It's Over. It's All Over.

Pop quiz, hotshots.  Does this post title refer to:

1. The Illini's search for a new football coach, now that Tim Beckman has been hired?
2. The Tyler Colvin era in Chicago, now that he's been traded to the Rockies for Ian Stewart?
3. The Bears' playoff chances after Sunday's date with the Tebow steamroller?
4. None of the above

The answer is "D", none of the above.  The post title refers to this blog.

When I started writing, the Cubs were run by Jim Hendry, the Illini were run by Ron Guenther, the Bears were run by Jerry Angelo, and everything seemed hopeless, sports-wise, so I needed an outlet to vent my frustrations.  But now, 17 months later, the Cubs have a competent front office, the Illini have an AD who demands accountability from his coaches, and the Bears...well, two out of three ain't bad, right?  Anyway, I don't know how many people are actually reading these posts, and I'm just tired of writing, so I've decided that I'm not going to be updating the blog anymore.

And as my final post draws to a close, I'm reminded of a few of the events that brought me closer to you: Albert Pujols leaving St. Louis, back-to-back football wins over Northwestern, premium ice cream wars, dogs that were mistakenly issued major credit cards, and others that weren't so lucky. 

And so, farewell.  It's been a blast.  And if you do like what I write but can only take it in doses of 140 characters or less, don't forget to look for my new column in PC World magazine that you can still follow me on Twitter. 

Smell ya later!

Illini Basketball: A 2011-12 Season Preview

It seems like it's been forever since the Illini basketball team played in a game that counted, but on Friday, the Illini will open their season against Loyola, and I'm looking forward to having meaningful basketball games to talk about again.  That certainly beats going over what's happened to our basketball team during the last five seasons.  I've already made my feelings on Bruce Weber known, and I don't want to spend too much time re-hashing that discussion, because I'm tired of it.  I'm tired of not feeling invincible on our home court.  I'm tired of being a bubble team, needing to win games in the Big Ten Tournament just to make the NCAA tournament.  But most of all, I'm tired of our team being completely out of the picture when it comes not only to national championships, but also to Big Ten championships.  So probably the best news about the new season is that one way or the other, by March we should have our answer on the "fire Bruce Weber" question.

OK, now that I'm done talking about the past, it's time to look at the present. 

"Say Hello to the new Illini AD." "Hello, Mike Thomas!"

Best wishes, Mike Thomas!

Welcome aboard, Mike Thomas!  The former Cincinnati Athletic Director has been named to succeed Ron Guenther as University of Illinois Athletic Director, and I especially liked this quote from his introductory press conference:

"Intercollegiate athletics are a critical element of the campus community, and I understand the importance of student-athletes excelling in both the playing arena and the classroom," Thomas said. "The U of I has the essential pieces--facilities, staff, athletes, alumni and fans--for continued excellence and success, and I'm deeply honored and excited to be able to lead the Fighting Illini."

Since football and basketball are my focus here, I'll note that when Thomas started as Cincinnati AD in 2005, the Bearcats football team was in the middle of a run of mediocrity:  4-7 in 2003, 7-5 in 2004, 5-7 in 2005.  To fix that, he hired Brian Kelly to run the football team, and Kelly quickly brought the Bearcats to national prominence, going 34-6 over the next four seasons, including two BCS bowl game appearances.  Unfortunately, after Kelly left for Notre Dame, Thomas didn't do as well picking a successor (Butch Jones, who led the Bearcats to a 4-8 record last year).  Interestingly, both Kelly and Jones were coaching at Central Michigan when Thomas hired them, so I guess that means we can anticipate Dan Enos being our next head coach whenever Thomas tires of Ron Zook.  Hey, at least Enos was a Big Ten guy.

