 |
| Can Brandon Paul become a force to be reckoned with in the B1G? |
How exactly do you put that into perspective?
For starters, it was the 3rd highest scoring total in the rich history of Illinois mens' basketball.
Guys who shoot 28% from beyond the arc don't go 8-10 from three and 11-15 from the field.
But tonight was different.
It was a liberating performance in more ways than one.
It was liberating for Paul because he broke out from his slump. His shooting numbers have been down this season and he needed a monster performance to get the monkey off his back. It was liberating for Bruce Weber because he now has a team and player on the map. People in the Prairie State have been calling for his job for quite some time and the program hasn't been the same since their 37-2 national runner-up season in 2004-05.
This is a team that put up 5 more points than Paul did tonight when they played St. Bonaventure.
To any readers that are already sick of me using the word "coming out party", I apologize, but this was just that for Brandon Paul and the Illini. Despite being unranked, they are 15-3 and play in the Big Ten. That alone warrants some respect. Also take into consideration that those loses came to UNLV, Missouri and Purdue. I would say that that is enough to warrant some national attention.
If Brandon Paul can keep his foot on the gas, this season just got very interesting. However, it could have just been
Weber sent him a text before the game telling him that this was going to be his game. Paul apparently took that to heart. He's got a target on his back now, hopefully the rest of the team will step up, esp. on the return trip to OST.
ReplyDelete