Murphy's Pub: Sadness in Champaign

I try not to write about the Illini too much (really, I do... no, seriously). But we have a motto here at Murphy’s Pub: anytime the Illini lose to Penn State in basketball on the same day that a running back who shattered school records foregoes his senior year of eligibility, you have to take a trip to Murphy’s Pub.

I am going to address Mikel Leshoure first, as he declared for the NFL draft yesterday. It was a pleasure to watch Leshoure run at Illinois. He left some true statement games that will rank up there with Howard Griffith scoring 8 touchdowns against Southern Illinois in 1990 and Red Grange galloping through Michigan back in the roaring 20s. Leshoure had what will go down in Illini lore as the “Wrigley Game” where he shredded Northwestern for 330 yards (eclipsing the previous school record of 315 set by Robert Holcombe - one of the most underrated running backs in Illinois history - but, as usual, I digress). He also ran for 184 yards and 3 touchdowns in the bowl win over Baylor.

Now, let me preface this by saying that former Illini succeeding at the next level can only provide positive press for the program going forward. Hopefully Leshoure runs a 4.4 or a 4.5 40 at the combine and ends up being taken in the first 3 rounds of the draft. With that being said, the unfortunate thing for the Illini is that they are not as talent rich as the programs that routinely lose multiple Juniors to the NFL. The Illini do not have a 5 star freshman recruit waiting in the wings (to replace Leshoure, Martez Wilson, or, inevitably Corey Liuget). What they have is Jason Ford (who needs to commit this offseason to getting the weight down if he is to be an every down back) and Troy Pollard (who is undersized and has thrived in a change of pace back role). Illinois will be worse next year because Leshoure left. But hopefully Leshoure will have a long, productive career in the NFL and prove to be an ambassador for the program in the years to come.

Now, onto the truly depressing news. The Illini were Taylor Battled last night in their 57-55 loss to Penn State (Battle was amazing late, even hitting a three from about 5 steps in front of half court as the shot clock expired late in the second half). So what do I take away from this game? Bullet points for brevity:

• I have this Illinois team figured out. They can beat anyone in the country and, on an off night, they can lose to any team in the country. McCamey is their only player who has shown a consistent ability to create going toward the basket (Brandon Paul is the only other player who has shown flashes of that ability). Thus, they are reliant on their jump shooting. On a night when they do not have the jump shot, the Illini can lose to UIC or Penn State because they struggle to get to the free throw line and manufacture points.

• Illinois tightens up down the stretch in close games. From about the 3:30 mark to the end of the game, Illinois had one successful possession - when McCamey penetrated, drew defenders, and found Bill Cole for an easy layup to tie the game. Other possessions involved everyone standing around watching McCamey - shades of Illinois 2006 when the Illini offense late was “stand around and watch Dee Brown” - and inevitably resulted in a turnover or a poor shot.

• This is the type of loss you have to avoid in the Big 10. Now, if Penn State keeps stealing home games from the top teams in the Big 10, then maybe this loss will not look so bad come Selection Sunday. But, as the Illini learned last year, bad losses can ultimately be the difference between the NCAAs and the NIT. Hopefully the Illini recover from this and stay off the NCAA bubble. Regardless, last night’s loss dealt a huge blow to any hopes the Illini have of winning the Big 10 title. The Illini can put their title hopes back on course by stealing a win at Wisconsin Saturday, but they will need to shoot Wisconsin out of the gym to do so. If they don't, this will be a truly depressing week at Murphy's Pub.