As for basketball, Thomas had to deal with the aftermath of Bob [t]Huggins's resignation, and his first (and only) hire was Mick Cronin.  The Bearcats were a mess during Cronin's first two years (11-19 and 13-19) due in part to having to completely rebuild the program, and moving from Conference USA to the loaded Big East didn't help those win-loss records.  But by his fifth year (last season), Cronin had the Bearcats back in the NCAA tournament (26-9, 11-7) for the first time since the end of the [t]Huggins regime, where they beat Missouri before losing to eventual champion UConn.  Not a bad clean-up job.

So, to recap:  that's one home-run hire (Kelly), one double off the base of the wall (Cronin), and one foul ball off the end of the bat (Jones).  All in all, not a bad record, especially if Thomas can find another Brian Kelly type to run one (or both) of our major sports programs.  If nothing else, Illini fans finally have some certainty, and we can start hoping for some accountability from the new AD as well.

Happy Birthday to Me!

One year ago today, I came up with a bold, innovative idea that promised to revolutionize the way we viewed Internet sports coverage.  But instead of pursuing that idea, I started this blog. When I first put fingers to keyboard, I had no idea my favorite teams would provide so much material.  So on the occasion of the first birthday of "The Frustrated Fan", let's take a look at some of the highlights from my first year of blogging:

• The Cubs made a nearly seamless transition from a hopeless, crappy 2010 season to a hopeless, crappy 2011 season.
• The Bears surprisingly won the NFC Central and hosted the NFC Championship Game (that's good)...which they lost to the Packers, who went on to win the Super Bowl (that's bad).
• With an exciting freshman QB at the helm, the Illini football team overcame the frequently idiotic coaching of Ron Zook and won their first bowl game of the new millennium.
• Bruce Weber finally won an NCAA tournament game at Illinois without players recruited by Bill Self, then lost in the next round of the tournament to a team full of players recruited by Bill Self.
• And (perhaps) best of all, Ron Guenther's reign as Illinois Athletic Director came to a peaceful end.

So many memories - and so many questions still to be answered in the upcoming year:

• Which veterans will the Cubs dump at the trade deadline?  With over $40 million in payroll coming off the books in 2012, whom will the Cubs bring in to upgrade next year's roster?  And will Jim Hendry be the GM doing that off-season upgrading?
• Will the NFL lockout end in time for the season to begin as scheduled?  And wouldn't a cancelled NFL season actually be better than the alternative - a season in which the Packers stand a good chance to repeat as Super Bowl champions?
• Can Zook build on last season's success after losing his best offensive player and two best defensive players to the NFL draft?  If not, how much longer will the new AD (whoever (s)he is) keep him around?
• Shouldn't a basketball team which possesses three consecutive highly-ranked recruiting classes and plays a relatively soft non-conference schedule and in a weak Big Ten be able to comfortably make the NCAA tournament?  And if Weber's Illini spend another Selection Sunday on the bubble (or worse), how much longer will the new AD (whoever (s)he is) keep him around?

Stick around to get the answers to these (and many more) questions.  It's sure to be a better "Year Two" than the Ricketts family is having!

The NBA Draft - Illini-free since 2006

One of Bruce Weber's five-year droughts ended in March, when the Illini beat UNLV for their first NCAA tournament win since 2006.  However, another Weber drought continues - the Illini still have not had a player taken in the NBA draft since Dee Brown and James Augustine were second-round picks in the 2006 draft.  Yes, Demetri McCamey was never a high-end prospect, and yes, Jereme Richmond was a big-time headcase.  But it's frustrating to know that schools like Cleveland State, Hofstra, Oakland, and Charleston all managed to have players taken in this year's draft, but not one player recruited by Weber has ever been drafted.

As for McCamey and Richmond  - I wish things had turned out better for you two this evening, but here's hoping that both of you can catch on with NBA teams that can find spots for you on their rosters.

