Days like today make me reflect back on two decades of Lucy pulling the football away from my hopeful Charlie Brown Illini hoops fandom.
2003: Bill Self bolts for Kansas when we’re on the cusp of becoming elite.
2004: Shaun Livingston picks Duke a day after wearing the Brian Cook jersey
2005: 15-point comeback in the 2nd half of the NC game falls just short
2006: Eric Gordon flips to Indiana just before Signing Day
2007: Jamar Smith promising career ends in DUI tragedy and nearly kills Carlwell
2008: Nothing because we were too awful
2009: Chester Frazier breaks his hand and we lose a 5/12 game without him
2010: So close to an NCAA lock but 1 seed Ohio State beats us in 2OT after miracle win in previous round.
2011: Jereme Richmond goes from McD All-American to convict
2012: Brandon Paul 45 points against Ohio State and then we go 2-12 to end the Weber era.
2013: Cliffmas (plus Quentin Snider flips)
2014: About to upset Michigan and secure an NCAA bid then Tracy Abrams misses a 2-foot floater at the buzzer
2015-2019: Nothing because we were too awful
2020: Kofi blocks Garza and we’re heading for a great postseason and back to the NCAA Tournament then the whole thing gets cancelled because of a pandemic.
2021: Everything lining up for a Final Four run and we lose to Loyola in the 2nd round
2022: Beat #2 Texas in OT at MSG and then the team implodes the next game and our coach is making fart noises.
2023: Shannon looks like an All-American leading a top 10 team after a dominant Bragging Rights win and now he’s off the team and facing a rape charge.
Sad thing is some years had multiple gut punch contenders and I picked only one.
I guess after 20 years of this I’m still here so there will be brighter days ahead (followed by massive gut punches.) Such is life as an Illini basketball fan.
2003: Bill Self bolts for Kansas when we’re on the cusp of becoming elite.
2004: Shaun Livingston picks Duke a day after wearing the Brian Cook jersey
2005: 15-point comeback in the 2nd half of the NC game falls just short
2006: Eric Gordon flips to Indiana just before Signing Day
2007: Jamar Smith promising career ends in DUI tragedy and nearly kills Carlwell
2008: Nothing because we were too awful
2009: Chester Frazier breaks his hand and we lose a 5/12 game without him
2010: So close to an NCAA lock but 1 seed Ohio State beats us in 2OT after miracle win in previous round.
2011: Jereme Richmond goes from McD All-American to convict
2012: Brandon Paul 45 points against Ohio State and then we go 2-12 to end the Weber era.
2013: Cliffmas (plus Quentin Snider flips)
2014: About to upset Michigan and secure an NCAA bid then Tracy Abrams misses a 2-foot floater at the buzzer
2015-2019: Nothing because we were too awful
2020: Kofi blocks Garza and we’re heading for a great postseason and back to the NCAA Tournament then the whole thing gets cancelled because of a pandemic.
2021: Everything lining up for a Final Four run and we lose to Loyola in the 2nd round
2022: Beat #2 Texas in OT at MSG and then the team implodes the next game and our coach is making fart noises.
2023: Shannon looks like an All-American leading a top 10 team after a dominant Bragging Rights win and now he’s off the team and facing a rape charge.
Sad thing is some years had multiple gut punch contenders and I picked only one.
I guess after 20 years of this I’m still here so there will be brighter days ahead (followed by massive gut punches.) Such is life as an Illini basketball fan.
