Sun-Times Article about Jeff Jordan

Here's a nice article about Jeff Jordan and the Illinois basketball program. He sounds like a great kid and likely to exceed the expectations for him, which don't seem that high as a freshman.

MidStateHoops.com Presents Matt Roth

Here's a guy that wants to play for Illinois. He seems to have a nice shot, so let's make him an offer and get the 2008 class started.

Will someone from the Class of 2008 Please Stand Up?

Well, news on the Illini recruiting is not good, at least not good from the perspective of in-State players Liggins, Humphrey, Dunigan and Shumpert, who all say they are going elsewhere for college. Which is fine by me, as long as they have their priorities in place and are committing to one of the NCAA powerhouse schools like UCLA, North Carolina, Duke, Kentucky or Kansas.

But perhaps the most distressing news is coming from Michael Dunigan, who always wanted to stay close to home. Michael, I hate to tell you this, but according to Google Maps Eugene Oregon is 2,229 miles from Chicago! That doesn't bode well for Mom, or maybe they got into my United Premier Account. It gets worse, because Michael Dunigan chose his college for the academics, not just basketball. Not sure what Michael is planning to major in, but I'm sure he could get a nice degree in Champaign.

But Iman Shumpert is yet another story. Iman wants to play in the ACC, rather than the Big 10 conference. That's understandable, since the ACC always beats the Big 10 in the ESPN ACC/Big 10 Challenge each year. But then a rumor comes out that Iman drops Illinois from consideration but leaves some ACC schools along with Bradley and Marquette on his list??? Now that story has been retracted, so did someone make that up, or was it true?

At least DeAndre Liggins committed for Kentucky, who looks like a sure thing now that they have coach Billy Gillespie recruiting and coaching for them.

Recruiting the 2008 Class............

More bad news is coming out for Illini basketball from the 2008 class. Michael Dunigan and Matt Humphrey are rumored to be headed to Oregon now. Iman Shumpert is now getting an offer from North Carolina, and wants to play in the ACC. Liggins already committed to Kentucky. Scott Suggs is one of the few remaining Illinois players from the class who is ranked high and has a good chance of landing at Illinois. Tough, tough news.

Interesting Story about Bill Self and Billy Gillespie

These two coaches are still friends despite playing against each other and now recruiting against each other. Gillespie coached under Self at Tulsa and Illinois. Story

Happy Fourth of July, Illini Fans!

One of the highlights of the Half Moon Bay parade this year was the volunteer firemen, who did a ladder climb and demonstrated how to put out a fire on a fellow fireman. Quite a nice show!

Tyler Griffey, Class of 2009

Tyler Griffey is one of the top big man recruits from the class of 2009. The Illini fans would love to have a commitment from this young man, once the early signing period starts, which is still a long way away. The interesting thing about Tyler Griffey is that his father occasionally comments on the various boards, and I think he is an Illini fan to boot. Maybe if I'm lucky he will post here also. The Illinois Loyalty board has some great posts along with Tyler's Dad. Board

2008 Recruiting Update

To get caught up with the Illini recruiting for the 2008 class, the biggest news is DeAndre Liggins has provided UK's Coach Gillespie with a verbal commitment. Liggins is a top-rated prospect from the Public League that Illini fans have been drooling over.

There are many remaining prospects to hope for, with the top of the list being Iman Shumpert, Michael Dunigan and Scott Suggs. If we can get commitments from two of these three prospects, we will have an excellent 2008 class.

Some early evaluations of this year's team

People are starting to watch this year's team play and write about what they see. While this is not expert analysis, it can be interesting during the summer. Posts

Warren Carter joins Mavs for tryouts and games

It sounds like the Mavs will take a closer look at Warren Carter this summer, after he went undrafted, as expected. The way the Warriors outplayed the Mavs this past post-season, the Mavs would be smart to get some more athletic players like Warren Carter. Carter is a Dallas area native, and will probably play in Europe if he does not make the NBA. Story

Back Posting Again after Scouting Trip to China

By the way, my posting absence earlier this month was much longer than I expected due to traveling in China. I expected to be able to post to the blog from Beijing or Shanghai, but was unable to log in, apparently due to blogger being blocked, though I'm not sure if this is a permananent or temporary situation.

Hope you enjoy this photo of Shanghai's Pudong District from the famous restaurant, M's on the Bund.

Preview of 2007 Recruiting Class

Here's a nice preview of this fall's class playing in some All-Star games in Bloomington, Illinois. It sounds like McCamey, Jordan, Tisdale and Cole all played well. Link

Jereme Richmond rated by Scout--Five Stars

Jereme Richmond, a verbal commitment for Illinois from the Class of 2010, is now rated a Five Star recruit on Scout.com.

He is described as "A silky smooth wing player, Richmond has a chance to have a tremendous career at Illinois and possibly beyond. Shoots the three-ball effortlessly with a soft touch and is poised and skilled with the ball. He does need to build his body and develop a more physical side to his game, but there is no denying his talent." on the Rivals.com website.

Jamar Smith is Out of Jail

News Flash! Jamar Smith is now out of jail, having served his brief sentence for his DUI conviction. The big question remains, will he play again for the Illini basketball team? Thus far, no comment from Coach Bruce Weber or AD Ron Guenther.

