2009-2010 Season Preview

The Illini overachieved last year by making the NCAAs, but their season ended quickly with their loss to Western Kentucky in the first round. This fall, expectations are much higher for the Illini basketball team. Preseason polls have the Illini in the top 20, and Joe Lunardi has the Illini as a 3 seed right now, a top 12 team. And we haven't even had midnight madness yet.

Let's start with the losses from last year's team. Basically, we lose a ton of experience at the guard position, Chet Frazier, Trent Meacham and Calvin Brock. And we lose CJ Jackson, who never played much basketball at Illinois, but was very popular with his teammates.

The gains are three talented freshmen guards--DJ Richardson, Brandon Paul and Joseph Bertrand. We have been talking about these guys forever it seems, and now they are on campus getting ready to play. The front line gets deeper with Tyler Griffey as a freshman, and Stan Simpson will be a redshirt freshman after sitting last season. Overall, a loss on the experience side, but these are very talented additions for this fall.

Returning starters are three juniors: Demetri McCamey at PG, Mike Davis at forward, and Mike Tisdale at center. Dominique Keller returns as a versatile forward who can rebound and hit three pointers (my personal favorite player last year). Other experienced players from last season include guards Jeff Jordan and Alex Legion, and seldom-used Richard Semrau at forward/center and Bill Cole, a forward.

Basically, Bruce Weber can start an experienced squad without relying on the freshmen, though I expect 1 or 2 freshmen to crack the starting line-up during the season:

Demetri McCamey PG
Jeff Jordan G
Alex Legion SG
Mike Davis F
Mike Tisdale C

Bench rotation: Keller, Griffey, Cole, Richardson, Paul, Bertrand

Right now, it seems likely that McCamey, Davis and Tisdale are a virtual lock as starters on this team, with Legion, Jordan, Keller and Richardson probably vying for the other two starting positions. But this should be a deep and talented team, that gets much better throughout the season as it matures.

And my hope is Bruce Weber allows this team to run the break, especially when Tisdale is on the bench. We might think of 1989 if we see the following group of athletes on the floor: Davis, Keller, Legion, McCamey and either Richardson or Paul.

For Illini fans, this season is not to be missed.

Tracy Abrams, Mt Carmel (Class of 2011) Block

Nice defensive play by Abrams. What an athlete, making an incredible block here.

Tracy Abrams, Mt Carmel (Class of 2011) Buzzer beater

Here's a nice video of our future guard, Tracy Abrams, who committed to the Illini this week.

2008/2009 Illini Schedule Announced

The season schedule is now out, and available here. I'm not sure how we will do this year, but I do think this schedule will be plenty challenging for this year's squad. Maybe after some review, I will estimate wins and losses.

Challenge to the Illini Basketball Team (Mizzou Game)

After watching the high-scoring football game last weekend against Missouri, it made me wonder, can Bruce Weber's guys hold Mizzou to less than 52 points this fall? That would be something, since the game of basketball is typically much higher scoring than football. Further, will the Illini basketball squad continue to be offensively-challenged this season? Will our bballers be able to score 42 points against Missouri when we play them in our annual match-up?

Normally, it's automatic for Weber's squad to score over 50 points in a game. But with Jamar Smith now gone, and a depleted and young frontcourt, it's questionable if this team will be able to score. I will try to remember to come back and compare the football and basketball scores against Missouri once we get to December.

The Coming Year of Illini Basketball

With the loss of Jamar Smith for this season, I am looking at a tough year ahead for the Illini in basketball. Many fans seem to be optimistic about a tourney team, but I see this as another rebuilding year. Here's a look at my starting five as the season opens, and the others rotating in:

Starting Five
PG-McCamey
SG-Frazier
G-Brock
SF-Keller
C-Tisdale

Rotating In
PG-Jordan
SG-Meacham
F-Cole
F/C-Davis

Bench
Semrau
Simpson
Jackson

The problem with this team in the early season, is the guards are defensive-oriented, with the best scorer being McCamey. Guard play could improve when Legion is available in December, assuming he is in the rotation for considerable minutes. In the meantime, we can watch Chester Frazier play shooting guard for the Illini.

