Basketball Tickets on Sale this Month

For those of you excited about the upcoming basketball season, tickets go on sale this month.

Men's basketball single-game tickets will go on sale at 9 a.m., Oct. 29th. Individuals may order by phone (333-3470) or toll free at 866-ILLINI-1, in person at the Athletics Ticket Office (Assembly Hall) or online at www.fightingillini.com.

Let's fill up the Assembly Hall for all of the home games this year. Go Illini!

Articles about Stan Simpson and DJ Richardson

Here are some interesting articles from Illinois Prep Bulls-eye about Stan Simpson and DJ Richardson. Bulls-eye thinks Illinois has a really good shot at landing both of them, but Richardson is expected to wait awhile before he commits. Article

Remaining 2008 Basketball Recruits

Assuming the Illini continue the hunt to sign someone from the 2008 class, the remaining possibilities that are known are as follows:


Devoe Joseph, a Canadian shooting guard that sounds a little like Jamar Smith from a basketball standpoint. Joseph is listing nine major programs with offers on Scout.com, so he seems like a longshot at this point.

Stan Simpson, a big man (6-9) from the Public League, visited campus this past weekend with his coach Robert Smith. Simpson would be a nice commitment, since we have no verbals yet for the class, and he is from Chicago's Simeon high school.

Renaldo Woolridge, a forward who is the son of Orlando Woolridge, has the Illini listed along with Georgetown, USC, Tennessee and Marquette. He seems like a longshot, but it would be nice to have two ex-Chicago Bulls in the stands next season. Profile

Verdell Jones, a big point guard prospect from Champaign Central, needs an offer from the Illini, and maybe they could land him. He lists Illinois, Kansas, Connecticut, Kentucky, Oregon, Texas, Virginia on Scout.com.

Justin Watts is a 6-4 shooting guard from Durham, North Carolina. He sounds like an awesome guy to land for this class. He lists Clemson, Georgia, Illinois, Virginia, East Carolina, Fairfield, George Mason, and Penn State, which make the Illini the best choice for basketball, although Virginia might also be a good one for him. Profile

Deividas Dulkys has an interesting name, and he plays shooting guard for Henderson, NV high school. He lists the following schools: California, Florida State, Miami (Fl), Oregon, San Diego State, Cincinnati, Illinois, Mississippi, Fresno State, Oregon State, and Tennessee. Scout Profile

The other way to go is redshirt two of the 2007 recruits, so that Bruce has a hybrid class of 2008. Plus, there are so many walk-ons with decent quality, we should be OK for awhile. The 2009 class in Illinois is very deep with guards, so maybe that is the year of the guard for us.

Tribune Article on Mario Little going to Kansas

This is really getting to be an old story, with recruit after recruit opting to go other places rather than Champaign, when it comes to basketball. The latest Tribune article about Mario Little's decision does not help recruiting in Chicago.

Mario Little to Kansas

Mario Little announced tonight that he is going to Kansas after all (story), as predicted here earlier.

It seems appropriate that Mario selected Kansas, based on their winning tradition, many opening slots for playing time next season, and Bill Self's incredible recruiting success when going up against Illinois.

Football Team now ranked 18th and 19th

The new rankings are out for football, and Illinois is now ranked 18th (AP) and 19th (USA Today), not bad for a program that has been in turnaround mode. Great job, Ron Zook and Ron Guenther!

Weekend Wish List for Illini Fans

Good morning Illini Fans! It would be an awesome weekend if we could have all of the following:

-Saturday football victory over Wisconsin, game starts in about 10 minutes.

-Cubs victory over the Diamondbacks, avoid an embarrassing sweep in the playoffs.

-Verbal commitment from Mario Little on Sunday, first recruiting win over Bill Self of Kansas.

I'm not sure if any one of these is very realistic, however. Maybe the Cubs can win today.....I need to check who is pitching.

McLaughlin Commits to Nevada

As expected, McLaughlin gave a verbal commitment to Nevada today according to Scout, apparently Nevada was in the lead the entire time. It is difficult to get the West Coast kids to come to Champaign, I guess.

Mark seems like a great recruit for Nevada, so good luck to you Mark.

