I feel really torn up about this team and the state of Illinois basketball. Intellectually, I understand that when you are 245th in minutes continuity, you are 306th in experience, and you don't have NBA talent on the roster that you are going to take your lumps. I get that you lose to Georgetown without Trent Frazier, you run out of gas in the 2nd half against Iowa State after a 14-hour turnaround, and you probably can't expect to win too many games as an underdog. I see the freshman showing flashes of potential and I understand that there will be a learning curve and a rebuilding year.
Emotionally, I'm just done. I see frantic rallies and the game-winner doesn't go down. I see recruits that we wanted go elsewhere for frustrating reasons and then light us up on the scoreboard. I see Kipper Nichols looking totally lost. I see Adonis struggling on the court with one good leg. I see walk-ons getting minutes and promising freshmen on the bench. I see no quick-twitch athletes on the floor and us routinely getting dominated at the rim on both sides of the court. I see 14-18 and 2-5 and 13th place in the Big Ten. I see "recruiting is fluid," his parent likes Illinois but he picks another school, he likes Illinois but he isn't free to decide, he is from out-of-state and is pressured to stay home, he is from downstate Illinois but wants to get away, he isn't good enough for an offer and then he's leading another team to the Elite Eight, we were the first to offer but then Kentucky is his dream school when they swoop in late, and I see no signed recruits for 2019. I honestly don't remember how many consecutive years we've missed the NCAA Tournament because I've already written off this season and I don't remember if I counted it or not in the total. I see #wewillwin and then I see 352nd out of 353 in luck.
I don't understand how a football coach that coached in the Super Bowl loses 63-0 to Iowa in Year 3. I don't understand how a basketball coach that went 53-1 in three years of conference play and had the #1 efficiency offense the next year can't get guys to make layups at Illinois and is staring at 20 losses in Year 2.
I get that when your basketball and football programs have been burned to the ground, a rebuild is in order. I get that some short-term pain is maybe necessary to produce long-term results. I get that we'll all feel so much happier when we win again after years in the wilderness. I just figure that at some point we'll know we've hit rock bottom and that we're getting better. I want to be able to say that I see the light at the end of the tunnel and that it's all uphill from here. I'm desperately waiting for that moment where it all starts to come together. So I'm going to keep watching and keep asking "are we there yet?"
Emotionally, I'm just done. I see frantic rallies and the game-winner doesn't go down. I see recruits that we wanted go elsewhere for frustrating reasons and then light us up on the scoreboard. I see Kipper Nichols looking totally lost. I see Adonis struggling on the court with one good leg. I see walk-ons getting minutes and promising freshmen on the bench. I see no quick-twitch athletes on the floor and us routinely getting dominated at the rim on both sides of the court. I see 14-18 and 2-5 and 13th place in the Big Ten. I see "recruiting is fluid," his parent likes Illinois but he picks another school, he likes Illinois but he isn't free to decide, he is from out-of-state and is pressured to stay home, he is from downstate Illinois but wants to get away, he isn't good enough for an offer and then he's leading another team to the Elite Eight, we were the first to offer but then Kentucky is his dream school when they swoop in late, and I see no signed recruits for 2019. I honestly don't remember how many consecutive years we've missed the NCAA Tournament because I've already written off this season and I don't remember if I counted it or not in the total. I see #wewillwin and then I see 352nd out of 353 in luck.
I don't understand how a football coach that coached in the Super Bowl loses 63-0 to Iowa in Year 3. I don't understand how a basketball coach that went 53-1 in three years of conference play and had the #1 efficiency offense the next year can't get guys to make layups at Illinois and is staring at 20 losses in Year 2.
I get that when your basketball and football programs have been burned to the ground, a rebuild is in order. I get that some short-term pain is maybe necessary to produce long-term results. I get that we'll all feel so much happier when we win again after years in the wilderness. I just figure that at some point we'll know we've hit rock bottom and that we're getting better. I want to be able to say that I see the light at the end of the tunnel and that it's all uphill from here. I'm desperately waiting for that moment where it all starts to come together. So I'm going to keep watching and keep asking "are we there yet?"