The front court is very inexperienced, and one of the main things to watch is how the big men develop, since we do seem to have some potential in guys like Tisdale, Davis and Cole. Winning could be further complicated by troubles in rebounding, particularly blocking out on the defensive end. I am projecting Keller as a starter, mainly because he has the body of a big man who can rebound. If the front court has troubles rebounding, don't be surprised to see Coach Weber play four guards, adding Meacham to the line-up of Frazier, McCamey and Brock. At least we won't have to worry about getting down the court to guard against the fast break...

The Good News and the Bad News

First the good news..............I'm back blogging again after some vacationing this summer. It's nice taking those European holidays for a month or so, isn't it? Actually, I have been focusing on work, and there really hasn't been much to write about in college basketball until this week.

Actually the good news is Meyers Leonard has provided the Illini with a verbal commitment to play in the class of 2010. Meyers is a local kid from Robinson Illinois, who has grown to 6-10 or so, and weighs over 200 pounds already, and has attracted the attention of all the big programs around the country. Meyers is highly rated by the recruiting gurus as well, and joins two awesome recruits for that class, Head and Richmond. My hope is that Lenzelle Smith announces he is headed to Illinois, which will make our class of 2010 one of the best in the NCAA.

Now, some people are getting excited about these recruiting grids on the internet that show there are no more spots available on the 2010 roster. But I'm not the least bit worried, since these grids assume optimistically that each and every player plays at Illinois for exactly four years. That just does not happen in the NCAA currently, even at Illinois. So people need to relax about scholarships available, and realize that people transfer, go pro, and other miscellaneous things happen.....

That leads me to the Jamar Smith stories. Being a night owl myself, I can't blame him for being up late during the summer at U of I. I stayed in town one summer myself when going to Illinois many years ago, and that was one of the best times you could have, compared to the alternatives. However, I just can't understand how you find yourself violating your probation by drinking in public, unless he is still mired in alcoholism, which might be the case. I won't dwell on this, because I am tired of reading the stories already, and assume his career at Illinois must be over.

On a more positive note, we can look forward to this fall's team developing during a transition year, and welcoming the Class of 2009 the following season.

Poll Results: Who will wear number 13?

My readers poll has closed and we have an answer to the question of who wears 13 next season: Jeff Jordan was selected by Illini fans (my readers) as the one to wear his Dad's number.

I've got news for you, Jeff will be wearing number 13 again, because it's a lucky number for him. A better guess is that Dominique Keller or Alex Legion will take the number 23 and the pressure of trying to "be like Mike."

Thanks to all of those who participated in the poll, and we'll have to wait until this fall to see who is right.

Rodney Alexander and Brian Carlwell's plans

Rodney Alexander is taking a look at Oklahoma City college, which has the advantage of allowing him to play this fall (rather than sitting out one year), because it is a NAIA program. Rodney has a list of schools to consider, so there should be something announced this summer. Good luck, Rodney.

Brian Carlwell is looking at New Orleans and San Diego State University as potential schools for him. Brian should make his decision this summer also, and I wish him the best.

Both of these players have talent, and I hope they can find the right programs to excel. For more details, see this article from Paul Klee's blog.

Jereme Richmond shows skills and maturity at Moody Bible Institute

Jereme Richmond played some basketball recently at the Moody Bible Institute, and showed his awesome skills to people fortunate enough to attend the event. He also talked about his plans to return to Waukegan this fall, and confirmed his commmitment to Illinois basketball. For more details, see the Chicago Sun-Times article.

ESPN Calls Tyler Griffey a Standout Player at Adidas Scrimmage

ESPN.com is portraying Tyler Griffey as a "standout player" at the Adidas Scrimmage that took place in Los Angeles this week. The article by Joel Francisco notes that Griffey has "range out to 20-feet, is smooth and he's extremely effective nailing it in transition. In addition to his shooting touch, he has the ability to post up and displayed a nifty jump hook."

Additionally, Tyler is aiming to be 235-240 pounds when he enrolls at Illinois in 2009, and has already increased his vertical jump to 36", and has a reach of 11'8" with a two step start, according to his father. See comments from Illinois Loyalty.

The Illini have an excellent player in Tyler Griffey, when he enrolls starting in 2009.

Tyler Griffey is keeping busy this summer

And Tyler is learning from Paul Silas, hitting the weights and looking forward to playing in Champaign starting in the fall of 2009. This article in the Daily Illini provides more updates from Tyler Griffey. I can't wait to see him, either. And as you might notice in the photo, he looks just like former Illini, Robert Archibald.

Crandall Head and Luther Head, a nice Brother Combo

Crandall Head plays and looks just like Luther Head, only he is taller, according to experts in this article from the News Gazette.

According to Luther, he did not pressure Crandall to go to the U of I, even though he was recommending the school and is close friends with Jerrance Howard. Luther is glad his brother can follow in his footsteps as an Illini, and Crandall does not seem to be bothered by the pressure.

It would be nice to be in Champaign to see them playing together, and see them side-by-side. Maybe one of my readers can point to a photo of them together.

Shootout at University of Illinois

There is an excellent summary of the shootout at the University of Illinois at the Illinois Prep Bullseye site, which has comments on most of the Illini commits and recruits, including Joseph Bertrand, Brandon Paul, D.J. Richardson, Donivine Stewart, Lenzelle Smith, Jereme Richmond, Crandall Head and Mike Shaw.

It sounds like Joseph Bertrand really made an impression, and Lenzelle Smith can be compared to Sergio McClain. Donivine Stewart's stock continues to rise from the Class of 2011.

Alex Legion Scores big in Poland

Previous reports told us Alex Legion averaged around 15 points per game in Poland. This seemed low for a series of high scoring games in which the Athletes in Action team passed the century mark once. A new report from the Daily Illini quoting Coach Jerrance Howard explains the real story:

"Legion played three games in Poland and would not give the back of the net a break. Statistics were not available from the AIA, but Howard reported games of 35 and 27 points for the Kentucky transfer."

For more on the Illini trips this summer, see this Daily Illini article.

Who Will Wear Number 23?

It's June, college basketball season seems far away, and not much is going on with the Fighting Illini basketball team. So, I have a question for fans out there and am opening up a poll tonight to find out the answer. Rodney Alexander wore the number 23 last season, and as you should all know, he is transferring to another school this summer. At this point, we're not sure where he goes. But his number is available for the other Illini to wear next year, if they dare. This number is known as Michael Jordan's number to Chicago Bulls fans. Please participate if you have any idea of the answer, and the results will be posted later this month.

Question: Who will wear number 23 for the Fighting Illini basketball team next season?

Answer: Please see the poll to the right and weigh in with your answer.

Illini 2009 Class now rated number 2

ESPN has come out with an article and ranking of the 2009 classes, and no surprise to me, the Illini are ranked number 2 behind North Carolina, due to their verbals from Tyler Griffey, Brandon Paul, DJ Richardson and Joseph Bertrand. There are still a majority of the top players left uncommitted, but the Illini and Bruce Weber have a great early class commmitted for 2009.

Expectations for the Illini include Simpson

Rumblings around the Champaign-Urbana campus indicate Stan Simpson is eligible to play basketball this fall and is enrolling for the summer school session soon. The depleted Illini front line might need some help from Stan Simpson, that's for sure.

No word on where Brian Carlwell and Rodney Alexander might be headed, we'll just have to wait and see what happens this summer. Carlwell has been rumored to be headed to Lexington, and Rodney is probably looking around at this point.

I had read speculation that Calvin Brock might decide to not return to school, since he has already received his undergraduate degree. But we can expect to see Calvin return for his final year of eligibility this fall, and provide the Illini with valuable minutes with his excellent defense, rebounding and shooting.

Alex Legion is getting some valuable game experience in Poland this week, and I'll bet he's showing his shooting acumen and athleticism as well. He will be eligible to play for the Illini in December, from what I understand, and will probably become a fixture in the starting line-up.

My best guess at the Illini starting line-up once Legion is available: McCamey, Smith, Legion, Keller and Tisdale. Rotating in off the bench would be Frazier, Brock, Meacham, Jordan and Davis. Cole and Simpson will be looking to extend the rotation, or find a spot with shooting or defense. Am I forgetting anyone? I don't think so.

