It was a reasonable question:
Would Illinois have been better off having a tough practice than playing Tuesday’s 81-34 victory over tiny, offensively challenged Savannah State?
It was difficult to see just what Illinois could have gotten out of Tuesday night’s game, in which Savannah tied the Assembly Hall record for fewest points and set the record for fewest field goals in a game (10).
But Illini coach Bruce Weber said his team needs game action, even in a lop-sided contest like this one. And there’s no substitute for playing in front of 16,000-plus people, especially for his younger players.
Remember: Illinois didn’t schedule Savannah State. They were force-fed as part of the Chicago Invitational Field, which was put together on late notice.
Tuesday marked Rich McBride’s return to the floor and I’m sure he welcomed some game action after sitting out the first four regular-season games serving a suspension. McBride was greeted by a nice round of applause when he entered the game at the 14:17 mark of the first half. He quickly turned the all over, then mis-fired on a 3-pointer. But McBride settled in nicely and finished with 16 points in 27 minutes. He was 5-for-11 shooting including 4-of-10 from 3-point range.
Chester Frazier scored a career-high 17 points and Shaun Pruitt recorded his first double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds. Warren Carter has 12 points and seven rebounds as the Illini owned a crazy 52-21 rebounding edge.
So it’s a 5-0 Illini team that goes to Hoffman Estates for games Friday and Saturday against Miami (Ohio) and probably Bradley. It will be good to see them compete away from the Assembly Hall and against better competition. It’s time to step up the degree of difficulty.
These are important games, Weber stressed. Mess up in these games and it hurts you come NCAA Tournament time. And it would be dangerous to look beyond this weekend to next week’s games against Maryland and Arizona.
Weber said there’s only a five percent change Jamar Smith could play this weekend, although they may suit him up in case there’s some weird situation where they needed to send him in to shoot free throws. He’s still looking at the Arizona game, he said.
Brian Randle can do nothing until Friday and his first activity will be in the swimming pool.
By the way, Illinois 33-game sellout streak was in jeopardy Tuesday night. Some 1,200 tickets remained on Monday afternoon when Mike Hatfield, the associate director of development, came up with a neat idea.
Students are on Thanksgiving break, but many of the 5,500 foreign students don’t have an opportunity to leave campus. So the university contacted a variety of supporters and asked if they’d be willing to buy tickets at the $11 student rate and give them to the foreign students, many of whom had never been to a game.
The response from both supporters and foreign students (who were contacted by e-mail) was great. And all of the remaining tickets were purchased and distributed, extending the sellout streak to 34 games.
November 22nd, 2006 at 12:40 am
Agreed, the boys need a bigger challenge. They’ve shown resiliency by blowing out teams that they should blow out, even without 2 of their best players (and McBride). Overcoming very strong first halfs by scrappy opponents, I don’t think this team is going to fall apart even when the going gets tougher next weekend.
I’m a little disappointed Carwell and Semrau didn’t get more time tonite. They really should have played AT LEAST 5 minutes in the first half and the 15 in the second. It’s my only complaint about BAM. We may not have known how much Calvin has improved, if not for the JS and RMc situations.
McBride is beyond iritating with 10 of his 11 shots as 3pointers. Tonite would have been an amazing time to showcase his “shot fake then dribble in for a 15 footer” that he has broke out in some of his best games. I really hope the other guards continue to keep this guy on the bench, he’s just not too bright.
November 22nd, 2006 at 12:44 am
Really excellent, forward thinking by the DIA on moving those tickets today. I was thinking another neat setup would have been to have supporters purchase tickets, and then give them away for free. The stipulation would have been that those getting the tickets had to trade cans of food for them for those in need on Thanksgiving.
But the international student idea worked well also - I wasn’t confident that our athletic administration could come up with such an innovative idea to continue the sellout streak. Kudos to them.
November 22nd, 2006 at 1:02 am
In response to KY Mike’s comment that basketball is indeed a shooting competition, please review the Memphis v G Tech box score. Memphis made 46% of their shots and Tech made 44% of their shots, but they won. Seems to really put a hole in your theory that basktball is a shotting competition. The game was won because Tech drew fouls and outrebounded, not because they took better shots or that they made a better percentage.
