FanNation

travis31; Heisman???? said 07/02, 12:43 PM
Bruce Weber will not be able to make it back to the Sweet 16. My biggest reason for this is his style of play in todays basketball. Anyone who has swatched an Illinois basketballl game will know that Weber stresses defense.

Why is this bad? Because in todays NCAA none of the top recruits care about defense. They all want to score and leave after a year and go pro.

I have to perfect examples in the case of Illinois basketball.

1) Derrick Rose. Rose went to high school in Chicago, then goes to school in Memphis. Why? You ask? Because Memphis runs a fastbreak tyle that is fun to play in and allows one to show off their offensive skills. Rose, being a hometown kid, who was happy to be drafted by the Bulls, skipped over an Illinois team that plays several games in the United Center a year to go to Memphis. Like I said earlier, Webers defense first mindset is not attractive to recruits in the ME era in the NCAA when players can leave after a year and go to the NBA. Recruits do not want to go to a school where they will not be able to shoxcase their offensive skills, which is exactly what Illinois is.

More to come.....

travis31; Heisman???? said 07/02, 01:15 PM
Ok, Frank Ive been reling on Weber defense ever since Illinois title run is over. Defense is great, but you need offense to go along with it.

My second point is the Eric Gordon situation. Weber had Gordon coming to Illinois. But then Mike Davis was fired and Kelvin Sampson was hired. Knowing Sampson illegal phone calls were most likely made. But thats not my point. My point is Gordon got offered into a much better style and situation than he was going to be in at Illinois. At Illinois, Gordon would have had to be all Defense and no offense.

Sorry Bruce, but thats not going to make me the 7th pick in the draft after one year in college. therefore, Gordon goes to Indiana and has a great offensive year and is picked in the top 7. What more can a recruit ask for? He went to school for a year and showcased his talent on offense and recieved exposure to the national media while doing it. If Weber had him focused on defense and passing, Gordon would have not gone as high as he did. So, you could say that Gordon savedd himself from 6-star recruit suicide by choosing Indiana over Illinois.

travis31; Heisman???? said 07/02, 01:39 PM
OK, this is what it comes down to. With Weber you can have a Elite 8 run every 3-4 years. With someone like Calipari, you can contend every year. Oden and Rose both made it to the National title game.

So you would rather have a shot at a title every 3-4 year rather than be in the Elite 8 or Final 4 each year with one and done freshman. You are crazy.

I love halfcourt offense and defense, but to get the toip recruits you have to run fastbreak too. These kids do not care about defense and halfcourt offense to an extent. You must be able offer at least some type of fastbreak offense to appeal to recruits these days. This is a me generation; all these kids care about is their PPG. The trick is getting one or two of the scorers along with some players who are defensive minded. Not just offense and not just defense.

And by the way, name one consistent NBA player that Weber has recruited to Illinois. D-will and Luther were recruited by Bill Self. ti all comes down to recruiting. Which is the one negative of Webers coaching arsenal.