Sounds like a Little Announcement on Sunday

Here's a hint that Mario Little will announce his decision on Sunday, according to an interview with his JC coach. Story

Latest Report on Mario Little

According to the Munster Indiana newspaper website nwi.com, the latest on Mario Little is as follows:

"WASHINGTON'S LITTLE CONSIDERS ILLINI: Illinois basketball coach Bruce Weber is waiting to hear from 6-foot-5 junior college recruit Mario Little, the Times Illinois Player of the Year at Washington for 2006 who has become an explosive wing player at Chipola Junior College in Florida.

Little visited campus this past weekend and is expected to choose between Kansas, Kansas State and Illinois.

Reports Tuesday indicated that Kansas State visited Little in Florida on Monday, with Kansas expected in on Tuesday. Weber is scheduled to see Little today before he makes his decision."

Website

No announcement from Mario Little yet......

Tuesday and Wednesday have come and gone, with no announcement from Mr. Little. It is not surprising, since recent reports had him meeting with coaches from each of the three finalist schools on Tuesday and Wednesday, prior to making his decision. So the actual announcement of his decision would happen on Thursday, Friday or Saturday. I would not want to guess at this point.

Illini Madness 2007

Take a look at Bruce Weber in his pink Illini Madness t-shirt. This will be quite an event!

Click on the title for the official Illini Madness website and more information.

More information here

Mario Little's Decision this week........

So the word is Mario Little will make his decision this week between Kansas, Illinois and Kansas State. Mario visited Champaign over the past weekend, worked out with the players, watched the football game, and enjoyed the visit. Apparently, Jerrance Howard knows Mario Little, and both Jerrance and Bruce will be visiting Mario in Florida this week. Mario will also be seeing Kansas and Kansas State in Florida this week as he prepares to make this important decision about his future.

Some comments from a Kansas website.

Maybe the Illini have a chance here, but my gut still says it's Kansas.

Verdell Jones could stay in Champaign

Verdell Jones was on campus for the big win against Penn State yesterday, and is probably on campus often, since he goes to high school at Champaign Central. Even though there are not many who think Verdell will stay in Champaign, I would not be surprised to see things work out that way. Jones is being looked at by a long list of major basketball programs, including Kansas and Kentucky, and the Illini have not landed anyone from the class of 2008, so don't be surprised if Verdell Jones stays in town.

Scout Profile

Rivals Profile

DJ Richardson rumored to be headed to Champaign

DJ Richardson is rumored to be heading to school at Champaign in 2009, according to reports from his coach. Richardson is a highly rated shooting guard from Peoria, and the Illini have always done well with recruiting Peoria-area players.

Dee Brown moved his game to Turkey

Rather than competing with multiple players for a point guard spot at Utah this year, Dee Brown has moved to Turkey with a new contract in hand. Good luck Dee!

His blog is really nice, he is actively writing about his new team and location, so it is a good one to read periodically. Dee Brown's Blog

Mario Little Rumors Updated

Mario Little is expected to make an announcement regarding his decision on Tuesday of this week. There are also rumors that Kansas coaches are headed to Florida in the middle of this week, but I am not sure if there is a connection. It seems like Kansas may be in the lead, but Illinois probably has a chance at landing Little. If I had to put money on this situation, I would bet my money on Bill Self. Sorry Illini fans, I really do hope we land Mario, but I just don't feel good about this one. Kansas is projected to lose a few players after this year, which would open up playing time for Mario Little.

Basketball Players at the Penn State Game

It was a great win for the football team today over Penn State, I must say I did watch most of it, and the basketball team did get on the field in their pink shirts in advance of Illini Madness. Photo courtesy of a poster on Scout.com.

In terms of recruits at the game, reportedly Mario Little was there, Jordan Prosser and Verdell Jones, the local guard phenom. I hope they were all impressed with the Illini win and pink shirts.

Paint the Hall Pink, Illini Madness 2007

This year's Illini Madness (formerly Midnight Madness, but now schools can hold their first practice any time after 7pm) sounds like it will be truly a unique night. Entrance to the event requires a Pink Illini Shirt that will raise funds for Coaches versus Cancer. If enough fans go this year, it could help produce some memorable phots of the Assembly Hall. The event starts at 9pm on Friday October 12 at the Assembly Hall. Events that evening:

Men's Basketball Scrimmage
Shooting Contest involving Men's and Women's Teams
Dunk Contest

If you can make it, please be there to support the Illini. This might be an important recruiting event as well. Anyone know which recruits will be attending this year?

