Another One Bites The Dust

Those familiar with the sport of horse racing have undoubtedly heard of the term "trifecta". The University of Illinois is about to pull a trifecta that I don't think has ever been done before, and that is get rid of the three main head coaches in one calendar year. First of all, back in November, Ron Zook was let go after a freefall that saw the football team go 6-6 after starting the season 6-0. At the time of the perfect start, nobody envisioned that the season would end like it did, much less costing Zook his job. Next, last Friday, new athletic director Mike Thomas announced that women's basketball coach Jolette Law would not be retained following an early exit from the Big Ten Tournament, which followed yet another subpar season. During her 5 year tenure at Illinois, Law compiled a dismal 69-93 record, and finished the 2011-12 campaign a very disappointing 11-19, which included the first round loss to Michigan. Law could never really get it going in Champaign, and perhaps her finest moment was landing Destiny Williams as a recruit, but that was very short lived, as she played all of one game before leaving the program and transferring to Baylor, where she had a stellar career.

So, in keeping with the trifecta theme, the fate of men's basketball coach Bruce Weber hangs in the balance, due to his team doing a free fall of their own, starting the season off 15-3, but stumbling down the stretch, finishing the regular season 17-14 and just 6-12 in the Big Ten. This has been a painful season to endure for Weber's group, and covering it on a weekly basis has certainly been no picnic. I remember saying about a year ago that the team's spirit was broken by Jereme Richmond, who ended up leaving school after just one season, and that wasn't even a complete campaign. But, that pales in comparison to what they have done this season. The 2011-12 version of the Illini have lacked heart and desire in many of their games recently, and the 27 point loss at Nebraska a couple of weeks ago was the final straw. All signs are pointing to Weber being fired at season's end, whenever that will be. Thomas has been quoted on several occasions saying that he will evaluate all coaches at the end of the season, and will take into account the entire body of work as it relates over the last few seasons. It is apparent that this Illini team is broken and in dire need of a change at the top, and it is hoped that the current team can put it together and make one last attempt at salvaging a season that is lost in the upcoming Big Ten Tournament. By virtue of the Illini's collapse, they earned (if you want to call it that) the #9 seed, and will play Iowa, who is the #8 seed on Thursday morning (10:30 am, BTN). This is actually a decent scenario for the Illini to actually win a game in the tournament and live to see another day, since the Hawkeyes are the only team that they have beaten during this long string of losing. Since the Big Ten Tournament is the only possible chance that the Illini have of making the NCAA Tournament, they will need to pull a major miracle, winning 4 games in 4 days. Since this team has had problems winning a single game over the past 2 plus weeks, that seems a foregone conclusion at this point. Most likely they will be playing in the NIT, and due to scheduling conflicts, will not be able to host a first or a third round game, provided they even get that far. The spirit of the team has been severely damaged, and many are just wanting this season to be over, and the tenure of Weber to be history as well. The only remaining question now is when that will happen.

So, how did we get to this point? The answer to that question can be summarized by two words: Ron Guenther. After all, it was Guenther that gave all three of these coaches extensions on contracts that should not have been extended in the first place. Now, the University of Illinois is faced with yet another buyout of Law's contract, which will total $620,000 over the final two years of the contract. To further this, Weber's buyout has been rumored to be well over $3 million, and this doesn't include buying out the assistant coaches and their contracts. Plus, you have to also shell out money for new coaches in both cases as well. The women's hire won't be nearly as much as hiring a new men's coach, but it still will require an increase nonetheless. Mike Thomas has had quite a few months on the job, and completing the "trifecta" will be his finest work yet.

I feel I need to end this week's installment of the blog with a little good news, and that comes from the wrestling team and Mario Gonzalez, who won the Big Ten title in the 197 lb. weight class. Gonzalez was the first grappler in the 197 lb. class to win a title for the Illini since Pat Quirk accomplished the feat back in 2001. Next up for Gonzalez, the NCAA's in St. Louis beginning on March 15. Joining Gonzalez in the Gateway City will be Jesse Delgado (125), B. J. Futrell (133), Conrad Polz (165), Tony Dallago (184), Jordan Blanton (174) and Daryl Thomas (141).

That's it for this week as we get ready for March Madness. Let the madness begin!

