Illinitalk

We're in for a heck of a basketball season!

Bruce Weber and his boys headed to New York for the finals of their pre-season tournament. This year it was the 2K Sports Coaches vs. Cancer tournament in Madison Square Garden. This was the first serious test of the very young season. And although the Illini came away 1-1, they proved that the high expectations are well founded.

Thursday night against Texas, the Illini played fast and furious, despite slow starts to each period. If OT was a bit longer, they probably would have tied or taken the lead again. This was a not a bad loss, though. The Longhorns look pretty good.

Friday night, the Illini executed well with a more patient style of play, and despite failing to ice the game at the free throw line, they came away with a good win.

So, now that we've gotten a bit better look at the 2010-11 Fighting Illini, there's a lot to like. But there's plenty of room for improvement, too. Here are a few suggestions for the boys to work on before the Tar Heels come to town:

• Ball security. McCamey is zipping great passes to everyone, but a few people aren't holding on to the ball to convert. The Illini have height. But they should secure the ball on rebounds, rather than tipping it.
• Hustle. At times, the Illini are down the floor quickly, but they get beat more than needed. And lose balls seem to bounce around a bit too long. They need to go after the ball with authority.
• Free throws. Make them. Last season they did quite well from the line. No need to return to the poor form of a few seasons ago, where putting the Illini on the line was a the best way to come from behind to beat them.
• Cleaner play. The refs are emphasizing clean play down low. The Illini need to adjust their style of play to clean up the foul trouble issues before their reputation for fouls causes them to get more whistles than then deserve.
  
• Experience. The freshmen are talented. But they are freshmen. They need a bit more intensity. They need to finish plays. Then need to learn to handle McCamey's passes.

But there is so much to like. This team will be fun to watch for many reasons:

• Demetri McCamey. He's passing, scoring, directing traffic, finding open guys and being the leader we expect him to be as a senior. This is his team. And he is poised to take them a long ways.
• Open shots. The beauty of Weber-style basketball is crisp passes to the open guy. And often the open guy finds the even-more-open guy. Egos don't appear to be a big issue, and assists seem to be valued on the stat sheet. So the Illini can take good, open, high-percentage shots.
  
• Three-point shooting. Although the Illini can rely too much on the 3-point shot, they can make it look pretty. D.J. Richardson, Brandon Paul, McCamey, Mike Tisdale, Tyler Griffey, Bill Cole, almost the entire team can sink a 3. This makes them hard to guard.
• Soft touch inside. The Illini are tall. 7'1" Mike Tisdale in foul trouble? Bring in freshman 7" Meyers Leonard. And Mike Davis has a wingspan and jump so that he seems even taller than his listed 6'9". But all these guys, plus Cole, have great mid-range games with a soft touch that earns points.
• Experience. The seniors, McCamey, Davis, Tisdale and Cole, know the routine and how to handle each situation. They are smart, patient, seasoned and ready to win. And a year of experience at the college level has helped Richardson, Paul and Griffey improve.
  
• Freshman. These boys are good. Jereme Richmond brings energy and does lots of good stuff, but he needs to learn to finish strong and better decisions. Meyers Leonard looks good too, although he needs to gain some strength. Crandall Head looks to be as sharp and talented as Illini fans would hope, and with a bit of experience, he will be able to build an Illinois legacy much like his big brother's. You can tell these guys are young, but they have lots of potential.
  
• Athleticism. The Illini can run and jump and dunk and block. They are strong and quick and able to just plain play.

It looks to be an exciting season. Go Illini!

Labels: Illini basketball

Last Saturday (11/13), the Big Ten Network treated Illini fans to three games. And although the Orange and Blue only won one of those games, it made for a great opportunity to see where our teams were at...

Football
The loss to Minnesota hurt. Badly. The Illini played so well all season. But the defense seems to have disappeared somewhere on the road to Michigan. They weren't able to rebound against Minnesota, and instead of becoming bowl-eligible, the Illini gave the Gophers their first conference win of the season.