Alex Legion and AIA team score over 100 in Poland

Alex Legion must be having a great experience in Poland, as the Athletes in Action team went over the century mark last night in Poland to win 104=79. Full story is on the AIA site.

Early Previews of Big Ten Basketball 2008/2009

Devin of College Basketball Chronotope has already pulled together a preview of the upcoming Big Ten Season, and I have to agree with most of his writing. Basically, he has Purdue, Michigan State and Wisconsin at the top, with Illinois just behind. My only question at this early stage, could the Big 10 be so weak we only get three teams in the NCAA? I can't recall the last time this happened since the field was 64 or 65 teams.

Even earlier to the task, KJ of Spartans Weblog put out his predictions, which have Purdue, Wisconsin and Michigan State at the top (sounds familiar). KJ has the Illini moving up from the bottom to 6th place in the conference, citing the uncertainty with the Illini front line. I agree this is a really hard Illini team to project, since the guards will be somewhat new (scoring ones, at least) and the front line is a huge question mark.

Athletes in Action come back with Legion's Shooting

The Athletes in Action team played Friday night and after falling behind due to pourous defense, came roaring back due to "razor sharp shooting" by Illinois' Alex Legion. The short game summary is on the AIA website.

We have been hearing about Alex Legion working on his game with Jamar Smith, and it appears he can be a force in European basketball games, at least. It will be interesting to see his game in Champaign when he becomes elibible in December 2008.

Illini Basketball will be back on top

For anyone who has not been paying attention, this much is clear: the Illini basketball program, led by Coach Bruce Weber, will be back and a force in the Big 10 conference and NCAAs. In an article by Scout.com's Kedric Price, the comeback of the Illini is summarized as follows:

2008/2009: Team is likely to improve due to Jamar Smith, Alex Legion, Dominique Keller and Stan Simpson joining returning players from last season.

2009/2010: Four highly-rated recruits join the Illini. DJ Richardson, Brandon Paul, Tyler Griffey and Joseph Bertrand have all been rated in the top 100 players nationally in various rankings.

2010/2011: Two of the top 15 players in the country have verbally committed to the Illini, with Jereme Richmond rated 7th and Crandall Head at 12th.

2011/2012: TBD, In process.

I personally think the new challenge for Bruce Weber and his staff will be dealing with all of the talented players coming into the program, keeping the players focused on the team aspect of the game and playing defense. If he can accomplish that, he could easily have another team like the 2005 squad or the 1989 "Flying Illini."

Follow Alex Legion in Poland with AIA

Alex Legion is with a traveling team from Athletes in Action in Poland, scheduled to play three games: two against the National team and one against an all-star team. The director of the group, Mike Sigfrids is blogging while on the trip to keep us updated.

The roster and schedule for the AIA team are here.

The latest post from Mike is here.

I hope they can keep updating their blog, so we can follow the games in Poland.

Illini Fans Ranked #11 Last Season

According to statistics released by the NCAA for last season, the Illini fans ranked number 11 in the country for attendance of home games, with an average of 16,618 fans crowding into the Assembly Hall in Champaign.

I wish the Illini basketball squad was ranked #11 last year, but that was last season, and we need to look forward to 2008 and 2009.

Nice job Illini fans! Not everyone can support a team like the one we watched last season, but that's the mark of true fans, following your team during the tough years.

McCamey, Davis and Howard returning from China

Mark Tupper follows the Illini basketball team all year, and notes that McCamey, Davis and Howard are returning from their trip to China tomorrow. Apparently, McCamey had a really good trip playing basketball with the traveling team, and Davis did alright as well. It sounds like Jerrance Howard was the coach for the team, and they got beat repeatedly by the number three team from China (maybe they had some big guys from Northern China).

I hope they had a chance to see the big cities like Shanghai and Beijing, which are pictured here. Despite the earthquake aftershocks they experienced, it must have been a rewarding experience for all.

Alex Legion heads to Poland next. Good luck to Alex, hope he scores big time and comes back ready to play Big 10 basketball.

More on the China trip here, from the News-Gazette.