And, so the freefall continues. It has now been a week since the now infamous Bruce Weber press conference, where he essentially let everything out about his feelings, calling out a few of the players on the Illini team in the process. During that span, the Illini dropped a home game to Purdue (the game that brought on Weber's rant), got blown out at Nebraska by 23 points, and then went to Ohio State and promptly got drilled on national television. These are certainly not good days around the Illinois basketball program, and there is plenty of blame to go around. You have to blame Weber for a lot of this, throwing his players under the bus with those comments, and emotions coming to the forefront as a result. During Saturday's loss at Nebraska, center Meyers Leonard was shown on camera crying on the bench, being consoled by freshman Myke Henry and assistant coach Wayne McClain. You could also blame the players, because after all, they are the ones out on the floor giving the effort, or in the case of the past couple of weeks, not giving the effort. You see guys like Leonard, whom the NBA scouts have deemed a mid to late first round draft pick, trying out there, but the mental composure of Leonard the other night may be a concern to people wanting him to succeed at the next level. After all, these are 19-22 year old kids that we are talking about. Weber has said before that one of the problems is that Tracy Abrams has become the leader, and he is a freshman. A FRESHMAN! Nobody seems to want to step up in the locker room and take ownership of this current downfall, but Abrams has. That takes guts. Another person that you can place the blame on is former athletic director Ron Guenther. After all, it was Guenther who extended these contracts of not only Weber, but former football coach Ron Zook, as well as women's basketball coach Jolette Law. You could very well see a scenario at the end of the basketball season where the football coach, and both the men's and women's basketball coaches will be fired in the same calendar year. I am not sure that there is another instance of this anywhere in recent memory in Division I, maybe not ever. The buyouts alone for these three coaches are staggering, with Zook's totaling $2.6 million for the remainder of his contract, Weber's will be somewhere around $3.5 million, if he is indeed let go at the end of the season, and Law's is not as much, at around $310,000. You just look at those figures and wonder just what Guenther was thinking about when he made those deals.

A little over a month ago, the Illini were riding high, on top of the conference standings, and sporting a 15-3 overall record after just defeating Ohio State, who was ranked in the top 10 at the time. Since that time, the Illini have gone just 1-9, the only win coming against Michigan State, who ironically, was also a top 10 team when the Illini beat them. Now, the Illini are 16-12 overall, and near the bottom of the Big Ten at 5-10. Coming into this season, it was unfathomable to think that the basketball team could trump the disastrous slide that the football team achieved, but it has happened. Playing their way off the proverbial NCAA "bubble", and now fighting for a NIT bid, the "Slidin' Illini" have 3 games left in the regular season to salvage something before the Big Ten Tournament. Believe it or not, if the Illini win their last 2 games at home, and somehow, some way, find their game at Wisconsin in the final game of the season, they will STILL have an outside chance to make the Big Dance. This scenario is very unlikely given the recent struggles of this team, but if the players decide to finally put it together, anything is possible. The first chance comes on Sunday when Iowa comes to the Assembly Hall (5:00 pm, BTN). I'm not saying that this is even a possibility, it is just food for thought. It is hard to fathom a team that lost as bad as they did at Nebraska even having a remote chance to redeem themselves, but first things first, they need to beat Iowa. However, it is probably too late for Weber, regardless.

The Illini women's basketball team wraps up the regular season this weekend when they travel to Madison, Wisconsin to battle the Badgers. Even though their record is not good (11-17 overall, 5-10 in the Big Ten), they have at least been respectable recently, unlike their male counterparts. Given the past history for the women, they tend to play their best basketball at the end of the season, and with their Big Ten Tournament next weekend at Bankers' Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, they could make some noise. However, it is probably too late for Law, as the record has not indicated that she should stay around. Athletic Director Mike Thomas has repeatedly stated that he will evaluate all coaches at the end of the season and look at "the full body of work", and the lack of NCAA Tournament appearances may be all he needs to see. Hmmm. Sounds like a familiar trend to me.

Finally, even though it feels like football weather outside, Tim Beckman won't have his team take the field for nearly 5 months, but ticket prices for the upcoming season were announced on Wednesday, and the prices have actually come down since last season. Sideline season seats average about $33 per ticket, while single-game tickets for Big Ten games will be $50 (non-conference games are half of that at $25). Seems like the athletic department wants fans to come out to games, and are afraid that a lackluster home schedule will prevent them from doing so. Spring practices begin in March, so it is not that far off.