Your blanket statement that no 3 guard offense has ever won a chmapionship and never will has some problems. First and foremost, many many players could be classified as a guard or a forward. On that technicality alone your statement can be neither proven nor disproven.
Have there been teams that have won the championship with a 6′5″ forward? I’m sure it wouldn’t take long to find out the answer to that is yes. or was he a guard?
November 22nd, 2006 at 9:02 am
Jon Scheyer played 30 minutes for Duke last nite. He was 0 for 5 shooting, had 1 assist and 3 points as the Dookies got thumped by Marquette. There’s one that got away that didn’t hurt.
November 22nd, 2006 at 9:20 am
Maybe RM will remember the MRJ as time goes by, Jake. It would be great to play at least 1 good team in Bradley before Maryland & Ariz. next week. I thought the ticket plan was a nice gesture….hope the foreign students liked the game.
You make some good points, Jake(3). Memphis needs to add board work to their motion offense. Go Illini!
November 22nd, 2006 at 10:47 am
#3 Jake: In support of your post, how about Wooden’s first NCAA championship team at UCLA? With the tallest player at 6-6, that was arguably a 5-guard lineup.
November 22nd, 2006 at 12:29 pm
You guys above can rationalize about anything can’t you?? Also, you pull out only the details that suit your “hair-brained” example.
Ex. bill cooks comment on John sheyer. One game and thus the rationale that it was ok to lose another Blue chip recruit. You guys crack me up. The Guy is a freakin freshman!!
I can’t wait to hear what you say when we lose 3 game in a row. I’m sure you’ll make up something.
Also, I love the post from a day or so ago that complains that the reason the Big-time programs are so “big-time” and get all the good players is because the get the media exposure. NO KIDDING!!! Could it be because through coaching and solid recruiting they built what people call A TRADITION OF WINNING??? Winning brings on more winning, etc., et.c etc.
When we start winning more and bringing in the best players, Dicky V will spout prose about us as well.
Here’s hoping everyone has a good Thanksgiving (and wakes the hell up) come next week.
November 22nd, 2006 at 12:56 pm
#5 Bill and #6 Marlin…nice positive posts.
In fact, as of this writing, we are 6 for 6 in positive comments. How long can it last!?!
As for last night, the score could have easily been 100 - 25. From listening to Brian Barnhart, it sounded like we missed a lot of easy shots inside, and S S got their last 15 points with under 8 minutes to go. Are both correct for anyone at the game?
Really looking forward to the opportunity to spank Bradley and Coach Jim Les on Saturday.
Have a great Thanksgiving!
November 22nd, 2006 at 1:38 pm
Hey all you blog turkeys, chickens, gooses and hams…
HAPPY THANKSGIVING TO EVERY ONE OF YOU!
November 22nd, 2006 at 2:23 pm
Bill Cook
Yeah, but Sheyer also had 12 points in a win over Air Force the night before. He’ll be a good one, for sure. And he’ll also one Illini fans will wish didn’t get away.
November 22nd, 2006 at 3:20 pm
Okay, I was in a positive mood, but I see a wrist slap is in order.
For all of you with selective memories, Jon Sheyer was never going to attend Illinois as long as Duke wanted him, so please quit bringing up the “BAM’s brother connection” and how that supposedly is a black mark on his recruiting. Jon Sheyer always wanted to play for Duke….he loved Duke…was enthralled with Duke. For all I know, he slept in Blue Devil pajamas (all the way thru High School), kep a picture of Christian Laettner in his wallet and sang the Duke fight song before he went to bed each night. John Wooden himself could have been the coach at Illinois and Jon Sheyer wasn’t coming here IF he got the scholarship offer to play at Duke. IF not, we would have been his second choice. I am not too proud to say I would have gladly welcomed him as him as his 2nd choice. But this WAS NOT a BAM recruiting error. PLEASE let it go!!!
