Ms. Wheelchair Minnesota ‘resigns’ and Wisconsin’s 1st runner-up won’t accept

I know I haven’t written much about Illinois’ run this season, mainly due to wraught nerves; but as it came to conclusion last nite, I felt I had to write something. It was probably the best season for Illini sports ever, as not one expectation was not met. We were ranked #5 coming into the season, and we ended up #1 most of the season, playing in the Final. Who can fault that? And the way they played all year, never giving in, pulling through consistently, was just awesome.

Let’s be honest, we had a big hole in the team, our inside play. Not to knock Roger and James and Jack, but we just don’t have that one wide-body, 6’10” that just pounds people inside. It’s more finesse for us if it happens inside. And against UNC this becomes a huge problem.

BTW, slightly off-topic, don’t forget this team was built with the thought of having Charlie Villanueva as well, but when Self-ish ran to Kansas, Charlie balked and ended up at UConn…just thought of that the other day; by no means would I have wanted to have Self-ish back or give him credit for this season…Bruce did all the work with these guys, otherwise we would have been 1-and-done like the Jayhawks who had just as much talent….

But this year will be awesome for recruiting, now and down the road; our coach is rock-solid and one of the best in the country, and hopefully will be here for years to come…as long as Illini Nation is patient (yes, next year will be rebuilding), he and we will be back and back for good. I already hear a few so-called faithful complaining, but I don’t know what you can complain about. 37-2, 2:30 from a championship with a tie score against an NBA-caliber team, what the hell do you want? For years mediocrity ruled, then we became a stepping stone for coaches to go elsewhere, it’s no wonder we’ve only been to the Final Four twice in my lifetime. You have to build a program and grow it into a powerhouse. This year we almost struck gold with a once-in-a-lifetime team. Imagine what Bruce can do now by recruiting his players himself, building his perfect team!

It amazes me some of the crap that has happened with some Illini fans in the past and their emails to the coach, thinking winning is some ‘right’ that we’re entitled to. Makes me laugh…it’s sports, go out and support them like the strong majority of the Illini Nation! What this team showed is it’s more about competing than winning, things Illinois had always been on the wrong side of…