Bulls Season Ends, Conspiracy Theory Season Begins

Almost a year into this blog, and this is my first NBA post, because even though I'm a sports fan I'm just not really into the NBA. I know, I know - these are the best basketball players in the world, playing at a ridiculously high level - what's not to like? Well, the regular season is too long, and too many teams make the playoffs, which makes the playoffs take too long (and why did the Bulls and Heat have four days off between games 2 and 3?), especially considering that the NBA is the least competitively-balanced of the four major leagues (only eight different teams have won championships in the last 30 years). It's great when you're a fan of a "have" (Lakers, Celtics, Jordan-era Bulls), but not so great for everyone else. But last night's season-ending Bulls loss compelled me to write for a couple of reasons:

It's not a Dream, Illini Fans - Ron Guenther Retires!

Great days in Illini sports history:

October 29, 1983 - Illinois beats Michigan to all but lock up a trip to the Rose Bowl.

March 26, 2005 - Illinois overcomes 15-point deficit to Arizona to advance to the Final Four

May 16, 2011 - Ron Guenther announces he is retiring from his post as Athletic Director after 19 years on the job.

After making brief comments, Bruce Weber and Ron Zook were last seen purchasing large quantities of Pepto Bismol at the thought of actually being held responsible for on-field/on-court results. As for Illini fans, who suffered through Guenther's seemingly endless tolerance for mediocrity, the response was nearly universal:

Jereme Richmond, ex-Illini: The End of a (Very Short) Era

In November, 2006, less than two months after Eric Gordon stabbed Illini nation in the heart by reneging on his commitment to the Orange and Blue, Bruce Weber secured a commitment from a talented freshman named Jereme Richmond shortly after watching Richmond play his first high school game. It's fair to say that Richmond may have been the most highly anticipated recruit in Illini history. Illini fans waited four years for Richmond to arrive on campus, during which time he never wavered in his commitment. As other recruits, starting with the highly-regarded class of 2009, began to jump on board, Illini fans and the national media could sense something special building in Champaign for the 2010-11 season. Richmond was expected to be a big part of that - a versatile, athletic player with a mean streak that the team's upperclassmen lacked.

Instead of something special, however, we got more of the same from the Illini basketball team. Maddening losses to inferior teams. A .500 record in conference play. The inability to execute in close games. Chemistry problems. It all added up to a 20-14 season which ended in the "third round" (f/k/a "the second round") of the NCAA tournament. And unfortunately, Richmond was a big part in the season, but for all of the wrong reasons. He was as inconsistent as the team, occasionally putting up big numbers (witness his double-double against Ohio State), but often disappearing for long stretches. He was benched for the loss at Wisconsin after leaving the team for a few days, and didn't play in either of the team's NCAA tournament games after being suspended for unspecified rules violations. And today, after several weeks of smoke coming from the Interwebs, came the announcement that the Jereme Richmond era will end after just one season, as Richmond will enter the NBA draft and not return for his sophomore season in college.

I've been pretty rough on Bruce Weber this year and I still think he should be fired, but I'm finding it hard to fault his handling of Richmond. Clearly, Weber had to recruit him and stick with him - fans would not have been pleased if another highly-touted in-state player got away - even though Richmond had several unpleasant incidents during his high school career including getting kicked off his team for, among other transgressions, fighting with a teammate. (Does that count as foreshadowing?) If Weber did anything wrong with Richmond, it was not giving him a starting spot in the lineup right away, as future high-level recruits may wonder if they'll have to sit behind a grinder like Bill Cole if they come to Illinois. But as a short term proposition, giving more minutes to Richmond probably wouldn't have helped us win many more games this year, as Richmond never really played up to his ranking, and it's possible (probable?) that Richmond would have left after this year no matter how Weber had dealt with him.

Unfortunately, Richmond's departure leaves the 2011-12 Illini with a huge hole to fill. The team already has to replace four seniors, and now there are only two returning players on the roster (Brandon Paul and DJ Richardson) who have logged significant minutes. With Richmond gone there are no proven inside players on the team, and we'll be relying on a transfer from Bradley who missed last season with an injury (Sam Maniscalco) to help freshman Tracy Abrams run the point. The incoming 2011 class is talented, versatile, and deep but lacks star power - it's not like we're bringing in multiple McDonald's All-Americans next year.

