Illini Coaches Part I
I'm going to try and begin blogging more often now and I can't think of a better topic to start off with than my biggest passion, Illinois sports.
I'll begin with Illinois basketball, since the Illini's season ended yesterday.
Talk about a disappointing year. Illini basketball has been extremely surprising if nothing else these past three seasons, in other words, the post Dee Brown and James Augustine era for Illinois. This also marks the first season in which Bruce Weber coached a team full of his own recruits.
2007: Illinois squeaks into the NCAA Tournament as a 12 seed, though it could be argued that they should have been seeded higher. In fact, Illinois as a 12 seed compared to the seeds of other teams (like Purdue, for example, who I believe received an 8) was a comic fail of epic proportions by the selection committee. But the Illini were rewarded with an incredibly weak 5 seed, Virginia Tech, and a team they should beat, to be perfectly honest. The Illini went on a run and gained a 10 point lead in the second half before choking down the stretch, allowing the Hokies to win the game. It was very reminiscent of 2006, when Brown and Augustine as seniors lost to Washington, a game where the Illini blew a sizable lead (also one of the worst screw jobs in the history of the tournament, just awfully biased officiating in favor of Washington, so I'll let Weber off the hook on that one).
2008: Two years after Brown and Augustine are gone, it was known that the Illini didn't have lots of talented recruits. Turned out, they had a complete shit sandwich for a team. They were awful and finished the season with a losing record. Outside of the 1999 squad which was in a total transition phase, this was the worst season in modern Illinois history. For a program that had just made the championship game three years ago, this was beyond unacceptable.
2009: Weber had lowered the expectations of the Illini fan base after his horrific 2008 season, which helped for this season. The Illini surprised, turning things around with mostly the same players as the season before. The Illini won over 20 games, finished third in the Big 10, and claimed a 5-seed in the NCAA Tournament. I'll give Weber credit for this season because this team definitely overachieved. On the other hand, I'll only barely give him credit because three years removed from an NCAA Runner-Up team, there should be no reason for the lack of talent the Illini had. The Illini were upset by Western Kentucky, a 12 seed, in the first round of the tournament. Weber supporters point to senior PG Chester Frazier's injury as the reason for this and I admit that losing Frazier was tough for the team, but they still had more than enough talent to beat Western Kentucky. That one's on Weber.
2010: For fans that grew frustrated of Weber, tired of seeing late game meltdowns, tired of seeing the stall offense lead to these late game meltdowns, tired of seeing no recruits that we had grew accustomed to getting at Illinois, tired of everything else Weber, this was the season that Weber supporters pointed to. Two top 100 recruits, DJ Richardson and Brandon Paul along with a guy that was a borderline top 100 recruit in Tyler Griffey were added to the roster. Weber was finally going to have talent. He also had three very good juniors retuning after breakout sophomore seasons in Demetri McCamey, Mike Davis, and Mike Tisdale. It was said they lacked athleticism the year before, no longer with the new talent coming in.
The early season against some bad teams got many fans excited. Richardson and Paul looked like future stars. Many fans were convinced Illinois basketball was back, I was a bit more hesitant. I said, sure, the freshmen looked good against SIU Edwardsville, but wait until they get to the Big 10. I hate to say I was right, but I was right. The freshmen ran into growing pains, though DJ Richardson did play well for most of the year, earning Big 10 Freshman of the Year honors by the coaches, which is more admirable than by the media, which went to Northwestern's Drew Crawford. Paul, didn't seem to improve as the season went along. He does have loads of potential as he can be explosive and has athletic ability rivaled only by a few people in all of the NCAA.
This team was so frustrating as a whole. In the pre-season, they beat Clemson on the road. Great win, but they were down by 23 points in the second half before a miracle comeback. They were down 20+ points against Gonzaga in Chicago before coming back to force overtime. They lost that game. Too many times they were finding themselves down big early and forced to come back. The coaches say they didn't give up, which I suppose they didn't, in coming back so many times, but on the other hand, they simply weren't bringing it from the game's tip off and that's unacceptable. They were blessed to beat Michigan State and Wisconsin on the road, though both times the team's star player, Kalin Lucas and Jon Leuer respectively, were out with injuries. They lost to Missouri, ending one of the few things Illini fans felt good about, a long winning streak against the Tigers. Illinois had already lost their good feeling about playing at home, thanks to embarrassing losses to teams like Tennessee State in previous years. The Illini would lose 4 of their last 5 games at home on this season, getting embarrassed by Ohio State and Minnesota (fake rally not-counted for Minnesota, the Illini scored 14 points in the first half in a must-win game, a loss that likely kept them out of the NCAA Tournament). In another must-win game against Wisconsin, they could not get the win on their home court. After beating an overmatched Kent State squad in the second round of the NIT, they were dominated and overmatched against Dayton, from the Atlantic 10. Just another thing on the year that is unacceptable.
