The U.S. Basketball Writers Association has selected Inside INdiana Business sports contributor Bill Benner as part of its 2021 Hall of Fame Class. The association is also inducting Pat Forde, Dana O
LOREN TATE: Illini learning that defense really does matter
Loren Tate Illini Lines
FacebookTwitterEmail
Ohio State’s E.J. Liddell looks to pass as he is defended by Illinois’ Kofi Cockburn (21) on Saturday in Champaign. Liddell, a former Illinois Mr. Basketball at Belleville West, scored 26 points in the Buckeyes win.Associated Press
Defense doesn’t figure into golf, skiing or gymnastics. In launching the discus, it’s you against the elements, no human resistance.
And there is sometimes a tendency to overlook defense in team settings. Baseball Hall of Fame and Heisman Trophy voters do exactly that.
In basketball it’s half the game, and the more proficient practitioners Virginia, remember, is the “defending” NCAA champion tend to prevail. This said, defense can be imperfect in the sense that the best laid schemes “gang aft agley” … or as we’ve seen with Illinois basketball, backfire!
CHAMPAIGN â Bret Bielema spent the last three seasons working for somebody else. First, Bill Belichick with the New England Patriots. Then, Joe Judge with the New York Giants.
Bielema, the new coach at Illinois, doesnât have a full staff ready to make the move to Champaign-Urbana.
And thatâs OK. The former Wisconsin and Arkansas leader knows what he is looking for when it comes to his 10 assistants. And how he is going to go about finding the right guys.
Heâs learned valuable lessons during a career that dates back to his time as an Iowa graduate assistant in 1994-95.
LOREN TATE: With cons mounting, pro list not long enough to save Lovie
Loren Tate Illini Lines
FacebookTwitterEmail
“I know Lovie Smith and personally think he is a terrific, caring, hardworking, high integrity individual.”
This message arrives from a longtime Illini contributor, one of hundreds who care deeply but who begin the next sentence with the inevitable “however.”
However, was Smith, for all his experience and personal qualities, the right coach to dig the Illini out of their ever-deepening hole?
Saturday’s sixth straight loss at Northwestern (28-10), in which the injury-riddled Illini became non-competitive in the middle quarters, left Smith with a 10-33 record in five seasons of Big Ten Conference play, similar to the UI’s 8-32 record in the five previous years. Since 2010, when his Chicago Bears lost to Green Bay in the NFC title game, Smith’s overall audit with three teams is 43-77.