Illinitalk

I’ve been wanting to post this for some time and with the recent news regarding recruiting, Jamar Smith and Quinton Watkins, now is the perfect time. Please note these are my personal opinions, not those of Good Hope Orange or Alma Mater. Below is my opinion on the current state of play for the Illinois hoops program and what needs to be done to right the ship.

Bruce Weber is a fantastic basketball coach. You don’t lead a team to the national championship game without being good at the x’s and o’s. Nor can you get there without great players. Weber had both. Hence his success.

However, since the title game against North Carolina, if there is anything else conceivable that could have gone wrong, I’m not sure what it is. Even though much of what has happened can’t be pinned completely on Weber, it’s time for Ron Guenther to step in and stop the bleeding. This program can still be successful with Weber at the helm but there needs to be a few course corrections in order to get there.

The biggest issue is recruiting. Many of the misses aren’t Weber’s fault. But that doesn’t change the reality that Illinois is two years removed from an appearance in the national championship game, an event that should have propelled the program’s recruiting ability into the upper echelon of programs nationwide.

Therefore it’s not unreasonable, in the wake of the magical 04-05 season, for fans and the university administration (of which Ron Guenther is a part) to expect Illinois to be in competition for the Big Ten title most every year and within striking distance of the Final Four every few years.

However, this is not the case.

It’s important to give a coach the benefit of the doubt. So I’ll use the premise that Weber did all he could with the Eric Gordon situation. However, that doesn’t change the fact that it’s consequences are extremely damaging.

Therefore, recruiting for the ‘08 class is a true measure of Weber’s capability in this area and so far the results are borderline disastrous as almost all of Illinois’ top targets, even those from within the state, have decided to play elsewhere. Two of them (one a legacy) are even headed out to Oregon.

Illinois’ current and future rosters consist of a hodgepodge of three-star recruits and JUCO players. Some of these players may turn out to do pretty well for Illinois but they are not the top flight players who don’t need insurance policies that Illinois should be getting.

Therefore, it’s not unreasonable, especially given the talent other Big Ten programs like Michigan State and Ohio State are bringing in, to expect Illinois to finish somewhere near the middle of the Big Ten pack the next few years. At a bare minimum we cannot expect Big Ten title runs year in and year out and the occasional Final Four, which, in this fan’s opinion, should be expected given the recent title run.

So what to do? It is time for Ron Guenther to step in and hire a Jimmy Collins-type recruiting assistant for the basketball program. This is the only way to stop the current bleeding.

It doesn’t matter if the current situation isn’t completely Weber’s fault. It doesn’t even matter if it was mostly out of his control. There is no more room for error. Without a course correction and a drastic improvement in recruiting the Illinois basketball program is going to be fighting to stay in the middle of the Big Ten standings year in and year out.

This should not be acceptable to anyone. Not to the fans. Not to the coaches. Not to the university administration. No one. Especially given the recent success of the program.

And, the ultimate success of the program should be laid at the feet of Guenther, who should have been aware of Weber’s recruiting contacts and prowess when he was hired. If he wasn’t, there is a problem with the athletic director.

Speculation time: Will this happen? I doubt it. My impression could be wrong and I would be happy if it is but both men don’t exactly seem to be open to change. Again, I hope I’m wrong.

Which leads me to the next situation: Jamar Smith.

Jamar Smith was convicted of a felony. I realize he has apologized for what he did but that doesn’t change the fact that Weber and Guenther were the ones fighting to have someone convicted of a felony stay on the team, even if he does have to redshirt a year. Therefore, what makes Illinois any different than the Miami Hurricane football teams of the 80’s or Bob Huggins’ Cincinnati basketball teams?

Nothing.

If this kind of publicity doesn’t make them wince, they must not care about the image of the university. I’d be awfully surprised if fans aren’t getting tired of seeing national headlines like this.

I realize all situations are different and sometimes folks deserve a second chance but this is a poor precedent to set for the university and the students, not only because of the DUI but because Jamar Smith is underage. I cannot think of an absolutely worse standard to set for a state university where it’s already difficult to control the booze flow, especially among those who are underage, than to let a high-profile athlete who is under 21 stay on the team after he commits a DUI.

The message this sends to students and student athletes is there are no consequences for their actions and as an alum I’m disgusted by it. Unfortunately this is the latest in a long string of problems our players have had with the law and until a tougher standard is employed, I’m afraid it won’t be the last.

In conclusion, it’s time for Ron Guenther to make a very serious mid-course correction in the Illinois basketball program and hire a recruiter who will close the Illinois border and bring the state’s best players to Champaign.

Guenther and Weber should also rethink their policy for Jamar Smith or at least toughen their policies in the future.

The ultimate success of Illinois basketball hinges on these two issues.

Labels: Bruce Weber, Illinois basketball, Jamar Smith, Quinton Watkins, Ron Guenther

Yes, we realize things have been a bit quiet here at Illinitalk lately. But then, college sports tend to be a bit quiet during the summer. I've been following the Cubbies, and they have me feeling fairly optimistic heading into the second half of the season.

