Always kind of liked Iowa State, but damn ... their fans are almost as delusional as Wake Forest's. Why is there this strange disdain for the Fighting Illini on boards of fans that we literally never encounter in real life. I think one fan on their board actually said THT would be a "big fish in a small pond" at Illinois ... we could be bad for the next 20 years and still have a much better history, much bigger fan base, much bigger media presence and much bigger stage than Iowa State. That's not being a hater, they're just already a little brother in a tiny state in a conference with less national exposure than the Big Ten. Also, I am TOTALLY willing to admit that the Illini brand has suffered since 2008, and we need to prove ourselves again to regain the respect we were all used to enjoying, but jeez ... how can fans be THIS baffled when an instate recruit is at least somewhat enticed by the idea of making Illinois basketball good again? Playing for an Illini program that's a contender >>>>>>>>>>> playing for an Iowa State program contender if you grew up in Illinois; the battle is just convincing the recruits that we have the pieces to get back, and it doesn't take an Illini homer to think we are headed in the right direction. Rant over.