The last time Illinois made wholesale changes to their roster like this was the 2002-03 season, but that year's freshmen (including Dee Brown, James Augustine, and Deron Williams) could lean on seniors Brian Cook (and Sean Harrington). By contrast, the 2011-12 Illini will have only one senior - Maniscalco, who has yet to suit up for the team. To me, the current scenario is more reminiscent of the 1998-99 Illini team, which replaced five senior starters with several talented (but not super-talented) underclassmen. That team, of course, finished in last place in the Big Ten. One saving grace for next year - the 98-99 Big Ten was loaded (seven NCAA tournament teams, 2 final four teams), while the 2011-12 Big Ten will be weak, which might help keep the team from sinking too far in the standings. Still, this doesn't look like the kind of situation in which a coach on the hot seat - and Weber will be on the hot seat next year - would want to find himself. Given all of the uncertainty surrounding the program right now, if the team struggles in 2011-12 it's likely that the end of the Jereme Richmond era will be followed by the end of the Bruce Weber era.

Six Years Ago Tonight...

Saturday, March 26, 2005, was the date of one of the greatest moments (if not the greatest moment) in Illini basketball history. I still enjoy watching these highlights of the comeback against Arizona, but now it depresses me when I get to the end because it makes me realize (1) how far we've fallen as a program, and (2) that as long as Bruce Weber is our head coach, we'll never get to see our team cut down the nets again.

Farewell, Class of 2011 - Illini Season Wrap-up

I always find the day on which the NCAA tournament carries on without the Illini to be a sad one. This year, thanks to the vagaries of scheduling, the Illini were the last team eliminated in the "third round" (f/k/a "the second round")*, so today is that sad day. It also provides a good opportunity to remember the accomplishments of the class of 2011 - Demetri McCamey, Mike Davis, Mike Tisdale, and Bill Cole.

* I guess you could say we made the "Sweet Seventeen" - maybe we should hang a banner in the Assembly Hall to commemorate it!

EDIT - we actually weren't the last team eliminated in the "third round". I forgot that FSU's evisceration of Notre Dame finished after our game did. How about an "Elite Eighteen" banner instead?

The outgoing senior class featured four good citizens who never caused any trouble off the court, and as individuals they made quite an impact on the Illini record book: McCamey finished second all-time in assists; Davis finished second all-time in rebounds; Tisdale finished second all-time in blocked shots; and Cole...ummm...posted a lot of Matto Chart points, I guess. Unfortunately, they never achieved much in the way of team success. They never came close to a Big Ten title (don't throw the second-place finish of 2008-09 at me when they were closer to ninth place than first), they only made two NCAA tournament appearances, and they managed just the one NCAA tournament victory this year against UNLV. They also have the misfortune of being probably the most disrespected class in Illini history (mostly by supporters of Bruce Weber, who'll do anything, including trashing players, to prop him up). But despite their limitations as players, I'd say that their lack of team success falls in Weber's lap, as Weber failed them in so many ways:

• Even though Tisdale, McCamey, and Davis started together from their sophomore year on, Weber never was able to get them to run his motion offense effectively, and he never adjusted to find a scheme that would better suit his players' skill sets.
• Weber failed to recruit anyone of consequence in the classes immediately before and after their class.
• Although recruiting finally picked up with the high school classes of 2009 and 2010, Weber still failed to bring in a true point guard to back up McCamey or a non-finesse big man to complement Davis, Cole and Tisdale.
• Weber failed to properly integrate the younger talent (the Illini featured five consensus top-100 players, including one McDonald's All-American, among their underclassmen) with the upperclassmen.

So thank you, class of 2011 - you had to do a lot of heavy lifting to carry the team throughout your Illini careers, and there was a lot of disappointment, but you handled yourselves with dignity and at least you went down fighting. A lot of Illini fans may not realize it yet, but we'll miss you and your contributions going forward. Best of luck to you in your future endeavors.

Justice is Finally Done - Bruce Pearl is Fired!

