Too bad they don’t award points on the scoreboard for enthusiasm. Ron Zook would have scored a touchdown Monday at the press conference announcing the start of Illini spring football practice.
I have to confess it’s always hard for me to switch gears, moving from basketball to football. For one thing, spring practice starts while we’re just getting ready for the Final Four. So college hoops is still very much on everyone’s mind. For another, Illinois football has been so disappointing since the 2001 Big Ten championship that there hasn’t been much to get excited about. It’s been so dismal we’re a little numb to it all.
I’d like to think that is about to change under Ron Zook, and perhaps it is. We’ve been through the first Zook season with results not far from expectations. We watched him install an interesting offense and watched a very, very bad defense struggle to stop anyone. We knew the overall talent level was down and we knew he would play young kids that are going to be around for a few years. We knew that would hurt in the short term but might help in the long term. Now we’re ready to see what progress has been made.
Zook absolutely believes progress already has been made, mostly in the weight room and in improved performances with agility drills. And he believes the seven newcomers already on campus instantly improve the athleticism of the football team. The arrival of the rest of the recruits this summer will further advance the team’s speedl, he says.
Now, can they play better? Can they tackle? Can they force more turnovers? Can they start believing they can win close games and find a way to do so? Do they have more play-makers? I’ve never heard a football coach who didn’t believe his team was getting bigger, stronger and faster, but is this team REALLY getting bigger, stronger and faster? This spring will give us at least a glimpse.
The most disturbing factor at the start of spring practice is the absense or returning quarterback Tim Brasic. Zook suspended Brasic and two teammates for failing to take care of their academic requirements. Brasic could be back as soon as Monday (missing just three practices) if he meets expectations and Zook sounded as though that will happen. Zook hasn’t shared the details, but you have to wonder: If Brasic is the returning quarterback, and knowing that heralded freshman Juice Williams will be arriving this summer, why did he allow such a careless slip? And how can that improve his image as a team leader? Maybe it wasn’t a big deal, but it was big enough to merit a suspension from a head coach who repeatedly says he really likes Brasic.
It’s my opinion that Williams will be the starting quarterback by the Big Ten opener Sept. 23 vs. Iowa, regardless of what Brasic does. I could be wrong, but Zook and QB coach Ed Zaungbrecher have gone out of their way to prep Williams and get him on the fast track toward winning the job. When they had an open recruiting period, they were allowed to meet in person with Williams once a week for six weeks. Zaunbrecher met with Williams every week, talking about the play book, the terminology, the offense, the intracacies of making it all work. They clearly want him to hit the ground running when he arrives this summer. No question in my mind they view him as the key to this program’s future success, the Dee Brown of the development of a new era in Illini football.
Defense is the big worry in my mind. Say it any way you want, but Illinois has been abysmal defensively the last few seasons. I think Zook knew there was going to be no great gains last season and decided to push as many promising young kids in there as possible. I can’t argue with that thinking. Someone like Brit Miller learned on the job as a freshman linebacker and he’s light years ahead of where he would have been had Zook tried to use an more experienced guy as a stop-gap measure.
Zook has also said he’s concerned about upgrading the offensive line and he’s clearly excited about progress there. As of now, you’d see Akim Millington at left tackle, Martin O’Donnell at left guard, Ryan McDonald at center, Matt Maddox at right guard and Charles Myles at right tackle.
That represents a shakeup on the line. Myles, who started the last two games of the season after moving from defense, has clearly stepped forward as a re-born man. And at 6-6, 320, Zook thinks he can be outstanding. No question Millington can be a good one, perhaps a great one. He’s the transfer from Oklahoma who was on track to start for the Sooners. He seems determined to make an impact.
Zook also said he’s not likely to throw a big workload at running backs Pierre Thomas or E.B. Halsey, who are proven commodities. Instead, he’ll give a lot of reps to Rashard Mendenhall. And his brother, Walter Mendenhall, has been moved from defense to fullback.
No predictions here. I’m taking a “wait and see” attitude. Let’s say I’m hopeful but after the recent poor performances, I need to see results on the field. I do, however, admire Zook’s enthusiasm and what I perceive to be an attitude of optimism that is infecting the players. I just hope Zook’s optimism has a basis in reality.
