Southern Illinois 71, Creighton 67
A Tough Lesson for the Bluejays – and Me
I purposely tried to wait as long as humanly possible before writing this edition of the blog. I had to restrain myself two times – a couple hours (and beers) directly following the loss on Saturday at Southern Illinois, and after work on Valentine’s Day. Obviously, I didn’t want to write anything Saturday night that I would regret, and I didn’t want to ruin my girlfriend’s Valentine’s Day with the perpetual argument why can’t they rebound better? where is the defense? where did Kellen Miliner go?
Not surprisingly, the last couple of days served as time to reflect not only on the loss in Carbondale, but also on my mini-depressions I suffer directly after losses. My dad and I were two of the Bluejay fans that made it to the Civic Auditorium night in and night out during the Rick Johnson Era. And while that doesn’t give me any special reason to complain and moan, nor does it give any extra credibility to my love for the Jays and my alma mater, it definitely puts my hissy fits into context.
I think I’m afraid of losing.
I’m afraid of this program somehow slipping back to mediocrity. All it takes is a few bad recruiting classes, a few freak injuries or academic/disciplinary problems, and an increasingly competitive conference. I know that I’m overreacting, and that in of itself is the problem. I knew this season would be a learning and adjustment period for some of the inexperienced and young players on the roster, and I expected growing pains. But that doesn’t mean I expected this team to lose 10 games by Valentine’s Day, especially a slew of close contests that could have just as easily been Jays victories.
As consistent as Dana Altman’s record has been from season to season over the past few years, I’m like every other true fan of Bluejay basketball – I want more. I watch Gonzaga practically run late-night ESPN broadcast decisions from a gymnasium half the size of the old Civic, and I’m jealous. I see a handful of Missouri Valley Conference teams catching up in recruiting talent, and I get worried. And most importantly, I see the competition from mid-major conferences around the country for precious at-large births to the NCAA tournament increasing, and I get nervous.
Maybe I’ve been spoiled by Rodney Buford, Ben Walker and Ryan Sears, the 2003 team, and the rest of Altman’s success stories. Or maybe it goes back to those seasons in the early 90s, when we’d celebrate the Jays winning more than 10 games. Whatever the reason, it makes losses extremely hard to take – especially close losses.
I get my hopes up. Although I’ve told myself over and over again that this is a relatively inexperienced squad, I still compare them to Altman’s best teams and wonder aloud, to myself, and on this web page why can’t they be better? Maybe this is just how good this team is – good enough to beat some of the upper-echelon teams in the conference and some “name” schools (Missouri, Ohio State, Xavier) that find themselves in troubled waters this season, but not good enough to close out close games at home or get over the hump in road tilts.
And these same reasons why Jays fans should be comfortable with this team and enjoy watching this group of young kids gel together as a team are the same reasons that we are so maddeningly frustrated by the losses – because they could have won the close ones. But games like the last loss to Southern Illinois will have a positive effect one day. There will be a game, a year or two from now, when Dane Watts will instinctively use a lesson he learned against the Salukis and capitalize on it. There will be games next season, or the season afterward, that Anthony Tolliver starts to “get it” – when he starts to get a feel for how to seal off defenders from rebounds and use his long arms and legs to his advantage on the boards. And you can bet that next year, as he has done over the past two months, Funk will know that it is his time – his time to lead once more, his time to carry Altman’s team, and his time to serve as the next stepping stone. Buford passed the torch to Walker and Sears, who passed it to Kyle Korver, who in turn trusted the role as Bluejay star to Funk.
And I guess that brings us back to the present. And instead of getting upset at the 15-10 record, I can’t help but think this team is close – close to putting together a run. Would it surprise you if Altman’s team forged ahead during the next few weeks, learning from the close losses and repaying teams like Evansville, Indiana State, and Illinois State for defeats the Jays should not have suffered? Would it surprise you if Funk continued to carry this team on his dinged-up shoulder? Would it shock you to see Creighton put together a couple of wins in St. Louis the way Altman’s teams have done in the past?