On The Hot Seat.......Ouch!

This Fighting Illini men's basketball team is getting impossible to figure out. After wins at home over top 10 teams Ohio State and Michigan State, it appeared that the Illini had turned a corner and was going to salvage what has been a rather tumultuous ride. But then, losses at Penn State, followed by a home defeat to in-state rival Northwestern once again has cast dark shadows over the program and once again put coach Bruce Weber on the proverbial hot seat. Much like what happened last November when Ron Zook was fired as football coach after 6 straight losses that followed a 6-0 start, the basketball team has lost six of their last 7 games, and currently have a 16-9 overall record, but reeling at just 5-7 in the rough-and-tumble Big Ten Conference. Athletic Director Mike Thomas has been non-committal on Weber's status, instead taking the stance that he will "evaluate the entire body of work and make a decision at season's end". By entire body of work, Thomas means the past several seasons, not just the 2011-12 campaign. Since Dee Brown left the program, the Illini have struggled in Big Ten play, compiling a 49-51 mark in that time frame. This doesn't bode well for Weber, who has endured a great amount of scrutiny this season with some of his coaching decisions. Also, during this period of time, several key recruits have left the program for various reasons, namely Crandall Head and Jereme Richmond, and the Chicago pipeline is producing some top level talent, but very little of that is ending up in Champaign-Urbana.

So what needs to be done? For starters, the players that have been producing all season need to all have good games at the same time. Brandon Paul has been very effective scoring over the past couple months, but turnovers remain a major concern for the junior from Gurnee. D. J. Richardson has seemed to disappear, and needs to regain the form that he had as a sophomore. Meyers Leonard, the lone remaining recruit from the 2011 class, appears to be NBA ready, but his maturity level needs to improve in order to excel at the next level. Weber continues to have a short leash for players that get two fouls in the first half, pulling them from the game and letting them sit on the bench for the remainder of the half. This disturbs the flow of the game, and the chances of the player getting a third foul is low, but until Weber takes a chance and lets this happen, we will only continue to speculate. In the loss on Sunday to Michigan (70-61), Leonard scored the first 4 points of the game, and was looking like he was going to have a huge game with a decided size advantage down low. But, two fouls later, he was out of the game, and throwing in halftime, was sidelined for nearly an hour. When he did get back into the game, he was taken off of the block inside and just added a free throw the rest of the way. Things have to change, and they have to change fast if the Illini are going to salvage the season and once again make the NCAA Tournament. The next two games become must-wins for the Illini, with the first of those coming on Wednesday night when the Illini return to action at the Assembly Hall to face the Purdue Boilermakers (7:30 pm, BTN). Purdue won the first meeting of the season back on New Year's Eve 75-60 in West Lafayette, and currently have a six game winning streak against the Illini. Illinois needs to win their remaining games at home, as well as take one or two more on the road. On Saturday, they travel to Lincoln, Nebraska for the first time since the 1975 season to face a Cornhusker squad that is last in the league, but plays well enough at home to make it interesting. But, first things first, they need to take care of business against Purdue, or else the outcries for Weber will only continue to get louder with increased fervor.

After several near misses early in Big Ten play, Jolette Law finally has her Illini women's basketball team playing better basketball, winning 3 of their last 4 games, including an exciting 66-65 victory over #10 Ohio State at home. The Illini also defeated Indiana 61-60 in Bloomington on a last second shot by Karisma Penn, and even though the Illini's record is still not impressive at 10-16 overall and 4-9 in Big Ten play, they are at least making progress and staying competitive. This potential makes them a dangerous team in the upcoming Big Ten Tournament at Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, a role that they have become all too familiar with over the past few seasons. That road is actually the only way that they will be getting into post-season action, but it is not out of the question. AD Thomas will also assess this body of work at the end of the season and make a decision. Thomas has said that he wants his athletic teams to compete for championships, and the way to make that happen is to make sure that he has the right people at the top to make that a possibility. Stay tuned, because this could get very interesting down the stretch.

A New Beginning

I had intended on paying tribute to Joe Paterno this week in place of talking about Illini sports, but there was so much going on at the University of Illinois sports complex this week that I have decided to postpone that subject another week. I had the distinct pleasure of speaking by telephone to Jonathon Mahler, who just published a new book on Paterno entitled Death Comes To Happy Valley. Mahler was very insightful in talking with me about his research for the book, as well as the turn of events leading to his firing, and ultimately, death. So, that entry will be coming up in a future Illini Guy Report. There is a lot to cover this week, so I'll get right to it.