March 27th, 2006 at 5:14 pm
Here’s hopeing coach Zook gets more of an opportunity to suceed at Illinois than he did down here. There was a website that wanted him fired before he ever coached a game. This web site kept after him to the day he was let go. Coach Zook was a well liked person at florida by the media and the fans, but this was the old ball coaches territory and no one could replace coach Superior in the eyes of the Gator idiots called alumni and boosters. Coach had the bad luck of following the living God of gator land. This past team under the new God didn’ do a lot better than the year before under Coach Zook. A bad call is all that saved them from losing to Our beloved Hawkeyes, just being a little sarcastic about beloved. Last years Illini team had very little speed at linebacker and their corners were horrific. Some of the Illini players last year would have been lucky to be a walk on in Gator land. Coach did as much better job of coaching than he was given credit for, with the bad recruits he was left with from the Turner era fiasco. I for one really enjoyed seeing some imagination on offense, rather than the 70’s coached offense that Turner used. The worst part is being a Bears fan, I got to put up with his out dated crap now. The Shot gun and spread offense is the ofensense of the and the future. Mr Turner doesn’t belie in the shot gun formation. Thank you Coach Zook for bringing the 21st century to Illinois. The densense was awful to watch, but I enjoyed seeing the ball being moved down the field on offense.
March 27th, 2006 at 7:04 pm
What a pleasure to know that you do football, too, Mr. Tupper. I didn’t konw that..but, then again, I started posting here only a couple of months ago.
Now I know where to go to air my frustration during those dreary and dark Saturday nights in Fall when you can bet your bottom dollar that the Fighting ILLINI will blow another football…and they never disappoint you! The IL footbal is another one of my long-standing frustrations with my beloved ILLINI…another no national championship major sport in 139 years!
I am excited about your enthusiasm with Mr. Zook’s outlook and hope that you are right. He sure didn’t do much last year, and his recent choice of the coach he hired didn’t impress me much…but, I hope I am wrong.
Like you, we’ll wait and see and would give him all the benefit of the doubt. As I’ve said before, I usually don’t get mad at these coaches or players as much as I get mad about that lousy and money grubbing Athletic Dept. of ours. That rat hole is the main reason the ILLINI will never win a national champioship in football or basketball. We need a dedicated, hard working and serious new Athletic Director with one goal in mind for both of these programs…excellence that would result in national championships for our beloved ILLINI. I am currently toying with the idea to start a movement to get rid of this loser Guethner and put that loser of an Athletic Dept. on the right track for the first time in 139 years…and I am willing to spend my own money to do so…unfortunately, I don’t have the time…but am working on it. Any volunteers on this blog to spread the word?
Again, thanks for letting us know about your football involvement, Mr. tupper..I am signing up right now to be fully involved with your blog on football.
March 27th, 2006 at 7:13 pm
Has Ron Zook offered any possibilities on how they will improve execution? Jumping too fast on a snap count in November, even for a young team seemed kind of unusual to me.
Their problem was not blown plays which might be coming from learning a new system. It was jumping too fast, possibly holding, too many men on the line, etc. etc. etc.
It seems like Ron Turner hired refs for practices which really cut down on penalties.
If the people who posted here became as expert at diagnosing football screwups as they were at basketball snafus, maybe we could fix the football team too!
At least if Zook is willing to try this Juice Williams at quarterback, it shows he is not going to fall in love with one quarterback and follow him to oblivion like Turner did with THE BUTCHER.
March 28th, 2006 at 8:39 am
I love Ron Zook I hope the good guy wins this time. He loves the university and being the head coach and that goes along way with me. Now comes the hard part and thats winning in a tough big time conference. If Illinois played 500 ball this year with great prospects going into next year I would think the program is right where it should be. We were not at the Division 1 level on defense, or on our offensive line so Coach has his work cut out for him. I have seen every team’s offensive line blow us off the ball for last 3 years. If we are ever going to compete we have to get bigger, stronger and faster. Coach knows this and he can recruit with anyone so I feel great about the future. Just remember all of you, he was left with the nothing except 2 runningbacks so its going to take time. Lets give him enough time to get kids into the program, train them and coach them. The normal player on most big time programs other than backs or receivers take 2 years to contribute. Also remember they were hanging Coach Frentz in Iowa after his first 3 years cause he didn’t have the players to win yet. We have a good coach and a good loyal guy he just needs time. GO ILLINI FOOTBALL
March 28th, 2006 at 8:57 am
“Wait and see” is precisely what the football team deserves. Maybe with a dose of pessimism. For all his enthusiasm, Zook has so for proved that he can recuit some highly acclaimed players - but he has not yet proved he (and his staff) can coach them. I look forward to him proving that he (and they) can.
