Wisconsin lays a butt kicking on Illinois.  How can a big ten team recruiting in Illinois get owned the whole game?

Comparing games is usless but Toledo vs Kansas and Ohio vs State were not total domination by two perennial powers but is Wisconsin typically in the same category as Kansas or O$U?

Was the Illini rating going into this game a bit inflated? 

Is Wisconsin that good?

Wisky is playing REAALLLY well right now...especially at home.

Groce had a bare cupboard coming in. He is doing really well but 5 frosh on the floor in a hostile Kohl Center with Bo controlling the refs. Knowing Fran got tossed a couple of nights ago JG was pretty reserved. What else can you be when you go from 13 10 to 33 10 ? They lost the 2nd half by 2 points so at least he got to them at the half and stopped the bleeding.

As usual he took the blame off the kids and talked about what they did not get done as a program. Class.

Just one of those nights in the BIG.

www.youtube.com/watch

Which is why when he does find talent he doesn't let them get away or leave, haha.

http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/ncaab-the-dagger/bo-ryan-first-public-comments-jarrod-uthoff-only-133056874.html

This is Bo's best squad ever, imo.  They put up 95 points, which you know is absolutely ridiculous in Wisky's system.

Tell me if some of these posts and responses look familiar

ZipsNation perhaps??

LOTR

Fanbase is already lamenting the new hire. SOme say they think he may not be what they thought he was. Others talking about how Collins outcoached him and these last 2 games are the most embarrassing moments in the last 25 years. 

I remember JG saying he never read the boards because teams are rarely as bad as fans think they are in losses and never quite get the credit they should in wins. Good thing

Pretty brutal Post game thread. 

Note that Bo BOroski  is in the picture and the article continues to have a hard on for Groce and pushes him to the limit. I loved BO as a HS ref. NOt sure what happened to him once he left Indiana HS for the big time. He is iinvolved in more than his fair share of end of game controversy and really bad nights with his crew going south for a half.

Nice article, thanks for posting borna.  I had forgotten we were 9-9 at one point AND started 0-4 in the MAC in 2009-10.  I find it difficult to believe this year's Illini can pull off a turnaround anything like the 'Cats did then.

I went to the game. It was pretty amazing to see the defensive struggle as both teams are miror images of each other defensively and offensively. Webers recruits ....there is a large talent deficit here. Man for man Illinois gives away a lot at each position and waaaaaayyyyy down the bench. Groce is always positive and encouraging but he really does not have a PG nor does he have anyone that can put the ballin the hole whether it is EKEY getting consistently hung on the rim on a putback or shooting that flat 3 ball that rarely goes in or any of the guards including freshman Tate who was 1 for 28 from 3 . WIthout transfers Ekey and Rice this team would be way worse. He has his offense without anyone who fits and his fresman recruits while looking decent are definitely not ready for the BIG. They got their pants down last night. 

As for the hot seat. Read the post game thread if you want to get a feel for the fan base. It is ugly. I think most understand what happened with Weber getting a good run with Self's recruits and doing the same at KSU. That talent pool of Frank Martins kids will dry up soon too. Groce has folks in both camps and he is hitting the recruiting trrail hard but like most BIG fanbases thesw folks feel entitled and want to win now. I heard a COls radio show saying tO$U hoops were headed inthe wrong direction because they were not getting Burger Boys and enough one and dones......IU is melting down and I had multiple posts on my boards I visit and my FB page calling for Crean's head. I think JG has a couple of years yet to put some things together but he needs a top notch PG to put the shooters he has coming in next year in position to shoot. Right now they are near the bottom in the entire ncaa in shooting %. (maybe they need a shooting coach to get out of Athens and help them out)


Post game thread is more of the same reading that has been present this year.  www.illinoisloyalty.com/Forums/showthread.php

You want the "bigtime" you got it. Good luck with that. As I've said before, you can be a failure when taking these jobs and still get rich. Invest wisely. 

Tim O'Shea to Illinois.

(3-10 in conference play ain't gonna cut it for long.)

The majority of D1 athletes go to a school to get an education. when the talking heads and bleeding hearts start putting the cart ahead of the horse we got a mess. I think a kid should be able to transfer if there is a simialr spot somewhere but we REALLY REALLY have to do a better job of matching kids with schools and programs that they can become part of and complete the graduation requirements to get the degree that will stay with them for life. Basketball, in this case,  is the vehicle that pays for your degree. Basketball is not the goal or destination.

The number of kids in his spot at 351 D1 schools and how ever many D2/3 and NAIA or even jucos and such is very small. The rest of the student athletes should be aiming for the fit that works to provide them an education. How many spots are there  in the draft each year for roughly 1200 players leaving each year? I am an advocate of abolishing hte one and done and having them go back to playing right out of HS. Who cares? If your kid plays the violin well or sings and decides to forego college to turn pro .....who cares? Why prop up hoopers? IS this kid a 5 star athlete that has draft potential ( i am sure many around him think so)

I understand what dad is saying and I get it ....but the number of kids in his position are far and few between. The kid needs to get an education that will serve him well and play for a department and program that the cul;ture is to push him to get the degree in addition to developing his basketball skills. If that coach is not there in 4 years he should have  the ability to transfer but IMHO it still takes a year to get acclimated to the new school and system the player is going into as well as get back on track with the deficiencies and credits that did not transfer to the new program. If that year is the penalty you alluding to I disagree with your assertion. ANyone who has ever transferred knows that song and dance of credits going with you . If you change majors because the new school you are choosing to play for does not have the smae major you are kind of screwed and need to play catch up anyway. If you consider getting an extra year of school for free a penalty then I guess that must be considered. I would be ecstatic if I got paid to go to school for 5 years instead of just 4 .....especially if I was a pretty good player that may not be a true lottery pick.

The really interesting point out of this is what you consider to be a penalty. May be you have a different point youare alluding to that qualifies as a penalty....... WHen you were circulating rumours that TOmmy might transfer the only penalty to him would have been leaving OHIO. I told you at the time you could not have dragged him out of there with wild horses..... A little more definition needed please.