November 22nd, 2006 at 4:48 pm
Marlin(6)Thanks for the interesting trivia. Out of curiosity, I looked up Wooden’s 1st NC on a history site & it looks like the starters in 1964 were Keith Erickson, Jack Hirsch, Gail Goodrich, Walt Hazzard, & Kenny Washington. If none of them were taller than 6′6″, that was definitely a 5 guard lineup by today’s standards. I don’t remember 6′5″ or 6′6″ players playing guard until Pistol Pete Maravich of LSU in 1967.
November 22nd, 2006 at 5:20 pm
#
Bill Cook ~ “Jon Scheyer played 30 minutes for Duke last nite. He was 0 for 5 shooting, had 1 assist and 3 points as the Dookies got thumped by Marquette. There’s one that got away that didn’t hurt.”
0-5 or not I would still like to see him wearing O&B…
November 22nd, 2006 at 7:00 pm
Scheyer isn’t the point. The point is collins, wright, rose, mcneal, frazior, and scheyer. You’d think bam could have saved at least one… I’m not asking for it all, but one blue chipper in 3 years would be nice, no?
November 22nd, 2006 at 7:55 pm
here’s what i saw at the game last night:
meachem: smooth, fast, shoots accurately inside and out, sees the open man and passes to him, quick moves under control.
frazier: dribbling under control, hitting his shots, not afraid to penetrate, fast, will rebound
carter: rebounds, fast, good shot, will get to the ball
pruitt: a little tentative but moving well and rebounding well. good defender
brock: a non-factor last night for some reason. not many minutes
carlwell: shot-blocking, rebounding, aggressive, quick down the floor, serious about defense. a monster in the making
semrau: better built for his height than represented on this blog. awkward but obviously willing to work. not afraid to shoot and looks like he’ll improve with experience.
mcbride: not athletic enough to get around most defenders for the short jumpter but accurate last night from long range. can be a role player to draw defenses out.
jackson: a very wide body
arnold: no rhythm last night; lots of unneccessary fouls. hope he comes along
ball handling was outstanding last night and the motion offense looked better than last year. actually looked as if the ball was being moved around for a purpose. realize that the competition wasn’t exactly difficult, but since this was my first look at the team i really enjoyed the show. unlike the championship run year, this year and next there will be a bench, and it looks like it will be a good one.
Go Illini!
November 22nd, 2006 at 7:58 pm
RPIC: we talked about how Chief was on the uni’s used during the Flyin’ Illini era. I saw the replicas they’re selling these days, and they have one change: where the Chief was on the lower hip of the shorts, they have substituted the bland “I” (on a gray background, no less). Hooray for political correctness in the 21st century.
Happy Thanksgiving to all!
BTW, Mothers Against Drunk Drivers was in the news this week-they’re urging the use of ignition locks to deter drunk drivers. How self-righteous of them. Talk about narrow-minded….
November 23rd, 2006 at 8:43 am
Jessica #15 - Thank you for your take on the game and the players. There are a lot of people who visit this site that have not yet seen the Illini play and this kind of post helps them until they can get a look for themselves.
I have been at a couple of games this year and would agree with Jessica. I am guessing Brocks minutes had to do with getting him some rest due to the amount he has been playing lately. He is the most improved Illini by my assessment.
XM - #7 “When we start winning more and bringing in the best players, Dicky V will spout prose about us as well.”
This will not happen. Need to be on tobacco road for this and besides, this guy is a clown. Does anyone outside of North Carolina actually care what he thinks? I know I dont.
November 23rd, 2006 at 9:56 am
Jessica, ‘fast’ and ‘quick moves’ are not how to describe Meachem. Let’s not lose our minds here. But I like your other descriptors!
November 23rd, 2006 at 2:30 pm
It is not too early to think about a Big Ten championship, number one seed and/or Final Four for this team. (The Illini are now ranked #2 in the Sagarin predictor sencond only to Florida). Ohio State and Wisconsin have too many weaknesses to blow everybody away, and have not performed that great against the cupcakes so far this year.
Did anyone watch Patrick Beverly playing for Arkansas against SIU on turkey day?
Patrick Beverly may indeed be the best of all the “ones that got away” because he seemed to handle the ball and direct play so well even though he is a freshman. If the Illini play Arkansas, it is a given that Beverly will bite them in the backside more than a little.