On q-back, I didn’t think Brasic was the problem last year - Joe Montana could not have thrown well in the time that line gave him. But I agree that “The Juice” will probably be the starter before the year is out - especially if it does not start well. Zook knows he gets a semi-free year this year (win 3 and compete in a few more, and he is ok), but that next year some signficant wins better begin.
DIF, would you please stop with the “139 years” stuff? The University may have been founded 139 years ago (1867), but its first football games were not until 1889; basketball did not start until 1905 (as we learned in the Centennial last year). I also expect that “national championships” did not exist for a goodly period after we began in each sport. So 139 years is just not a relevant period; I expect you use it because it makes the record sound that much worse.
March 28th, 2006 at 9:03 am
I still can’t figure out why Coach Guenther agreed to play Missouri four times in St. Louis. Given how awful the program is right now, why not schedule a home game against Louisiana-Monroe? Unbelievable.
March 28th, 2006 at 9:08 am
I hope Jason Reda improves.
March 28th, 2006 at 9:10 am
Interesting perspective as it pertains to the offensive line. Seems to me that the right move is being made at Center, as Maddox was unable to carry his own weight at that position last year- literally and figuratively. I can still recall the Ohio State game, where it was obvious that Matt had put on too much weight. Hopefully he can do something at the Guard spot, but I doubt it.
As for Disgusted Illini Fan, truer words were never spoke. You are right on as it pertains to the need for a new A.D.
March 28th, 2006 at 9:21 am
Do you people even pay attention??? Everyone should be excited about what the Zooker was able to accomplish in recruiting after such a horrible display. He inherited crap and you can polish a turd but it’s still a turd. Give the guys a chance, the physical transformation this offseason should be enough to atleast show everyone that things are about to change for the better.
March 28th, 2006 at 10:59 am
Concerning the athletic program comments….
What appalls me is that our supposed “football guy”, Saint Guenther let this football program get run into the ground not ONCE, but TWICE in his tenure!! You heard reports recently about the lack of 300 lb. bench pressers, etc., and the reports about the weak offensive and defensive linemen. Matter of fact, those numbers almost resembled those of my good friends’ Div. III team 15 years ago. And, this, of all things, for a D1, BCS Conference football program in 2006!!! But what’s even more shocking, is that we heard these ’stories’ back in 1996-1997 as well! So, for an athletic director that supposedly prides himself on football (and is a former player and coach), these reports are one of the most digusting and telling things that I’ve heard in a long time. In my opinion, they are indicators of the leadership of our athletic programs. And, how could these things have taken place under a person that follows the program so closely? Didn’t Saint Guenther have weekly meetings with Ron Turner? Was he asleep during these meetings? Did they only talk golf? Was he oblivious to what was going on in the inner workings of the program? Did Turner completely snowball Saint Guenther? Wasn’t Guenther aware of the recruiting mistakes, the weight room and training table performances and direction (or lack thereof), and the obvious performances on the field? Heck, my wife (who is a little knowledgeable about football–and whose father played Big Ten Football in the late 50’s), even was shocked when she first saw the Illini playing Michigan. She stated to me when she saw her first game in Memorial Stadium 3 years ago–”It looks like men vs. boys out there…..like 8th graders against the varsity team”. Guess what? She was exactly right. So, if she could see it, why couldn’t our athletic director? These are the real questions and issues, IMO. Esp. right now while the athletic director and his leadership are trying to sell, sell, sell, such a large and important stadium project…..
I’m with Zook and think he might be headed in the right direction. I like the enthusiasm and the fire. The previous coach sure didn’t have it. But, Tupp, I’m like you, I’m numb and calloused to all of this and will take a wait and see approach…..ie. I’ll truly believe it when I see it.
March 28th, 2006 at 11:28 am
I’m just looking foward to a team that can move the ball on offence.All the defence in the world still is a boring game. Alot of 1st and tens wiil make me happy. Hopefully a win will come later.
March 28th, 2006 at 12:08 pm
DIF (#2)
With a little research you’d know that Illinois was acknowledged as National Football champions by at least one organization in the years, 1914, 1919, 1923, 1927 and 1951. This comes from the NCAA’s own website as well as others. So please stop with the 139 years…
No, I don’t feel great comfort in the fact that Illinois hasn’t won a championship in a major sport in over 50 years, but your constant mention of no championships is just not true.
March 28th, 2006 at 12:21 pm
Atlanta Paul (#5) - Amen to your DIF comment. I hoped this guy was only going to torment us during basketball season.
