This is a little misleading. We beat a top ten MSU a couple years ago at home only because Kalin Lucas was hurt. We would not have been within 10 points had he been healthy. For the most part the last 6 years (post-Dee Brown) we could not beat the top Big Ten teams at home. That was a big part of the problem. To beat a full strength top ten team at home you ordinarily have to be a top 25 team. The last 6 years we never finished the year in the top 25.
Weber supporters/optimists can obfuscate the truth by pointing to a couple misleading top ten wins but the bottom line is this: There is absolutely no way to justify optimism for the oscar Weber era based on his last 6 years at Illinois. Three tourney appearances and one tourney win and no top 25 finishes over that time is conclusive evidence that he was a complete failure. Pop in game tape of those teams and you can see for yourself.
The only way you guys fare better is if oscar Weber changes what he is doing. He has to learn that good shooters do not make good basketball players (and often make awful players if they are stiff and don't have any other discernible skills). He has to learn that encouragement and hope mold better basketball teams than criticism and negativity. I was surprised to see that SIU had scored more than 70 points in their Sweet 16 loss with him as coach. It means he wasn't always coaching this way. He needs to own up to his failure at Illinois and get back to doing what he did at SIU.
I'm honestly not sure why at this point I am still ripping on oscar Weber on his new team's board. I think it largely is due to the fact that I have been reading justifications for Weber the last 6 years similar to the one I am responding to and I'm still not over the depression and negativity this man cause Illinois fans to suffer through. The Weber era at Illinois was a huge depression and left many of us floundering in denial for much of that time. It wasn't just the losing, it was Weber's denials that he was responsible. It was a miserable situation for not just fans but also his players to be in.
I don't want the same to happen to you. Don't buy into the excuses and rationalizations. Trust your eyes and what you are watching. Are you happy with the way the team is playing? Are you seeing good basketball or are you watching a basketball abortion? It may be that he has a team that will click ... but if that happens be sure to watch who he is recruiting. If he does not bring in a few decent ball handling guards, or does not bring in any post players that have any size or strength, you need to take action. Trust your gut. You cannot afford to give him the benefit of the doubt and you cannot afford to let him talk his way into excusing his performance. It is so hypocritical that he takes credit for taking Illinois farther than they've ever gone in the tournament but then blames the players the last 6 years for their failures and disappointments. Life doesn't work that way. Or at least it shouldn't and when he tries to get away with it everyone needs to call him out on it.
I appreciate your input and while I will give him a chance, I will heed your warnings.
I agree that Weber has to tweak his offensive philosophy and I hope he's willing to do that. He consistently had defenses that were good enough to win at Illinois, but his offensive efficiency numbers the last 6 years have been his downfall. And I agree that it is strange how much he changed the pace of his teams at Illinois. At SIU his teams consistently played at around 70 possessions per game, at Illinois it dropped to around 65. His worst seasons were some of his slower paced teams. His worst two teams were also his two worst 3 point shooting teams, both finishing worse than 32% from 3 for the season.