November 23rd, 2006 at 5:09 pm
Wow, we have a commitment from a high school freshman:
http://www.ilprepbullseye.com/page37.html
Apparently he scored 34 points and grabbed 21 rebounds in his first high school game. Lordie!
November 23rd, 2006 at 8:36 pm
are fri and sat on tv in chicago??
November 23rd, 2006 at 9:12 pm
Oh my gosh! Do we really have to talk about Beverly here even when he is a Razorback? He did not get away. He was never on our radar screen. The people who attempted to market him through this and other blogs may have wanted him to be but the truth is we wasn’t.
Yes, I saw him play today. I am sure the folks at Dayton are posting right now about Meacham getting away.
I anxiously await your post on Gordon’s first breakout game at Indiana.
If I may, John Sheyer at Duke will have a much deeper impact on the national college basketball scene than Beverly and I dont see the posts lamenting him getting away. Why? because he was never going to be an Illini - just like Beverly.
Look Illiwis, I apologize, this isnt usually like me but we have a really nice looking squad right in front of us and we are talking about a player who “got away” who was never one of us? Come on.
Tell you what, if the Illini play Ark and Beverly lights us up for say 25 and 10, I will personally revisit this here on this blog and apologize again, although I dont know why because he was never going to be an Illini.
As for me, I would rather spend time talking about kids who have committed and are playing for the Orange and Blue (who by the way are very good) - not those who went elsewhere.
Sorry, this stuff makes me crazy.
November 24th, 2006 at 1:09 am
Recruiting is all hype. All that matters is WINS and look at the success that Weber has had here at Illinois. Lets wait and criticize Weber when he has a losing season. Thankfully, that will be a long time from now. Everyone gets caught up in the hype. Players get vastly overrated. I was one of those who was bummed when Self left. Now, I thank God every day because we have Weber. You can have Self, the big name recruits, and the first round loses to Bucknell and Bradley. I’ll take Weber any day. He’s brought intergity, respect, and a winning tradition back to Illinois. Go Illini!
November 24th, 2006 at 3:10 am
Thanks Dave S.
I preferred this link in case any KY Jelly, Soft-X Man, or Disgustingly Ignorant Fans have any naysaying comments:
Link
It might be open only to members, but try to link to it.
November 24th, 2006 at 9:46 am
Nice post bart ridings #22. I totally agrree, whining about those players that “got away” is fruitless. Lets focus on what we have.
November 24th, 2006 at 10:37 am
Hey Iliwis,
Update your statistics. Through games played on Wednesday, the Illini are now 11th on teh Sagarin rating. My guess is that number will continue to drop. And YES IS IS TOO EARLY to talk about a final four (I will paint myself orange and blue and run naked through my neighborhood if the Illini get to the final four), a number #1 seed (oww , stop it my stomach hurts from the laughing - are you a professional comedian?) or a BIG TEN CHAMPIONSHIP (wow, big goal, those are so valuable in recruiting). This is a team that has not played anyone yet, so let’s not get so excited yet. Consistent accomplishment of fundamentals isn’t even happening yet. They have played a lot of young guys and they are getting good contributions, but it is TOO EARLY for nay of those things that you mentioned. Let’s see how they do when they play some real nonconference competition first.
November 24th, 2006 at 10:50 am
I know we would have still wanted them but after seeing them both play alot , Scheyer and Wright are not very good players. Scheyer may be a good three point shooter in the future but right now they are running him off that line and he is physically helpless. He is slow and can’t get to the bucket. I have never understood what the big deal is on Wright unless he really learns how to handle the ball quickly and shoot beyond 10 feet he will never play in the NBA. He is undersized and not fluid and not even the best prospect on that team, Rush is. The Collins kid is a real loss he is going to be great even at 5′11″ his is physical and athletic and is already giving people fits. The rest of that team will not only struggle to go very far in the tourney they will never sniff the NBA. Guys, Jamar Smith is so much better than Scheyer its really funning. If I were Weber I would recruit to win not because this guy or that guy is rated. We would have a great recruiting class next year if we recruited within the state and not one of them is a top 25 kid yet. Weber is a very smart guy he is not going to get burned again by waiting too long. I really think the future is bright we are going to get treated to great basketball. My hope is that we get Lewis Jackson he is 5′10″ now and he looks like Collins he can jump out of the gym and can really run. Go ILLINI
November 24th, 2006 at 12:10 pm
Thanks to Dave S. & Nic for the links about Jereme Richmond….sounds like a player. I wonder if someone can put a negative spin on it?
