The black hole

I-L-L!

The start of a cheer filled with hope and joy, and an inspiring call to any athletic team fielded by the greatest university known to man (NOTE: heavy alum bias). However, tonight is yet another reminder of how futile the once-renowned basketball program has become.

Sometime during my undergraduate, A Selfish man decided we weren't good enough, and left for the Land of Least Resistance (especially true in March). My beloved alma mater decided to hire a less than heralded coach from So IL, Bruce Weber. While we weren't sure he'd produce, his first 2 years were probably the greatest start for any coach in Illini history, with back to back outright Big 10 titles and a National Runner-Up that would've been a title if the refs could've called a damn foul on this punk as easily as I could've from the 3rd row of the upper deck at the Edward Jones Dome that night. That's him being a crybaby in that last link.

Anyway, side rants aside, Bruuuuuuuuuuce (the only proper way to say his name in praise) had won over the tough hearts of the Illini with these feats. But how the hearts of the I-Fund are fickle. His current edition is only avoiding the Big 10 cellar because Northwestern is its usual unimpressive self. And watching this team makes me want to scream the following:

• "It's the motion offense, not the standstill!" - a reference to the offensive system Coach Weber prefers, but his players can't seem to run. Unfortunately, this penchant for lead shoes leads to....
• "Let them run, Bruce!" - a remark usually made because the Illini, after a well paced first half where they lead by 10, will slow it up so darn much that the other team can come back and beat the Illini bloody. This is directly a product of the coaching.
  
• "Pass the ball Shawn!" - our senior center is nicknamed "The Black Hole" for a reason. The basketball goes into him, and it never seems to be passed away by him. He is not a fit for the offense.
• "Man, we suck!"

So who's to blame for this debacle? It's hard to say. Many will point straight at Coach, and while he has proven he isn't the best with X's and O's, I still think some benefit of the doubt belongs in his court after the CF Delilah at Loosierville (ask me what that means sometime if you don't mind offensive language) cheated and stole our top recruit for this year while violating another 50 NCAA rules. The Black Hole? He was recruited by the Selfish man, and that style is more suited to Mr. Pruitt's game than the current system. Still, he could learn to pass the ball more than once a game. Something else? I can't point to any one thing. Simply put, it's a mess.

Enough said. Back to watching another ugly loss to MSU.