Volleyball
The Illini women went into the night in State College at the top of a very tough Big Ten conference. And Penn State was second. The Illini had snapped the Nittany Lions' incredible conference winning streak when those girls visited Champaign earlier this season. The Illini are fun to watch, but they were just a bit off Saturday, and lost in 3 sets. But as I've said before, these girls are worth watching. Check them out if you get the chance.

Basketball
Bruce Weber welcomed his former assistant and team to Assembly Hall. The Salukis are improving, but the Illini had a chance to shine. There's a lot of talent, energy and generosity on this team. They are going to be fun to watch this season. The Illini won easily, although they had to work a bit harder than they had earlier in the week.

So, with the football season deflating, we've got plenty to look forward to as volleyball heads toward the post-season and basketball heats up.

Go Illini!

(Yes, I realize I should have posted this several days ago.)

Labels: Illini basketball, Illini football, Illini volleyball

Happy Basketball Season! The 2010-2011 Fighting Illini basketball team started their season ranked #16 in the country.

And they started their first regular-season game with intensity that fits a top-25 team. The Illini took off with hot 3-point shooting from Brandon Paul off the bench, sweet passing, finding the open man, jumping passing lanes and grabbing rebounds. Bruce had his boys clicking, and they led 42-18 at halftime.

The second half was a study in the Illini. They lost a bit of that edge, and the tendency to let up and let life mess with their heads showed up. This is the team that will need every trick Bruce Weber has in his coaching book to do what most Weber teams do and overachieve their potential.

Because this team has a lot of potential. Experienced, gifted veterans plus athletic sophomores with a season under their belt plus top-100 talent-level freshman could equal a special season.

Go Illini!

Labels: Illini basketball

So after a couple impressive games, the Illini headed to the Big House to take on the Wolverines.

Paul Petrino and his offense had proved their ability to score, and they reinforced that on Saturday. They scored again and again and again and again... And then again and again and, well, you get the idea. They ran and passed well, and the D.C. package with Eddie McGee at QB.

But in this shootout, the Illini got out-shot.

Uncharacteristically, the Illini defense did an imitation of the 2010 Wolverine defense, and struggled to stop Big Blue. Michigan scored again and again and again and again... And then again and again and again. Including that 2-point conversion in 3OT...

This season, the Illini defense has been key to earning Ron Zook & Co. "Most Improved" in the Big Ten. That wasn't the case this week. Although they had countless opportunities to stop Denard Robinson and then Tate Forcier, they couldn't capitalize. And that almost-interception on the goal line in overtime (which one? They blurred together since they all ended in TDs...) was just one of the perfect opportunities to end the game with the Illini on top.

It was an intense game. Of course, it would have been better if the Illini had won. This one hurt.

This loss wasn't as high-quality as the other losses thus far, but the Illini did continue to show that they are a much better team than they were last year.

However, based on the rest of the schedule, the Illini should be bowl-eligible soon...Go Illini!

Labels: Illini football

That's what happened to the Boilermakers when then they visited Champaign a couple weeks ago. The Illini put on a show in all aspects of the game.

Special teams started the game with a great play on their first kickoff. They recovered the ball after it unexpectedly hit off a Purdue player. The TD off that turnover set the tone for the rest of the game.

The Illini offense shone both through the air and on the ground. 44 points included 4 TD passes from Nathan Scheelhaase. My favorite was the one to Mikel Leshoure when he stood all by himself in the endzone (we've seen that a few more times since). And the running game kept the Illini rolling downhill Clock management was very nice, with the field goal right before the half.

The D kept Purdue under wraps all game, with a shutout until the 4th quater. They held the Boilermakers to just 205 yards and 9 first downs. Although the offense allowed them plenty of time to rest, they made the most of their time on the field with a forced and recovered fumble, TFLs, etc.

I know it's been a while, but it's nice to remember this game...

Labels: Illini football, Mikel Leshoure, Nathan Scheelhaase