Nov. 15 Barnhart chat
Thursday, November 15, 2012 - 11:00am
Voice of the Illini Brian Barnhart is headed to Hawaii - lucky fella. Ask him about the Illini's chances to win the Maui Invitational. Or anything on your mind. He's chatting at 11 a.m. Thursday but submit questions any time.
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According to Barbar, you're one of those that Obama wants sharing your wealth. What's with him calling you out?
Hey illini 1973
He must have said something on the ESPN3.com telecast the other night... maybe? Dont know what he said. Jim is a colleague in the broadcast business and a really good guy. Probably was just having some fun at my expense. If he saw my bank account...he would know that I dont have that much money for the government to take anyway!
How is everyone doing?
Busy weekend ahead...Purdue game Saturday.....3 days in Maui...then back for Northwestern game a week from Saturday.
Lets get started
I had a question on your comments duringn the most recent Monday Morning Quarterback when a caller complained that maybe Beckman should call up the fans to start calling plays .. Your comments were roughly "its like one of us walking into an operating room and telling the doctor what to do".
Just so us fans are clear, are we not supposed to be critical of what we are seeing? Are we just supposed to sit there and say "oh geez, maybe well get them next week". The condescension from those of you at the N-G towards us fans is truly something to behold. God-forbid that there are some of us who aren't satisfied with a team that couldn't even be competitive in the MAC, let alone the Big Ten. How dare we question that call-playing of 2 assistants that had no experience at it prior to this year.
We are critical BECAUSE we care. But I guess according the the DIA and the News-Gazette, Illini Nation should just be an apathetical mass that should be happy with a trip to the Rose Bowl once every 20 years and plenty of losing season in between right?
You can be as critical as you like. It is a free country......and if you pay good money to go to the games....you deserve a winning product on the field....and the right to complain about it if you are not satisfied.
I am just making the statement that there are a lot of people that are "experts" on something (football or otherwise)...that may not have all the facts at their disposal to make the correct judgment on what is actually happening in practice or on the sidelines and on the field. .That is not your/their fault. That is just the way it is.
The coaches see the players in practice everyday and know their strengths and weaknesses. They know what the limitations are. It would be like me just observing you at your job for a few days and then making a comment that maybe you should think about doing this or that differently. I have the right to say it...but that doesnt make me right...because I wouldnt know all the inside information on your business or job that you would have doing it every day.
Do coaches make mistakes? Absolutely. Do you have the right to criticize them. Absolutely.
Does that mean that your opinion on things is the correct one 100 percent of the time? I dont think so.
By the way...the caller was just having fun suggesting fans call the plays. I was kind of playing off that comment and having some fun with it. Sorry if you took that the wrong way.
Who gets to the NCAAs first, Groce or Beckman? And what are your thoughts on the new womens coach - I like what I see so far
I also like what I see from the women's team. Have to say I am not surprised by their good start. Matt Bollant put up an amazing record at Wisc-Green Bay...and I think he will make a difference very quickly.
My guess is that Groce's team will make the NCAA tournament first...but.... then again.... there are so many bowl games out there too that you can be an average football team and still make it.
If Beckman gets the players he wants to fit his system and gets some depth at key positions...it might not take him to get there as long as some people think. His developing recruiting class is ranked fairly high in the Big Ten...but we will see how he finishes.
The Illini basketball schedule is pretty tough this year. The football schedule next year is tough also.....so both teams have obstacles to ovecome.
Ok...time to go...Thanks for the questions. Talk to you from Champaign on Saturday. Steve Kelly has the basketball game from Hawaii Friday night. I will join the team in Maui in Sunday.
Talk to you then!