The Linking Illini would like to have the nick name Fang

Darrell Hoemann - AP

Tools

The Linking Illini would like to have the nick name Fang

Story Created: Dec 13, 2011 at 8:47 AM CDT

Story Updated: Jan 16, 2012 at 5:06 PM CDT

By Joe Kutsunis
HailtotheOrange.com
SBNation.com

The Illini beat up on Coppin State last night, and by that I mean they built a huge lead, sent in the freshmen to see if they could get some valuable learning experiences, gave me tightness in the chest and numbness in the left arm, and then put Meyers Leonard into the game again to crush CSU's will. Which he did, with a smile on his face.

The most interesting thing to come out of this game? We got to hear a man named Ron "Fang" Mitchell say that he has a "midget team" with a spectacular bass voice. (Link, skip to about three minutes in) The man has coached his team for 25 years, and has one of the coolest personal stories in college athletics This is the sort of guy who makes college basketball awesome.

Now then, on to the news of the day.

Ranking 2011 College Football Coach Hires, From No-Brainer To Baffling - SBNation.com
Our guy on the mothership, Bill Connelly ranks the new coaching hires, and lo and behold, the Illini's grab of Beckman actually comes out ahead of the Texas A&M selection of Kevin "now incredibly rich" Sumlin. Says BC: "It should not be ignored, however, that Toledo was crumbling when he took over. The Rockets went just 3-9 in 2008 and ranked 103rd in F/+ in both 2007 and 2008. With Beckman, they immediately improved to 72nd, then 68th, then 30th. We typically wait until a mid-major coach has a major breakthrough to decide he's ready, but Beckman has already proven quite a bit."

UT to announce Campbell will be new head football coach - Toledo Blade
In case you were feeling really good about the Beckman hire for just a moment, here is punch to your gut: Matt Campbell, who has been the man behind the whirlwind offense of Toledo under Beckman, has been named the new Rockets head coach (according to sources, yada yada) That means we get the guy with the defense who gave up 60, but miss out on the guy who had the offense who scored 60. Maybe that's not fair, but it is what it is.

NCAA Basketball Rankings: Illinois 19 in AP and Coaches Poll
For at least this week, I prefer the Coaches Poll over the AP poll. Why? Because the media has placed IU one spot ahead of the Illini. Whereas the coaches, wise as they are, placed Indiana behind Illinois. Is this petty? Of course it is. But I don't care. It looks like this year, the Indiana/Illinois Rivalry is going to be much more hotly contested, and hopefully a lot more watchable than last year's trip to Bloomington.

Big Ten remains atop Power Rankings - College Basketball Nation Blog - ESPN
WOO HOO for regionalism and midwestern basketball. The Big Ten has had a profitable out of conference season up to this point, and maintains a lead over the Big 12 and the Big East, who this time next year will each lose major basketball powers. Huzah for midwestern hard wood.

Coppin State at Illinois Fighting Illini Openthread: Champaign Showers. Get it?

Tim Beckman is your New Coach of The Illinois Fighting Illini

Brandon Paul Offensive Overdrive Wins, Illini Avoid The Big Letdown

Hail to the Orange on Facebook

Next Article 24 Hours of Giving: Tornado Relief Telethon

Add a comment

Most Popular

This content requires the latest Adobe Flash Player and a browser with JavaScript enabled. Click here for a free download of the latest Adobe Flash Player.

On Demand

Weather

78.0 F (25.6 C)

Fair

Pressure : 1004.7 mb

Humidity : 60 %

Wind : Southwest at 8.1 MPH (7 KT)

More Weather