Wednesday, December 02, 2009
From Embarrassment to Excelllence
Wow, what a win by the Illini tonight! Chief asked to see some hungry Illini players and I think coming back from 23 points down to win 76-74 over Clemson surely qualifies as a postive step forward!
Side note: I missed most of the first half (good for me I guess) and, while it would have been easy to not even watch the second half, whenever I think about turning a game off, I remember the Illini's amazing win over Arizona to advance to the Final Four during their 2005 tournament run. I was glad I didn't turn the TV off that night and I am glad I didn't turn it off tonight!
End Side Note.
I continue to be very impressed by D.J. Richardson and Brandon Paul. They will have their ups and downs but are very poised and polished for freshmen. Mike Davis is a double-double machine and looks great so far this year, with Tisdale and McCamey also playing solid basketball most of the time. McCamey's ability to play most of the second half with four fouls was critical.
And while we are handing out praise, Coach Weber deserves a lot of credit for not letting the team quit at halftime and for making adjustments (like playing some zone defense, which the Illini never do) that helped them get back into the game. He continues to prove that he is a top notch game coach who gets the most out of his team.
I was disappointed to see Michigan and Minnesota lose their games tonight but the Illini's comeback victory keeps hope alive for the Big Ten to win the Big Ten/ACC Challenge if Ohio State holds serve against Florida State and Wisconsin can upset Duke (very possible with the game being at the Kohl Center, one of the toughest venues in the country to win on the road at).
That's it for now but savor this win - it was a good one and it's the type that can propel a team on a very nice run.
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Side note: I missed most of the first half (good for me I guess) and, while it would have been easy to not even watch the second half, whenever I think about turning a game off, I remember the Illini's amazing win over Arizona to advance to the Final Four during their 2005 tournament run. I was glad I didn't turn the TV off that night and I am glad I didn't turn it off tonight!
End Side Note.
I continue to be very impressed by D.J. Richardson and Brandon Paul. They will have their ups and downs but are very poised and polished for freshmen. Mike Davis is a double-double machine and looks great so far this year, with Tisdale and McCamey also playing solid basketball most of the time. McCamey's ability to play most of the second half with four fouls was critical.
And while we are handing out praise, Coach Weber deserves a lot of credit for not letting the team quit at halftime and for making adjustments (like playing some zone defense, which the Illini never do) that helped them get back into the game. He continues to prove that he is a top notch game coach who gets the most out of his team.
I was disappointed to see Michigan and Minnesota lose their games tonight but the Illini's comeback victory keeps hope alive for the Big Ten to win the Big Ten/ACC Challenge if Ohio State holds serve against Florida State and Wisconsin can upset Duke (very possible with the game being at the Kohl Center, one of the toughest venues in the country to win on the road at).
That's it for now but savor this win - it was a good one and it's the type that can propel a team on a very nice run.
Labels: Big Ten/ACC Challenge, Illini basketball
# posted by Good Hope Orange : 8:24 PM
Wednesday, April 18, 2007
Basketball News
Three quick basketball items that may be of interest to our readers today:
1) In addition to signing junior college forward Rodney Alexander to a letter of intent yesterday, Illinois had additional news in the way of current power forward C.J. Jackson. C.J. is going to suit up for football practice and could make a switch to that sport (which he starred in during high school) or become a two sport athlete. This decision could potentially free up a 3rd scholarship for the 2008 Class.
With the signing of Alexander, Illinois only has two scholarships for the 2008 class at this time. Although it would be nice to have three to work with, as an Illini fan I am pleased with how the 2007 class has ended up. While there were disappointments along the way, Illinois still ended up with what I think will turn out to be five good to very good players with a nice blend of guards and big men. It should be fun to watch all of the young guys blend with our returning players and grow as a team.
2) The Big Ten is going back to an 18 game league schedule. This schedule change means there willl likely be two fewer non-conference games but that each team will play all but two of the league teams twice. You can argue whether this is good or bad but I would rather watch two Big Ten teams go at it than a Big Ten team pound a cupcake. While teams won't be able to pad their victory total anymore, I think this is a good thing in the long run for the conference and for teams trying to make the NCAA tournament.
3) The schedule change won't effect the Big Ten/ACC Challenge, however, and Illinois will play at Maryland this coming season. Let's hope that the Illini can pull off a victory and that the Big Ten Conference can finally win the overall challenge for a change.
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1) In addition to signing junior college forward Rodney Alexander to a letter of intent yesterday, Illinois had additional news in the way of current power forward C.J. Jackson. C.J. is going to suit up for football practice and could make a switch to that sport (which he starred in during high school) or become a two sport athlete. This decision could potentially free up a 3rd scholarship for the 2008 Class.
With the signing of Alexander, Illinois only has two scholarships for the 2008 class at this time. Although it would be nice to have three to work with, as an Illini fan I am pleased with how the 2007 class has ended up. While there were disappointments along the way, Illinois still ended up with what I think will turn out to be five good to very good players with a nice blend of guards and big men. It should be fun to watch all of the young guys blend with our returning players and grow as a team.
2) The Big Ten is going back to an 18 game league schedule. This schedule change means there willl likely be two fewer non-conference games but that each team will play all but two of the league teams twice. You can argue whether this is good or bad but I would rather watch two Big Ten teams go at it than a Big Ten team pound a cupcake. While teams won't be able to pad their victory total anymore, I think this is a good thing in the long run for the conference and for teams trying to make the NCAA tournament.
3) The schedule change won't effect the Big Ten/ACC Challenge, however, and Illinois will play at Maryland this coming season. Let's hope that the Illini can pull off a victory and that the Big Ten Conference can finally win the overall challenge for a change.
Labels: Big Ten/ACC Challenge, C.J. Jackson, Illini basketball, Recruiting, Rodney Alexander, Schedule
# posted by Good Hope Orange : 2:13 PM
