Season in the Drink

To paraphrase the great John Feinstien in his critically acclaimed ode to Bob Knight and his 1985-86 Hoosiers ,Bruce weber will spend this summer, haunted by the year just past. The highs were so high and the lows were so low and he will be constantly reminded of what might have been as he prepares for his most crtical season as the head Coach of the University of Illinois basketball team. Our history as a program is haunted by the "what ifs" of our collective memory and the decade of the "aughts" is now seered in our psyche's forever more.

Added players such as Charlie V in 04-05 or Brandon Rush as a compliment to Augie and Dee would have begat at least one NCAA Championship and most assuredly changed our recruiting fortunes from 2006-2009. Perhaps the subtle quirks of fate that have been a part of our destiny since the dominant Whiz Kids gave up multiple championships to serve in World War II to the 1989 Fly'n Illini who failed to show up at their own coronation are our lot in a fatalistic existence that defines our reality and helps us prepare for a life filled with banality at best with brief moments of joy and respite.

"The Great Recession's" end, contrary to the economist's who contend it is over, will not ebb without job growth and our "basketball depression" will not abate for a hoops crazed Illini Nation until Weber and the boys banish the ghosts of the past several years by becoming relevant on the national stage and assume their rightful place in the college basketball world. I am tired of reading about great Illinois guards going elsewhere and the inevitable excuses and apologies offered by our coaches and fans. Illinois soil is fertile and rich with a bounty of talent that could stock multiple top 20 teams.

As I write this missive, we are a mere hours before selection hour and our fate is not yet sealed, but already written for all but the most ardent and optimistic among us. Call it the "Season in or on the Drink" and acknowledge with me that fatalism may be another word for realism. Our destiny as a basketball team, despite my protestations to the contrary, is not pre-determined and rests with the players, coaches and fans. The lessons learned in our moments of despair and failure teach us far more about our future than moments of triumph and euphoria. What have we learned and where will it take us is the question at hand. The answer remains to be seen as we struggle to regain our swager and we emerge from our desert wanderings in our search for the promised land.

Confucious Says, Bubblelicious!

Embrace it, don't shrink from the fact that "wherever you go there you are." We are a middling Big Ten squad that currently has one victory and two losses against its mid-tier competition, Northwestern and Minnesota. A stopped clock is correct twice a day and two victories against a Lucasless MSU and Luerless Wisconsin is proof of that.

We are what we are and that appears to be a team with enough talent to be dangerous, but one that is clearly lacking in consistency of effort and concentration. Our Coach is competent yet overly conservative and I'm not buying the argument that we lack sufficient depth to implement a press or impose our will on others.

Don't agonize over what might have been when we can all enjoy a season and a moment, more reminiscent of Mr. Toads Wild Ride than anything we’ve experienced heretofore. I found myself remarkably calm during Illinois' frenzied 26-8 run against Minny that ended with the losing trifecta entry featuring McCamey's leaping errant pass, his fifth foul and DJ's final confidence cramp in the waning seconds. Toss in Bruce's empty “time out drawer” and the confluence of comedy and tragedy was not lost on the most avid and passionate observers.

While buoyed by the influx of talent and the optimism that it breeds; I am plagued by doubts that emanate from the prospect of one of America's preeminent basketball institutions, located in fertile and talent-rich basketball country, missing the Tourney of the second time in three years. Yes, it could be worse as our neighbors and mortal enemies at IU have come to realize; but ours is not a situation bourne out of scandal or coaching turnover. Our woes, to the contrary come most disturbingly on the heels of an eight year tournament run ending in 2007 that featured more victories than any similar period in Illini Basketball history.

Take a deep breath and be mindful that the world is a scary place and perhaps happiness truly is the "new wealth." So here we are, perched on the edge, fighting for life and living in the moment; it's really all good. We are experiencing pain, joy, agony, ecstacy and every other cliqued emotion under the sun and I for one am glad to be in the middle of it. Breath it in and blow it out and know that we are alive and well and fully capable of virtually anything. We can take a punch and keep on fighting or in the words of Robert Montgomery Knight, "we can sit back and enjoy the assault." I for one choose to feel and observe what I cannot control and try like hell to do all that I can to make our world a better place. I'm not angry, I'm not sad, I'm just all in for the Illini and trying to enjoy the ride.