Wednesday was National Letter of Intent Signing Day for high school athletes to make their college choices official by signing on the dotted line and then faxing those letters to the respective schools. New Illini football coach Tim Beckman signed a total of 19 players in a class that is not bursting with a lot of fanfare, but talented nonetheless. Highlighting the class are 6 players from the state of Ohio, 5 from Illinois, 5 from Florida, and 1 each from Michigan, Indiana, North Carolina and Pennsylvania. Since Beckman was hired back on December 9th, he has had roughly a month to assemble a coaching staff, and get out on the road to get the recruits onto campus. 14 skill players, 4 lineman and a kicker is the way that the class was broken down. On Tuesday, Beckman introduced his coaching staff to the media, and at first glimpse, the coaches he is bringing in are much like him, energetic and ready to roll. Beckman stresses family a lot, and will incorporate that philosophy into his coaching style at Illinois. After the recruiting class was unveiled, Beckman held an event at the Assembly Hall for the public to meet the coaches and to show the new commitments on the video screen. All signs are pointing to athletic director Mike Thomas making a good hire in Beckman, but the real test will be when the team takes the field this fall. It is unfair to judge him on this year, however, as most of these players are Zook's and may not thrive in Beckman's system. Unlike when Zook was hired, Beckman inherits a team with a lot of talent on the roster, although the marquee player, Whitney Mercilus, left early for the NFL. Also, a favorable schedule at home will help with getting another winning record. But the ultimate goal, as the coaches pointed out, is to bring championships to Champaign, something that everyone in Illini Nation should be excited to hear.

After three straight losses, Bruce Weber has begun to feel his seat getting a bit hotter, as fans continue to call for his dismissal. On Tuesday night, 9th ranked Michigan State paid a visit to the Assembly Hall, a task that was daunting at best. Needless to say, the game set basketball back quite a few decades, and in the end, the Illini came out on top in a very ugly game, upsetting the Spartans 42-41 to record their second win of the season against a top 10 team. There hadn't been this low scoring of a game since that infamous Penn State debacle a few years back, 38-33. The 42 points scored by the Illini also were the lowest by an Illini team in a win in a very long time. Still, a win is a win, but it does come with some questions. The Illini are still having trouble putting the ball in the basket, and whoever thinks Meyers Leonard is ready for the NBA after this season might want to re-assess their thinking. Yes, Leonard has size, and that is what the pro scouts are looking for, but the fact remains that he still has issues in driving the lane towards the hoop. Michigan State's two big men. Draymond Green and Derrick Nix manhandled him for most of the game. With the victory, the Illini improve to 16-6 overall and 5-4 in the Big Ten, and will welcome the Northwestern Wildcats to the Assembly Hall on Super Bowl Sunday for a matinee affair (2:00 pm CT, BTN). After the Wildcats come to Champaign, then the schedule gets a whole lot tougher, with road contests at Indiana and Michigan the following week. In a season that has been anything but predictable in the Big Ten, it should be interesting to say the least.

Even though the Illini women's basketball team hadn't won a conference game heading into the start of last week, they have remained competitive, just not being able to win the close games down the stretch. That all changed, however, with a win at Michigan State last Thursday 71-62 in overtime. Trying to capitalize on the momentum of that win, they hosted Nebraska for "Pack The Hall" on Sunday afternoon. In front of 2200 people, which for the women is a pretty big crowd, they were defeated by the Cornhuskers 67-47. Nebraska came in ranked #19, so it was a pretty tall order for the Illini to come out on top. Finally, to cap a busy week for Jolette Law's team, the Illini hosted Minnesota on Thursday night, and was able to come out on top, defeating the Gophers 72-67. With the win over Minnesota, the Illini improve their season marks to 8-15 overall and 2-8 in the conference. Those records are still not very impressive, but taking a look at the schedule gives a better indication of why it is like it is. The Illini have the seventh toughest schedule in the nation, and Law is hoping that the level of competition that they are playing will benefit them when the Big Ten Tournament begins at the end of this month. That is the only realistic shot that they have of doing anything in the postseason.

