ChimpersCage

Robin Pingeton is leaving the Illinois State Redbirds after 7 years as head coach and taking her assistants with her. I can't say it is a real shock that a large D1 school had their eyes on her or even that she took the job. She is certainly qualified. It did surprise me that it happened so fast with what seemed to me as little discussion about it by anyone. Of late, the only real converstations I'd overheard were about 1st assistant Randy Norton who was reported to be a consideration at Indiana State. Randy last week expressed his desire to stay in Bloomington-Normal while his family enjoyed his daughters last year at Central Catholic High as a part of the recent State Champion Lady Saints. Well, surprise, surprise. It will be interesting to hear the reactions in the community. Robin has been great at ISU and has really built a program that was hardly even noticed under her predecessor Jenny Yopp. At the 7 year mark, Robin had shown both her prowness on the court as wel...

Wow, it's been a long time between rants! It's been a busy season. 72 games for me since Aug 29th of 2009, not counting a few that I was just a spectator at. Some of the recent highlights were the girls Illinois State High School playoffs, the D3 Women's NCAA Final Four, and several WNIT games. Be sure to check out the galleries at www.alanlook.com More later.

Well, the High School Girls Regionals are here. Play this year is at Lexington. I guess it is already down to the semi and final rounds. Last night, Ridgeview swatted the Heyworth Hornets. The Mustangs are so well organized and execute so well. THey are a pleasure to watch. 20100210 Heyworth v Ridgeview - Images by Alan Look

Ah, one of my favorite weeks of the year started Saturday January 16th. No, not because of the weather, because the McLean County Tournament has started! Yes, the weather always seems to throw it's rimshot too. I've seen everything from blizzard like conditions to sunshine to torrential rains on Championship day, but the fans and teams always show up. This year the competition should be pretty good, although some of the team rankings are pretty different from past years. ElPaso-Gridley boys are seeded in the top 5, a different look than some of the past years where they struggled past the 1st round. Ridgeview played two games on the 16th and was eliminated from the rest of the competition. That's a big change. The Mustangs seemed to be just a half a click off with just about every play attempt. I did see a couple of sequences that went well for them, but for some reason they just aren't quite there. Heyworth looks to be back in it, but on the boys side, it appea...

Wow, the holiday tournaments are here and as I write - almost over! There are several good tournaments in central Illinois. Pontiac, Pekin, Monticello and the State Farm Holiday Classic in Bloomington Normal to name a few. I've never covered any of them except the Classic, so let me talk about it. The Classic is billed as the largest holiday basketball tournament in the country and the best basketball this side of March. It schedules 4 days of games for 32 boys and 32 girls team divided into 2 divisions. The divisions are split 1a/2a and 3a/4a along the lines the Illinois State High School Association draws for those schools. The Classic also follows the rules of basketball as stipulated by the IHSA. More on that later. Last night, I did indeed seem some of the best basketball this side of March. The Richwoods ladies were playing the Normal West ladies. What a game. they went toe to toe, shot for shot in a see-sawing battle for the first 32 minutes. A 3 point buzzer shot...

Knocking off the Chippewas of Central Michigan moved the Redbird basketball team to 7 - 0 for the non-conference season. Still to come are Niagra, Ohio, Utah and Grambling before the race for March starts at home against the Shockers of Wichita State the last week of December. I haven't been able to make every game, but so far I would say the Chippewas have been the best challenge the 'birds have seen this season. It also got a bit physical with several players going over shoulders, hitting the floor hard and being rammed into the goal standards. Newbies have certainly been a plus this year. The 'birds have a much deeper bench than I've seen in several seasons. The 6th man on the court - the crowd - also seem ready and able this season. I didn't get the attendance and it isn't listed on the stats, but I believe the number was pretty good considering a non-conference competition. 20091205 Central Michigan v Illinois State - Images by Alan Look The Lady Redb...

I started a rant on Facebook yesterday about the Bears. In the rant, I suggested it was time to Cut Cutler and Free Forte. I'll stand by that as in my view, both are disappointments. I'd like to expand a bit too and play armchair GM for a bit... Really, doesn't everyone enjoy playing GM? Lovie - you need to give back the defensive calling to the defensive coordinator. Your not doing such a good job. I know that your past lends that you are great at it. I have no doubt that your are/could be, but it appears that your mind has too many other things to do to handle that duty as well. Delegate! Now on to the real question - how do we get the Bears to win a game (Lions games exempt - heck maybe we should includ the Lions. I'm not sure the Bears could beat them right now)without the help of Brian Urlacher. Let's think outside the box - please try to follow along, this line of thinking is going to confuse a lot of people. Who knows the offense better than anyone? Y...