I didn't think so.
I purposely tried to wait as long as humanly possible before writing this edition of the blog. I had to restrain myself two times – a couple hours (and beers) directly following the loss on Saturday at Southern Illinois, and after work on Valentine’s Day. Obviously, I didn’t want to write anything Saturday night that I would regret, and I didn’t want to ruin my girlfriend’s Valentine’s Day with the perpetual argument why can’t they rebound better? where is the defense? where did Kellen Miliner go?
Not surprisingly, the last couple of days served as time to reflect not only on the loss in Carbondale, but also on my mini-depressions I suffer directly after losses. My dad and I were two of the Bluejay fans that made it to the Civic Auditorium night in and night out during the Rick Johnson Era. And while that doesn’t give me any special reason to complain and moan, nor does it give any extra credibility to my love for the Jays and my alma mater, it definitely puts my hissy fits into context.
I think I’m afraid of losing.
I’m afraid of this program somehow slipping back to mediocrity. All it takes is a few bad recruiting classes, a few freak injuries or academic/disciplinary problems, and an increasingly competitive conference. I know that I’m overreacting, and that in of itself is the problem. I knew this season would be a learning and adjustment period for some of the inexperienced and young players on the roster, and I expected growing pains. But that doesn’t mean I expected this team to lose 10 games by Valentine’s Day, especially a slew of close contests that could have just as easily been Jays victories.
As consistent as Dana Altman’s record has been from season to season over the past few years, I’m like every other true fan of Bluejay basketball – I want more. I watch Gonzaga practically run late-night ESPN broadcast decisions from a gymnasium half the size of the old Civic, and I’m jealous. I see a handful of Missouri Valley Conference teams catching up in recruiting talent, and I get worried. And most importantly, I see the competition from mid-major conferences around the country for precious at-large births to the NCAA tournament increasing, and I get nervous.
Maybe I’ve been spoiled by Rodney Buford, Ben Walker and Ryan Sears, the 2003 team, and the rest of Altman’s success stories. Or maybe it goes back to those seasons in the early 90s, when we’d celebrate the Jays winning more than 10 games. Whatever the reason, it makes losses extremely hard to take – especially close losses.
I get my hopes up. Although I’ve told myself over and over again that this is a relatively inexperienced squad, I still compare them to Altman’s best teams and wonder aloud, to myself, and on this web page why can’t they be better? Maybe this is just how good this team is – good enough to beat some of the upper-echelon teams in the conference and some “name” schools (Missouri, Ohio State, Xavier) that find themselves in troubled waters this season, but not good enough to close out close games at home or get over the hump in road tilts.
And these same reasons why Jays fans should be comfortable with this team and enjoy watching this group of young kids gel together as a team are the same reasons that we are so maddeningly frustrated by the losses – because they could have won the close ones. But games like the last loss to Southern Illinois will have a positive effect one day. There will be a game, a year or two from now, when Dane Watts will instinctively use a lesson he learned against the Salukis and capitalize on it. There will be games next season, or the season afterward, that Anthony Tolliver starts to “get it” – when he starts to get a feel for how to seal off defenders from rebounds and use his long arms and legs to his advantage on the boards. And you can bet that next year, as he has done over the past two months, Funk will know that it is his time – his time to lead once more, his time to carry Altman’s team, and his time to serve as the next stepping stone. Buford passed the torch to Walker and Sears, who passed it to Kyle Korver, who in turn trusted the role as Bluejay star to Funk.
And I guess that brings us back to the present. And instead of getting upset at the 15-10 record, I can’t help but think this team is close – close to putting together a run. Would it surprise you if Altman’s team forged ahead during the next few weeks, learning from the close losses and repaying teams like Evansville, Indiana State, and Illinois State for defeats the Jays should not have suffered? Would it surprise you if Funk continued to carry this team on his dinged-up shoulder? Would it shock you to see Creighton put together a couple of wins in St. Louis the way Altman’s teams have done in the past?
I didn't think so.
posted by Creighton Otter at 10:01 PM
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