From the national people, I believe the Illini were picked to be in the lower half of the B10 and not a tourney team. On this board most of us thought higher - 3rd to 6th type of range and certainly a tourney team. This was all before Tracy's injury and some of it was before Paul's exit. We felt the difference in opinion was that the national guys ignored the transfers in the rotation - Starks, Cosby and Paul.
After going 9-9 in conference for tied for 7th place, sitting on the fence going into the B10 tourney needing a win or two to make the NCAA, why is this season considered a failure? With the injuries (more than you would expect in a typical year) and the transfer busts (Paul and face it, Cosby were complete busts, Starks was an underachiever until the last 5 games), it seems like the team actually over preformed. Are we re-adjusting history of what the expectations of this team really were or are we disappointed because the Illini should always be a tournament team? With the roster Groce inherited, three years in, he doesn't seem that far off. Are we projected problems without a point guard, center next year and don't see an improvement so we are worried about the future?
Lot of questions, and I am disappointed the Illini didn't win more, but hard to call the season a failure.
After going 9-9 in conference for tied for 7th place, sitting on the fence going into the B10 tourney needing a win or two to make the NCAA, why is this season considered a failure? With the injuries (more than you would expect in a typical year) and the transfer busts (Paul and face it, Cosby were complete busts, Starks was an underachiever until the last 5 games), it seems like the team actually over preformed. Are we re-adjusting history of what the expectations of this team really were or are we disappointed because the Illini should always be a tournament team? With the roster Groce inherited, three years in, he doesn't seem that far off. Are we projected problems without a point guard, center next year and don't see an improvement so we are worried about the future?
Lot of questions, and I am disappointed the Illini didn't win more, but hard to call the season a failure.
