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.