Illinitalk

It's been more than a week since the gallant effort came up short. The sports hangover I had a week ago today was brutal. Being on Eastern Daylight Time didn't help things, either. Skinny Sweetcheeks and I had to stay up till close to midnight to watch the end...and be at work the next day.

However, in the week since the game, I've heard many different things from Illini fans and foes alike. It goes without saying that Illini fans are proud of their team...but I've heard many fans around the Big Ten compliment us too on one fantastic season.

Even fans from teams in other conferences have complimented us. Not too many from the ACC, but hey, that's to be expected. I did have one Duke fan, rather than rub it in my face, say he couldn't believe our run and wished we would have won the whole thing because that would have been the fitting way to finish such an historic season...that, and I think he wanted to watch Roy Williams cry...

Anyway, there is still Illini news...much of it interesting.

Recruiting
On the basketball recruiting front, the Battle of the Titans pits Illinois vs. Duke for the services of Jon Scheyer. Scheyere was on WSCR in Chicago yesterday and said he has ruled out Arizona and Wisconsin. So now it's down to Illinois and Duke. The Tribune has a nice little story about it here. I have a feeling if we land Scheyer, the floodgates will open. Not to mention the fact that beating Duke for a high profile recruit will be a huge coup.

Speaking of recruiting, I was talking to another Duke fan Sunday (this is what I get for living on the East Coast) who was giving me the usual misperception that Weber can't recruit. When I told him that Weber signed Shaun Pruitt and Calvin Brock he shut up. He said, "well Pruitt was top 100 so that's pretty good." Good grief.

Brock
Speaking of Brock, I don't know what it is but I am really excited about seeing him play. From what I hear, he's got mad hops and is very athletic. However, there is one intangible of which I've really taken notice: his enthusiasm. The guy was one of the best cheerleaders on the bench this year. If he brings even a fraction of that to the court, he will be great. I'm thinking he's goona step in and bring the fire of Kenny Battle and Dee Brown. And TV folks will love his baby face.

Conditioning
The Illini conditioning program is featured in this story in the Sun-Times...good stuff...

Football
There are a number of articles out on football as well. Herb Gould has some good info in this article in the Sun-Times...Tribune story here...Supinie here...