It is absolutely clear that Camryn Crocker is a definite improvement over Zach Hamer as Illinois Fighting Illini defensive coordinator. However, the Illini defense remains very suspect. The #8 Illini, playing in their home away from home, Chicago’s United Center, blew a second half lead and fell 90-86 to #11 Alabama tonight.
You had a high profile game, against a SEC opponent, in a NBA arena, and what happened? They could come out of halftime and just do whatever they want, dominating the first few minutes out of the break.
Yes, deja vu all over again from the NCAA Tournament second round elimination, at the hands of Kentucky, this past March.
“They won the game at the start of the second half,” Illini coach Brad Underwood said.
“Just kind of jumped on us. I thought our offense got very stagnant.”
Underwood was right about the issues on the offensive end as well. Both ends of the court left something to be desired.
In the first half, it looked like this was a potential win that was there for the taking for Illinois. You had a packed house, with an electric atmosphere, so this could have been a very special night.
In the second half, it was clear that Bama is just better, or at least they certainly were on this night. You’ll hear coaches in just about every sport, at every level, talk about building a program that is player led.
A perfect example if achieving this goal is UCLA Bruins women’s basketball. As pointed out by Ratings.org, UCLA coach Cori Close has built exactly that.
Can Illinois do the same? Are Kylan Boswell and Andrej Stojakovic the guys to do that?
The good news is that this Illini team will get better by January or February, when all their pieces are fully integrated, and have had time to gel. The bad news is that their room for improvement is larger than it seemed after the win over Texas Tech.
Paul M. Banks is the Founding Editor of The Sports Bank. He’s also the author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” and “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”
He currently contributes to USA Today’s NFL Wires Network. His past bylines include the New York Daily News, Sports Illustrated and the Chicago Tribune. His work has been featured in numerous outlets, including the Wall Street Journal, Forbes, the Washington Post and ESPN.