Klee: Illini's basketball culture is lost
COLUMBUS, Ohio — Bruce Weber made the big switch after last season.
He switched to an iPhone. And it has been blowing up lately, mainly with calls of support from former players and the coaching fraternity. One text message spoke to Weber's recent admission that he has been "coaching not to lose" instead of building a program culture.
"Chester (Frazier) texted me the other day from Germany and said, 'Coach, don't forget that three years ago we were as tough as anybody,' " Weber said Tuesday night.
That culture of toughness that Weber has been unable to sustain was on display again at Value City Arena. Problem was, No. 8 Ohio State has it, Illinois has completely lost it, and the Buckeyes overwhelmed the Illini in an 83-67 win in front of 18,481 and ESPN's cameras.
Ohio State (23-5, 11-4 Big Ten) seldom has a letdown. No matter the opponent, the Buckeyes bring it. They've won 47 straight games against unranked teams at home. And get this: Under Thad Matta, the Buckeyes are 118-2 in home games against unranked teams.
Ohio State is what Illinois desperately wants to be. That pride — Weber mentioned the word at least twice in his postgame news conference — is as much a part of Ohio State's locker room as, well, the lockers.
"It comes from the people before us. We just try to keep that thing going," said senior William Buford, a proper source on the subject after tying the program record for career starts (126). "It's not about us. It's about the school. The school is bigger than us."
Illinois (16-12, 5-10), meanwhile, is searching for the only thing that can carry it through one of its ugliest stretches in decades: pride. Everything else is crumbling apart.
Ohio State made 13 of its first 15 shots and shot a season-high 70.8 percent in the first half. The Buckeyes operated as if the Illini defenders weren't there.
"We got easy shots," Buford reiterated.
"That was delightful to see, believe me," Matta said.
Over the course of a drama-free 40 minutes, Ohio State made 65.3 percent of its shots. That's the fifth opponent in six games to shoot 50 percent or better against Illinois.
How in Chester Frazier's name has Weber's team defense gone so far south so quickly?
"Some of it's technique, but it starts with that mind-set and effort," he said.
Illinois has lost six straight and nine of 10. Ten days ago, the Illini were hoping to reach 9-9 in the Big Ten and feel comfortable on Selection Sunday. Now, an NIT berth is in question.
"It has to do with the players, nothing with the coaches," suggested Meyers Leonard, who had a game-high 21 points. "I wouldn't say it's effort. We all care."
After the loss to Purdue, Weber lamented how he got away from what made him successful in past stops — the notion of building a culture of toughness within the program. Ohio State showed how it's done. After missing a jump shot, sophomore Lenzelle Smith Jr. slapped his hands together as if he had clanked the game-winning basket. His team was ahead by 17 points.
"I think we had it earlier this year. We guarded, and we were tough," Weber said. "Maybe we just worried too much about offense and maybe lost that mind-set of defending and having that pride.
"You go back to (2003, 2004, 2005, 2006), those guys guarded. We got a lot of credit for offense. But when you really studied us, we were really, really good defensively."
Illinois trailed 19-4, 25-8 and 32-15 in a mismatch of a first half that had ESPN analyst Dan Dakich searching for his best filler. In consecutive games against Nebraska and Ohio State, the Illini have been outscored by 39 points. The 14-win team in 1998-99 and the 16-win team in 2008 never endured a more lopsided two-game stretch.
Considering Illinois held then-No. 9 Michigan State to a season-worst 24 percent — three long weeks ago — this utter collapse is stunning. The culture is in shreds.
The idea of basketball toughness seems intangible and without a definition. The aforementioned "team from three years ago" provides an example. In 2009, four days after an embarrassing 38-33 home loss to Penn State, Frazier's final team traveled to Ohio State and beat the Buckeyes 70-68 - one of the more underappreciated and impressive wins of the Weber era. The current Illini got waxed by 23 at Nebraska on Saturday. Three days after the embarrasing loss - again at Ohio State - these Illini weren't competitive.
"Unless the pride and defense changes, nothing's going to change," Weber said.
These players have gone in the tank and given up---not Weber. On offense they're standing around waiting for someone else to do something and on defense, well they've quit playing defense period. Weber's tried to get them to play smarter and tougher, but instead of stepping up and listening to him, they decided to go into the fetal position and cry their eyes out---note to the team--there's no crying in basketball, it just doesn't intimidate the opposing team, and I doubt it ever worked on any playground or high school in Chicago.
By the way, Coach Weber isn't shooting the wild 3's or playing the soft "D" or making turnover after turnover--these players are. They aren't listening to Weber--ok, I get that, but where's their energy?? Their instincts??? Their pride???? They're the ones who are playing the half-hearted basketball games, not their coach. I can accept losing when you've done your best, but it's unimaginable how this team is playing and losing. No way this debacle is all on Bruce Weber. Hopefully AD Thomas has enough pride to reject any NIT offers---there's absolutely no way they deserve ANY post season games the way they've played.
When the Coach comes recruiting the first question that the player and his principals ask is, "How many players does he send to the NBA." the seeds of failure are already sown. The highschool standout doesn't look at Dee Brown as an example, he dreams of being Derron Williams making the big bucks while the suckers stay in school. Does the kid who commits to Illinois see himself spending 4 years as part of a successful team or is his vision one of making a splash for one or two years and then off to prestige and richs in the pros? Playing for the Illini isn't a goal anymore it is just a stepping stone. Illinois isn't a destination, it is just a way station. That is a large part of Bruce Webber's problem as a coach, just as it was Ron Zook's.
When the kids on the court spend the first half the season showcasing their skills they tend to spend the last half the season just marking time until they can enter the pro draft. That is no way to build a winning athletic program.
The Illini players have stopped being competitive, they have stopped responding to Weber and are just going through the motions now. We have seen this same dysfunction and tuning out the coach before in previous seasons. Even with different players, Weber still shows the same lack of command and influence over his players. This lack of competitiveness is not just very embarrassing for Illini nation but is hard to watch and stomach.
Time to put out of touch Weber out to pasture. MIke Thomas please get it done ASAP.
Let's see, if a manager reporting to me had hired a team of 12 and they weren't getting the job done and then this manager came to me and said that the problem wasn't him/her but the employees... oh yeah, that would go over well...
So, I guess it's been "the players" for going on 5 years now? Last year's senior-laden team underperformed and this year's excuse is that the team is now too young? As Stephen Bardo also pointed out that this year's Illini includes a 7-foot future NBA player, a junior former Mr. Basketball Illinois and another junior former Big Ten Freshman of the Year. Wins over Gonzaga, OSU and MSU have shown the talent on this team. This team is experiencing a serious lack of leadership that starts with the head coach. Perhaps the most encouraging part of this is the step up in play of a freshman point guard.
Coach Weber admitted to "playing not to lose" and that's a horrible mentality. I've been a Weber supporter. The last three regular season games are all winnable games. It looks like Mike Thomas is going to let Bruce Weber finish out the season before making any decisions. That would seem to be fair to me. If the coach has "lost" the team you can hardly blame the AD for whatever action he takes after the regular season has finished.
These players that weber brought in here are an embarresment to this university! Go home! Forfeit the rest of the year you have already quit so that would not come as a surprise! You have no heart and you have no pride! Why do yoiu even attempt to play a sport that you have no business playing? We want players here that are winners! That know how to win and knows what it takes to win. We want players here that give it 110% every game and that are tough and know how to bang and bully your opponent and take charge of a game and not let up until the final buzzer. You kids are just that a bunch of weak kids, sissies that cry and sulk instead of doing something about it. If you know what the problem is then fix it. If you dont want to win or play for the Illini then leave the team and give somebody else a chance to play they cant play any weaker then you current players are. Dont even look back when you leave and dont go away mad just go away.
I do not get the comment "playing not to lose." If you are playing not to lose than you should be "playing to win" which means do what it takes within the boundries of the rules. The thing I have seen is the ability of opposing teams to challenge the basket with small players. Meyers gets a little behind them and the help is to late to arrive. I think this team needs to put on full court pressure, use some zone, in other words mix up the strategy. This team does not seem strong enough to mix it up physically. This team needs to shoot with confidence (Practice, practice, practice). It is amazing how good a team looks when the shots fall i.e the respective Ohio State games.