One day after the end of the Illini basketball season (I'll have more to say about that soon), we Illini fans with older memories received some fantastic news. In the last six months, Bruce Pearl has had his name dragged through the mud courtesy of an NCAA investigation, lost $1.5 million in salary, was suspended from coaching for part of the SEC portion of Tennessee's schedule, and been humiliated in a first-round NCAA tournament loss. Now comes the cherry on the icing on the cake - Bruce Pearl has been fired as Tennessee coach for his unethical behavior (although the AP story still gets its history wrong - here's the correct version of what happened between Pearl and the Illini).

It's good to see that Pearl finally got what he deserved, and even though it took over 20 years, I'm glad to see Lou Henson and Jimmy Collins are vindicated, and maybe now Henson will get what he deserves - a spot in the Basketball Hall of Fame. And this is probably the best way to express Illini fans' feelings about you, Bruce Pearl:

Bill Self Used to Coach at Illinois? No Way! Illinois-Kansas Preview

As Illinois gets set to face #1 seed Kansas on Sunday night, you may hear something about Kansas coach Bill Self being the coach at Illinois before Bruce Weber was. I think there's some sort of federal law that anyone who writes about college basketball has to mention it in his/her preview of the game, and I'm sure we'll hear about it at least thirty times during tonight's broadcast. I don't want to spend any time in a federal pound-me-in-the-ass prison, so to be safe, I've gotten that out of the way right up front.

Now, before we get to tonight's game, I need to say one more thing about Friday's win over UNLV. Of course I'm glad we won, and I'm especially happy for the seniors for winning an NCAA tournament game. But some of the extreme Weber supporters are going a little over the top in their celebration, as if the win validates everything they've said to prop up Weber, when all we did was win an 8/9 seed game in the first round. Friday's win doesn't erase the last four years of mediocrity, and it doesn't prove that Weber is a better coach than Lon Kruger (unless you also want to argue that Mike Davis is a better coach than Mike Krzyzewski because Indiana once beat Duke in the NCAA tournament). And it bothers me that if Illinois had played all year like they did on Friday, then they wouldn't have to face a team like Kansas in the second round. So let's try not to get too carried away.

OK - finally on to the actual game preview. I could run numbers or player matchups, but they'll favor Kansas. I could talk about the coaching matchup, but Kansas has that in their favor too. The only chance Illinois has tonight is if they play the way they did in the first half on Friday for the entire game. But Illinois still hasn't won back-to-back games since the first week of January, and the odds of them merely playing two great games in a row at this point (to say nothing of winning them both), especially when the second one is against a team that a lot of people are picking to win the NCAA tournament, will be too much to overcome. As much as I'd love to see Illinois playing next weekend, I'll have to say that the ride ends tonight.

Kansas 78

Illinois 62

Thank You Seniors - Illini Pound UNLV

Well, I was half-right - UNLV did score 62 points on Friday night. But the Illini, led by Demetri McCamey and Mike Davis, dominated the Runnin' Rebels, putting up a lot more points than I expected in a not-as-close-as-the-final-score-indicated 73-62 win. I loved seeing the Illini beating the UNLV press consistently, resulting in a lot of easy fast-break buckets, as well as seeing DJ Richardson re-emerge, and Crandall Head and Meyers Leonard contribute.

A hearty Mazel Tov to Bruce Weber, who has finally won a tournament game at Illinois with his own players, and to the seniors, who won't have to wear the scarlet number "zero" (number of tournament wins) for the rest of their lives. And one more important fact - for only the second time since the NCAA tournament began seeding teams, the Illini beat a higher-seeded team.

The hill gets awfully steep in the next round. To have a chance to beat Kansas, Illinois will have to play the entire game like they played in the first half against UNLV. But for now, let's just enjoy this win.

OSKEE-WOW-WOW!