Now What?

Over the next couple of weeks, we will see just what kind of a basketball team Bruce Weber has this year. The Illini are currently on a two game losing streak, and enduring a tough task on Saturday when they travel to Minneapolis, Minnesota to battle the Golden Gophers of Minnesota at Williams Arena, commonly known as "The Barn" (7:00 pm CT, BTN). After the Illini lost at Penn State back last Thursday, the Illini came back home to face the Wisconsin Badgers, who have had an up and down season of their own in Big Ten Conference play this year. The Illini could have earned some redemption with a win over the Badgers, but instead, fell for the first time at the Assembly Hall, losing 67-63 to Bo Ryan's boys. We all know that there is some talent on this Illini team, but a lot of it is buried on the bench, not getting a chance to show what they can do. It has been a pattern of Weber's to stick with a certain lineup and ignore other players that could do as adequate of a job, and this year is no exception. Another habit of Weber's is to not mix up different defenses during a game. You see a lot of the successful teams adjust to what the other team is doing during the course of a game, but not Weber. He pretty much sticks with what he thinks works, regardless if it acutally does or not. Freshmen like Myke Henry, Mike Shaw, and Nnanna Egwu have had trouble getting into games since the Big Ten season started, even though Weber vowed early in the season that he would employ a rotation of 10 or even 11 guys. Egwu, who still moves up and down the court very well for a big man, has spelled center Meyers Leonard at times, but has not been on the floor very much with Leonard, instead settling for a relief role. Now, this type of behavior is what can lead players to transfer, as may have been the case with Crandall Head, who left the team at the end of the fall semester.

Shaw, who looked good in the non-conference season, has been buried on the bench as of late, and in the case of Henry, has proven that he is not afraid to take shots once in a while. Even Weber himself has said that he wants to get Henry and Egwu more minutes on the floor. Well, I have a solution for this: THEN PLAY THEM! It is understandable that Tyler Griffey, who lost his starting spot that he held earlier in the season, has been relegated to bench duty, because Griffey has lost confidence. After all, Griffey was one of the best players during the Illini's trip to Italy earlier in the summer, but Joseph Bertrand has since earned a lot more playing time, as has freshman Tracy Abrams, who is coming into his own as a player. The recent events haven't stopped the catcalls and chatter for Weber's job, as was evidenced at the 'Hall on Sunday when the Illini fell to the Badgers. But, after all, the Illini are 15-5 overall and 4-3 in the league, mired among several other teams in the middle of the pack in a very competitive Big Ten race. After the game at Minnesota, the schedule gets a whole lot tougher over the next couple of weeks, as Michigan State and Northwestern come to Champaign, followed by road trips to Indiana and Michigan. Over the course of the next month, teams will continue to beat themselves up, which, in turn, will change the standings even more than they are now. So, it's anybody's guess who will be the top 4 seeds when the Big Ten Tournament begins in March at Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. It's just too early to tell right now.

Different week, same result for the Fighting Illini women's basketball team, as once again they were in a ballgame, but ultimately fell, losing 96-84 to Ohio State on Sunday in Columbus. Jolette Law, who continues to press on despite all of the unfortunate luck that has befallen her team, tries to keep her team motivated, but that is a very hard sell. Karisma Penn led the Illini with 23 points, and the 84 points was a team high for the season. However, the Illini fell to 6-14 overall and still remain winless in the conference at 0-7. The Illini will get a chance to get that elusive first Big Ten win of the season on Thursday evening when they travel to East Lansing to battle the Michigan State Spartans at the Breslin Center (5:00 pm CT, BTN). Something has got to give to get this program back on the track, and it is becoming more obvious that Law is not the answer to this puzzling question.

New Illini football coach Tim Beckman will unveil his first recruiting class with a public event to take place on Wednesday, February 1 at 4:30 pm. The new coaching staff will welcome fans to the Assembly Hall, and the unveiling will take place at 5:30 as the new class is announced on the video scoreboard. The event is free and open to the public, and parking for the event is free as well.

What's Next?