Coach BW knows basketball, but being able to convey what he knows is the most important (this may be what is lost). If you cannot teach it in practice then what you are doing is too complicated. Yelling at the players all the time from the sideline is disconcerting. Coach let them concentrate on playing.
Coach BW is a good man, but sometimes change is necessary. I am glad that decision belongs to the AD and not to some "open comment writer".
I do not get the comment "playing not to lose."
Really? Okay.
Put very simply, it's the difference between positive and negative thinking. Instead of being aggressive and focusing on obtaining your end goal, you dwell on the negative and try to prevent that from happening. Quite often, what you're focusing on and is occupying your thoughts is in reality what happens.
For example, if I'm up 50 feet above the ground and I'm walking a tightrope, do I want to be focusing on getting to the other side or worrying about not falling? Do you see the difference?
There's a reason why the Illini have had so many close games this season and to teams (ISU, St. Bon, Cornell, Nebraska [at home] ) that they should've blown out of the gym. (Well, we should list Nebraska twice, except that the second game wasn't even close... and the Illini lost. Oh what the heck, let's throw PSU in there too.) It comes from a lack of aggressiveness and worrying about the negatives. This attitude comes directly from the head coach and to my shock, he even admitted this was the case during his last Wednesday's post game press conference. (I bet that went over well with the AD.)
The wins over Gonzaga, MSU and OSU show that there is talent and athleticism on this team. As Coach Bear Bryant used to say, "You can't coach speed." Well, there's plenty of speed and athleticism on this team and it's up to the coach to make the most of it and coach in the coachable areas of the game. So has the coach adapted to the athleticism of the players that he recruited or has he tried to shove a square peg into a round hole? These are all players that shot the ball well in high school but for some reason suddenly seem to lack confidence when shooting the ball. Hmmm... that's interesting, isn't it?
I like Coach Weber. In general, stability for a program is better than turning over the staff. I refuse to throw the players under the bus though. I probably believe in the players more than they do themselves at the moment. That's really sad.
The season isn't over yet. It looks like our AD is going to let Coach Weber finish out the season. This team has already beaten the two best teams in the conference but their confidence at this point has been severely shaken. Getting them back on track at this point is going to be a very tough but not impossible assignment.
I wish Coach Weber and the team the best in finishing out the season with a good strong effort. There are still some good life lessons for the team to learn from this experience.
Go Illini!
Everyone needs to stop believing everything this coach says. Chester texted me and said, the team told me they feel this or that. Team is unavailable to the media ,, any wonder why? Of course other coachs and players support him. As a coach who wouldnt want a job where 500% in conference is considered raise worthy. If Izzo had bruces record since Dee do you think he would be catching serious heat? Fact is this guy is gone. He could not produce the desired results for the last 5-6 years at least. the excuses have grown old, the whine whine whine stuff is now a team thing. this team has taken on the personality of its coach. The end cant come soon enough.
ML says "I wouldn't say it's effort. We all care." Really? Then play like it. I've see no effort, especially defensively, the last 2 games. Watch the body language. If you've all given up, shame on you. You are embarrassing your school and alums like me. Regardless of the future of BW, take a look at the name on the front of your jersey and remember you're still playing for something bigger than yourselves.
I think a lot of the "quit" in the players has come from a universal lack of support. They have lost a bunch of close games in an extremely difficult schedule (Sagarin #5 most difficult as of this morning) and all they hear are the rants from a largely unintellegent fan (?) base. It seems that these boards are full of "Little League" mothers who yell and scream at officials and coaches even when their kids are playing hard.
Overall, I think expectations on this young group were so absurdly high at mid-season that it just put too much pressure on the players and the coaches. Some of thes posters last year had the Illini penciled into the Final Four for years to come after all the recruiting successes.
Whether they want to admit it or not, I think the players know the season is over and it is having an effect on their effort. I don't see us winning another game in the regular season. I could see us maybe winning a game in the Big 10 tournament, because that will feel more like a restart. I think the real issue this season has been the lack of depth of the roster. Leonard and Paul have their weakness, but they have basically had to carry the team the entire year. I can't remember an Illini team that got so little from Players 3 thru 12 on the roster. A two-man team is basically where Penn State's basketball program has been, and it is sad to think we have sunk to that level.
