Attention Illinois message boarders -- your entire program stinks

So the talent is lacking, the character is lacking and if you watched Illinois choke away a 52-42 lead, you know the coaching is lacking. Illinois' offense is a bunch of weaving until someone chucks an NBA-range 3-pointer before the shot clock expires. Some of Illinois' most experienced players, specifically Carter and Brian Randle, throw gutter-quality passes. Weber hasn't instilled toughness in his players, either, judging from the air balls thrown up by Carter (from 12 feet), Pruitt (4 feet) and Randle (free throw) in the Illini's biggest game of the season.

Weber remains likeable in that dorky way of his. He doesn't argue with officials so much as he pouts. He doesn't yell at his players other than to ask on occasion a pained, "Why?!?!" But his likeability isn't helping him win games. His players are mentally weak, and while he's sure to win Mr. Congeniality points from officials, that's not worth much if the guy on the other bench is influencing the game.

And Virginia Tech's Seth Greenberg influenced this game. He picked up a technical foul early in the second half, sacrificing two free throws but earning an enormous advantage at the foul line. By the end of the game Virginia Tech had made more free throws (18, in 28 tries) than Illinois had attempted (15) -- the Holy Grail of referee-baiting behavior -- and all three officials swallowed their whistle as Randle was manhandled by multiple Hokies on a potentially game-tying shot in the final second.

Don't get me wrong, Seth Greenberg is no genius. The greatest player in Virginia Tech history, Dell Curry, had a son last year who was a high school senior. He was a little small and baby-faced, this kid, but he was a great shooter nonetheless -- and he had the genes of a longtime 6-foot-4 NBA shooting guard. Greenberg's bright idea was to tell Dell Curry's kid he could walk on, but there was no scholarship for him at Virginia Tech.

So Stephen Curry went to Davidson, where he averaged 21.5 ppg this season, second nationally among all freshmen. He's still a great shooter, only now he stands 6-1. He'll score 2,000 points before he's finished, none for Virginia Tech. And next year the Hokies could use guards, what with Zabian Dowdell and Jamon Gordon being seniors.

Greenberg's not the sharpest tool in the shed, but he found a way to rally his poor-shooting team past Illinois. So what does that say about Illinois? About the Illinois coach?

The answer is somewhere on an Illinois message board. Whatever's being said out there in Illini cyberspace, it's probably ugly.

But it's probably right.