This Fighting Illini basketball team is getting impossible to figure out. How can a team look so good in defeating one of the elite teams in the country one week, then struggle mightily against one of the bottom feeders of the conference the next? I guess you can chalk it up to being just a couple weeks in this crazy journey known as Big Ten Basketball. After the Illini's impressive upset win over Ohio State last week, the team had a rare 9 day break before playing their next game, a trip to Happy Valley to take on a Penn State team that has been a thorn in the side of Bruce Weber coached teams ever since he has been in Champaign. Granted, the break did some good in getting a couple of players healed that had previous injuries, but it also allowed for some outside distractions to creep in, most notably the lauding of the team to a higher standard after the win over the Buckeyes. It was just one game folks, and if you look around the Big Ten this season, it is happening all over the league. Indiana losing to Nebraska in Lincoln, Purdue falling to Penn State by 20 points in State College, and Wisconsin dropping back to back games, including one at the home in the comfy confines of the Kohl Center, a place where they very seldom ever lose. So, this trip to Penn State had disaster written all over it, and after the Nittany Lions came away with a 54-52 victory, the fears were justified. The Illini didn't play very well, and as has been the case for most of this season, and seasons past under Weber, play to the level of their competition. Good wins over Gonzaga and Ohio State have brought out the best in the Illini players, while listless perfomances against UNLV at the United Center in Chicago and home games against St. Bonaventure and Nebraska, in which the Illini won, but barely squeaked by, have given Illini Nation cause for concern. A lot has been written about Weber and his coaching philosophies, and a specific quote after the game against Penn State really brings this argument to the forefront. Weber was quoted after the game by saying "I didn't coach well, and we didn't play well". WHAT? How in the world can your players rally around when you have a coach that is admitting things like this! Weber has always been known as saying what is on his mind without disdain for his players or whomever he is talking about, but this little comment really strikes me in the worst way possible. You call a timeout with 4.5 seconds remaining in the game to apparently set up a play, and what happens when you come out of the huddle? You put the ball in the hands of Sam Maniscalco, who has been injured for a few games and hasn't been shooting the ball well either. Instead, why not give the ball to Brandon Paul, who followed up his record setting 43 point performance with 20 points. Granted, given Paul's turnover tendencies, he may have not been able to get a shot off, but at least you could have made a better effort than what was put forth. With the loss, the Illini fall to 15-4 overall and drop to 4-2 in the Big Ten. There is quite a logjam at the top of the league, with 5 teams now having 2 conference losses, which makes any and every game that much more critical. The Illini don't have much time to ponder this loss, as they get right back into action on Sunday when they welcome the Wisconsin Badgers to the Assembly Hall (1:00 pm CT, BTN). The Badgers are 15-5 overall and 4-3 in the Big Ten. The Badgers have endured their own adversity this season, losing 3 straight games at one point this season, including back to back games in Madison. Bo Ryan always seems to get his guys ready for the Illini, and now more than ever, it is imperative that the Illini protect the home court and get a win.

The way the Big Ten is shaping up, it promises to be a dogfight down the stretch as many as 8 or 9 teams are within a game or two of the lead in the conference. Ohio State still looks like the team to beat, as they are nearly flawless in Columbus, but lurking in the background is Michigan State, who always seems to be in the hunt under legendary coach Tom Izzo. Indiana has struggled in the past couple weeks, being replaced in the standings by Michigan, who is playing perhaps the best basketball of anyone in the conference over the past couple of weeks. Illinois is still near the top, but have the most difficult part of their schedule coming up after this week. Purdue and Wisconsin have struggled at times this season, and are still within striking distance of the leaders, and a good week by either team could elevate them further up the standings. Northwestern seems to not know which side of the ledger they are on, looking really good at times, while other times deserving to be on the bottom tier. Speaking of the bottom tier, Minnesota, Nebraska, Penn State and Iowa seem to have that covered. But, as we have seen so far this season, in the Big Ten, anything is possible.

Same story for Jolette Law and the Illini women's basketball team, who lost again, this time at home to Penn State 71-65, to fall to 6-13 overall and winless in the conference at 0-6. Now, I have said this before, but all you have to do is look around the Assembly Hall at women's home games to realize that a change is needed. When you can stop and count the people in attendance physically, you need help as a program. Law went barefoot for a promotion to bring attention to a cause of children that don't have or can't afford shoes, but in the end, it didn't matter, since the Illini still went down to defeat. True, the Illini have been in most of these games, and they are remaining competitive, but sooner or later, you would think that they would find a way to win one of these close games. Right now, it is looking as if the Illini will once again miss the NCAA Tournament, something that is just unacceptable at this point.