DIF… before donning your Eeyore suit (or do you just wear it 24/7?) check the history of our university:
Football… National Champions: 1919, 1923, 1927.
And please contribute something interesting instead of paranoia and conspiracy theory. Otherwise, we will mock you.
I don’t know what’s more embarrassing… not even making an effort to know the history of the program before you bemoan it or not realizing that your ignorance completely devalues your ranting.
March 28th, 2006 at 1:40 pm
To add to Tex and Bill’s fine work, my Bruce Weber autographed copy of a “Century of Orange and Blue” notes that Illinois won a national champoinship in basketball in the 1914-1915 season. I have not scanned the whole book to see if perhaps there were others, but I did skim a story that said that the Whiz Kids appeared to be on their way to one before they were all called off to serve their country in WWII prior to the end of the season.
March 28th, 2006 at 2:26 pm
To “DIF” and “JeffJ” - Lighten up! Ron Guenther is the best thing that has happened to Illini athletics in a very long time. He inherited Lou Tepper and eventually had to let him go. He hired Ron Turner and gave him every opportunity to succeed (which Turner did) and out of loyalty probably stuck with him longer than he should have.
Guenther’s been around Illinois athletics for over 40 years and since becoming A.D. he’s upgraded every sport across the board (both men’s and women’s). We’ve never had better financial support and he coninues to make the facilities at least comptetitive. These area will continue to thrive as long as Ron Guenther’s in place.
Being the football coach at the Univ. of Illinois is no bargain. Only Ray Eliott and John Mackovic have left on their own terms in past half century. Pete Elliott, Bob Blackman, Gary Moeller, Mike White, Lou Tepper, and Ron Turner - all fired. Think about that. Not something to be proud of. Hell, I’d think twice before I took the job at Illinois based on that track record. And you want national championships?
Illini football may never attain national championship status because there is nothing that sets us apart from other similar institutions. We have very little football tradition, we have average facilities, a nice, but unremarkable campus (compared many others), and not a lot that distinguishes us above the Missouri’s, Purdue’s, Kansas, or Indiana’s of the world.
Ron Guenther is not the problem - he’s the solution. Just remember, there’s always a Cecil Coleman or John Mackovic out there (as A.D.) who could have the reigns and be driving the athletic program into the ground.
March 28th, 2006 at 4:18 pm
DIG #2 - Didn’t Guenther hired Kruger who lured Sergio McLain away from IU (which might have been the beginning of the end for Bob Knight)? When Sergio made his decision, Frank Williams and Marcus Griffin decided to follow. After that he hired Self who was able to lure Brown, Head, Williams and Augustine to Champaign. After Self proved to be less than loyal, he brought in Weber who took us to the brink of a title. Weber has done a decent job recruiting but appears to be on the virge of a blockbuster class with Gordon and Rose and maybe Dar Tucker. I fail to see your point that Guenther lacks commitment to put a winner on the court. In fact I see a consistent effort to improve the quality of our coaches. Which should eventually manifest itself on the court. Football also appears to be coming along but we will have to wait and see. Personally I think Guenther has done a fine job and would love to see him around for another 10 years.
March 28th, 2006 at 5:56 pm
DIF and Jeff need to take a deep breath. I’ve been involved at various levels in Illinois athletics about 50 years and I can tell you that RG is about as good an AD as Illinois is going to get. The real problem isn’t the AD in most cases its MONEY !!! Ron has done a great job to try to help this problem but there still isn’t enough to compete with the “Big Boys” year in and year out. To be a top program in most sports would require about another $50,000,000 a year in the athletic budget. Anyone ready to step up and put the first million in his lap? Not one year but every year! GO ILLINI !!!
March 28th, 2006 at 7:20 pm
Although I hate to admit it, since I felt that an insurance agent from Chicago would be the last person you would want as athletic director, I think Guenther deserves the credit for a basketball team ranked #1 for three months and winning at least some Big Ten championships with Makovic and Turner. I think Zook is deja vu on Bill Self. Bring in a great recruiter, let him load up the cupboard with talent and then fire him in favor of a great technical person. Kinda cynical but it brings at least SOME improvement.
On the article about fouls against the Big Ten.
Check the Scout.com database for Michigan State. They have recruited two of the top 8 ranked guards for HS class 2007. If Illinois gets Derrick Rose, they will have two more. That would make HALF of the top 8 guards in the US on 2 Big Ten teams. Of the top 25 players, 9 came from Big Ten states, even though Big Ten states are only 15% of the population.
