The Bald Truth
There's a reason Jeff Jordan couldn't get a scholarship offer at a major-conference school:
He's got Valpo talent.
Michael's oldest son is a good kid and a hard worker, but the fact that the junior guard is playing 16, 23, even 32 minutes in games for the Fighting Illini tells you pretty much all you need to know about Bruce Weber's disappointing team.
Maybe all Illini need is Jeff Jordan to get food poisoning
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As poorly as Northwestern played at Ohio State a few days ago, the
Wildcats will give Illinois all it can handle Saturday night -
especially if they are hitting their 3-pointers.
Of course, it won't matter what Northwestern does after Jeff overcomes severe intestinal distress, scores 38 points and has to be helped off the court by a teammate after hitting a crucial 3-pointer.
The Balder Truth
While we're on the subject of Michael's progeny, how ridiculous that the majority of pundits have chosen to blame Marcus Jordan for wearing Nikes and thus "blowing" Central Florida's $3 million adidas contract.
While Central and other schools were recruiting Marcus, he made it clear he'd be wearing Air Jordans. Duh. Central signed him anyway, figuring it could do something to please adidas and still get paid.
So when adidas pulled out, this was Marcus' fault?
By the way, Marcus, who wisely chose an unheralded Conference USA program, is having a very nice freshman season. Averaging 13 points in league play, he just had a career-high 23 points on 9-for-9 shooting in a win over Houston.
Pretty good. Not $3 million good, but pretty good.
THE BALDEST TRUTH
South Florida football coach Jim Leavitt was fired after allegedly slapping a player. Texas Tech's Mike Leach was sent packing after supposedly confining a player with a concussion to an equipment shed. Mark Mangino is done at Kansas after reportedly getting violent.
The three - big winners all - want to coach again. So how 'bout this:
After Ron Zook goes 4-8 in 2010, the first guy to successful clear his name gets the Illinois job.
Of course, it won't matter what Northwestern does after Jeff overcomes severe intestinal distress, scores 38 points and has to be helped off the court by a teammate after hitting a crucial 3-pointer.
The Balder Truth
While we're on the subject of Michael's progeny, how ridiculous that the majority of pundits have chosen to blame Marcus Jordan for wearing Nikes and thus "blowing" Central Florida's $3 million adidas contract.
While Central and other schools were recruiting Marcus, he made it clear he'd be wearing Air Jordans. Duh. Central signed him anyway, figuring it could do something to please adidas and still get paid.
So when adidas pulled out, this was Marcus' fault?
By the way, Marcus, who wisely chose an unheralded Conference USA program, is having a very nice freshman season. Averaging 13 points in league play, he just had a career-high 23 points on 9-for-9 shooting in a win over Houston.
Pretty good. Not $3 million good, but pretty good.
THE BALDEST TRUTH
South Florida football coach Jim Leavitt was fired after allegedly slapping a player. Texas Tech's Mike Leach was sent packing after supposedly confining a player with a concussion to an equipment shed. Mark Mangino is done at Kansas after reportedly getting violent.
The three - big winners all - want to coach again. So how 'bout this:
After Ron Zook goes 4-8 in 2010, the first guy to successful clear his name gets the Illinois job.
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5 Comments
doug nicodemus said:
one coach in the press from a big program in florida said coaches from 20 years ago in any sport could not coach in modern sports because his main players are all street criminals...he said recruiters ask to the players rap sheet before they ever watch them play...the least i expect is that at least 2 will get busted for drunk driving...maybe it is coming back to bite them...
doug nicodemus said:
ask to see their rap sheet...geez you need a comment delete or edit switch in here.
DrewS said:
I’m looking forward to Illini basketball starting in a couple years when this year’s freshmen are juniors and the incoming freshmen have a year under their belts. I think things will get really interesting then.
I really thought Weber would turn out to be a Keady clone, recruiting classic underachievers who posses strong work ethics. It’s a tactic that’s good enough to make you competitive in the Big Ten. But it’s not good enough to make you competitive year in and year out nationally.
However, I’ve been pleasantly surprised by his last two recruiting classes. Once Eric Gordon decided on Indiana, it kind of hamstrung the program for a year or two since it happened so late in the game and no good players had wanted to ride the pine behind him. We had to settle for Chester Frazier-like talent. (Don’t get me wrong. Frazier was a class act, a great leader, and a heckuva defender. But he was never going to be the point guard of a top 5 team.)
Weber has really rebounded with the kids he’s landed lately. We know he can coach. The question was whether he’d be able to make inroads into Chicago to get the players he needed. He’s exceeded my expectations.
Mike Nadel said:
Weber needs support from fans like you, Drew. The vultures who want him fired are circling and have won over some of his former supporters. I agree with you that it's too soon to bail on him.
DrewS said:
I remember when Bill Self left Champaign. Just when we were making strides toward becoming relevant nationally, the coach up and left. The focus of the search for his replacement was a coach who wouldn’t bail on the program for greener pastures. That’s a big part of the reason they went with someone who had roots in both the Midwest and the Big Ten.
Weber was at a disadvantage coming into the Big Ten. He had gotten to know kids with talent levels appropriate for SIU, which was a notch below his new gig. It wasn’t like he’d been in constant contact with his new prospective recruits a la Tom Izzo, who was an assistant at Michigan State immediately preceding his ascension to the top. Weber basically had to start over from scratch and get to know an entirely different set of recruits. And in an era where coaches need to meet recruits as early as junior high, that’s going to mean setbacks in recruiting.
It’s a good thing Self left the cupboard stocked, because Weber was bound to have some lean years on the recruiting trail to start. Yeah, it took a few more years than I’d hoped for that national championship game effect to kick in. But it has kicked in. I really don’t see how Weber could have done much better. Most people forget that the reason Illinois went with an unheralded coach was precisely to avoid getting burned by someone who saw the program as a stepping stone rather than a final destination.
I think the vultures have short memories and are the type of people who are only happy when they’re complaining.
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