Unreasonable Expectations?
This is my first post here but I've been reading these for awhile and I'm a long time Illini fan. It's been another diasappointing season and it certainly looks like there will be a coaching change at the end of the year.
That, in of itself is disappointing because Bruce Weber has run a strong program and represented the university well. He's not perfect - no coach is. But some of the posts regarding our coach have been outright stupid and ridiculous. It's been disappointing to see the criticisms of the "Illini Nation" take it's toll on the players.
But the biggest challenge for the new coach will be dealing with lack of quality "players", mainly the availability of top level high school recruits in Illinois. The level of talent in the state of Illinois and Chicago just isn't equal to that we're seeing in Ohio, Indiana and elsewhere.
Take a look at the top high school prospects on Rivals.com or other recruiting services. Apart from a few stellar Chicago players like Jabari Parker, Derrick Rose or Anthony Davis there's really not an enormous pipeline of talented players coming out of Chicago anymore.
For example, our recent teams have lacked the kind of point guard play we need to succeed. Demetri McCamey was ultimately a disappointment yet was among the best that was available over the last four years. The 2011 Rivals.com list had Ryan Boatright and Tracey Abrams as the only Illinois guards ranked four stars or higher.The 2010 and 2009 list had NO ONE ranked four or five star from Illinois. Iman Shumpert was the only Illinois four star talent in 2008. Demetri McCamey and Derrick Rose were the only ones in 2007. So over four years Illinois has only produced five top flight point guard prospects. Wow, that's not a lot to choose from!
There are similar situations at every other position. The Peoria pipeline that fueled Lon Kruger has also dried up as well. DJ Richardson is a fine player, but where are the others? None to choose from.
If the players aren't there you're not going to win. Plain and simple. It may be hard to accept but a consistent top 20 type of program with in-state talent is an unreasonable expectation for Illinois. But unreasonable and these fan forums seem to go hand in hand I guess.
Wayne McClain's purpose was to babysit Frank Williams. When Frank left Wayne should have been bid adieu as well. The pipeline never manifested with a Peoria player who left any type of serious mark on the program. I will say this, at least Brian Randle stayed and graduated!
DennisW
I do not agree with you it is unrealistic to expect a consistent top 20 finish. You are wrong about the talent available and that Illinois should only recruit from the state of Illinois.
A quick look at Weber's past nine recruiting classes shows this:
2003
Richard McBride 4 stars Springfield, IL
Brian Randle 4 stars Peoria, IL
Warren Carter 4 stars Dallas, TX
2004
Shaun Pruitt 4 stars Chicagoland
Calvin Brock 4 stars Chicago
2005
No 4 star recruits in-or-out-of state.
2006
Brian Carlwell 4 stars Chicagoland
2007
Demitri McCamey 4 stars Chicagoland
Mike Tisdale 4 stars Riverton, IL
Rodney Alexander 4 stars El Reno, OK
2008
No 4 star recruits in-or-out-of state.
2009
D.J. Richardson 4 stars Peoria, IL
Brandon Paul 4 stars Chicagoland
2010
Meyers Leonard 4 stars Robinson, IL
Jereme Richmond 4 stars Chicagoland
Crandall Head 4 stars Chicago
2011
Nnanna Egwu 4 stars Chicago
Tracy Abrams 4 stars Chicago
Mike Shaw 4 stars Chicago
Myke Henry 4 stars Chicago
2012
No 4 star recruits in-or-out-of state.
There should be nine, 4-star players on this year's roster. I don't know how much talent a team needs to be in the top 20-25 rankings consistently. And, no, that is not an unrealistic expectation from the students and alumni of Illinois. Illinois has accomplished this many, many times before Weber.
Where Weber went tragically wrong in terms of recruitment was in his early years during and right after the sensational 2005 NCAA second place team. In 2005, 2006, 2008 Weber and his assistants managed to recruit only one 4 star player (Brian Carlwell). This was during and after national exposure to the program during the NCAA tournament. I will never understand not "striking while the iron is hot" in terms of building a more national recruiting platform.
