Illinois Basketball: My Christmas Wish List for the Illini

After the BYU game at the United Center on Saturday night, I had a dream that the Illinois basketball team won the National Championship.

It was an odd dream, however, and it didn’t quite feel right the next morning. Considering this program was a mere six points away from actually winning a title IRL about 12 years ago, I wondered why this was.

Then it hit me — in the dream, nobody cared. Maybe it was because I had just returned from an arena that might have been a quarter full on Saturday night. A venue located in the heart of Big Ten country where Illinois has an alumni base that outmatches every other school in the conference.

So, how do you get an apathetic fan base to start caring again? The simple answer is “winning.”

Yet this current team, with a 9-3 record, five-game winning streak and three against quality opponents, hasn’t managed to inspire too much confidence.

We can argue the aforementioned question of “how” all season long, and I’m sure we’ll continue to, but with Christmas right around the corner I wanted to think cheerfully.

What can Santa deliver Illinois basketball both in the near- and long-term that will bring joy to the fan base?

For Chicago fans and traveling fans alike, don’t schedule the UC game on a Saturday night one week before Christmas.

You can certainly put some of the blame on inclement weather. But, as I mentioned above, the crowd at the United Center this past weekend was pathetic.

I personally enjoyed being there, and I had a chance to witness a pretty thrilling (while sometimes confounding) game, but it was a sad atmosphere for an annual “event” in Chicago.

Don’t get me wrong — this is not about the inaugural State Farm Chicago Legends doubleheader that launched this year. I wish all the best for this event moving forward.

This is about Illini fan attendance declining in Chicago, which began years ago.

Here’s my proposal: Simply move the game one weekend earlier and/or schedule tip-off for the early afternoon. There’s just too much going on the weekend before Christmas for many people to give up a Saturday night.

Finish off the non-conference schedule with a strong, statement win over Missouri this week in the Bud Light Braggin’ Rights game.

Every year, no matter the stakes, I circle this game on the schedule.

Missouri is Illinois’ best non-conference basketball rivalry, and that’s important because rivalries are important to this sport. Ask fans of Indiana-Kentucky, Syracuse-Georgetown, UNC-Duke, etc.

This year, however, Missouri just isn’t that good, and Illinois needs to continue the momentum they’ve built up since that disastrous Thanksgiving week with a dominant win. The Tigers have already suffered two “buy game” losses this season and sit at 5-5 overall.

The tricky thing is — and this is why I love a great rivalry in college sports — these games are often close, and you can throw records out the window.

During Illinois’ current three-game winning streak in the series, the final average margin of victory has been three points.

So, gentlemen, it’s time to take care of business, and then you can enjoy a nice Christmas break before a tough Big Ten slate begins next Tuesday.

Coach Groce, let the fans see Te’Jon Lucas.

I don’t want to belabor this point — playing time for the freshman PG is one of the most hotly discussed topics in Illini Nation right now. Let’s get one thing out of the way, however: I am not clamoring for Lucas to start.

Tracy Abrams is clearly the superior option as our starting PG due to his experience, command of the team, ability to play solid defense and a surprising surge in three-point shooting.

But what about Jaylon Tate? The senior backup gets more love from Groce than some fans think is deserved, considering his less-than-stellar field goal shooting (39%) and fairly terrible three-point shooting (25%).

Look closer, however, and Tate’s 4:2 assist/TO ratio is very solid, whereas Lucas is basically 1:1. Furthermore, Groce has more or less explained that when Abrams isn’t on the floor, he trusts Tate’s defensive abilities more.

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Now, to the flip side. In the limited time we’ve seen him, Lucas has shown why he was a big-time recruit coming out of Milwaukee. He’s probably the most talented and natural PG on the roster, and next year’s he’s supposedly going to be THE GUY bringing the ball up the court, so why not see what the kid can do?

Part of the consternation from fans is about minutes — Tate is averaging 20.5 per game and Lucas only 12.1. The bigger problem, in my opinion, is that Lucas has only appeared in eight of the team’s first 12 games.

My solution: pull two minutes from Tate and give them to Lucas, and make sure to get Lucas in each game, at the very least. Groce likes Tate too much at this point, and as head coach that’s his prerogative, so how about a compromise?

If Groce is unsure about using Lucas in a tight contest like BYU, fine. But there is absolutely no reason Lucas gets no playing time in a game like the 19-point win at home over Central Michigan.

Complete the Big Ten conference schedule with a .500 record, including 7-2 at home.

I’m not even reaching for the stars on this one. I challenge this team to go 9-9 which, assuming a win over Missouri, would give them a 19-12 overall record heading into the Big Ten tournament.

In the last three seasons, the Illinois basketball conference records are 5-13, 9-9 and 7-11. Even in Groce’s first year, the last time the Fighting Illini made the NCAA tournament, the team finished 8-10 in conference play. In general, it’s just not good enough.

Furthermore, this year, I’d like to see at least a 7-2 record in conference play at State Farm Center. It’s doable.

Let’s assume one loss to a very good, ranked Wisconsin team, and a little cushion for one more loss, which I think is fair and realistic.

The home schedule has three “should wins” (Penn State, Iowa, Northwestern), four “toss ups” (Minnesota, Michigan, Ohio State and a struggling Michigan State) and two “tough ones” (Maryland and Wisconsin). Go out and grab at least two road wins against Rutgers and Nebraska, and there is your 9-9 finish.

It’s not pretty, but it’s the least this team has to accomplish to give themselves a shot going into the postseason.

Finally, let’s have a quiet off-season.

In the spirit of Christmas, peace on Earth. No knives, guns, battery, assault, drugs, police, etc. With bad news seemingly coming out every day, between Paul, Nunn, Tate and Black, the last off-season was a PR nightmare.

Illinois has a lot of momentum with next year’s top ten-ranked recruiting class, and positive energy can go a long way.

To get this program back to where it belongs, the coaching staff needs to make sure the players understand they are scrutinized 24/7. I want to see true leadership and guidance from Groce and his assistants, and I want to see these good kids develop as men.

If a couple things swing their way in the next few months, 2017-18 could be looking very fine, indeed.