This last weekend, after the
Illini Football team shocked us all back into sobriety, the
Illini Men's Basketball team held the world's largest basketball practice at Assembly Hall. Here is the link to some of the action.
http://illinihq.com/video/view/1097/In the
offseason everyone was looking forward to this season because of how terrible our season was last year. However most people lost their anticipation once Jamar Smith decided that booze was more important than basketball. To be honest I felt the same way in college, but the difference was that I worked at a BAR, I wasn't playing for a basketball team that was in the top 10 in wins in the nation since 2000. So what can you expect from this years
illini team? Well here is Mark
Tupper's article from
Illini Media Day.
http://www.herald-review.com/blogs/marktupper/?p=524After reading that article, here is why I think that the
Illini will win 20 games and probably miss out on the NCAA tournament, but at least be on the right path to get back to where we used to be:
Brian Randle and Shaun Pruitt are gone: Thank God!! Pruitt was so selfish it was amazing. When you have your senior leader suspended for a game because of his attitude and for yelling at other players on the team, then you know the kid is a cancer. Who exactly did Shaun think he was? Here is why Shaun was good, because he got to play a season with 3 of the best
guards that
Illinios has ever had, and 2 years with Dee Brown and James Augustine. When you are the 3rd or 4
th option on offense and don't get double teamed in the post, then you can probably hit 5 shots a game, which is pretty much what Shaun did. He did not improve at all for 3 years. Maybe if Shaun could shoot 60% from the free throw line and pass out of a triple team then we might have at least made a post season tournament.
Brian
Randle was constantly hurt, but when he was healthy here is what he did. Dunk twice a game, catch the ball in a motion offense mind you, and not dribble it, hold it for 4 seconds, then pas it after the defense has caught up with everyone. Then he would pick up 2 early fouls and sit for the last 14 minutes of the first half, then start the second half with a foul, put his head down and walk to the bench to sit for another 10 minutes. Maybe he should have had surgery to shorten his arms so he wouldn't reach so damn much! Not to mention every year we heard rumors(not actually rumors since we all know the source) that he wanted to transfer, or quit playing all together. There were actually only 11 games where Brian played over 30 minutes, and 9 games where he fouled out. He couldn't shoot or defend, and anyone that tells me that
Randle was one of the best defenders on the
illini is stupid or European.
So the question is, if these are the only 2 people you lose from last year(along with Alexander, who wasn't much of a SF), can you replace them? The answer is yes.
Tisdale will give up size inside, but he is getting bigger, and he won't clog the middle because he can actually shoot from outside. Oh and he is not a
blackhole inside. We might actually have
guards penetrate this year and have open shots because 5 people will be moving and screening instead of 3. Bill Cole, Mike Davis, Dominique Keller (yes I haven't seen him play) and even Rich
Semrau for 5 minutes are upgrades from Brian
Randle. Cole and Davis have what you want from a PF in the motion, a jump shot! Keller is apparently a scorer, something Brian wasn't, and
Semrau has what Brian had for 5 years, potential. So basically you will get much more scoring, and a more fluid offense, and give up some rebounds. To replace Alexander you still have Brock, who played over him much of the season anyway.
Backcourt is all back: Demitri McCamey is the point guard that we all hoped he could be. When our last shot to make the
NCAA's was to win the Big Ten Tourney,
McCamey stepped up and carried the team. He just ran out of gas in the last game against a great defensive team after playing his 4
th game in 4 days. Bruce rode him really hard, and he finally showed signs of what he can be, and it helps to have
Deron Williams as your role model. Trent
Meacham can shoot and Chester Frazier can defend and rebound. Jeff Jordan got some good
experience last year, he is
competitive as hell, and very athletic. We still have Calvin Brock who is an athletic freak, actually can shoot mid-range jumpers, and defends really well. Enter into all of this, the highest rated high school player we have had since Dee Brown, and you have a decent
backcourt. I know we haven't seen Alex Legion play with the
Illini yet, but you don't have too many
McDonalds All-Americans who are busts, unless they go to Duke. Plus he has been practicing with the team since December, instead of just off-season workouts, and the month you get to hold practices before the season starts.
Team looking for Redemption: To say that Illinois gave games away last year is a complete understatement. Out of 19 losses last year the
Illini could have won in 11 of them. I know that it is stupid to look back and say that they "could" have won, but look below. I think we all know how horrible we were free throw shooting last year, but look at these games.
Maryland- down 60-62 1:00 left - FT 4-9
Arizona - up 61-59 :27 left - FT 10-22 Lost in overtime
Miami (OH) - tied 52-52 :31 left - FT 16-26 Lost in overtime
Tennessee State - down 58-59 :09 left - FT 12-22
Penn State - down 64-65 :10 left - FT 8-14
Indiana - down 58-60 :05 left - FT 13-21
Purdue - down 57-60 3:00 left - FT 10-21
Ohio State - down 55-59 1:52 left - FT 7-10 (
pruitt suspended)
Indiana - up 63-60 :40 left - FT 8-17 Lost in overtime
Penn State - up 51-50 :19 left - FT 5-10
Michigan - down 43-46 1:00 left - FT 5-9
This is not talking about if this shot would have fallen, or if that guy hadn't made a
miracle banked in three(Gordon) then we would have won, these are free throws. I feel that with this young team losing so many close heart-breaking games they should be looking for a little payback this year. Hopefully we move better on offense, and get to the line more with better penetration.
Easier Non-conference schedule: Last year we started @ Hawaii, which ask Michigan State, it is a tough game, then we played Oklahoma State, Duke, @Maryland, Arizona, Miami (OH), and
Mizzou. This year we have Vanderbilt, Clemson @ home, Georgia @ the United Center, Kent State, Texas A&M, and
Mizzou. Although
Vandy, Clemson, Kent State, Georgia, and Texas A&M made the tourney last year, this year Rivals has them ranked the following: Clemson (35), Texas A&M (44), Kent State (53),
Vandy (55),
Mizzou (60) and
Georgia not in top 64. For the record, neither are we, but at least it is better than last years schedule. Hopefully with this line-up, we can get off to a better start than we did last year, and build confidence.
Still play home games at Assembly Hall: Assembly Hall is still one of the toughest places to play at, not only in the Big Ten, but the entire nation, so hopefully this year we can get back to winning at home, and recreate the last 9 years of dominance that we had there.
So after all of this do I think we are a tournament team? No, but I do see us
competing a lot better than we did last year, actually have some wins in close games, and maybe hit a clutch free throw or two.