Mario Little Considering Illini

Mario Little is wing who plays for Junior College Chipola, and played high school basketball at George Washington in Chicago. Mario has listed his final three as Kansas, K-State and Illinois. Mario is visiting Champaign for Midnight Madness this weekend, and this is his final visit of his top three schools. Little would be a huge recruit to land, and would really complement the team next fall, since he is a wing and is really highly regarded with a huge upside.

Some information on Mario Little:

-Height is 6-4
-Weight is 185
-Chipola Junior College, George Washington High School
-Little is a big time scorer, who would contribute right away for Illini

Scout Profile

Mark McLaughlin Considering Illini

Mark McLaughlin is a shooting guard prospect from the class of 2008 who had committed to Washington State before de-committing in July of this year. Mark has announced his new final three are: Nevada, Oregon and Illinois. Mark is apparently going to the Illinois Midnight Madness as part of a campus visit, so I hope it is a really good show this year. Maybe Jerrance Howard and the Jordans can help Bruce close him.

A quick summary on Mark McLaughlin:
-Height is 6-4
-Weight is 175
-High School is Inglemoor HS in Kenmore, WA
-Rated 4 Stars by Scout.com
-His specialty is perimeter shooting, catch and shoot three pointers
-Needs to work on being more aggressive scoring, ballhandling and strength.

Scout Profile

Jerrance "Snacks" Howard Hired as Illini Assistant

It's now official, Jerrance Howard is the new Illini Assistant Coach and recruiter for Chicago! Congratulations on being selected and get recruiting those remaining players from the 2008 class.

I am starting to realize what a nice choice Howard could be as an assistant coach as I read about what former Illini players are saying about Jerrance Howard. Link

This move could really benefit the Illini by having people like Luther Head, Deron Williams, Dee Brown and Brian Cook staying involved with the program. Plus, it doesn't hurt that Michael Jordan is taking the players out for dinner occasionally. What more could you want to recruit some talented high school players?

Finally, I think Jerrance is the guy who was recruited by Kruger, played for Self and finished playing for Weber. What a great perspective to bring to the high school kids, since he learned from some of the best coaches out there.

Illini Expected to Announce New Assistant Tuesday

Based on my sources and published information, I expect we will hear the formal announcement later today (Tuesday) that Jerrance Howard is the new Illini assistant basketball coach, replacing Tracy Webster, who took a coaching job at Kentucky. Jerrance Howard played for the Illini in basketball, is well-liked by the coaching staff and players that played with him, and seems like an all-around good guy. He does not have a proven record in recruiting or coaching, so he seems like a marginal selection from that standpoint. However, he fits many of the needs of Coach Weber, with his energy, enthusiasm, and excellent votes of support from NBA players like Deron Williams, Luther Head and Dee Brown.

Timeline for new Assistant Coach

Here is an update from a poster on Illinois Loyalty.

"Weber told donors at the golf outing in Savoy yesterday that the search is down to 3 or 4 candidates and that the decision will be made by the end of this week or the start of next week. Didn't give any hints about who it will be."

So we are looking for an announcement on Friday the 14th at the earliest and Monday the 17th at the latest. I hope Weber hires someone who can help him in recruiting some top level high school athletes. He is a great coach, so I am less concerned about someone who can help him coach from the bench.

Candidates for Illini Assistant Coaching Job

If I had to guess tonight who the leading candidate is for the open assistant position, it would be Jerrance Howard. While Jerrance is a good guy who played a little (and I mean little) basketball for Illinois, his credentials seem weak, so I hope I am wrong about this. Jerrance has little experience at the college level, has no experience at recruiting, and probably has limited ability to recruit the Chicago area right now.

Robert Smith, the head coach of Simeon High School is publicly expressing interest in the job, but is having trouble getting an audience with Weber. To me, this means he is not being considered, and he is off the list. But what little I know about Smith (great high school coach, from the Public League, huge supporter of Illinois, etc.) makes me think he SHOULD be considered by Weber.

Other people mentioned include Dennis Gates, Billy Garrett, Gene Cross and Dickey Simpkins. Rather than spend time discussing these rumored candidates, I will try to wait for the announcement.