Illini basketball retrospective part 1: Those pesky expectations

This series of posts will examine the production and performance of every aspect of the Illini basketball team, starting today with the bench contributors. We will also review the core three players, the freshmen and ultimately Bruce Weber himself. If it seems like I am laying a lot of blame on the players today, it is only because I haven't gotten to the coaches yet. Their performance, after all are not independent of one another.

About a year ago, on this very blog, I ruminated on what set of standards to which we should hold our basketball team. We were coming off of a very disappointing loss in the first round to Western Kentucky and I hoped not to let that upsetting loss overshadow what was overall a great season that saw the team finish third  in the Big Ten and seemingly pull themselves all the way back from the brink of destruction that was 2007-2008. We should examine the full breadth of the season and judge the team based on those expectations.

I must hold myself to those same standards this year as we ponder what happened to an Illini team that entered the season in the top 25 but ended it in the NIT. Last year, when a team that was led by unheralded seniors and un-hyped recruits finished 24-10 with wins against teams more talented than they, I applauded Bruce Weber for what was possibly his best coached season at Illinois.

That team lost what I thought to be the two weakest links, talent wise, from the starting lineup, Chester Frazier and Trent Meacham, and in their place would step a recruiting class filled with potential along with some players still playing for the Illini which I believed had not yet tapped their potential. I, and I assume the fans and perhaps even the coaches underestimated the value of those departed seniors.

Meach and Chet were clearly the two best defenders from last season, and the most important leaders. They were limited in some ways, but they knew where they needed to be on offense, played excellent perimeter defense, and made very few mistakes. Aside from the two spots in the starting lineup lost, they left holes in the team defense that were never filled this season.

We spent an awful lot of time last summer worrying who would step into the starting lineup. Dominique Keller, Alex Legion, Jeff Jordan or my dark horse from way back when Bill Cole.

Bill Cole would eventually take one of the spots later in the season and would take over a sort of Trent Meacham roll with more or less a one dimensional offensive game, generally solid defense and leadership. Having averaged only 4 minutes per game in 08/09 and jumping to 21 mpg this season He averaged only 4 ppg this year but made his mark on the team by making the effort plays. Getting a block, a jump ball, diving on the floor or taking a charge, Bill Cole (effort) has become a utility player out of necessity, as for most of the season no one could find any sort of consistency as the third guard.

Dominique Keller had what we all thought was a breakout year in 2008/9, and his low center of gravity, combined with strength and even a decent perimeter shot, many of us thought he would be a possible candidate for the 3, or at worst continue his role as the primary backup for Tisdale and Davis. Although he only averaged 1 minute fewer per game this season, his minutes and production went way down. He had what had to be considered his high water mark for his career in the United Center  scoring 22 points and making the game tying 3 pointer to send the game into overtime. He has had some very good times in Champaign and some very disappointing ones as well. His fouls and turnovers in key situations down the stretch  only contributed to the friction between Dom and the coaching staff. At best this season, Dom was consistent with his play from last year, but when expectations from many (himself included) having him move into the starting lineup, there certainly could have been better production from the best interview on the team.

Alex Legion. Add Illinois to the long list of Michigan, Kentucky, and now FIU, schools hoping Alex Legion can bring his huge High School talent for scoring to their team and bring them to another level. From quite a long time ago, Alex was supposed to be this team's Kobe, not a lot of defense nor ball handling but as pure a scorer as there ever was. Illini fans hoped to see the break out Alex Legion game at some point this season, but he scored over 10 points just once, against Presbyterian. He lived up to his reputation of ball handling and defense but never demonstrated his shooting. Another possible candidate for a starting job this season, Alex left the team after the Missouri loss, ending an all too short Illini career. I hope that at FIU Legion can find a comfort zone that is free from what must at this point be the crushing pressure of being so highly touted coming out of HS.

Jeff Jordan was viewed by many as essentially an identical player to Chester Frazier, and without a clear alternative last spring to take over Chet's PG duties and the responsibility of the primary defender  JJ looked like a lock to start at least initially for the Illini. Leaving the team caught me by surprise last summer, returning to the team just two months later caught me even more off guard. It is probably true that the loss of an off season  training program stunted Jordan's development somewhat, and it could be seen at least early on in the year. That said, having the role of primary backup point guard go to a walk on, even to a preferred walk on with D-1 skills like Jeff Jordan is never a good sign for bench depth. Jordan though was too great a drop off as far as ball handling and passing from Demetri McCamey, and it was shown by the fact that DMAC averaged 34 minutes a game this season, and ten times played 38 or more minutes.

Ultimately most of the bench contributors from this team did not contribute to the level needed for a very good Big Ten team to be highly competitive, (unless of course you are talking about the ultra talented starting line up for OSU this year.) But this season's disappointing conclusion does not rest solely with them. Stay tuned for the next installment of the retrospective, the freshmen.