The problem is as obvious as a wart on a pretty face. After only one week of Big Ten play, only two teams are undefeated, three are winless and a full half-dozen are sitting there a decidedly average 1-1.
Illinois routs Ohio State, then falls at home to Purdue. Purdue falls at Iowa, then upsets the Illini. Iowa shocks the Boilermakers, then loses at home to Northwestern. Michigan routs Northwestern, then stumbles at home against Indiana. Indiana is embarrassed by Wisconsin, then surprises the Wolverines.
Lack of consistency is the obvious problem cutting through the conference. But more specifically, in a conference that once prided itself on grit and tenacity, a lack of consistent toughness is showing.
“Toughness is not our strength,” Iowa coach Steve Alford said. “For one night [against Purdue] we were. But we’ve got to find consistency in that area.”
“We’ve got so many issues with inconsistencies and personalities,” Ohio State associate head coach Rick Boyages said. “We’ve been up and down. We’ve even had issues with playing hard, which has never been a problem here.”
“But it’s not a Michigan State or Big Ten problem,” Spartans coach Tom Izzo said. “There are so many teams that seem to waver.”
Izzo’s teams defined toughness when they dominated the Big Ten a couple of years ago, but this season his Spartans’ most glaring deficiency is their softness.
Purdue coach Gene Keady is as tough as anyone, yet his Boilermakers were anything but that in their loss to Iowa. They rebounded and were every bit as gnarly as their old coach in their victory at Illinois, but that performance only makes the ultimate question even more obvious. What’s going on here?
“Good question,” Izzo said. “One thing I’m a big believer in now is that it’s such a big deal to get out [of college] early that everyone’s looking forward to that part of it instead of worrying about winning games. Then the kids coming in, if they don’t meet up to that, they get upset. You’ve got to change them, but [instilling] the work ethic is getting harder and harder too.”
“Everyone’s thinking the NBA now, and so many people are in their ear telling them what they want to hear,” Indiana coach Mike Davis picked up. “I always respected my coach. I never said anything against him. But here their parents and friends are telling them they should be playing more, shooting more. Not playing harder or rebounding harder or playing tougher defense. Just shoot more and play more.”
“It’s the mentality of kids, today’s generation,” Illinois coach Bruce Weber added. “PlayStation. Instant gratification. You don’t have that old-school toughness with kids who just want to win. AAU [ball] has its benefits, but what I dislike is they go to Florida and lose a tournament and the next week they’re in a tournament in Vegas. They lose in Vegas and the next week they’re in a tournament in New York. You’ve got to retrain that thought process. You’ve got to win today.”
“But the hardest thing in coaching is to change a personality,” Alford said. “You can work on shooting, you can give them schemes on offense and defense. But taking someone who’s soft and making him tough, taking someone who’s lazy and making him attentive to detail, that’s one of the biggest tricks in coaching.”
Notes: Under new coach Ed DeChellis, Penn State is 2-0 in the Big Ten for the first time since the 1995-96 season, and Minnesota’s Dan Monson knows why. “They believe in what he’s doing,” said Monson, whose team fell to the Nittany Lions. “They have a new attitude, a new belief, a swagger that they can win. Talent-wise, they’re not much different. But they have a different mind-set and cohesiveness.” . . . When Wisconsin visits Purdue on Wednesday, the Badgers will be looking to snap a 28-game losing streak at Mackey Arena. They last won there Feb. 15, 1972. . . . Keady’s record at Purdue is 499-239, which puts him just one victory from becoming the second coach in league history with 500 wins at one school. The other coach to do that was Bob Knight, who went 661-240 in 29 seasons at Indiana. . . . Ohio State’s 0-2 conference start is its worst since 1997-98, its first season under Jim O’Brien. That year the Buckeyes won only one league game.
The quote: Izzo, on Keady reaching his 500th win: “It’s incredible. People tried to pronounce him dead, but now he has a good team with the toughness and defense we’ve all known his good teams for. I’m really happy for him. He’s truly one of the good guys in coaching and deserves to be in a Final Four and to win the national championship. I won’t say that would complete his career. But I’d like to see people give him the credit he deserves.”