So, if your criteria for success is getting 4 star players on your roster, I would argue Weber has finally accomplished that much but, they appear to to the wrong 4 star players for whatever reason.
Dennis: How many point guards do you need in any four- or five-year span? Per Rivals, Illinois produced two four-star point guards in 2009--Darius Smith and Chris Colvin. So that makes seven in the span you mentioned (2007-11, which covers five years, not four). Do you know how many states produced more than seven during that time? Only California (9) and Texas (8), the two most populous states. Those two states also have more D-I programs than Illinois, both overall and of the high-major variety. And DePaul/Northwestern offer far less recruiting competition for UI than UCLA/USC/Cal/Stanford and Texas/A&M/Baylor/Tech do for each other.
Since 2003-04, Weber's first season, the state of Illinois has had 11 McDonald's All-Americans. Weber has signed one, Jereme Richmond. That's a pathetic percentage. Illinois produces more than enough talent. The problem is keeping at least some of the best of it at home, the way Henson (McD All-Americans Winters, Douglas, Hamilton, Anderson, Liberty, Thomas, Keene), Kruger (Griffin, Williams, Cook) and Self (only Brown, but only three years) did.
this is the same idiot coach that said 99 out of 100 e-mails were positive...I guess the e-mail I sent him and Mike Thomas must have been the only negative one. Funny how he claims there was no return e-mail address- I must have sent it use a smoke screen. He's a total liar and not to be trusted...this is the same guy that said Meyers keeps drifting to the top of the key when he's the one that keeps telling him to fgo up top and block...using the best scorer to screen for the worst scorere...what an idea..I wonder why it ditn't catch on with the rest of the Bball world
Not saying I'm a fan of Weber or not a fan but I am a fan of good and quick decisions. If Thomas has made up his mind then pull the trigger already! Waiting doesn't help anyone, including Weber. Ok, so he wants to leave the emotions out of it. Fine, look at the numbers then and you have your answer.
Is our new AD niave enough to think we'll win the Big Ten tournament and all is going to be well?
@Openmind, you raise some valid points but I'll back AD Mike Thomas' decision to let the season play out before making any decisions. I think that it is fair to give the current staff a chance to make the most of the players and this season before making any decisions. Leaving emotion out of the equation generally leads to better rational decisions.
While emotionally it may "feel good" to make a quick decision, doing so to just relieve the frustration of the season so far doesn't necessarily mean that the situation would somehow be any better.
Go Illini!
A few problems with firing Bruce Weber before the end of the season:
(1) Prospective candidates for the job may be less likely to want to work for an AD who says he will let the season play out and then evaluate, then fires the coach in mid-season. Coaches get fired mid-seaon for breaking rules not losing games. Additionally, the next coach likely couldn't be hired until after the season anyway.
(2) While there would only be few games left to play, mid-season/year firings can create another divisive issue where there is popular sentiment to hire the interim coach. For example, would Urban Meyer be coaching Ohio State football if Luke Fickell had won three more games last season?
(3) Finally, mid-season firings get a disproportionate amount of media attention relative to post-season, and this program soesn't need any additional media attention right now.
Should Weber be fired? I'm afraid the answer is yes. Should he be fired before the season ends? In the interest of the program, I would say no.
I see that many of you responded to my post about the lack of Illinois High School talent and the challenges any coach (new or old) will have at Illinois. Thanks!
DoubleR13 - I was just looking at Illinois point guards, not forwards (like Sam Thompson is listed, 2 guards like Chasson or St Louis, MO players like Brad Beal).
EdwardGreen55 - thanks for your list of U of Illinois 4 star recruits. In hindsight not really an impressive list is it? Not many of those are playing in the NBA are they? (Or even came close)
JohnUI82 - you're right - I left off Darius Smith and Chris Colvin. The total should be nine. We've gotten two of the guards off that list and Demtri was ultimately disappointing. Tracey may be good but even his fans acknowledge he's not a pure point guard. I wasn't really commenting on whether we are getting all the players we should or not. Just pointing out the list of available players at one position has been weak.
CecilColeman - I think your comments are spot on - the ratings don't necessarily mean that much.