New Illini football coach Tim Beckman has completed the hiring of his first staff, completing that process by hiring Tim Banks of Cincinnati as defensive coordinator. Signing day for this upcoming season is February 1, so they assembled the staff just in time. So, the complete list of coaches for the 2012 are as follows:

Coaching Staff Assignments

Tim Beckman - head coach
Tim Banks - defensive coordinator/safeties
Billy Gonzales - co-offensive coordinator/receivers
Chris Beatty - co-offensive coordinator/quarterbacks
Luke Butkus - offensive line
Steve Clinkscale - cornerbacks
Keith Gilmore - defensive line
Alex Golesh - tight ends/specialists/recruiting coordinator
Tim Salem - running backs/special teams coordinator
Mike Ward - linebackers

A Breath of Fresh Air

I guess that's why they play the games. It's become increasingly difficult to figure out this year's installment of the Fighting Illini men's basketball team. Some games they look like world beaters, other times they look like doormats. Take the case of the last two games for the Illini, both of them at home in the friendly confines of the Assembly Hall. Nebraska paid its first visit to Champaign as a member of the Big Ten, and almost left town with their first win of the season. Now, granted, the Illini haven't been setting the world on fire with their play on the court this season, and the game against the Cornhuskers proved that to be true. The Illini needed a strong second half surge to finally escape with a 59-54 win. The win wasn't pretty by any stretch of the imagination, and the performance left those in attendance wondering what the Ohio State Buckeyes would do to Illinois when they came to visit later the next week. Coach Bruce Weber has taken a lot of criticism this season, and deservedly so. His substitution pattern has left a lot to be desired lately, and that could have been one of the reasons that Crandall Head left the team at the semester break.

Ohio State came into Champaign ranked #5 in the nation, and boasting one of the more talented teams in the country. Nobody gave the Illini much of a chance against the Buckeyes, but as they have proved time and again, they play to the level of their competition. I don't think anyone expected what actually happened, because it is the stuff that fairy tales are made of. Brandon Paul went absolutely ballistic on the Buckeyes, scoring 43 points, including the Illini's final 15, to single-handedly lead Illinois to a 79-74 upset in front of a near capacity crowd. What made Paul's performance so phenomenal was that he only took 15 shots, making 11 of them. He was 8-10 from beyond the arc, and 13-15 from the free throw line. Turnovers continue to be an issue for Brandon though, as he committed 7 of them to lead the team in that category. The outburst by Paul was the most points scored by an Illini player since Andy Kaufmann dropped 46 back in 1990. Dave Downey still holds the all-time single game record for points scored by an Illini player with 53 points. Still, Paul's huge night will go down as one of the all-time moments in Assembly Hall history. The Illini improve to 15-3 overall with the win, and remain near the top of the Big Ten Conference at 3-1 overall. The Illlini get some time to rejuvenate themselves, since they don't play next until next Thursday when they travel to State College, Pennsylvania to battle the Penn State Nittany Lions (8:00 pm central time, ESPN2). The time off will give D. J. Richardson and Sam Maniscalco a chance to heal their injuries, so they will be ready to go when the meat of the Big Ten schedule hits.

Tuesday night was also a special night for a former coach of the Illini, as he was honored with the first banner to be raised in the Assembly Hall for the great coaches. Lou Henson, who turned 80 on Tuesday, was recognized at halftime, and judging by the reaction to the crowd, is still widely appreciated by Illini Nation. It was a fitting tribute to a legend, and only one honor is missing from the Henson resume, and that is a spot in the Hall of Fame. Here's hoping that Lou is alive to see it happen.

The Illini women's basketball team has to be the unluckiest bunch in recent memory. After falling to Purdue on a last second shot at the buzzer, the Illini have lost to Iowa 69-62 in overtime, and Wisconsin 70-67. All three of those games could have easily been wins, but they were not, and as a result, the Illini sit at 6-11 overall and still winless in the Big Ten at 0-4. Looks like some things never change.

New football coach Tim Beckman continues to assemble his staff, and reports are that LSU receivers coach Billy Gonzalez will be named offensive coordinator as early as Friday. Beckman needs to get his staff completed in order to go out on the road recruiting. Signing Day is early next month, and with a lot of commitments left from the Zook era, there is plenty of work to do.