Turpin Time

Toughness Tough To Figure

Posted by: Jim Turpin

Monday, December 21, 2009 8:08 PM

     I asked two tough questions on our Monday Morning Quarterbacks program on WDWS today:

     1.  Is Bruce Weber's team tough enough to compete with teams that are tough?

     2.  If you aren't tough, can someone teach you to be?

     Then we began to talk about the past.  Who were the tough guys?

     Here's my list - I'm sure there are many others you can add:

     Randy Crews, Dave Scholz, Ken Norman, Rick Schmidt, Nick Anderson, Bruce Douglas, Lucas Johnson,  Neil Bresnahan, Nick Weatherspoon, and Chester Frazier.

     Is there a single guy on this year's team that belongs on that list?  I think not.  But, I recognize it is not fair to compare Chester Frazier as a senior with Brandon Paul or D. J. Richardson as freshmen.  We can all remember remarkable changes - both physical and mental - that players make from one year to the next.  Kendall Gill is a great example. 

     But, the fact remains:  some players play soft.  They get pushed around - they don't do the pushing.  They get knocked down - they don't knock back. 

     Sean May charged, he bullied us, he got away with murder, we tried to guard him but we fouled, the refs should have called something - remember that conversation after North Carolina beat Illinois for the national championship?   He was a tough guy.

     Bruce Weber says he is still worried about this team's lack of toughness, defense and rebounding.   He should be.

     There are certain techniques that can be taught to play better defense.  There are even some things that can help a poor rebounder become a better one.  But, can you teach toughness?

     It is not likely that juniors Mike Tisdale and Mike Davis are going to be much heavier or more muscular.  The three incoming freshmen are on the slender side as well.

     So, for the foreseeable future Illinois is going to have to rely on good shooting, better defense,  and good coaching to succeed.

     Unless somebody comes up with a way to teach toughness.

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