According to Tupper’s article this morning, Jamar must be healing nicely if there’s a chance he might play against Ariz. next week. Miami-Ohio might be somewhat of a step up in competition tonight. Go Illini!
November 24th, 2006 at 2:05 pm
illinitony (#26) — illiwis was actually correct. We’re ranked 3rd in Sagarin’s “predictor” (based solely on margin of victory) right now, although we’re far lower in his “chess” ranking (based solely on wins and losses) for a ranking of 11th in his third ranking, which is a composite of the other two.
Anyhow, computer rankings don’t really mean very much at this point because there’s so little data; Sagarin’s rankings still aren’t connected, which means he’s still factoring in performance in previous seasons to some degree to make game results more meaningful. More impressive to me is that we’re ranked 7th in Ken Pomeroy’s ranking, which starts the season with every team ranked equally.
So don’t look to computers for confirmation of how good this year’s team is. Instead, watch the team and see how well we’re moving on offense and how hard we’re playing on defense. Personally, I think we’ll be plenty good.
November 24th, 2006 at 2:46 pm
congrats to bruce weber for thinking outside the box and signing the freshman from north shore country day school…
November 24th, 2006 at 3:57 pm
Dave S. WOW!!!!! I stand corrected. #3 in a rating that is solely based on margin of victory and we have, what, the 280-something ranked schedule. That’s enough for me. Cancel the NCAA tournament. The other teams would be wating their time showing up to play.
November 24th, 2006 at 4:45 pm
Illinitony - threatening to paint yourself and run naked in public may get us banned from that #1 NCAA seed, so ‘cmon, be careful there, OK?
Looking forward to the next few games - I have a really good feeling, and I hope it’s coming from our hoops team!
GO ILLINI
November 24th, 2006 at 5:13 pm
Illinitony, thanks for the sarcasm. Keep in mind that my post was only pointing out that illiwis quoted Sagarin’s ranking correctly, and then read your post (#31) again.
To clarify, a system based on margin of victory takes into account how good an opponent is and how much better or worse you are than your opponent; if you beat team A by twenty points and team B beats team A by ten, then you’re probably around ten points better than team B. The system is obviously not quite that simple, but the point is that the predictor doesn’t give extra points for winning, which is why I say it’s based solely on margin of victory — NOT that it doesn’t take into account who you’ve played.
By the way, margin of victory is a richer source of information about a team’s performance than wins and losses, so the predictor is generally an accurate ranking way earlier in the season than chess rankings. There’s a reason it’s called “predictor”.
And of course we shouldn’t read firm conclusions out of this. But it’s just a small piece of encouraging evidence to support what we think we’ve seen with our eyes, which is that this team is pretty good. I don’t anticipate any runs to the Final Four this year, but I think we can certainly set our sights on 25 wins, and I consider the early computer rankings to be some kind of objective evidence that my subjective guess might be right.
November 24th, 2006 at 5:18 pm
#28:
The negative on Richmond is that he is only a freshman. That means Sampson, in order to get him to decommit, can call him 1,090,107 times between now and 2010 before NCAA catches him and put him on probation, at which time he will start to text message him.
November 24th, 2006 at 10:58 pm
well the Illini squeezed out a 51-49 win against Miami (OH). The Illini were miserable from the field and got outrebounded. Not the kind of stats that are going to prep them for a #1 seed and a trip to the Final Four (iliwis). I think this is a portend of what is to come in the next few weeks. Dave S. I will take the under on that 25 win projection you have ( I stand by my 21 wins in the regular season prediction ) and while I do see tehm in the BIG DANCE it is more likely as a seed somewhere in the 8-10 range.