran center is key to the Badgers’ rebounding effort, given his size and position. A lack of production in the area is costly, especially against a team like Illinois with top-end size and rebounding ability.

Wisconsin coach Greg Gard discussed Crowl’s struggles after the game when asked specifically about how Crowl and John Tonje’s quiet offensive night was limiting.

“There’s ways that they can impact the game in other areas,” Gard began. “I think defensively, you look at [Steven Crowl’s] line, he has no rebounds. How do you have no rebounds?”

He went on to specifics on the team’s offensive inconsistency. In his words, due to Tonje and John Blackwell ‘over-dribbling.’ But the focus then returned to how the two veterans can impact the game when they aren’t scoring at a high clip.

“The biggest thing is obviously our 4s and 5s, the rebounding,” Gard continued. “I thought Nolan [Winter] was active and aggressive. He’s still young in terms of what he will he, he showed flashes of how good a player he can be. So I was happy for him.”

The Illinois matchup continued what has been an extended stretch of struggles from Crowl. He’s tallied just 13 total points and eight rebounds over the last three games, all losses, on 5-of-19 shooting and 1-of-7 from three.

He is play is an undeniable key to Wisconsin’s success. When he plays well, offensively and defensively, the team tends to win. His recent struggles, meanwhile, have directly correlated with a three-game losing streak against tough competition.

Gard has publicly expressed his desire for Crowl to be more aggressive in previous years. We’ll see what this sentiment on his rebounding tally leads to. Wisconsin is back on the court on Saturday for a neutral site matchup with Butler. The Badgers badly need a win with an extended holiday break upcoming.

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‘It just keeps me going’: Rivaldo Soares finding multiple ways to impact the game

While his scoring may have not been there the past few games, Rivaldo Soares finds ways to impact the game.

While it’s been clear the Oklahoma Sooners need more production out of their bench, one player who hasn’t given them much from a scoring standpoint but has still made an impact is [autotag]Rivaldo Soares[/autotag]. Soares did finally have a big scoring night against the West Virginia Mountaineers.

He finished with 13 points, which led the bench unit for the Sooners, and was tied with Javian McCollum for second most on the team. But up to that point, his shot had been struggling. So, Soares has quietly become one of the better rebounders for the Sooners.

He’s averaged nearly six rebounds per game in [autotag]Big 12[/autotag] play. Soares spoke after the game about how important it is for not only him but his whole team to rebound at a high level.

“Getting in there and getting some offensive rebounds, like I said last game, it just keeps me going, gets me going,” Soares said. “The free throw line keeps me going. (My) energy stays high and it’s been our mantra all year. “DCO,” defense creates offense. Grab that rebound and go.”

While the Sooners need the points from their bench like they got vs. the Mountaineers, having someone like Soares be able to impact the game when his shot isn’t falling is still big for the team going forward.

They will need that effort as they hit the road this Saturday against the [autotag]Cincinnati Bearcats[/autotag]. In the last 14 Big 12 games, 11 of them have been won by the home team. So, it doesn’t get any easier as the season goes on.

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Russell Westbrook makes NBA history with career rebound 6,000

Russell Westbrook is the fifth player in NBA history with at least 7,000 assists and 6,000 rebounds, and the first at 6-foot-3 or smaller.

Rockets guard Russell Westbrook quickly made history with a rebound in the opening seconds of Friday’s game in Houston versus Philadelphia.

The rebound made Westbrook just the fifth player in NBA history and only the second active player with at least 7,000 career assists and 6,000 rebounds. With the achievement, Westbrook joins LeBron James, Jason Kidd, Oscar Robertson, and Magic Johnson on the all-time list.

Now 31 years old and in his 12th NBA season, Westbrook’s rebounding total is the most ever by any player listed at 6-foot-3 or smaller.

It’s yet another milestone in an eventual Hall of Fame career for Westbrook, who won the league’s 2017 MVP award and has made the All-Star Game eight times.

Entering Friday, Westbrook has played especially well over the past four weeks with the Rockets — with averages of 28.5 points (46.9% shooting), 7.8 rebounds, and 6.8 assists in 37.2 minutes per game. He’s also made 90.1% of his free throws in that period.

Prior to the 11-game hot stretch, Westbrook averaged 21.7 points on 39.9% shooting and 73.7% from the foul line over his first 19 games in Houston. The improvement would seem to suggest that Westbrook is settling in alongside his new teammates after recently changing teams for the first time in his 12-year career.

For the team as a whole, after swapping out Chris Paul for Westbrook in the offseason, the Rockets (23-11) have improved from No. 28 in the NBA in team rebounding a year ago to No. 5 this season.

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