There have been Braggin’ Rights games when both teams were nationally ranked.
There have been Braggin’ Rights games when either team had incredible individual performances.
But when I think back on the history of a great Missouri-Illinois rivalry, I have a hard time thinking of a better, start-to-finish basketball game than the one played out Tuesday night at the Scottrade Center.
Illinois won 73-70 in a back-and-forth game that oozed intensity and had to be exhausting for the 22,000-plus fans who seemed to rise, fall and ache with every play. I’ll be honest: I keep a play-by-play sheet of every game and I had a very difficult time keeping up. Plays were happening so fast and at each end of the floor. Three of us reporters were helping each other spot fouls and assists and rebounds because no one person could digest it all. It was crazy and I mean that in the best possible sense.
Some fans may have liked last year’s 32-point Illini victory, but I’ll take a game like this every time. This was a sensational college basketball game and I would think both teams can gain something positive from it. For the Illini, they badly needed a victory in this one because another heart-wrenching loss like they endured against Maryland and Arizona would have left them hurting big-time.
This was a game of will and want-to, and in saying that, I’m not implying Missouri didn’t have incredible will and want-to. Maybe Illinois had a little more experience. I thought Brian Randle made some big, big plays down the stretch, including his tap-out rebound after Chester Frazier missed two free throws. I thought Shaun Pruitt played like a man. If Greg Oden has already been ordained as the Big Ten’s best big man, Pruitt is surely in the running for the second best. He had 19 points and nine rebounds and at times was just relentless. His 19 points were a career-high.
I know there are more skilled point guards than Chester Frazier, but that kid has fabulous heart and toughness. He played just a few seconds short of the entire 40 minutes and finished with eight points, six assists and just three turnovers. In fact, Illinois’ total of 14 turnovers was a testament to how this team prepared for Missouri’s pressure.
“In practice we went five-on-six and five-on-seven for the last two weeks,” said Jamar Smith, who had 17 points. “Before the game, Coach Weber said Missouri would only have five players, so going five-on-five was almost easy.”
Warren Carter set a strong tone early, but was limited due to foul trouble. And he left the game for good with two minutes to go with what Weber called a hip flexor. We’ll know more when Thursday night’s Idaho State game rolls around.
And kudos to Missouri. The Tigers played great and point guard Stefhon Hannah was really tough with 23 points. But he had five turnovers and lost the handle on the ball trying to get off a 3-pointer at the end that could have tied the game.
Illinois has now won seven in a row against Missouri and new Tiger coach Mike Anderson failed to extend the string of first-year coaches winning in their debut game. Missouri now trails the all-time series against Illinois, 24-12. Missouri trails the Braggin’ Rights series 18-8.
All in all, a sensational game to watch live. I hope it measured up for those of you who watched on television or listened on the radio.
Missouri has everyone back next season and it looks to me as though Anderson is building something very nice. Bottom line: Fasten your seat belts, kids. This rivalry is heating up again and this game in particular stands as one of the all-time best in the series.
December 20th, 2006 at 12:51 am
I agree - tremendous game - college basketball is THE BEST game out there - both teams played their hearts out - and the best COACHED team won!! Isn’t there a VERY LARGE ‘ W ‘ in Weber??
December 20th, 2006 at 1:05 am
Bruce Weber did a fantastic job preparing the Illini for Missouri’s pressure. He effectively negated it as a factor in this game. Shaun Pruit was a force out there, and Brian Randle made some big league plays. I really like the way this team is coming together. If we can win the last two non-conference games, the Big Ten should be a lot of fun for Illini fans.
December 20th, 2006 at 1:35 am
Well, that was fun! Great coaching, by the way, maybe we can cease and desist on the Weber bashing for a while. And you know who you are.
Loved the energy, teamwork, and seeing us gut it out. Quite impressive, really. As always, Go Illini!
December 20th, 2006 at 7:47 am
I would say the 1988 game - the year the Flyin’ Illini went to the Final Four - was the best ever. If you are an Illinois fan. The Illini got in a 21 point hole and pulled it out.
Of three boys in our family, two are Illinois alumni and one (the oldest) is a Missouri alum.
December 20th, 2006 at 7:53 am
No comments have posted yet on this blog, so I can’t see what everyone thought, but this kind crazy pace hectic game is one I really don’t like. Cudos to Mizzou for bringing that kind of energy. I thought we did a good job of holding on to the ball. There was a lot of fouling on both sides. Sometimes officiating can determine how that kind of crazy defense can play. The announcer said last night “they can’t call a foul every play, so that kind of defense works well”. I tend to think that the officials did a good job of not letting Mizzou get away with everything, but allowed them to pressure. The late lane violation was a give back from the officials because when they called Sean Pruitt on a lane violation, he came in well after the Missouri player was standing in the lane.
Speaking of Sean, he played a good game. Randle looked like he was limping. Did he re-injure his groin? I haven’t seen a report.