In recent Illini news, football defensive coordinator Vince Okruch is taking a "temporary leave of absence for personal reasons." As always, Mark Tupper has a realistic perspective. Plus, a few football alums took their shot at the Big Screen. I don't catch many movies, but I do enjoy a good sports flick, and I've always wondered who did the action scenes...

Warren Carter didn't go in the NBA draft, but he did make the summer roster for the Mavs, his hometown team, only to be faced with a bum knee (stress fracture) that will keep him off the court for a while.

Shaun Pruitt wisely pulled out of the NBA draft, but he did get to hang out with LeBron this summer. Hopefully that will build his confidence for his senior year.

In older news, Illini freshman Q-Wat surely doesn't regret leaving California based on his first summer in Champaign. He can learn how to handle the spotlight from his roommate Jeff, and he will have some great college stories to tell, no matter where his basketball career takes him.

Labels: Illini basketball, Illini football, Jeff Jordan, Quinton Watkins, Shaun Pruitt, Warren Carter

This new blog entry from the News-Gazette's Paul Klee has some good info on Quinton Watkins' recruitment. I particularly enjoyed this quote from Coach Weber:

"He committed (to USC) pretty early," Weber said. "I remember him at (a summer) camp, looking at the list and saying, 'He's a good player, that guy's a good player.' But you ask where he's going, and they say, 'Well, he's already committed.' So you don't move forward.

Begin debate on whether this is Weber just being honest or taking a shot at our friends from that school to the east.

Labels: Bruce Weber, Paul Klee, Quinton Watkins

Shooting guard Quinton Watkins signed his National Letter of Intent to play ball at the U of I yesterday. We can now breathe a sign of relief as we actually have a shooting guard signed. Let's hope he's as good at getting to the rack and shooting the rock as this press release from U of I says.

Props to Weber and staff for getting one of the best guards on the West Coast, an area that historically hasn't proven very fruitful for the Illini on the recruiting front.

I also like this litle nugget about the background of his high school:

Quinton also benefited from playing at Dominguez under a highly successful coach in Coach Otis who has produced a number of outstanding players that have gone on to college and the NBA, including names like Tayshaun Prince and Tyson Chandler."

Labels: Quinton Watkins

John Supinie has the skinny today on what the Illinois coaching staff is doing to try and eliminate dropped passes this year, including ordering eye exams for the receiving corps. It paid off as one player learned that he was blind in one eye. Not kidding:

Walk-on wide receiver Will Judson learned he was nearly blind in one eye. Players were scolded if they didn't wear their contacts to pass-catching workouts.

Also, he's got a blurb about Q-Wat. Let's hope no one steals him before Monday:

SIGNING DAY: Shooting guard Quinton Watkins of Dominguez High School in Compton, Calif., isn't expected to sign a letter of intent with Illinois on Wednesday, the first the day of the spring signing period. But Watkins is still considered a solid verbal who will sign Monday in a ceremony at Dominguez, which is out of school this week on Easter break.

And finally, what will ever become of the final basketball scholarship:

With its last available scholarship, Illinois remains a finalist for Rodney Alexander, a 6-foot-7, 225-pound sophomore forward from Redlands Community College in Oklahoma. Alexander made an official visit to Illinois in March. The native of Benton Harbor, Mich., will visit Tennessee this week after canceling a trip to Indiana.

Senior guard Tyler Abbott of Phoenix, who was granted his release from New Mexico following a coaching change, may visit Illinois after earlier reports he was leaning toward Washington State.

Labels: Quinton Watkins, Rodney Alexander, Tyler Abbott, Will Judson

Some may argue with me because they hate the media and/or don't trust them but I believe maintaining a good relationship with them is an important part of any coach's job. I realize this doesn't apply in every single case (see Bobby Knight) but much more often than not, it's in the coach's best interest to treat the media with respect and dignity, no matter how much the coach disagrees with them. I even would go as far as to argue that his/her success or failure to some extent hinges on his or her skills with the media.

The reason I believe this? Perception=reality and in this day of 24-hour news cycles, blogs, YouTube, e-mail, message boards, etc., news travels fast. Especially bad news. Therefore, it is very easy to get a negative perception very quickly that is very hard to turn around. If the media doesn't like a coach, they are less likely to write about his/her successes and more likely to write about his/her failures.

In fact, there is nothing the media likes to cover more than a rising or falling star.

To that end, Bruce Weber fed into the falling star perception at his press availability yesterday. Take a look:



This is not at all helpful to an Illinois basketball program that is already struggling both on the court and in the court of public perception. I understand Weber is stressed but he's paid not to lose his cool, especially with the press. It doesn't help the confidence of the fans, alumni or recruits.

Speaking of recruits, it sounds like some Pac-10 school like Arizona may be after Quinton Watkins. That is a good sign. It must mean he's good. But it also means Weber needs to hold on to him. If he doesn't, he might as well quite recruiting. Eric Gordon was stolen and if Eric Gordon's replacement gets stolen then every coach is in the country is gonna know they can take whatever recruits they want from Weber.

Can you see the handwriting on the wall yet? He'll get even more upset. Have another meltdown...vicious cycle. He needs to break it. Now.

Labels: Bruce Weber, Eric Gordon, Quinton Watkins