So, that leaves Weber and the Illini without an NCAA Tournament win in four seasons, the longest stretch for the Illini since the 1970s. This year was supposed to be different. They had talent returning, they had good recruits coming in. Weber supporters said this was the year to get back to being a higher seeded NCAA Tournament team. While the Illini deserved to be in the tournament more than Utah State, UTEP, or Florida, the selection committee went with those three teams instead. The Illini can only blame themselves with their inconsistent play all year long along with not taking any of the chances they were given down the stretch, losing key games at home.
To state my position on Weber, I believe his seat should be pretty hot. Historically, Illinois is a top 15 program. The Illini were on the verge of being Elite as the 1980s came to a close, but probation knocked them back, though even in the probation years they were not as bad as they have been in Weber's last four years. Lon Kruger and Bill Self rebuilt the Illini program and Weber benefited from Self's talent, taking them to the NCAA Championship game. But since Self's talent has left, Illinois has won only 60% of their games and has won 1 NCAA Tournament game in five years. That simply isn't good enough for this program.
I'm willing to give Weber one more year, but I will continue to be critical and point out his shortcomings. I am hot happy with the direction he has taken this program and feel we can get a coach who can do a better job. A few years ago, Weber supporters looked to 2010 as the year for the Sweet 16 and then when more talented recruits, namely McDonald's All-American Jereme Richmond and the guy who may end up being the best recruit in Weber's era, Meyers Leonard, coming in, the 2011 team would be competing for the Final Four. Well, Weber has managed to lower expectations of the fan base, but he should be held accountable. Next season's team is a top 4 seed in the NCAA Tournament in talent and should not be upset in the first round. Next year's squad at minimum needs to be a higher NCAA seed and win at least one game. Anything less, and Weber should be shown the door. He was given a gift horse program and has taken it no where, other than down, and you have to pull the plug before it's too late.
So, next year, boom or bust for Weber. I actually hope it's boom. I hope he does well, takes this team to the NCAA Tournament's second weekend and see what happens from there. Then, he needs to continue to bring in high school talent that is good enough for Illinois' standards and rebuild the program back to the point that it was given to him and hopefully one day, win the first National Championship in the program's history.
I'll begin with Illinois basketball, since the Illini's season ended yesterday.
Talk about a disappointing year. Illini basketball has been extremely surprising if nothing else these past three seasons, in other words, the post Dee Brown and James Augustine era for Illinois. This also marks the first season in which Bruce Weber coached a team full of his own recruits.
2007: Illinois squeaks into the NCAA Tournament as a 12 seed, though it could be argued that they should have been seeded higher. In fact, Illinois as a 12 seed compared to the seeds of other teams (like Purdue, for example, who I believe received an 8) was a comic fail of epic proportions by the selection committee. But the Illini were rewarded with an incredibly weak 5 seed, Virginia Tech, and a team they should beat, to be perfectly honest. The Illini went on a run and gained a 10 point lead in the second half before choking down the stretch, allowing the Hokies to win the game. It was very reminiscent of 2006, when Brown and Augustine as seniors lost to Washington, a game where the Illini blew a sizable lead (also one of the worst screw jobs in the history of the tournament, just awfully biased officiating in favor of Washington, so I'll let Weber off the hook on that one).
2008: Two years after Brown and Augustine are gone, it was known that the Illini didn't have lots of talented recruits. Turned out, they had a complete shit sandwich for a team. They were awful and finished the season with a losing record. Outside of the 1999 squad which was in a total transition phase, this was the worst season in modern Illinois history. For a program that had just made the championship game three years ago, this was beyond unacceptable.
2009: Weber had lowered the expectations of the Illini fan base after his horrific 2008 season, which helped for this season. The Illini surprised, turning things around with mostly the same players as the season before. The Illini won over 20 games, finished third in the Big 10, and claimed a 5-seed in the NCAA Tournament. I'll give Weber credit for this season because this team definitely overachieved. On the other hand, I'll only barely give him credit because three years removed from an NCAA Runner-Up team, there should be no reason for the lack of talent the Illini had. The Illini were upset by Western Kentucky, a 12 seed, in the first round of the tournament. Weber supporters point to senior PG Chester Frazier's injury as the reason for this and I admit that losing Frazier was tough for the team, but they still had more than enough talent to beat Western Kentucky. That one's on Weber.
2010: For fans that grew frustrated of Weber, tired of seeing late game meltdowns, tired of seeing the stall offense lead to these late game meltdowns, tired of seeing no recruits that we had grew accustomed to getting at Illinois, tired of everything else Weber, this was the season that Weber supporters pointed to. Two top 100 recruits, DJ Richardson and Brandon Paul along with a guy that was a borderline top 100 recruit in Tyler Griffey were added to the roster. Weber was finally going to have talent. He also had three very good juniors retuning after breakout sophomore seasons in Demetri McCamey, Mike Davis, and Mike Tisdale. It was said they lacked athleticism the year before, no longer with the new talent coming in.
The early season against some bad teams got many fans excited. Richardson and Paul looked like future stars. Many fans were convinced Illinois basketball was back, I was a bit more hesitant. I said, sure, the freshmen looked good against SIU Edwardsville, but wait until they get to the Big 10. I hate to say I was right, but I was right. The freshmen ran into growing pains, though DJ Richardson did play well for most of the year, earning Big 10 Freshman of the Year honors by the coaches, which is more admirable than by the media, which went to Northwestern's Drew Crawford. Paul, didn't seem to improve as the season went along. He does have loads of potential as he can be explosive and has athletic ability rivaled only by a few people in all of the NCAA.
This team was so frustrating as a whole. In the pre-season, they beat Clemson on the road. Great win, but they were down by 23 points in the second half before a miracle comeback. They were down 20+ points against Gonzaga in Chicago before coming back to force overtime. They lost that game. Too many times they were finding themselves down big early and forced to come back. The coaches say they didn't give up, which I suppose they didn't, in coming back so many times, but on the other hand, they simply weren't bringing it from the game's tip off and that's unacceptable. They were blessed to beat Michigan State and Wisconsin on the road, though both times the team's star player, Kalin Lucas and Jon Leuer respectively, were out with injuries. They lost to Missouri, ending one of the few things Illini fans felt good about, a long winning streak against the Tigers. Illinois had already lost their good feeling about playing at home, thanks to embarrassing losses to teams like Tennessee State in previous years. The Illini would lose 4 of their last 5 games at home on this season, getting embarrassed by Ohio State and Minnesota (fake rally not-counted for Minnesota, the Illini scored 14 points in the first half in a must-win game, a loss that likely kept them out of the NCAA Tournament). In another must-win game against Wisconsin, they could not get the win on their home court. After beating an overmatched Kent State squad in the second round of the NIT, they were dominated and overmatched against Dayton, from the Atlantic 10. Just another thing on the year that is unacceptable.
So, that leaves Weber and the Illini without an NCAA Tournament win in four seasons, the longest stretch for the Illini since the 1970s. This year was supposed to be different. They had talent returning, they had good recruits coming in. Weber supporters said this was the year to get back to being a higher seeded NCAA Tournament team. While the Illini deserved to be in the tournament more than Utah State, UTEP, or Florida, the selection committee went with those three teams instead. The Illini can only blame themselves with their inconsistent play all year long along with not taking any of the chances they were given down the stretch, losing key games at home.
To state my position on Weber, I believe his seat should be pretty hot. Historically, Illinois is a top 15 program. The Illini were on the verge of being Elite as the 1980s came to a close, but probation knocked them back, though even in the probation years they were not as bad as they have been in Weber's last four years. Lon Kruger and Bill Self rebuilt the Illini program and Weber benefited from Self's talent, taking them to the NCAA Championship game. But since Self's talent has left, Illinois has won only 60% of their games and has won 1 NCAA Tournament game in five years. That simply isn't good enough for this program.
I'm willing to give Weber one more year, but I will continue to be critical and point out his shortcomings. I am hot happy with the direction he has taken this program and feel we can get a coach who can do a better job. A few years ago, Weber supporters looked to 2010 as the year for the Sweet 16 and then when more talented recruits, namely McDonald's All-American Jereme Richmond and the guy who may end up being the best recruit in Weber's era, Meyers Leonard, coming in, the 2011 team would be competing for the Final Four. Well, Weber has managed to lower expectations of the fan base, but he should be held accountable. Next season's team is a top 4 seed in the NCAA Tournament in talent and should not be upset in the first round. Next year's squad at minimum needs to be a higher NCAA seed and win at least one game. Anything less, and Weber should be shown the door. He was given a gift horse program and has taken it no where, other than down, and you have to pull the plug before it's too late.
So, next year, boom or bust for Weber. I actually hope it's boom. I hope he does well, takes this team to the NCAA Tournament's second weekend and see what happens from there. Then, he needs to continue to bring in high school talent that is good enough for Illinois' standards and rebuild the program back to the point that it was given to him and hopefully one day, win the first National Championship in the program's history.
posted by JayD at 1:41 PM
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