My last post here on PTTO

Well it sure has been fun running this blog. Its been just over a year since I started this as an excuse to post some photos I took outside of the Assembly Hall, and now it has grown into an addiction that I just can't quit. Blogging is so addictive that this little blog just isn't giving me the fix any more, I need to escalate to bigger blogging aspirations. Therefore starting Monday morning I will begin blogging for the new SB Nation blog Hail to the Orange.

I am going to miss the quaintness and simplicity of this blog, but rest assured the amateur nature of my writing, the absurdity, and of course the complete lack of respect for normal college basketball and football coverage. Hey man, I'm not selling out, I am just taking the man down from the inside, in the form of a sports blog.

Anyway please join me Monday morning, and every day there after at Hailtotheorange.com for the latest in Illini basketball, football and tom foolery. But for now, let us say goodbye to the best damned blog on the internet, (no, I'm not talking about EDSBS)

Wisconsin Purdue and beyond.

Well clearly I have spoken too soon. Wisconsin is not the team with the confidence problem, it is Illinois. Specifically our two true shooting guards Trent and Legion. If there has been one aspect where this team has been lacking, to an extreme degree, is on offense. Trent's slump has gotten progressively worse and his minutes are starting to suffer. Unfortunately his main replacement, Alex Legion is has not really ever found his shot this season, outside of the small glimpse we got in East Lansing.

The result is a nose dive in point production. Demetri can still drive to the hoop to get his points but our big men are being smothered while teams are challenging our guards to make them pay for going all in on the big men. Unfortunately the only real scoring threat at guard right now is DMAC and he can only do so much on his own. This team really needs to get some threats from the guard position, if for no other reason than to free up Davis and Tisdale down low.

Which brings us to tomorrows game. If this team wants to stay ranked it is going to have to beat this top 15 team at home. Thus far Purdue is the only Big Ten team that the Illini have managed to beat on the road, and beating them in the assembly will at least give the team the confidence that it wont be the 9-9 conference team that many predicted (given where we were last year, I will still totally take that though.)

As far as the future is concerned around here, there are a few large scale changes coming down the pipe, stay tuned for more information. Suffice to say though, it is a big deal.

Wisconsin is stanky, Our Big men are lanky, and Bo gets Cranky

No perhaps tonight is not a good night to be filled with hubris. Illinois did not play up to its abilities against Iowa in Sunday, was punched in the eye in Minnesota a week ago and has lost 3 of 4 Big ten road games. Wisconsin has lost 6 straight games and is looking to break out a funk that no matter how hard he cranks that Bo cant break. We have already seen that when faced with a nasty streak at home it can be ugly for the team on the receiving end of a slump buster. Just look at Minnesota from last week, or I U Iowa last night. You don't want to be the one who is on the wrong end of a game like that.

So why the optimism? Because Wisky's 2009 is just like Illinois 2008. What can go wrong, will go wrong. Every time I thought the team had bottomed out last season, it hit a new low. Wisconsin just lost to a Northwestern team that it dismantled earlier this season. This team is having a crisis of confidence, and I have a feeling it will only get worse for them. And that means losing at home to Illinois tonight.

You may be asking yourself, is this guy actually suggesting that the Illini will win tonight because Wisconsin is being karmicly toyed with? Not very scientific I know, but as much as we all like to look at statistics to figure out the likelyhood of who will win each game, there are plenty of occasions where the odds and the outcomes just don't match up. How many times did the Illini go into a game with an edge in talent and other metrics and still come away with a loss? How many times has this years team played above what predicted statistics suggested and come out with a win.

I am no Ken Pomeroy and don't pretend to be, but there is something to intangibles like confidence, intensity and chemistry. Most times quantifiable aspects of the game like size scoring and rebounding are the most reliable ways of predicting games, but every so often you get the consistently anomalous teams. Illinois is the up, Wisconsin being the down. Although I guess statistically, things do balance out between them.

Obligatory Bo Ryan Crank That Dance (yes, I still think its funny.)

BO Ryan Soulja Boy

Zookapalooza: The Skill Positions

Signing day has always been a big deal since Zook stepped on campus. The elite prospects he gets commitments from are now legally bound to come here, an issue made more important since the Eric Gordon debacle. The question this year is how will the subpar season and the loss of Locksley, our best recruiter, will affect our recruiting class. Now that signing day is over, let's review:

Overall, this has been Zook & Co's lowest ranked class since his first full year here (ranked 35 by scout.com and 32 by rivals.com). Don't let that throw you off, there are some key players in this class that can make a big contribution immediately, and some that can down the road.

Nathan Scheelhaase: The addition that I, personally, am most excited about. Sure we have McGee and Charest in waiting, but when you have such a talented dual-threat QB with time to learn the system, before being thrown out there, you can expect to see something special. I have always felt that it better serves a QB to learn the system rather than play right away. I use Sam Bradford, Colt McCoy (both 4-star QB's who redshirted before starting), Tim Tebow (we all know his story), and every USC quarterback under Pete Carroll as examples of this. (Oh yeah, and some guy named Eddie McGee as well). Then you look at Jimmy Clausen (supposedly the best QB prospect in a decade) and Jake Locker, both who were thrown to the wolves as freshmen and have not been as successful. Look for Scheelhaase to compete (and I think, win) the starting job after McGee leaves, giving him 3 full years of eligibility (assuming he redshirts).

