MVN - Most Valuable Network

Heartbreak, Illini Style

Looking back on last night’s double-overtime defeat to the hated Indiana Hoosiers, I’ve lost all faith in this Illini team. At the beginning of this years’ campaign, I had expected a NCAA tournament berth (just like every other homer). After the hot start faded to black, I immediately hopped on the NIT bandwagon. Little did I know that the orange and blue would free fall into oblivion and drop home games to Miami of Ohio and Tennessee State, not to mention Penn State.

As I hinted at in yesterday’s piece, everyone with a glimpse of sanity in their heads knew that the Hoosiers were the far superior basketball team. Better players. Better athletes. Better coach. Nothing new there. However, throughout the entire first half — one in which superstar Eric Gordon was limited to one point — it felt damn good to be a member of Illini nation. They came right out of the gate with unbelievable intensity and played hungry for the first time all season. Illinois wanted to hand it to Kelvin Sampson, the man who ruined their season before it even started. They wanted to make Gordon regret his decision to renege on a verbal commitment and allow himself to submit to illegal recruitment from Indiana. And for the first twenty minutes, the impossible looked to be a reality. The Indianapolis native was completely rattled via the hatred and frustration from 18,000 screaming Illini fans alike. The freshman had lost all composure and looked like a whining infant on a court full of grown ups.

Clinging to a four point lead at the halftime buzzer, the Illini headed into the locker room with all the momentum and their heads high, perhaps far too high. After all, there are two halves for a reason, something that Illinois would unfortunately learn throughout the remainder of the contest. Somehow. Someway. Bruce Weber’s squad managed to fall asleep and they failed to realize that they were actually in the lead. Why was Trent Meachem chucking up three pointers with 25 seconds on the shot clock? How an 11 point lead completely disappeared on a 14-2 Hoosier run blows my mind. The Illini had Indiana on the ropes, but they failed to seal the deal — the story of their season.

Then there’s Shaun Pruitt. Mr. “I don’t need hit to free throws.” Maybe one could get away with that in high school. Not in the National Collegiate Athletic Association. As if shooting fifty-two percent from the charity stripe wasn’t horrendous enough, you converted zero free throws in your first six attempts before finally hitting one in the second overtime. Think of all the football recruits in the audience with Ron Zook. All the alumni boosters in attendance. Hell, even Dee Brown showed up to see you blow the game on national television. You had three chances to beat Indiana — and you failed miserably. Absolutely ridiculous. I don’t care what the press says. Or what Coach Weber says. Free throws fall on your shoulders. Your form was worse than watching “Sweet Home Alabama” with my ex-girlfriend. My eyes are still burning. And there’s a chair in my dorm room missing three wheels from the rage I decided to start when you choked on three seperate occasions.

Deep down, I knew Illinois wasn’t going to beat the mighty Indiana Hoosiers. Part of me knew that this club would choke down the stretch, like they always do. Aside from Demetri McCamey’s brilliant 31 point performance, this game was nothing to ride home about. It was the same old story, same old song and dance for a mediocre team smack dab in the middle of one of college basketball’s struggling conferences. The magical 2005 season seems so long ago. Oh, what I’d give to have Deron Williams and Luther Head still donning Illinois orange. Aside from the 10-14 record; this squad just has no life.

For what it’s worth, there is a silver lining. During the first twenty minutes of this nationally televised basketball game, it felt great to be a fan of the Illinois Fighting Illini. Everything was going to plan and it looked as if Bruce Weber and company would get much needed revenge on Kelvin Sampson and Eric Gordon. And then the tables turned before my eyes — and I woke up from my dream of the fans storming the court, claiming victory on their biggest rivals. I still can’t believe I imagined an Illini win last night. It was far too good to be true. When March Madness comes around and Illinois is sitting at home eating popcorn and watching Eric Gordon on the national stage, they can look back on February 7, 2008. The night they almost shocked the world and topped the Hoosiers.

This entry was posted on Friday, February 8th, 2008 at 2:25 pm and is filed under Bruce Weber, Dee Brown, Jordan Crawford, Demetri McCamey, Armon Bassett, Chester Frazier, Kelvin Sampson, Eric Gordon, Illinois, Luther Head, D.J. White, Shaun Pruitt, Illini, Deron Williams. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.