The Shot.

I was _________________________ when Deron Williams hit that shot.

Actual FSU Cowgirls in action....and that's no lie...

What a bunch of boozehounds! The sippy-cup warchant.....wow! Get rid of the plastic cocktail cup, and at least grab a styro-foam tomahawk!

A modern day Wooden?

Bruce Weber. Following in the footsteps of a legend. Just wait. Something special is happening in Champaign. Does anyone share this view?

The answer behind Thad Matta's recruiting success...

Yep, apparently this is what they show potential Ohio St. recruits. Do you think this is playing fair?

After victory against MSU, can Illini sustain a win streak?

Tuesday's victory against MSU at home was nothing short of a "grind it out" victory. Here's some thoughts on the team following that game, and heading into Saturday's home game against Minnesota:

1. Defense was the key to victory on Tuesday. Kudos to Rich McBride for hounding Drew Neitzel the entire game.

2. Sean Pruitt is playing very consistently in the post these days. He is steadily racking up double-doubles each game. However, he is really stinking at freethrows. Man, how many did he miss during crunch time against Michigan St.? As he becomes Illinois' main offensive threat on the inside, if not as a whole, then he is only going to get fouled more and more. Hack-a-Shaq will become Hack-a-Sean. He MUST get better at shooting those free throws.

3. Jamar Smith is slumping so badly, the Illini almost can't afford to play him any more.

4. Chester Frazier played a solid game. He hit some big time shots in the second half while driving in to the lane with the shot clock running down. It wasn't pretty, but it worked. His defense was solid too, especially considering his turf toe status. If he can get healthy, and learn to always play within himself, he will be a pretty serviceable point guard.


Well, I'm looking forward to the Minnesota game. If Illinois can play well, then a victory will put them at .500 in the Big Ten. A favorable schedule the rest of the way means that the NCAA tourney is still within reach.

Rough waters ahead for Illini, but there is still hope

Well, Saturday truly was a tough loss for the Illini at the Assembly Hall. It was probably the best game of the season effort wise for the team. Everybody on the team played really hard. The only guy who looked lost out on the court was Jamar Smith. He's just in the slump of all slumps. At this point, I'm concerned about his future within the program. He kind of reminds me of that pitcher for the Cardinals a few years back who was on track to be a superstar, but then suddenly couldn't even throw a strike during the postseason and he had to be sent back down to the minor leagues. Seriously, Jamar is in that bad of a slump. But here's to hoping he'll pull out. I listened to Bruce Weber on the radio this morning, and he really sounded down. I haven't heard him like that before. That tells me he is really concerned about this team. But he hasn't given up on them yet. He talked about how resilient kids are, and that they'll bounce back before fans or the news media will. At the same time, he said that Randle is doubtful for Tuesday's game against Indiana, and that even worse, Pruitt is "day to day" due to a twisted knee. Yep, that's the same knee he hurt at that crucial point in Saturday's game. So, it's going to be tough on Tuesday against Indiana. Weber believes Indiana is playing the best ball of any team in the Big Ten, or so says his scouting report. They are playing some tough, team basketball. And so here is my prediction for Tuesday night:

Illinois is going to lose by 8 points. Taking a wild shot at it, I'm going to go with a 65-57 final score. I believe it'll be a dogfight until the last 8 minutes of the game, when Indiana will pull away. I sure hope I'm wrong, and I have to be honest, I'm such a partisan fan that I almost always pick Illinois to win. But for some reason, I just have a feeling we'll lose Tuesday.

I believe that Tuesday's loss against Indiana will be rock bottom. Illinois will then have to stare into the Abyss, knowing that gaining an at-large birth is all but out of the question. I think that they will face this fact well, however. I think they'll pull together as a team, and that they'll rally around Weber as a coach. They'll finish relatively strong in the Big Ten, at 8-8 overall in the league. I think they'll win their last 3 or 4 in a row going into the Big Ten tourney, though, as Weber will have them peaking at just the right time. Then, in the Big Ten tourney they'll have to run the table to go to the Big Dance. Odds of that happening at that point? I'd say about 1 in 5. But, hey, that's 20%. It'll be an exciting challenge.

Go Illini!

What the smart money says about Illinois vs. Wisconsin

You know the old saying "Well, the smart money says....." A buddy of mine gives literal credence to that old saying. He can pretty much call games better than most I know, and usually puts his money on the line, to good effect. Here's his text message I just got this morning, after I told him that my heart says an Illinois victory, but my gut says a 15 point loss:

"Understood. The spread is small at 2. Even though they chalked an L vs. MSU, they looked pretty strong and physical on the road. Wisc looking kind of weak lately, just skating by some sub-par teams. My money is on Illini to pull off a shocker in Assembly Hall! Put that in your blog and post it."

And so I just did. For the record.

One step forward, two steps back for the Illini

Well, Sunday at Michigan St. was a tough game to stomach, particularly that second half. I still think the team had a breakthrough against Iowa, and in the first half against Michigan St., it looked like the team was picking up where they left off. Upon closer examination, however, it is clear that Brian Randle and Jamar Smith both struggled for both halves against Michigan St. McBride and Pruitt both seemed to have good games, and Carter played okay too. But when 2/5's of the line-up is hurting you, that's never going to add up to a victory on the road, especially in the Big Ten. Jamar Smith is becoming a major source of concern for the team. He is being relied on heavily for his outside shooting, but he is absolutely in one of the worst slumps I've seen an Illinois player go through in quite a long time. All in all, though, I think Weber is sorting things out as each game passes. He admitted that he made some mistakes against Michigan St. in the second half. I think Weber's biggest struggle this season has been his rotation of the players in and out of the game. Due to injuries, he hasn't solidified a starting line-up and bench rotation to support it. And we're four games into the Big Ten season. That's a big problem. With the rhythm necessity of the Weber motion offense, his teams have to have a solid rotation, and everyone needs to understand their role. And yet, this team still does not have those things solidified. To make matters worse, no one has stepped up to be the leader that this line-up and rotation can first gel and then solidify around. We need for this to happen.

Anyhow, I still hold up hopes for this season to end with an NCAA berth. The next three games will be critical. The Illini, however, need to just take one game at a time from here on out. Let's get a win at Minnesota on Wednesday! Here's how I see the starting line-up now, subject to injuries of course.

PG - Chester Frazier
SG - Rich McBride
SF - Brian Randle
PF - Warren Carter
C - Sean Pruitt

Bench: Brock, Meacham, Arnold, Carlwell
Other: Smith (I don't think he should play until his ankle sprains are totally healed), Jackson (When he plays good in practice, will Weber give him some game minutes?)

Well, keep your spirits up Illini fans.