While they need his scoring they don't need his kind of trouble. What turned me negative about Smith is when it was revealed that the car accident was not an isolated drinking incident. Anyone who drinks like Smith has big problems playing a competitive sport like Big Ten basketball. In my opinion, his scholarship should be used to recruit someone else from the Class of 2008.

Rivals Ranks 2007 Recruiting Classes

The Illini class of 2007 is ranked #29 in the country based on the latest listing on Rivals.

This seems low for this class, but you never know.

Go Directly To Jail

Jamar Smith is now in jail, having pled guilty to a felony DUI. He is expected to serve a two week sentence for his crime. Coach Weber had little to say about his future prospects, but the stories do shed light on his shooting slump last year. While the popular theory was that he couldn't hit shots because of his bad ankle sprain, a better theory is his diet of "A pint of Jose Cuervo tequila three times a week and marijuana." It is amazing he was able to get out of bed to go to practice, let alone shoot a basketball. And this alcohol consumption is going into a thin body without much weight. Not to mention free throw shooting with the shakes. Articles on this story:

Daily Illini

ESPN

I have been of the opinion that Weber should try to keep Smith on the team, but given these revelations of his addictions to alcohol and drugs, I would let him go. He might have a chance to resurface at Bradley or some other mid-major.

Deron Williams scores career-high 34 on Spurs

Although the Jazz lost game one, Deron Williams showed why he is one of the top point guards in the NBA this year, scoring 34 points in this losing effort. Deron had 9 assists as well, and was the outstanding player of the game in my opinion. Boozer, Okur and Kirilenko had sub-par games, but the toughness shown in the fourth quarter bodes well for Utah in this series. Game summary

Dee Brown did not play today for the Jazz.

Interview with Roger Powell

The Utah Jazz cut Roger Powell during the season, and probably wish they had his scoring ability in the playoffs, since he led the NBA Development League in scoring in his time with the Arkansas Rimrocks. An interview with Roger Powell about his plans is here.

Roger won an award for sportsmanship as well, discussed here.

Roger was also named honorable mention on the All NBA Development League team, article here.

Dee Brown ready for Conference Finals, Spurs

Dee Brown's neck is still stiff, but he is ready to play in the Conference Finals against the Spurs. Here's an article with an update on Dee.

Utah (Illinois) Jazz to play Spurs

The Spurs won their second round of the playoffs last night against Phoenix, and move on to play Deron Williams and Dee Brown of the Utah Jazz. Some say that Tim Duncan and Tony Parker will be too much for the Jazz, who feature D-Will and Carlos Boozer as key threats. After watching most of the Jazz Warriors series, I'm not sure. The Jazz are tough, balanced, and play disciplined basketball for Coach Sloan, so I am giving them a good chance to upset the Spurs. The Williams Parker match-up will be interesting to watch for Illini fans. Williams outplayed Baron Davis overall in the recent series, even though most "experts" expected Davis to walk all over the second year Jazz guard. The Jazz have good size, so it will be interesting to watch them match up in the post.

Matthew Humphrey likely to commit soon

Matt Humphrey is a 6'5" shooting guard from Hales Franciscan in Chicago, rated 4 starts by the recruiting services. My sources indicate he could be the first verbal commitment for Illinois' 2008 class. Other rumors have mentioned that Liggins or Shumpert might be the first ones, but this is the latest. Weber has lots of offers out to top prospects, so it will be interesting to see who wants to commit first.

Further information on him is here.

Dee Brown is back playing for Jazz

It was nice to see Dee Brown back playing for the Utah Jazz tonight, as they closed out the second round series against the Warriors. Dee Brown looked like he has recovered from his neck injury. Deron Williams had a tough night for a change, but the Jazz still won.

Great Scout Story on Illini Recruits 2008 and 2009

Here is a nice story covering the Illini recruiting of prospects from the 2008 and 2009 classes. While there have been no commitments to date from these classes, the coverage tends to be optimistic on Illini inroads and outlook for these classes. It will be exciting to watch what happens with the 2008 class, which could be spectacular.

Deron Williams and Jazz put away Warriors

It was another great night for Deron Williams, who scored 20 points tonight and had 13 assists as the Jazz defeated the Warriors in game 4, 115-101 in Oakland. Boozer, Fisher, Williams and Co. had the Warriors so frustrated that Baron Davis hit Derek Fisher with an apparent blind-sided elbow to the head that shook him up for while. (Let's see what the league does after they review the replay...did not look accidental to me.) Later, Okur goes in for the dunk and Richardson makes a flagrant foul and is ejected from the game. The boxscore explains the cheapshots by the Warriors, with Baron Davis outplayed again by Williams, and Richardson struggling to get 7 points in 33 minutes tonight.

Dee Brown must still be injured since he did not play again tonight.

Dee Brown going to Oakland, Day-to-Day

According to the Salt Lake Tribune, Dee Brown is going to travel with the Utah Jazz to Oakland, CA. He is apparently OK, and is wearing a neck brace and getting treatments for his neck. He may play again later in the series, but right now is consider day-to-day.