 Be that as it may, we continued going ... hoping that somehow, some
way the team would snap out of its funk, but it never did. In many
ways it was the hardest season of any sport that we have ever
covered. And of course it led to the dismissal of Bruce Weber as the
head coach. If you were surprised by that move, you haven't been
paying attention the last couple of seasons. As much as we were
hoping things would turn around (as it's much easier to cover a
successful team on the rise), a starving fan base was even more
desperate for things to turn around. While the frustration reached
epic proportions (and that's a story for another day), I think
virtually everyone knew the road the program was going down.That
doesn't make it any easier. It was painful watching it spiral out of
control and being helpless to do anything to stop it. At least when
you are a player or coach, you feel like you can do something in the
locker room or at practice that might stop the slump. Nothing could
stop this team's demise. It didn't help that the schedule was
brutal. And it seemed that the team was so snakebitten it could not
find a break anywhere. At any rate, when it came to an abrupt end on
a Thursday afternoon in Indianapolis, even that was not at all
surprising. It was over.
Family members and friends have asked my thoughts on the
dismissal of Coach Weber and the hiring of Coach Groce. I am still
numb, so please take that under consideration as you read. I guess I
would always preface any comments like that by first saying that no
coach is perfect. A coach may try as he might, but no one in today's
landscape will appeal to everyone in the fan base. It's actually a
sad commentary on fandom these days, but we can't do anything about
that.
First, I would say that Coach Weber is due an incredible amount
of thanks. Despite whatever deficiencies and inadequacies he might
have had, he did lead this team to its only national championship
game appearance ever. I'm not going to elaborate on that except to
say that I missed very few games that season and personally
witnessed the last half-dozen or so. It was the greatest sports
season of my life. We were euphoric and almost dumbfounded by the
near-perfection we witnessed on the hardwood. Revisionist historians
don't want to give Bruce Weber any credit for that team's success,
stating that the players on that team were Bill Self's recruits. Or
they will tell you that anyone could have coached that team to the
Ed Dome. That's a bunch of blabber. I was there in Chicago when his
team pulled off the miracle at the Rosemont. I was in St. Louis in a
glass elevator high above the city of St. Louis where I saw tens of
thousands of Illini fans deliriously dancing in the streets (many
with no tickets for the games) ... so, he must have done something
right. I'm just sayin'... .
That team was handled professionally by a veteran coach whose
system matched the strengths of those particular players almost
perfectly. You can criticize the man all you want, but as someone
who witnessed the majority of the games that season and many of the
practices, you will likely never see another season like that one if
you live to be 150. I am not saying that that one season equates to
giving the man a lifetime contract, but I do think he deserves way
more kudos than many people want to give him.
As our own Greg Taylor wrote during Weber's last days on the
bench, he also deserves great amounts of credit for not only
graduating our players, but developing them off the court as well.
He should also be remembered for his great involvement in community
projects, for his help in fundraising and for his work with Coaches
vs. Cancer, as well as for dozens of other things he did behind the
scenes. He is simply a good man who does not deserve to be vilified.
And, yes, we totally get that some of you don't like him, maybe
never did, and are happy he is gone.
As someone who loves the Champaign-Urbana community in specific
and central Illinois in general, I love the pride he took in our
area and the fact that he tried to raise and fly our banner high
nationwide. I liked how he and his players would show up for games
featuring our other sports teams on campus. He tried to do the right
things and tried to be a good role model for our student-athletes. I
know that all that takes a back seat in today's world that usually
is only concerned with wins and what have you done for me lately.
[to top of second column] |
As an LDN representative, I'm sure that you would probably be
stunned and shocked to know that we are not recognized at Big Ten
venues like ESPN or CBS personnel are. However, Coach Weber always
treated us like we were big time and answered our questions
sometimes after press conferences had ended -- to give us extra
time. He treats everyone with respect and just embodies goodness
wherever he goes. Since we got the unbelievable chance to travel to
some of the many venues Illinois' basketball team visited through
the years, we saw firsthand how Coach Weber, his staff and his
players interacted with the public in many different settings. All I
can tell you is that I would have wanted no other person in that
role. He was all class, all the time.
With all that being said, I am not an apologist who thinks that
everything should be overlooked. For whatever reason, it just was
not working on the court, and a change had to be made. Greg and I
have our own sons involved in hoops right now, and the game has
changed and is changing at almost breakneck speed. We will have to
get used to those changes. I don't like many of the changes that I
am seeing and am kind of glad that I am no longer playing or
coaching. The margin for success in a win-satiated culture is so
narrow that fewer and fewer candidates are going to pass the muster
in the years ahead.
So, enter... Coach Groce. I know a little bit about him, as I sat
next to him a couple of times at some tournaments, but I am sure
that he would not remember me. I will write more about him and our
program in the future, but my initial reaction is that I think he
will be a hard worker. He knows our league well from his time as an
Ohio State assistant, and he should know what it will take to be
successful. My only fear is that the league seems to have gotten a
lot better in the last two seasons, and that may mean it will take
us even longer to compete with the elites, when you consider that it
usually takes any coach two to three seasons to get up to speed.
Here's what I can tell you after my brief visit to New Orleans
for the Final Four (I still bet that the LDN is one of the smallest
media outlets to ever cover major championship sporting events -- so
we've got that going for us). We didn't get to talk to nearly as
many coaches as we normally do, but the general consensus was that
we hired a good guy and we lost a good guy at the same time. While
coaches are just generally more sympathetic to their brethren when
they see a colleague dismissed, they just felt like it could have
been handled in a much more positive manner, and I have to agree
with that. But at the same time, coaches seem to be excited for us,
as they felt that Coach Groce will do a good job for us IF our fans
are patient, get behind him, and encourage and support him. Judging
by what we have all witnessed regarding the treatment of Coach Weber
over the last two seasons and on his recent exit, LDN's advice to
Coach Groce is that it may be a long pull uphill.
Whether you agree with our position on these matters is
immaterial because no matter what ... it is time to move on!
Welcome, Coach Groce ... and GO, ILLINI!
[By JEFF MAYFIELD]
Respond to the writer at
jmayfield@ctitech.com.
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