Terry Hawthorne: Another great get at an already stacked position. Our WR corp can make any team in the country jealous as far as talent (including USC and Florida). On most team he'd be talented enough to be an impact player right away, but on ours, I don't know. With Benn, Cumberland, and Jenkins coming back as well as Fayson joining the mix, it would be hard for him to establish himself as an impact player. Look for him to see the field early and show flashes of his brilliance. He could be the downfield threat to replace the departure Duvalt and Judson.

Sidenote: While I am sad that Hawthorne's teammate, and fellow All-American WR Kraig Appleton decided to sign with Wisconsin instead of us, I think that in the long run, nothing will be different. You can't expect this many high school All-Americans at one position, on one team and keep them all happy. Especially in a position in which historically, players have been the most whiny (see Ocho Cinco, Chad - that still makes me laugh every time, and Owens, Terrell). Had Appleton come here, I can guarantee that somebody from last year's and this year's stellar WR classes will transfer instead of waiting for their upperclassmen campaigns to play. Even without him, we are still stacked. Not a bad problem to have, though.

Justin Green: Erroneously posted as a CB for us yesterday, he is a big, and I mean BIG, steal for Zook & Co. Wavering off his tOSU commitment on the eve of signing day, this athlete will be big for us. With lightning quick speed and agility, I see him as a Reggie Bush type back for us in the backfield. Although he can play both CB and RB, the reason we got him, supposedly, was that he wanted to play offense. I personally hope he will consider defense, giving our lack of talent on that side of the ball, but we are also lacking at RB too - even though thats more of a youth factor and less of a skill factor (I think Jason Ford is going to be special). Also look for him to contribute in the return game too with his playmaking ability.

Those are all the updates for now. More updates about the other (just as important) signees as more information becomes available (it's much easier to scout skill position players than trench players).

Zookapalooza!

Its signing day y'all. Lets sign some prospects.

Terry Hawthorne, the #1 wide receiver prospect (parade) in the nation is officially coming to the Illini. There is nothing like adding the number one prospect at a position to what's already the strongest position on the team. At this point in time the receiving core will look like Benn, Fayson and Hawthorne/Jenkins plus Cordale Scott and Fred Sykes. I cannot imagine a set of reievers with this much talent and speed anywhere else in the Big Ten. If Juice can pass like he was able to early on in the season he should have plenty of open men to hit. That is, if the OL can give him enough time.

To that end the Illini add 4 star O lineman from Tallahassee Andrew Carter, along with to lesser known prospects Hugh Thornton and Jake Feldmeyer, both from Ohio. Given the way our line performed later in the year last season, one of these guys may have to see some significant playing time.

On the otherside of the line, Micheal Buchanan committed to the Illini, hopefully making up for the high profile loss of Craig Drummond to Ole Miss. Defensive end is always a key position on defense and hopefully Buchanan can come in to his own on the D line.

Another key defensive acquisition is Ohio State defector Justin Green, a 4 star prospect at CB and hopefully can replace the hole Vontae Davis has left on defense (but I doubt it.)

Of course there will be more signings as the day goes along, and I will most definitely attempt to update as it becomes necessary.

Rumors on the internets: Paint Crew to come to Assembly Hall

The Orange Krush made a name for itself over the last few years by pulling off "invasions" of Big Ten opponents' home games, posing as hometown fans and then suddenly revealing themselves to be the Orange Krush Student section. If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery the Krush should be blushing.

Word on the internets is that 100 members of the Paint Crew, the equivalent student basketball organization at Purdue will be in town for the game come Sunday. This is what happens when you don't sell out your home games. In an excellent example of irony, the only place in the hall that would have 100 unfilled seats that would remain unsold and nearby each other is the Krush overflow section in C section behind the band.

Yes an Orange Krush stunt will be pulled in the very seats that normally would be filled by Krush students. Thanks to last years lackluster performance, and the general lack of excitment for this team leading into the season the Krush membership is way down from past years. If you happen to be a member then its a guarenteed floor seat everygame, if not, tough luck there is no joining midseason. The end of the sell out streak has alot to do with the smaller Krush this year, because frankly the overflow section has the worst seats in the house.

One interesting aspect of this could be how the Krush reacts to having the Hall invaded. My guess will be with humility and the silent dignity they are known for.

(Fist Jab to the Scout)

rankings are out, Illinois is 21

I was somewhat worried about an overreaction by the voters after the bad loss in Minnesota. Minnesota is ranked though, and given the benefit of the doubt the voters have given Notre Dame and Georgetown (they were still ranked last week with SIX losses) a little forgiveness I feel is justified for teams that have beaten each other up in a conference with alot fewer freebies than the Big East. But I digress. #21 is about right for this team right now, and is still an amazing feat given all of the unknowns at the beginning of the season.

The Illini are at 18 wins and thus only 2 wins away from that magic number of 20, what is universally considered the standard for a successful season. This will be Bruce's 5th 20 win season in six years, something we should not take for granted as fans. By the end of the season Bruce could easily have 250 career wins as a coach and 150 wins as coach at Illinois. The key to sustained success is consistentcy, and with the exception of last years outlier that is exactly what we have had with Weber.

On the slate this week is Wisconsin on the road, who played us down to the final minute but have had their season come undone in the past 2 weeks, and Purdue at home, which figures to be the biggest game at the Assembly Hall this year. A win against Purdue again would be huge, but a loss at the trainwreck of the Badgers would more than likely offset even that success. Honestly both games could go either way, which should speak volumes about just how competitive this league is. (Is anybody, anywhere afraid of Depaul?)