Put this together with last year’s 3 of elite 8 teams being Big Ten and next year’s show stopper Ohio State Greg Oden bonanza, the Dick Vitale/ESPN/Duke-UNC loving eastern media want to avoid college basketball becoming just a Midwestern event. So along with attempting to rig the tournament for UConn, which failed, they decided to dump on the Big Ten just for good measure. Plus, Duke and UNC are in trouble because of their problems with NBA jumping players, which we will see another round of in May, so the NCAA is merely handicapping their tournament. This is not a big mystery, folks.
Finally, I’m getting vertigo (fear of heights) looking at the Gordon-Rose deal. That would give the Illini two of the top ten national recruits. As we know too well from the past, you have to think Deon Thomas about all this.
What if Rose and Gordon both jumped to the NBA after only 1 year.
It seems like maybe a good all-around athletic lower ranked player who would play 4 years might be a better “buy” than Gordon-Rose which looks to me like getting a Maserati you maybe you can’t handle rather than a Cadillac or Mercedes.
March 28th, 2006 at 9:24 pm
Regarding Zook’s first year, my complaint is probably a nit because the team was woefully short on talent and the defense was simply unfortunate. But from here, I was extremely disappointed that the offense did not give Pierre Thomas enough carries. He was and is the most potent threat on this team, and he often was a non-factor by our own choosing, not because of what defenses were doing. Perhaps there was something going on that I was not aware of. I would like to say I am impressed with Zook’s offensive strategy, but I’m not. But I agree he is a good man, and he is worth the benefit of the doubt to see what he can build.
March 28th, 2006 at 9:41 pm
I also like Zook’s enthusiasm and I believe the athletes will feed off of it.
However, I do agree with Winston in post 6- I hope that the game vs Missouri doesn’t end up being a real killer. I would rather get a better record in the pre Big 10 season, and shoot for .500 at least in this early going.
Asking all of this with a serious potential of 2-2 to start is tough for any coach pulling a team out of the cellar.
And I hope I am wrong on all of my ‘worries’ !
Oskee wow wow
March 28th, 2006 at 10:19 pm
TO: John From Atlanta……….
And I quote: “Guenther’s been around Illinois athletics for over 40 years and since becoming A.D. he’s upgraded every sport across the board (both men’s and women’s).”
Ummmmm…………………care to shed some light on just exactly how football has improved since 1991? I know, I know. Big deal, right. After all, in the scheme of things, football is pretty small compared to other Illini sports, like say, women’s basketball?
*** BOGGLE ***
March 28th, 2006 at 11:05 pm
I’ll take the Maserati. What’s with the preemptive positivity regarding Rose though? Did he commit?
Unlike during the season, I’ve agreed with some of the stuff Ky Jelly, Smurfy X-man, and Disgusting Illini fan have been spitting recently. Now is the time to push for and demand improvement.
Yes, I recovered from the loss after almost 10 days of depression and denial. But I probably won’t be commenting on football too often.
Tupps, you used to throw out an NBA editorial during the MJ years. Did you lose interest in the NBA?
March 29th, 2006 at 8:40 am
So John from Atlanta, we should all be happy that Coach Guenther traded away a Final 4 volleyball coach in Mike Hebert for a Hall of Fame Women’s Basketball coach in Theresa Grentz? Based on results from the past several years that deal is a disaster.
Oh, and Mike Hebert took Minnesota to the Final 4 in volleyball. I am still waiting for Our Hall of Fame Coach to get the ladies back to the NCAA tournament. 1 NCAA Appearance in the past 6 seasons. Not much better than Kathy Lindsey, and not even an Elite 8 appearance!
March 29th, 2006 at 8:45 am
There are some strange comments on this post. Gunther had to recover from Kruger and Self leaving us, and I think most logical people have been very pleased with what BAM has brought.
On recruiting Rose, I hope he comes, that would be big. I can’t believe someone would want a lesser 4-year guy unless he doesn’t want to compete on the national scene. The reason EG gave a verbal is he looked at the development of Luther and Deron (first rounders). If you want to attract top talent, you have to be willing to prepare them for the next level and let them go when they are ready. A degree is nice, but those special kids will play basketball for a living, and likely a better one than most of us.
As for RG, he stuck with Turner because he brought us to a BCS game (expect for timing it would have been the Rose Bowl). We haven’t been there since I attened school in the Mike White era (1984). He had to give him some time after that, or we couldn’t get Joe high school coach to come here.
