Monday night, if we may paraphrase Obi-wan Kenobi, “it was if a thousand Illini basketball fans screamed out in terror, and we’re then suddenly silenced. The inexcusable and inexplicable home loss to Winthrop led to more proverbial pitchforks for John Groce. The Illinois Twitter meltdown that then ensued was a million times more entertaing than the the result of the game
Today, as well as the rest of this week, has the potential to get ugly, Illini basketball fans. You already knew that, but I figured I might reiterate anyway.
If you aren’t looking ahead to 2017-18 already…like Yoda told Luke Skywalker about the fear that he would have once he reached Cloud City-
“You will be.”
“You will be.”
Illinois takes on #19 West Virginia today, in a match-up that is by far the biggest moment of truth that this team has had this season. The truth could be ugly, so you might want to think about next year’s incoming recruiting class instead. It is top ten nationally and tops in the B1G.
With addition of Tilmon, #Illini 2017 recruiting class is ranked No. 1 in the Big Ten & Top-10 in the nation by Scout, ESPN & 247Sports.?? pic.twitter.com/8xrvHdoXdB
— Illinois Men's Basketball (@IlliniMBB) November 17, 2016
I’m fully expecting the Mountaineers to run away with this thing today and hang a C-note + on this Illini basketball team, and then Florida State/Temple tomorrow might not go so well either. All in all, it’s still hard to imagine this year’s team rising above the middling mediocrity that is the #8 vs #9 game in the Big Ten Tournament.
Under John Groce, and during the final years of Bruce Weber, “it’s a tradition unlike any other.”
However, there’s hope for 2017-18. Take a look at the starting lineup constructed by Writing Illini, on the FanSided network, and read this post.
2017-18 Illini Basketball Depth Chart
1 So. Te’Jon Lucas/Fr. Trent Frazier
2 Jr. Jalen Coleman-Lands/Fr. Da’Monte Williams
3 So. Kipper Nichols/
4 Jr. Leron Black/Jr. D.J. Williams
5 Fr. Jeremiah Tilmon/Jr. Michael Finke
On paper, if these guys live up to their recruiting hype, it’s a top four, top five in the Big Ten kind of team. Based on theory and potential, you have a #5 to #7 seed NCAA Tournament line/top 25 nationally lineup there. Of course, you still need Groce to coach up his talent to reach their potential, something that hasn’t happened yet (and we’re still highly skeptical of ever happening), and you need everyone to stay healthy, but you get the general idea here.
If everything were to click, big ifs they are indeed, this could be the best Illini basketball team since 2006, Dee Brown and James Augustine’s senior years.
This potential lineup is one where you actually have five players playing at their natural positions, with the potential to play together in a classic fit, 1 through 5. You have a true, legitimate point guard and a real bonafide center, two things that haven’t happened in Champaign since…the Dee Brown/James Augustine days. It’s a legitimate lineup, instead of just cobbling together a bunch of wings and off-the-ball guards into a “best five.” The John Groce era has seen mostly an initiative of putting square pegs in round holes; because what else could you do with that roster he recruited.
In ’17-’18, and then even more so in ’18-’19, you would have a legitimate meal, consisting of an entree, side dishes and dessert. Unlike now, when you’re trying to find sustenance on finger foods and appetizers. The big picture concept seems strange given how far things have fallen for this program in the 11 years since the national title game appearance.
However, the state of your college basketball program is more fluid than ever, and attention spans these days are shorter than ever.
Next year’s entering freshmen were only 6 or 7 years old when Illini basketball played for the national title, so how much could that era really even resonate with them?
Whatever your image or brand may be, good or brand, it’s more fluid than ever these days.
Think of Nathaniel Hawthorne’s famous “Families are always rising and falling in America.” The same is true, to a much more higher degree than ever, with college basketball programs.
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net, partnered with FOX Sports Engage Network. and News Now. Banks, a former writer for the Washington Times, currently contributes regularly to the Chicago Tribune’s RedEye publication.
He also consistently appears on numerous talk shows all across the country. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram