Illinois: Spoiled Champaign?
On the surface, it looks like everything is going fine with the Illinois men’s basketball program.
Bruce Weber has a contract that carries him through four more seasons, all the way to 2014-15. Seven of Weber’s eight seasons in Champaign have been winning ones, and even the below-par season (2007-08) saw the Fighting Illini go 16-19 overall.
Illinois has some problems when it comes to playing Big Ten Conference basketball, however. Although the Illini have three winning seasons and a combined overall record of 65-39 in that stretch, Illinois has slowly dropped in the conference standings from 11-7 in 2009 to 10-8 in 2010 to 9-9 last winter. A rough-and-tumble Big Ten has killed Illinois’ chances to win the league; Weber’s finishes these three seasons were second, fifth and fourth, respectively.
So is it time to fire Bruce Weber? Not surprisingly, social media thinks so. Google “Fire Bruce Weber” and you’ll see Facebook sites dedicated to Weber’s ouster. Conventional wisdom suggests Weber is safe, but the Illini cannot have another lackluster season like last year.
Take a look at the standings. Illinois was a preseason number 13 team in the nation, and the Illini backed up that preseason ranking with a 10-1 start. The only thing standing in Illinois’ way of perfection was a 90-84 loss to Texas in the Coaches vs. Cancer Classic.
Then came the Big Ten, and everything started to unravel. Illinois won its first three games and then went 6-9 the rest of the way. That 10-1 start was a memory by the end of January, as Illinois went 10-13 in the final two-thirds of the season. Of particular disappointment was Illinois’ performance in the Big Ten tournament. Illinois lost 60-55 to Michigan in the conference quarterfinals.
Eleven of the 15 players on the Illinois roster are in-state talent, but ten players on the preseason roster are freshmen, sophomores or redshirt players in their first two years of eligibility. Brandon Paul, a 6-foot-4 guard, and D.J. Richardson, a 6-foot-3 guard who was the Big Ten’s freshman of the year in 2010, are the most experienced players back. Both are juniors.
It could be another deceiving year in terms of the schedule. Illinois’ 10-1 start included the Coaches Classic last year. This season, the team travels to the Cancun Challenge but faces SIU-Edwardsville, Lipscomb, Richmond and either Rutgers or Illinois State. It is a slightly more cream-puffed schedule than last year and that could give Illinois fans a false sense of security if everything starts out strong.
Bruce Weber isn’t on thin ice yet. The ice will start cracking, however, if Illinois slips below 20 victories.
Read the in-depth preview for Illinois men's basketball
