I believe this team was overrated going into the season. When you have 2 senior starters and a bunch of freshmen and sophomores, I think its too much to expect for a team to finish first..there may be too much pressure for this team. They are 6-0 at home, 0-7 on the road, 1-2 in neutral games. You have to learn to win on the road.

After seeing the final score of today's Ohio game I would have to agree. What is going on with this team??? Did anybody catch the game?

NIUBro Wrote:After seeing the final score of today's Ohio game I would have to agree. What is going on with this team??? Did anybody catch the game?

Just the usual. Can't hit the three, too many turnovers, can't penetrate while they do with ease and only the 2 seniors doing the scoring.

We were significantly overrated this year, in part because the writers who do the previews about the MAC rarely see MAC teams play, thus they base their predictions on hearsay and stats.
Furthermore, I'd contend last year's team overachieved. Last year's team wasn't really much better than this year's (remember UIC, DePaul, Eastern last year? ) team in terms of talent. However, they had guts, intensity and desire. They nearly won the MAC west through sheer determination last year. Of course, we've also discovered Morrisson and Staten were much more integral to that team than anyone thought....

This team simply doesn't have the focus. I'm more and more convinced those who've said the team has quit on Judson are correct. It shows a real lack of pride when you get blown out by the Ohio Bobcats this year.... :rolleyes:

Jay Bates set the tone in the 2nd half of last season. Morrison sarted but played about 10 minutes per game His defense and leadership are missed on this team big time.

Yeah, I realized I forgot to mention Bates after I finished that post. When I watched him last year, I really thought he was a very reckless, out of control player. However, we've had even more turnovers this year than we did last year, without the intensity and aggressiveness that Jay brought....

niuss Wrote:I believe this team was overrated going into the season.  When you have 2 senior starters and a bunch of freshmen and sophomores, I think its too much to expect for a team to finish first..there may be too much pressure for this team.  They are 6-0 at home, 0-7 on the road, 1-2 in neutral games.  You have to learn to win on the road.

Yes, this team was very overrated going into the season. Unfortunatly, most of us (myself included) believed all the pre-season hype. This was natural, since we were coming off a decent year last year, with hopes that the new players would shine. We are SO much worse than last year. Whatever inside game we had was totally lost. Free throw shooting has not improved. Why, oh why, can't we at least hit some free throws?? It appears that there is little guts and little heart on this team. It looks like this team practices only perimeter passing. I blame all this on Coach Illini Guy. His coaching this year and recruiting last year leave much to be desired. Let's hope next year's crop comes in with some fire and TALENT! But, it all starts at the top. IMO. it's getting close to that time that we give Carl Armato his well-deserved shot. Aren't there any more caoching openings in Illinois where Illini Guy can, once again, throw in his hat? :wave: