Thursday, October 19, 2006

Brian Carlwell

There has been a lot of talk as to whether one of Illinois' two freshman, Brian Carlwell and Richard Semaru, should redshirt this year in order to preserve some eligibility while working on developing their skills. Part of the argument for this is that Illinois has Pruitt, Arnold, Jackson, and Carter (and you could probably include Randle since he sometimes plays the 4 position) returning and there are only so many playing minutes to go around.

Most people believe that if one of the two freshman is to redshirt, it will be Carlwell due to Semaru's ability to step out and hit the outside shot. At this point, I can't tell you whether it would be in the best interest of Carlwell or Semaru to redshirt or even if it would be in the best interest of the team. But I can tell you that for anyone who is just assuming that Carlwell will redshirt this year, you may want to reconsider those thoughts after reading today's Daily Herald article from Lindsey Willhite on why Carlwell should be the talk of Illini fans. If you don't have time to read it, here is what stands out to me:

“Brian Carlwell down the road — and I’m not sure if it’s going to be this year, one year, two years — he could be somebody that I’m not sure anyone in my memory of Illini basketball has been like that,” Weber said. “Because of his athleticism.”

***

There’s one other thing about Carlwell that Illinois fans will grow to love immediately, if not sooner. Like fellow Proviso East alum Dee Brown, Carlwell just has that certain aura about him. It’s hard to catch him in a moment where he’s not smiling, laughing or making others laugh. “Always,” Carlwell said. “That’s just the way I am.”

# posted by Good Hope Orange : 2:48 PM


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