As for Ron Zook, I think he was a great choice! He does have some rebuilding to do. Give him a chance. Florida never did. I looked at his recruiting class compated to a higher rated class at Penn State, and we will smoke them on speed. The number of kids that can flat out fly will help this team. He will need more beef, especially on the D-line, but I think things are headed in the right direction.
There is a lot to be excited about at the University, both athletically and academically. I am proud of my school and it’s athletic department. You can throw water on it all you want, but for now, that won’t change.
March 29th, 2006 at 3:55 pm
Jeff J. #10. Well, the Guenther apologists hit you pretty hard. They talk about facilities and Lon Kruger as two of his great accomplishements!!! “Wow” Kruger has been gone for years and had zero personality. Our minor sports facilities have been upgraded, but last time I looked Memorial Stadium and Assembly Hall were not exactly new arenas. They don’t want to admit under his “leadership” we have become the worst football team in the Big Ten (Indiana thrashed us last year) and our women’s basketball program is a joke. They can rationalize all they want, but the guy needs to retire.
March 29th, 2006 at 4:33 pm
DisgusTING #2: of course Tupps “does” football too.
He’s a SPORTS writer, not just a basketball writer, and you can go back and catch up with the rest of us by clicking on the “football” months in the “Archives” link that has always been provided in the upper right corner.
And there you go AGAIN, living your life under the massively egotistical assumption that Ron Guenther and the entire Athletic Department exist for the sold purpose of denying YOU the success that YOU demand.
Judging from your rhetoric, Title IX and Political Correctness aren’t things that Athletic Director’s have to deal with on your planet.
(by the way, Illinois football is 117 years old and Illinois basketball is 101 years old)
Paul from Atlanta #5: you are correct sir . . .
“Before 1936 there were several systems for establishing a mythical national college football champion.
In 1926, Frank Dickinson, an economics professor at the University of Illinois, developed a system based on quality of opponents and scoring differentials, similar to many of today’s “power rating” methods (except that he had to do it by hand instead of using a computer).
http://www.hickoksports.com/history/cfchamps.shtml
newillini5 #8: lemme get this straight: you and our old pal DisgusTING honestly believe Ron Guenther is a LOOO-ZAH, and that he should be replaced immediately, is that it?
Than it’s fair for us to assume that both of you think Guenther must go because you’re both disappointed with what he has accomplished (or not accomplished) and done (or not done) as AD of the University of Illinois.
Ergo, Lon Kruger, Bill Self, Bruce Weber and Ron Zook were all bad choices.
Sheeesh.
xcather #9: you speak words of truth and wisdom.
Turning a turd into a gilded carriage can be done, but it can’t be done in a single season.
Tex #12, Canada Bill #13 and Paul #14: amen, my brothers.
Amen.
John from Atlanta #15: there are multitudes of people who would vehemently disgaree with your statement: “We have very little football tradition…”
Agreed on Guenther, though - he’s the solution.
illiwis #18: vertigo schmertigo . . . if Rose joins Gordon at Illinois you’ll be more likely to poop your pants than be afraid of heights, just like the rest of us.
(do they make Depends in orange?)
Puget Sound Jim #19: I thought Thomas should have gotten more touches last season too, but as a senior we’re sure to see more of him this year.
Dr Ray #20 (and Winston #6): Guenther set up the annual “Border War” games with Mizzou long before their program tanked, but if nothing else, it HAS been a win-win situation for both universities on the financial side.
Jim Pieschel #21: from a Title IX standpoint, Ron Guenther is a freakin’ GENIUS, and from 1991 to the present, I’m sure all the time he spent searching for basketball coaches might have eaten into his football improvement time.
Nic #22: say it ain’t so!!!
The old Chevy station wagon ain’t gonna be the same without you, old pal . . .
Wintson Smith from Joliet #23: you’re really XAVIER MCDANIEL, aren’t you?
Very clever . . .
Shark #24: rock on, Fish Man.
March 30th, 2006 at 1:35 pm
I’m a Guenther supporter, as I’ve said before. I do want to address two things.
Theresa Grentz was a hall of fame coach before she came here, and passed 600 wins while here. The recent lack of success certainly is distressing, and has been going on too long. It may well be time for a change. But don’t say it was a bad hire.
Hebert left without even trying to renegotiate with Illinois. I agree that was a big loss for the Illini. But again, I don’t see how you blame Guenther.
Oskee wow wow! Hail to the Chief!