Let's just chill out everybody
Unfortunately, or perhaps fortunately for me, I didn't watch the Illini game. I was busy shopping for purses/trying not to stab my eyes out. I DVR'd the game, mainly because if the Illini won the game, I was not going to miss it. I checked the score while I was gone however, and since Illinois lost, I deleted it never to be seen again.
Anyways, people (at least some people) are really starting to freak out about the way the Illini have played their last 3 games. I'll admit, none of them have really been pretty. And 5 losses at this point in the season is pretty shitty. But, let's just look a little closer, first at the last game.
Ok, we shot like shit. You'll have that sometimes. This team is still inexperienced for the most part. OSU is the best team we're going to see until the NCAA tournament. The fact that we were able to hold them to only 62 points is pretty solid. Especially when you consider that Greg Oden, the Big Ten wunderkind (seriously, he is. Is that a word?) was held to JUST 7 points. Again, I didn't see the game, so I'm basing this on stats and what I've read about the game.
Second, we got smoked by one dude behind the 3-point line. So, again, our rotations are probably too slow. But would you rather get smoked behind the line, or by a dude inside just completely dominating everything?
The problem is that the Illini basically didn't rebound and didn't really rotate well on defense. And they shot like shit. They're still adjusting to playing against tight, Big Ten defense, so the offense is still stifled. But these are all things that can be improved. Practiced. And you're going to have off nights. Say Illinois doesn't shoot like shit and we lose by 6. It's still a loss. It's easier to not freak out about the team's lack of offense, but it's still not good enough.
So the Illinoi are 0-2 in the Big Ten. Yes, it looks terrible. But, we got really lucky with our scheduling this year. We play Wisconsin at home (the only other team who can beat us at home in the Big Ten), at MSU and at IU. MSU has the ability to play well, but they've also come out and completely blown games. Let's also not forget that Wisconsin has the ability to blow games just as easily. IU is coached by Captain Unethical Fucktard Who Is Also Incapable of Coaching, so that should be a win.
And let's not forget Bruce's first year with the team. It took the players a while to finally come into their own. They were 3-3 in the Big Ten, and then ran the table to win the conference OUTRIGHT (something Self never did). So it wouldn't be a surprise to see a turnaround from 0-2.
Sure he's not inheriting all new players, but a lot of these players haven't seen playing time before. And I think part of the problem is that Weber is too stubborn in his rotations. Rich McBride should be a bench-jockey, as should Marcus Arnold. There's no excuse McBride should start any more this season (unless maybe all other guards are injured), and Brian Carlwell should take ALL of Arnold's minutes.
So with more experience and a pretty damn weak schedule, Illinois should be able to make a nice turnaround. We already knew this would be the toughest stretch of our season. We failed, yes, but we're in no way hopeless. From here it only gets easier (except for perhaps Wisconsin. It kills me to say that; I loathe them). Now, should Illinois lose to Iowa at home, I will rescind all of this, say that we're screwed for the season and focus on something else.
Of course we won't lose to Iowa. They suck! Seriously, if we do lose to them, there will only be many angry blogs about Illini basketball from then on out.
But let's just get off the team's back for a little while.
Oh, and one more thing concerning the coach. We got GIANT ROYAL FUCKING DICKED this season. To say that we got absolutely nothing out of the trip to the championship game in 2005 is a lie. We had a top recruit; he fucked us over; we had players who would have gladly come had he not been verbally committed who then committed elsewhere. So, yes, there is a glaring hole where that recruit should be. But, it's not Weber's fault. It's that piece of shit's fault in a neighboring state, so fuck that.
Anyways, people (at least some people) are really starting to freak out about the way the Illini have played their last 3 games. I'll admit, none of them have really been pretty. And 5 losses at this point in the season is pretty shitty. But, let's just look a little closer, first at the last game.
Ok, we shot like shit. You'll have that sometimes. This team is still inexperienced for the most part. OSU is the best team we're going to see until the NCAA tournament. The fact that we were able to hold them to only 62 points is pretty solid. Especially when you consider that Greg Oden, the Big Ten wunderkind (seriously, he is. Is that a word?) was held to JUST 7 points. Again, I didn't see the game, so I'm basing this on stats and what I've read about the game.
Second, we got smoked by one dude behind the 3-point line. So, again, our rotations are probably too slow. But would you rather get smoked behind the line, or by a dude inside just completely dominating everything?
The problem is that the Illini basically didn't rebound and didn't really rotate well on defense. And they shot like shit. They're still adjusting to playing against tight, Big Ten defense, so the offense is still stifled. But these are all things that can be improved. Practiced. And you're going to have off nights. Say Illinois doesn't shoot like shit and we lose by 6. It's still a loss. It's easier to not freak out about the team's lack of offense, but it's still not good enough.
So the Illinoi are 0-2 in the Big Ten. Yes, it looks terrible. But, we got really lucky with our scheduling this year. We play Wisconsin at home (the only other team who can beat us at home in the Big Ten), at MSU and at IU. MSU has the ability to play well, but they've also come out and completely blown games. Let's also not forget that Wisconsin has the ability to blow games just as easily. IU is coached by Captain Unethical Fucktard Who Is Also Incapable of Coaching, so that should be a win.
And let's not forget Bruce's first year with the team. It took the players a while to finally come into their own. They were 3-3 in the Big Ten, and then ran the table to win the conference OUTRIGHT (something Self never did). So it wouldn't be a surprise to see a turnaround from 0-2.
Sure he's not inheriting all new players, but a lot of these players haven't seen playing time before. And I think part of the problem is that Weber is too stubborn in his rotations. Rich McBride should be a bench-jockey, as should Marcus Arnold. There's no excuse McBride should start any more this season (unless maybe all other guards are injured), and Brian Carlwell should take ALL of Arnold's minutes.
So with more experience and a pretty damn weak schedule, Illinois should be able to make a nice turnaround. We already knew this would be the toughest stretch of our season. We failed, yes, but we're in no way hopeless. From here it only gets easier (except for perhaps Wisconsin. It kills me to say that; I loathe them). Now, should Illinois lose to Iowa at home, I will rescind all of this, say that we're screwed for the season and focus on something else.
Of course we won't lose to Iowa. They suck! Seriously, if we do lose to them, there will only be many angry blogs about Illini basketball from then on out.
But let's just get off the team's back for a little while.
Oh, and one more thing concerning the coach. We got GIANT ROYAL FUCKING DICKED this season. To say that we got absolutely nothing out of the trip to the championship game in 2005 is a lie. We had a top recruit; he fucked us over; we had players who would have gladly come had he not been verbally committed who then committed elsewhere. So, yes, there is a glaring hole where that recruit should be. But, it's not Weber's fault. It's that piece of shit's fault in a neighboring state, so fuck that.
Labels: Illini
posted by Jtrouble at 3:11 PM
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