During the pregame radio show, Illini basketball Coach John Groce said there are two types of college basketball teams playing during this period of the season. Those that have checked out mentally and can’t wait for the season to end. The second group: teams composed of kids that want to keep playing as long as possible. Obviously, he then said, this Illini basketball team is in the second category.
I can’t think of any hoops coach who would ever admit that his team had given up. Even if that were true.
When Illinois, fresh off a six game losing streak (which would an hour later become seven), fell behind 34-13 with 7:34 left in the first half of their home date with the #12 Iowa Hawkeyes, it would be easy to conclude that this Illini basketball team had indeed fallen into the category of the former.
Then the Illini stormed back and took the lead on Iowa, showing that they’re certainly not in that designation. The way they battled back to gain an advantage on Iowa shows that they’re definitely in the second category.
Still, the Illini hadn’t lost to Iowa in Champaign since 1999. Until tonight. The Illini overcame the disastrous start, but eventually they succumbed to Iowa and their White Collar Basketball. When the Illini will hit 65+ points last night, that hadn’t happened since Jan 4th. I’m excluding the 70 points at Wisconsin, since most of that scoring came in garbage time. The point is, I think it’s time for Groce to start playing the younger guys now and see what they’re made of. I know why Groce sticks with his veterans, and why the upper classmen get the majority of the minutes. And I can see why he thinks those members of the Illini basketball team deserve to play those starters minutes. Yeah, they’ve earned it.
However, we’ve seen what they can do.
We know what they’re capable of. It’s time to get the fresh blood in there, and see if there’s any potential there or not.
I know that doing so would kind of admit defeat for the season, and no one wants to do that. However, this Illini basketball team is 13-9, 2-7 in the Big Ten. They’re in such a deep hole to climb out of in order to make the NCAAs that simply- it’s not going to happen. In order to make the NIT, 2013-14 Illini basketball needs to stay above .500 and that’s in serious danger right now. And NIT berths don’t really count in the Illini basketball program anyway. It’s too prestigious an operation to care about NIT appearances.
So why not let those five freshmen get double figure minutes every night? Let the new-comers start and see major time. Well, John Groce makes a case against this idea, and I’ll present his case and rationale with some quotes in some upcoming features. It will make for a frank and productive Illini basketball discussion.
Paul M. Banks is the owner of The Sports Bank.net, an affiliate of Fox Sports. An MBA and Fulbright scholar, he’s also an analyst for multiple news talk radio stations across the country; with regular weekly segments on ESPN, NBC, CBS and Fox Sports Radio. A former writer for NBC Chicago and the Washington Times, he’s also been featured on the History Channel. President Barack Obama follows him on Twitter (@paulmbanks)