One night the outside shooting is clicking, the next night the big guys are doing the job inside.
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But seldom on the same night. Not this season, anyway.
That`s what Northern Illinois coach Brian Hammel would like to see for a change, and no time would satisfy him more than the present, starting with Monday night`s Mid-Continent Conference game at Cleveland State.
”We need to get our post guys involved,” Hammel said after the Huskies` 82-69 loss Saturday at Akron. ”If you ask (the inside players) to rebound and play defense, you have to get them the ball more.
”We also need to penetrate on the drive or with the pass. We`re not going to go through the conference schedule with perimeter shots.”
That point was driven home Saturday as Mike Hidden, Brian Molis and Mark Layton went a combined 5 for 23 from the field. Meanwhile, 7-foot-1-inch sophomore Steve Oldendorf scored a career-high 14 points and 6-8 junior Randy Fens added 14.
”Right now we`re very disjointed,” said Hammel, whose club is 3-7, 1-1. ”We`re a long way from the team we can be. Something we need is to make the extra pass. We could turn a fair shot into a good shot with an extra pass. ”We need an inside-outside attack.”
He needs a full bench, too, to keep his players fresh for his up-tempo style of play. But if the worst-kept secret in De Kalb is true, Hammel will be losing the services of three players when the second semester begins Jan. 13. Layton, junior walk-on guard Brad Lindsay and 6-7 freshman Hubert Register are said to be headed for academic ineligibility.