One Very Last Chance - Illinois vs. UNLV Preview

Last week, I wrote that the Big Ten tournament gave the Illinois senior class a chance to clean the slate and re-write their legacy. Of course, not only did they fail to clean the slate, but by staging a late-game collapse against Michigan they pretty much wrote the same legacy in permanent marker. However, the NCAA Tournament's selection committee was generous - by placing Illinois against #8 seed UNLV, they gave the Illini a fairly even shot to win their opening round game. The last group of 4-year players at Illinois to not win an NCAA tournament game graduated in 1980. Can this year's seniors take advantage of their chance to avoid that fate?

What to expect
Some things that jump out from looking at the profiles of UNLV and Illinois:

Both teams play tough defense, which isn't surprising considering who the coaches are. Lon Kruger's UNLV squad is 15th in the nation in defensive efficiency rating, while Bruce Weber's Illini are 23rd. The two teams are virtually identical in effective field goal percentage defense - UNLV is 26th in the nation; Illinois is a hair behind (27th). One red flag - UNLV is 17th in the nation in turnover percentage, but Illinois is 259th. This may give the Runnin' Rebels an edge by allowing them to pick up some easy points, which could be crucial in a game in which points will likely be hard to come by.

On offense, the teams couldn't be more different. Illinois, for better or worse, is a team that relies on jump-shooting. This results in the team not getting many opportunities at the foul line - the Illini are 334th (out of 345 teams) in the country in percentage of points per game from free throws. UNLV is pretty much the opposite of Illinois. They don't rely on perimeter shooting, as they are only 276th in the country in percentage points received from 3-point shots. However, they do get to the foul line significantly more often than Illinois does, and again, in a close game with tough defense those easy points could become a factor.

How I see it
The good news - I don't think we'll see a late-game collapse like in last week's Michigan game. The bad news - that's because I don't think Illinois will be able to pull away from UNLV for long enough to build a twelve-point lead. This one could very well shape up like the Illini's game at East Lansing last month. That was a tight game throughout, with neither team getting a significant advantage at any point, and the game was tied with four minutes left. But in those final minutes, Michigan State made plays, Illinois didn't, and the Spartans won.

I see a similar flow to this one, with the game being within one possession or even tied coming out of the final TV timeout. Unfortunately, at that point the Illini will go into one of their patented offensive dry spells while UNLV will make enough plays, including drawing a few fouls and sinking some key free throws, to survive and advance. And, sadly, our NCAA tournament drought will reach five years.

UNLV 62

Illini 57

Beep, Beep, Beep - Illini Back Their Way into NCAA Tournament

I've got to hand it to Bruce Weber - he's brought excitement back to Illini basketball. No, not on the court excitement - the team is as painful to watch as ever, and their offense in the final minutes of a game still runs like a clogged toilet. I'm talking about Selection Sunday excitement: being on the bubble, not knowing if/when we'll see our team's name displayed, watching half the brackets go by before finally getting the word that we've made the NCAA Tournament. That sure gets the blood pumping and the endorphins racing!

It's nice to know that a team with a .500 conference record, a team that didn't win back-to-back games even once over the final two months of the season, and a team that lost its conference tournament opener after blowing a 12-point lead (yes - this all refers to the same team) can not only "earn" a bid to the NCAA Tournament, but can get a #9 seed and avoid one of the new "play-in" games. So thanks to a really soft bubble and that win over North Carolina in November, I guess Ron Guenther has an excuse to not fire Bruce Weber. In fact, we can probably look forward to Weber getting a raise and/or contract extension for his "accomplishments" after this season ends.

As for the game itself, I'll have a preview of the UNLV Runnin' Rebels later, since I'll admit that I don't know too much about them. What I do know is that in the coaching department, the Illini will be at a severe disadvantage going up against Lon Kruger. I think a paraphrase of James T. Smith says it best: pitting Weber's coaching skills against Kruger's is like going against an army with a handgun. At least we won't be playing a true road game in the NIT like last year, and we'll have a chance to end our five-year NCAA tournament victory drought.

Illini Basketball - Marginally Relevant since 2006!

