Through the years and life changes (wife, kids, more work obligations, etc.) I have gone from watching and following all college and pro sports to just following Illini sports and college basketball. Monday night's game left me totally exhausted - I enjoyed watching during the game, but the last 5 minutes just crushed me for some reason. I wanted Wisconsin to win, but not like it was the Illini in the finals. It has taken me a couple of days to figure it out.
I think Monday was the nail in the coffin for me. I now think there is no way the Illini will ever win a basketball championship in my lifetime. I don't care who their coach is. They would have to go on a run like Wisconsin this year, like Butler for a couple of years, like the Illini in '89, '05, but when it comes to Championship Night, they would have to beat the best team and refs in the country by 20 points to get a 2 point victory. The 6 or 7 blue bloods will always be the favorites of ESPN, Nike, NCAA and everyone else that has a vested interested. These people know that Cinderella's are good stories up to a point, but the money comes from the Dukes, UNC's, Kentucky and Kansas's winning the whole thing.
I know this is nothing new, but now I feel it is permanent. I look at Duke and Kentucky - 9 McDonald's AA on each? Duke's freshmen scored something like 60 of Dukes 73 points on Monday. Kids play so much basketball before going to college they are ready for the big lights at 19 years old. Any player with NBA potential is owned by the shoe companies before he signs, so the options of where they go are very limited. These guys know that their only chance for a championship is to sign with a blue blood, period. How do you recruit against this? In the last 15 years, there is not a single Chicago kid in the quality of Marcus Liberty and Nick Anderson that gave any serious consideration to the Illini unless there were other issues. Even the top Simeon guys don't even consider Illinois. Any think the shoe companies knew about Richmond's problems so they never really put pressure on him to de-commit and sign with a top program? Was Gordon more about Adidas vs. Nike than it was about Illinois vs. Indiana?
Kentucky will lose about 7 underclassmen this year. There is a record number of top recruits that are waiting until the spring period to sign - so they can all go to Kentucky. I think the only way to have a chance is to recruit 3 and 4 star guys that are willing to redshirt, load two classes in a row and hope they develop enough so that in their 4th and 5th years they are a good team. Then hope you can make the final four. Then start all over again and hope to be good in 5or 6 years down the road.
Sorry, I just need to vent, because my wife has quit listening to me. But I am about to start following only college golf until Nike and Titleist see profits in the college kids with PGA potential.
I think Monday was the nail in the coffin for me. I now think there is no way the Illini will ever win a basketball championship in my lifetime. I don't care who their coach is. They would have to go on a run like Wisconsin this year, like Butler for a couple of years, like the Illini in '89, '05, but when it comes to Championship Night, they would have to beat the best team and refs in the country by 20 points to get a 2 point victory. The 6 or 7 blue bloods will always be the favorites of ESPN, Nike, NCAA and everyone else that has a vested interested. These people know that Cinderella's are good stories up to a point, but the money comes from the Dukes, UNC's, Kentucky and Kansas's winning the whole thing.
I know this is nothing new, but now I feel it is permanent. I look at Duke and Kentucky - 9 McDonald's AA on each? Duke's freshmen scored something like 60 of Dukes 73 points on Monday. Kids play so much basketball before going to college they are ready for the big lights at 19 years old. Any player with NBA potential is owned by the shoe companies before he signs, so the options of where they go are very limited. These guys know that their only chance for a championship is to sign with a blue blood, period. How do you recruit against this? In the last 15 years, there is not a single Chicago kid in the quality of Marcus Liberty and Nick Anderson that gave any serious consideration to the Illini unless there were other issues. Even the top Simeon guys don't even consider Illinois. Any think the shoe companies knew about Richmond's problems so they never really put pressure on him to de-commit and sign with a top program? Was Gordon more about Adidas vs. Nike than it was about Illinois vs. Indiana?
Kentucky will lose about 7 underclassmen this year. There is a record number of top recruits that are waiting until the spring period to sign - so they can all go to Kentucky. I think the only way to have a chance is to recruit 3 and 4 star guys that are willing to redshirt, load two classes in a row and hope they develop enough so that in their 4th and 5th years they are a good team. Then hope you can make the final four. Then start all over again and hope to be good in 5or 6 years down the road.
Sorry, I just need to vent, because my wife has quit listening to me. But I am about to start following only college golf until Nike and Titleist see profits in the college kids with PGA potential.
