Illini hoops: We are what I thought we are...

By Jeff Mayfield

[December 08, 2010]  ...not more and not less. However, as if on schedule when the new 2010-11 season began, the haters and the panic-stricken were already out in full force. "Weber can't coach"; "Davis and Tisdale are too soft"; and "McCamey isn't as good as some experts say he is" were just a few of the many taunts that have become all too familiar in Illini land. It makes you wonder sometimes if many Illini fans have a life or not.

I mean when you see grown adults yelling and screaming at 19-, 20- and 21-year-old students during exhibition games, it makes you think that maybe the whole world has gone mad. The outcome of a college basketball game or season hasn't replaced oxygen as our daily staple, has it? If you sat where I usually do, you might think otherwise.

Even our own unflappable Greg Taylor was vulnerable to the malaise. He called me after the Texas game in New York City, very upset about Illinois' showing in the semis of the Coaches vs. Cancer Classic. He was as distraught and disappointed as I may have ever seen or heard him. He got caught up in the early hype and was just crushed by Illinois' poor showing that evening.

But I told Greg what I tell any Illini fans who will listen: We'll be OK. Texas was a bad matchup for us. I thought we would beat Maryland, though they always seem to play us better than anyone ever expects. I think coach Gary Williams must threaten his players, as they tend to look like all-Americans against us.

I went on to tell Greg that I think since we have nine to 11 players who could play this season that it will take a lot longer than usual for this team to gel. We have played many different combinations and it will take some time before the best five is finalized and who the first few off the bench will be. And it's not always the way the fans see it. Sometimes coach Bruce Weber and his staff will bring a potential starter off the bench because he brings so much energy and passion when he comes, a la Brandon Paul. Sometimes he may end up sitting a guy who has started lots of games, like a Bill Cole.

Don't forget that Weber has over 25 years of Big Ten experience under his belt and that it is not likely that he has forgotten how to piece together a team to compete for a Big Ten crown. Didn't he help Purdue win six to eight in just less than 20 years in Boilermaker country? Hasn't he had a hand in winning two titles here with Illinois? While the knuckleheads will continue to bash Weber and his team, I think his record over the long run gives him the credibility to be given the benefit of the doubt.

You may think I'm overreacting. But am I? Last week when Illinois played a pretty decent game and throttled a North Carolina team that would be hard to beat in my driveway with Greg and I providing both the commentary AND the officiating, not everybody was giddy about the outcome. You knew exactly what would be said at the game's conclusion: Oh, North Carolina's not very good this year... they can't beat anybody... so, of course this is the year Bruce would beat that motley group... and yada, yada, yada it goes. Man, our fans get old!

But can you just take a closer look with me at the matchup with North Carolina? I knew you could. While there is no debate that the Tar Heels did not come flying out of the gate this season, they are far from chopped liver. In fact, if you'd like to check out their roster (I just got done doing so), they really do list seven players as prep all-Americans. (You can go to the website and count them up for yourself.) Any way you stack it up, their players, at least on paper, are ranked and rated higher than our players are. They also have a coach who has been to more Final Fours than not only our coach but many other coaches across the country and has won two national titles. And did you happen to check the score of UNC's game with Kentucky? The Tar Heels won. They killed them! Actually the margin was only two points, but I'm on a roll. Bottom line for the Illini -- a nice win. And a win that will probably look better as North Carolina grows, matures and improves throughout the season (put me down as someone who respects their team and wouldn't want to face them later in the season).

For good measure, Illinois next took their show on the road to play Gonzaga in wildly Bulldog-friendly Seattle Arena. Last season Illinois got down early to the Zags, made a ferocious comeback and then laid an egg at the end of the game. I felt Gonzaga was more physical than the Illini, hustled more and maybe wanted it more. That didn't appear to be the case this time around. Illinois clawed and scratched and buried a bevy of 3s to put the 'Dawgs away earlier this time. So, even though it was a so-called neutral site, it was pretty much a road game, and Illinois answered the test.

So then, are the Illini over the hump? In a word, no. I still think they will be a little up and down this season. They'll lose a few that they should win and maybe steal a couple of wins that hung in the balance. But, by labeling this team in that way, I mean no disrespect whatsoever. You won't see me out panicking. You won't see me out hatin' on the team. I won't be cussin' 'em when Mike Davis doesn't get every rebound. I won't throw a conniption fit when Mike Tisdale gets pushed and thrown out of the paint (with no call, of course) or picks up a borderline call 25 feet from the hoop. I won't blow a gasket if Demetri McCamey forces up an ill-advised shot every once in a while or makes a bad pass trying to thread the needle through three defenders. The Illini players have earned the benefit of the doubt. These guys have worked hard. They keep trying, striving to improve, whether you fans are with them or not. This Illinois Fighting Illini basketball team is exactly who I thought they would be. And as for me and my house...

...we will cheer for the men in Orange.

[By JEFF MAYFIELD]

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