The Illini regain their footing against Iowa at home

As the buzzer sounded at the Assembly Hall, the orange faithful let out one big collective sigh of relief. Victory, 74-70 over the Iowa Hawkeyes. It wasn't the prettiest of games, but the Illini showed some signs of life after a 3 game losing streak since December 29th that seemed much longer than 12 days to fans that have grown accustomed to nothing but W after W the past couple of seasons. After the Saturday loss to the Buckeyes, short-tempered and fickle Illini fans throughout the midwest began beating the "drums of doom". Embodied by naysayers like Chicago sportswriter Mike Nadel, many fans whined and whined and cried endlessly about recruiting and Bruce Weber and recruiting and Thad Matta and recruiting and Bill Self and recruiting and Wha! Wha! Wha! Cry! Cry! Cry! And what did Bruce Weber do? What he has done since he came to Illinois 4 years ago-- he simply coached and coached and coached some more. You really have to respect his ability as a coach. I mean, after the Ohio St. game, he did a brutally honest self-assessment of the team, and he recognized that they just had no confidence at all. So what did he do? He focused on their confidence and attitudes in practice. He talked to them individually, and he didn't just hammer away on them for their mistakes. He reminded them of what they can do well, and he told them to "have fun and just play basketball." Then, he threw the practice agenda out the window yesterday, and they decided to just have a "fun" day at practice. Don't be fooled, there was hard work galore being done by both the coaches and the players Sunday through Tuesday. But he reminded them that when all is said and done, this is just a ballgame in the end, with 5 men on each side. And so the team relaxed. Especially the upperclassmen. Specifically, McBride and Randle. You know, this is how seasons truly unfold. "Gradual, steady improvement" can happen, but most athletic seasons are marked by "break-throughs" and "A-HA!" moments. I truly believe this Iowa game was one of those for the Illini. No, they didn't play perfect. There were lapses on defense, some poor ballhandling at times, and too many three-point shots that clanged off the rim in the fist half. But overall, they seemed like a team out there. And for that, I am encouraged. I really think they only got their footing tonight. The next step is to walk steadily against Michigan St. in East Lansing on Sunday. Then maybe we can talk about jogging or even running in future games. But, to Mike Nadel, and others like him-- y'all represent the "shallow" side of reporting and fandom. That's cool, I understand you can't change your personality. Y'all salivate over the Jerry Tarkanians, Thad Mattas, Bill Selfs, and Billy Donovans of the world for their "other-wordly" recruiting abilities. Meanwhile, great coaches like Bruce Weber take a group of talented, blue-chip (but maybe not McDonald's All-Americans) kids, and they teach them and turn them into a team. And that's what we're seeing unfold here in Champaign. And I know that the naysayers will quickly say "But Iowa is only 9-7, and you're jumping ahead to conclusions." But I say back to them-- I watch every game, and I see this team, from the pre-season agains SIU-Edwardsville to the Big Ten trench games against the Indianas and the Ohio St.'s and the Michigan St.'s. And I tell you this-- these guys care, and they have heart. And they're finding their way. And they stood up tonight, pulled themselves up by their shoelaces. McBride, Randle, WarCat, and Pruitt-- the upperclassmen. That is the key to this season-- I finally see it. And so does the team. Weber-- he's seen it all along.

Well, enough preaching. Here's a few blurbs from the game:

1. McBride woke up from his season long slumber. He had a real break-through tonight. He played hard, he yelled at the guys, he huddled them up on the court. He led the team out there tonight. And his positive attitude translated to his shot. He hit some key threes. And he let them come to him, through the flow of the offense. The best thing about his game, though, was his leadership, and the energy level he brought to the team. He has to sustain this now. Even if he has a bad shooting night, he needs to keep his head up, and keep leading this team.

2. Randle had a break-through as well. He seemed to finally just let go of the injury baggage that has been hindering him. The mental side of injuries is a big part of sports. And his was a particularly sensitive area (the groin/abdomen). Again, you don't "gradually" make a mental recovery from an injury. It takes a breakthrough. Throw your body after a couple loose balls, make a few big dunks. Still fine? Yep. And that's all it takes. Now he has confidence. I think that when he really picked up steam in the second half was when he started getting the ball as he rotated to the top of the key, and he would suddenly make a dribble/slash penetration to the basket, and he would either dunk, shoot, or pass it to Pruitt or WarCat. And when they got it down there (especially Pruitt), they weren't messing around. It was a dunkfest, and that will bring your shooting percentage up REAL fast. Keep it up Brian!

3. Our most effective line-up tonight was:
McBride (PG), Smith (SG), WarCat (PF), Randle (SF), Pruitt (C)

That might be our "go to" line-up until Frazier gets healthy.

Well, that's all for today. Anyways, I know I might sound a little too upbeat, given that we did have some defensive lapses and still need to keep working on our shooting and ball-handling. But this team is going to be fine.

Go Illini!