Hey Illini basketball fans. Are you are fed up with Bruce Weber as I am? I just watched the Illini lose to what looked like a very beatable Ohio State team. Fire Bruce Weber now.
Since he led the Illini to the Final Four and the NCAA title game, the program that he inherited from Bill Self has been steadily declining. Aside from almost running the table in 2005 with Self’s recruits, there has not been much positive news from Champaign on the basketball front.
First, Bruce Weber simply can’t recruit anyone. The list of top recruits that Weber has filed to land is long; Derrick Rose to Memphis, Julian Wright, Sherron Collins, Brandon Rush to Kansas, Eric Gordon to Indiana, and even Jon Scheyer to Duke. The same Jon Scheyer that played high school basketball for Weber’s brother. How bad of a recruiter do you have to be? Fire Bruce Weber now.
Even Matt Painter (another Gene Keady disciple) managed to land 4 top 100 recruits in his first year at Purdue. The Illini could have had Painter or even Thad Matta from nearby Hoopeston, IL. I would be thrilled with either of those guys right now which is why Weber needs to pack up and move on.
Despite the terribly embarrassing loss to USC in the Rose Bowl, the Illinois football program is headed in the right direction. Why? Because Ron Zook can recruit talented players. He might not be the tactician that Weber is, but you can’t teach talent. Hopefully the success of the football program will put some pressure on the AD to make a change. Fire Bruce Weber now.
All this leads up to an 8-6 start for the Fighting Illini this season that includes losses at home to Miami of Ohio, Tennessee State, and (again tonight) to Ohio State. Weber’s Illini team is not talented enough to compete with the best teams in the NCAA and will be lucky to come close to .500 during the Big Ten schedule. I’m frustrated. Fire Bruce Weber now.
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