The overall point I'm making is that Illinois high school talent is down. The state of Illinois is sending ZERO teams to the NCAA Tourney this year. Depaul is awful, Loyola even worse. Bradley, ISU, SIU - all terrible. Northwestern has their best year ever and they have a losing record in the Big Ten. I dont see nearby programs stocked with Illinois high school players either. Ohio State, Michigan State and Michiganare not raiding the state. Nor is Indiana.
The few exceptional players that the state produces (Anthony Davis, Derrick Rose, etc.) have their pick of programs like Kentucky, Duke, NC, etc. to choose from and you can't realistically expect them to goto Illinois. Won't happen.
Winning games is all about having the best players. Right now at least Illinois (the state of) doesn't have the best players. That's not a criticism of Illinois (the University of), the coaching or the fans. Just a comment about what expectations should be.
What you say is also 10 times more true for football. Its a big reason why I dont see UI consistently competing for B10 titles. There is such tough competition with surrounding schools (even more so than in hoops), and in general the talent in the state of Illinois isnt remotely what it was say 20 years ago. The best talent is in the south/SW/west, which is why programs in those regions (especially the SEC and Texas/OK and Pac10) have gained so much relative to the B10 and Big East. Its just basic demographics. The rust belt is rusting, people are leaving, and the sunbelt is growing. Its been happening for decades and it will keep happening.
well as much as I like Bruce Weber, the collapse has lost him the support of the fan base and he will be fired. The people that hated him so much will get their wish. And we'll see if the people that see a new coach as a panacea for everything turn out to be right.
People said that Zook was the problem, and that we would hire an elite coach to replace him. Then it became clear we couldnt get (much less afford) an elite coach, so they said 'well we will get a good coach and keep VK as defensive asst. Then we lost VK too. Now we have an umproven head football coach and we couldnt even keep one of the best defensive assistants in the nation on board.
Hopefully the same thing doesnt repeat itself here. Will Jerrance stay? Maybe, maybe not. It may well be in his personal interest to get a fresh start somewhere, in a new coaching tree. Big name programs will gladly hire him as an assistant if he cant get that head coaching job he wants. Hopefully he stays at UI and can help keep the recruiting momentum going, but if not, there will probably be a dip in recruiting as the new coach needs time to build relationships with HS programs in Illinois.
There will be strong pressure to hire an african american head coach, regardless of if they are the best person qualified. We saw that in the Board votes on the football hire. Plus we owe money to Zook and soon to Weber too, and the state is in a huge financial hole. Folks can talk about rich alums paying the bill, but talk is cheap... and even if we come up with the money, people will question if it is reasonable to pay a hoops coach more money when tuitions are going up and faculty are leaving.
I hope it all works out, and we get a quality new coach that gets us where we want to be. I guess I am just less optimistic than so many here, who think we will hire a new coach and presto! everything will get better. Transitions are tough, and there are a lot more negative possibilities than many people here seem to see. Hiring a top coach is tough; for every Matta there are 10 other guys than dont get you to that top echelon. No worries though, because in a year or so people will just complain about the new coach and his personality or recruiting or coaching system or game decisions, and of course the new solution will be yet another head coach...
No, Houston, I didn't get my wish. I take no pride that the program had to be demolished to get rid of a coach that should have never been extended. I take no pride seeing the careers of players like DMac and ML tainted because we had a coach that couldn't put them in a position to suceed. Yes, I'm going to party like there's no tomorrow once the hammer comes down. Never in my like have I rooted for a team that the coach was such a poor fit for. I don't consider it a victory dance. More like a vigil at the carnage left behind.
Coaches are far too often blamed for a team's failure. But in this case it falls squarely on Bruce and that makes me sad. Bruce Weber is a good guy and his heart is in the right place. He recruits and coaches with honesty and dignity. But Illinois teams have failed to develop from year to year and suffer from the same issues year in and year out: lackluster offense, inconsistent defense and an unbelievable ability to collapse at the end of games with no mental toughness.
Last year we had four seniors with three of them being all Big-Ten caliber, but the trope and common slogan we heard was "wait til next year." I cannot understand why we would be looking forward to a new season when we started 4 seniors in a time when having one top notch senior is a rarity, let alone 3. He could not inspire McCamey or Mike Davis who were still apathetic and Tisdale was still slow and prone to terrible fouls. He consistently cannot figure out how to inspire and channel the energy of our biggest recruits.
After he coached up a Bill Self team to the NCAA championship he has won two games in the tournament. The 2006 team lost to a decent washington despite still having Dee Brown, James Augistine, Brian Randle and Warren Carter (plus Jamar smith and a young Chester Frazier). A team most coaches would want and would have final four aspirations. Other than Frazier there are far too few players who made tangible improvements from freshman year to senior. We thought he was the anti-Zook- could not recruit but could coach. But he got Paul, Richmond, Leonard and where are we now? I hope he lands on his feet and succeeds. I hope we get Shaka Smart, Howard Moore or Sean Miller. Hail to the Orange
Coaches are far too often blamed for a team's failure. But in this case it falls squarely on Bruce and that makes me sad. Bruce Weber is a good guy and his heart is in the right place. He recruits and coaches with honesty and dignity. But Illinois teams have failed to develop from year to year and suffer from the same issues year in and year out: lackluster offense, inconsistent defense and an unbelievable ability to collapse at the end of games with no mental toughness.
Last year we had four seniors with three of them being all Big-Ten caliber, but the trope and common slogan we heard was "wait til next year." I cannot understand why we would be looking forward to a new season when we started 4 seniors in a time when having one top notch senior is a rarity, let alone 3. He could not inspire McCamey or Mike Davis who were still apathetic and Tisdale was still slow and prone to terrible fouls. He consistently cannot figure out how to inspire and channel the energy of our biggest recruits.
After he coached up a Bill Self team to the NCAA championship he has won two games in the tournament. The 2006 team lost to a decent washington despite still having Dee Brown, James Augistine, Brian Randle and Warren Carter (plus Jamar smith and a young Chester Frazier). A team most coaches would want and would have final four aspirations. Other than Frazier there are far too few players who made tangible improvements from freshman year to senior. We thought he was the anti-Zook- could not recruit but could coach. But he got Paul, Richmond, Leonard and where are we now? I hope he lands on his feet and succeeds. I hope we get Shaka Smart, Howard Moore or Sean Miller. Hail to the Orange
Culture Lost. I-L-L L-O-L. What's left to say?
Is anyone in charge here? Coach should have been let go long before he embarrassed himself and the U with the rant after the PU game. You could see this train wreck coming from miles away. Now Illini Nation is left to pick up the pieces.
Who'll clean up the mess? The fall has been so decimating that it's probably gonna take years to turn it around. Look at IU if you need an example of how long it lakes to come back after the mighty have fallen.
The haters claim that this is a "dream job". A "sleeping giant". Any up-n-coming coach would beg to coach here.
Yah right. I sure have my doubts but...
It's time to open that door and see what lies behind it.
Go Illini
UIUC 1989
It is distressing that Weber attempts to minimize mistakes rather than maximize productivity. Case in point, he often benches players for long stretches following a turnover. For a young team, that hurts a player's confidence; as a result, when the player returns to the game, the player begins to think rather than react. Good teams attack the basket with athleticism, an attribute the Illini possess with Paul and Bertrand--and at times, Abrams. Weber also seems to favor players who play mistake free yet lack productivity. I believe Weber should advocate more aggressiveness toward the basket despite the increased likelihood of turnovers. This would also make Leonard a more effective player. Basketball is about taking some risks to be rewarded with easier shot attempts. As such, that may be why he is concerned that the team is "playing not to lose". In addition, he appears overly concerned with the point guard position as opposed to utilizing the most talented players. The point guard position could be perhaps "played by committee", particularly in a motion offense. In general, Weber has been a very good defensive coach, although lately the team appears to have lacked effort (in reality, they are just a little frustrated and tired of losing). However, Weber's fatal flaws--minimizing mistakes, not playing the most talented players and his inability to properly assess risks versus rewards--may lead to his firing. It is sad to believe that he should be fired since he appears to be a really good guy; however, Illinois needs a coach that is more suitable to coaching talented players.
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