Can you imagine what covering this Illini basketball team is like for someone who lives in Chicago? Easily the worst season since 1999, and perhaps the worst team since the 70s, during the roughest winter weather wise in a generation. So yes, driving 5.5 hours round trip to cover a last place team that often struggles to even put up 47 points in a game.
Add in all the snow storms and you’re now spending 7 hours in your commute to see that, if the weather permits you to even go to Assembly Hall. That said, I’m done with 2013-14 Illini basketball and now covering 2014-15 Illini basketball. I know you think that’s crazy considering how they still have five regular season games and at least one Big Ten Tournament game remaining. However, I’m not the only journalist doing this.
I’m not saying other Illini reporters are completely ignoring what’s happening this year, to ficus on next year instead, but here’s a few with the exact same Illini basketball zeitgeist as myself.
-Loren Tate, the dean of Illini basketball writers, a University of Illinois institution, we all pay homage to him. He wrote Sunday in The Champaign News-Gazette, in his “Tatelines” column: “win or lose this month, my reaction is to evaluate developments according to how they factor into 2014-15.”
-Sounds about right. Dave Wischnowsky of CBS Chicago: “this frustrating season has undoubtedly reached the point where everything is much more about the future than it is about the present.”
-Wisch and I have an Illini basketball Twitter buddy named @Frustrated_Fun, who was quoted in a previous Wisch column. FF tweeted after the home loss to Wisconsin “from now on they’re the Cubs, the guys not on the team are much more intriguing than the guys who are.”
Fox Sports Next’s Taylor Rooks said something along these lines in our assessment of Illini basketball recruiting: “I don’t think the potential of Illini basketball lies in the freshman. I think it lies in the transfers. Aaron Cosby and Ahmad Starks are going to be HUGE for the Illini next year. Aaron Cosby is a great shooter. When they go in, they really go in. Ahmad Starks did good work at Oregon State, and knows how to really facilitate the ball effectively.”
She’s right, and that’s where this site, and my Chicago Now site are going now with Illini basketball coverage. You don’t want me to talk about this season. Just as much as I don’t want to talk about it. This is not “a rough go” or “struggling right now.” This is a complete and utter train wreck on par with how bad Illini football has been in the Tim Beckman era.
How would you feel after driving 4 hours in a snowstorm to watch your alma mater score only 36 points and lose? I’ve also noticed the numbers of page views seem to attest to this lately. Interest in the present of Illini basketball is down on the web, so we’ll be focusing on the future of Illini basketball instead.
Paul M. Banks owns The Sports Bank.net, an affiliate of Fox Sports. An MBA and Fulbright scholar, he’s also a frequent analyst on news talk radio; with regular segments on ESPN,NBC, CBS and Fox. A former NBC Chicago and Washington Times writer, he’s also been featured on the History Channel. President Obama follows him on Twitter (@paulmbanks)