The Camel's Back is Broken - Fire Bruce Weber

There - I've said it. After Friday's loss to Michigan, the Bruce Weber era should be over, NCAA tournament appearance or not. Yes, of course it's the players who lost the game, say the Weber supporters - Weber didn't miss shots, or play bad defense, or allow the Wolverines to end the game on a 21-4 run after the Illini took a 12-point lead with about eight minutes to go. But how come the same thing happened at the end of the 2006 NCAA tournament loss to Washington, and at the end of the 2007 NCAA tournament loss to Virginia Tech? How come the players keep changing, but the team keeps choking away big leads? The only constant is Weber - he takes whatever talent he has and has them playing so tight that they are unable to execute down the stretch of tight games.

Yes, we might still make the NCAA tournament, but does this team deserve it? And does anyone (besides our potential first-round opponent and their fans) really want to see this Illini team play another meaningful game? And are things going to be better next year, when we'll have no seniors, no proven point guard or big men, and when too many of the "great recruits" we've already brought in have regressed (Richardson) or are basically invisible (Griffey, Head, Bertrand)? It's one thing watching ugly, boring basketball when the team wins (see 2008-09), but now we aren't even winning. The only way things are going to improve is by bringing in some fresh blood at the top. I wouldn't worry about losing our incoming recruits - they'd probably welcome the chance to play for a coach who might actually let them, you know, play.

Bottom line - Bruce Weber inherited a program that was on a par with Michigan State, and now we've fallen so far that we're even behind Michigan (to say nothing of Purdue, Ohio State, and Wisconsin). We're pretty much in the same boat with Minnesota, Penn State, and Northwestern - the "S.S. At Least We Aren't Indiana or Iowa". Our Big Ten record the last five years (44-44) is identical to the last five years of the Lou Henson era (45-45), only without the crippling NCAA sanctions. If not for the extra three NCAA tournament berths this year, we'd be in danger of missing the NCAA tournament for the third time in four years - and we might miss the tournament anyway.

Enough is enough. It's time to fire Bruce Weber.

The Fighting Illini and the Tabula Rasa

It's been a disappointing regular season for the Illini basketball team, as so much more was expected from them than "they'll probably make the NCAA tournament even if they lose their first Big Ten Tournament game". But with said Big Ten Tournament opener at hand, the team has a chance to clean the slate and re-write their legacy. A win today would, in fact, guarantee a spot in the NCAA tournament - it would get the team to 20 wins, and, perhaps more importantly, give them a second win over Michigan which would make it impossible for the Wolverines to get ahead of the Illini in the eyes of the NCAA tournament selection committee. We certainly don't want to see a repeat of last year, when Minnesota went on a run to the Big Ten Tournament championship game and essentially stole our spot in the NCAA tournament. Let's hope the team remembers that and takes care of business.

As I wrote before, Michigan has been playing well of late and really should have beaten the Illini in Champaign last month. Illinois, on the other hand, still hasn't won back-to-back games since the first week of January, so even coming off an impressive thrashing of Indiana, beating the Wolverines on a neutral floor is not going to be easy for the Illini. But for now, I'm going to skip any analysis, criticism, and predictions, and just jump in and cheer. I'd like to ask all Illini fans - however you feel about this team, the seniors, and Bruce Weber - to do the same, at least until the season's over.

Go Illini!

EDIT: So much for a clean slate. For the second year in a row, we'll be sweating out selection Sunday. A picture's worth a thousand words, but we only need one word to describe Illinois basketball:

Illini-Purdue: Not Exactly a Recap

There's not much need to rehash Tuesday night's Illinois loss at Purdue. It was the Boilermakers' Senior Night, and they are tough at Mackey Arena (16-0), so it's not a shock that the Illini came close and lost. Instead of focusing on the micro level, I'd rather take this opportunity to focus on the macro level.

When Matt Painter took over as head coach at Purdue, he inherited a mess. In Gene Keady's final season, the Boilermakers lost 21 games. However, in Painter's second season - in the year before his highly-touted recruiting class (Hummell, Johnson, and Moore) arrived in West Lafayette - he guided Purdue to the NCAA tournament and even won a game. And of course, things have only improved for Purdue since.

Contrast that story with Painter's former boss. Despite being in year two of the "Weber Can Recruit" era (two-thirds of Weber's highly-touted recruits already on campus), the Illini find themselves in a familiar position: kicking around the .500 mark in conference. If they beat Indiana on Saturday to get to 9-9, their overall Big Ten record in the five years since Dee Brown and James Augustine graduated will be exactly .500 (44 wins and 44 losses). For the fourth time in five years, the Illini will enter the Big Ten tournament needing to win a game to be sure of getting an NCAA tournament bid. And next year we can expect more of the same (if not worse), since four seniors are departing and only five players on the 2011-12 roster will have played any meaningful minutes in their Illini careers.

To summarize: Matt Painter needed only two years to reverse a horrible situation at Purdue; he started doing so before his best players arrived; and he's kept the arrow pointing upwards over the last four years. Even if we gloss over the fact that Bruce Weber didn't inherit the situation he's in - he created it - he's now had two years with more talented players on hand, and the program still shows no signs of progress. So how much more time does Weber get to turn the Illini program around? My two cents: if it hasn't happened by now, it's looking less and less likely that it's ever going to happen.

Illini Surprise Buckeyes in Columbus!

You read that right, sports fans. I'm sure that no one in the Ohio State locker room expected Bruce Weber to put Crandall Head into the starting lineup for Tuesday night's game. Of course, that was the only surprise in the game, in which the Buckeyes coasted to an 89-70 win over the Illini. The scary part is that the Illini actually shot well tonight (over 50% from the field; 11-24 from 3-point range) and still got blown out. Losing the turnover battle 16-3 will do that, I guess. As for Crandall Head's playing time (16 minutes), I think that was a ploy by Weber - put Head into the lineup in a no-hope game, so Weber could say to the fans afterward: "see, the team isn't better with him out there. Now stop complaining, and let me bury him on the bench again while I go back to my regular ineffective player rotation."

So with Tuesday's loss, the Illini fall to 7-8 in Big Ten play. In a year in which Weber's roster is loaded with experience and talent, and pretty much every preseason publication tabbed the Illini as a top 25 team (and some even touted them as a darkhorse Final Four candidate), and most of the rest of the teams in the Big Ten stink, with a week and a half left in the regular season the Illini have a losing record in conference play and are headed full-steam ahead toward the NCAA tournament bubble. You could argue that this disappointing season is an aberration, except for the fact that in the (nearly) five years since Dee Brown and James Augustine graduated, the Illini's overall conference record is now 42-43. So this year's record is right in line with Bruce Weber's record without the players he inherited from Bill Self.

But don't worry, fellow Illini fans - better players are on the way! Never mind that we've been hearing that for two years, or that this was supposed to be the year when everything came together. What's that thing Cubs fans say...oh, right. Wait till next year!

Back to Form: Illini Play Close Game, Lose

As I predicted, Illinois was unable to gain any momentum after their close win over Michigan on Wednesday. At least the Illini put forth a good effort tonight at the Breslin Center (the kind of effort that would have easily carried them to wins at Indiana, Penn State, or Northwestern), but effort alone doesn't count any more. Wins do, and this one ended up as a 61-57 loss. The game was right there for the taking - tied with under 4:00 to go - but like so many other times this year, the Illini couldn't execute at either end of the floor in the final minutes.

And with that, the Illini's last realistic chance for a road win goes by the boards, which means that we're looking at a best-case scenario of a 9-9 conference record, which is about as mediocre and bubblicious as you can get. It also means that we'll probably need to win a game in the Big Ten Tournament to be sure of an NCAA tournament bid. How I miss the good old days, when I could relax and enjoy the Big Ten Tournament as the Illini used it as a tune-up for the NCAA tournament.

Bruce Weber - making your Selection Sunday nerve-wracking since 2007!