We did not shoot the ball very well, and 60% at the free throw line won’t get it done.
Overall a good performance.
I am starting to think our main competition for 3rd place in the big10 will be Purdue. They have done a good job, and have some good players already inked for the future.
What is the situation with Brian Carlwell. I know the pace of last nights game was not well suited for him, but it seems lately his minutes are down. Any reason? I think we need to get him minutes where we can.
Good win, very good game. Hopefully everyone is healthy (Carter, Frazier, and Randle first come to mind).
Happy Holidays to all on this blog. RPIC usually has a “night before christmas” poem for us. I hope he comes up with a good one.
December 20th, 2006 at 8:17 am
I’d say this team is still stick in second gear. But I anticipate it all coming together in the middle of big ten play. Foul trouble and foul shooting will continue to haunt us, but this offense will be much more efficient once the rapport builds.
I didn’t think the press would be an issue and it wasn’t, but it was disappointing that we didn’t get more dunks off that nonsense. Many times somebody was waiting one on one, under the basket with no other players within 15 feet. Why wasn’t he fed? If they can’t feed the post in a situation like that when can they? Especially if it was Shaun. He was murdering his man in the half court. It would have been that much easier with no help. He should have scored 30, but it wasn’t his fault.
Congrats to Zook for landing a monster tackle in jack cornell. I’m keeping my fingers crossed for tez Wilson’s Annoucement tomorrow.
December 20th, 2006 at 8:54 am
The magic is back! The arena atmosphere was electric as the Illini and Missouri slugged it out last night. I feared that Chester Frazier might be force out of control by the press, but Weber prepared the team well and they handled it in an efficient, deliberate manner. At times, I thought they could have attached the basket more while handling the press but a more hectic paced might have played into Mizzou’s hands. If all games were like that it would be easier to obtain Illinois basketball tickets as half of us wouldn’t survive the season. Everyone should see this game in person once.
December 20th, 2006 at 9:16 am
A relief to see us hang in down the stretch, make plays and scrap for the win.
Mark… Pruitt as the second-best big man in the BT next to Oden?! Huh?! Ever heard of Alando Tucker?! The adrenaline must really have got to you last night :>).
Go Illini!
December 20th, 2006 at 9:17 am
I wish McBride would/could step up in a big game. That kid chokes more than any other Illinois player (that gets significant PT) that I’ve ever seen. He certainly can score in games that we don’t need him to (i.e: up or down big) but put us in a close game, esp. on National Television, and watch him disappear.
December 20th, 2006 at 9:32 am
1) Great win, beating Missouri never gets old.
2) Someone, anyone, make a free throw.
3) Trent Meacham has regressed the past few games. We need minutes from him so Chester Frazier isn’t exhausted by the end of January.
4) Great game by Frazier. Not one turnover against the press. 40 minutes on a bad toe. He isn’t great on offense but he is a tough kid who plays tough defense.
5) RPIC Editor Boy, I don’t want to see Marcus Arnold on the floor again this year. He is taking minutes away from Brian Carlwell who needs to gain experience. Quite frankly, Carlwell as a true freshman is better than the 5th year senior Arnold.
6) Please shoot free throws in practice.
December 20th, 2006 at 10:09 am
A much needed Win!!
Hey, does anyone know much about Stefhon Hannah and why we didn’t recruit him? I will have to check the rankings as it hurts to not get a good player in your program who REALLY wants to be there. Again, I don’t know him from Adam but he had to be more well know/rated than Meachum?
December 20th, 2006 at 10:47 am
I guess you had to be there, because on TV the game came across as sloppy. To me, it looked like a game between two average teams that will struggle to reach .500 in their respective conferences.
Right now the Illini have 4 guys that are playing at a Big 10 level: Smith, Randle, Pruitt, and maybe Carter.
Frazier and Brock may be worthy starters some day but for now, both are limited offensively. And McBride is not good enough to start for a good Big 10 team. Why not start Smith and bring McBride off of the bench?
Marcus Arnold got 7 minutes last night. Can someone please explain to me why Carlwell isn’t getting Arnold’s minutes? Arnold graduates this year. He’s got zero upside. Last night, his only contribution was an easy layup. We need to get Carlwell some playing time out there. Every minute given to Marcus Arnold is a waste.
For that matter, every minute given to Trent Meacham is a waste, as well. He’s very limited out there. I would rather give 20 minutes a game to Brock than to have him split that time with Meacham.
December 20th, 2006 at 10:59 am
Illini strengths: energy & effort, offensive rebounding, depth on the bench, coaching prep, team defense, some team speed.
Illini weaknesses: outside shooting, consistent free throw shooting (tho’ better than Mizzou), a consistent “go to” guy (hey, get it into Pruitt more when he’s hot!), slow feet while defending perimeter.
All in all: I agree with others who predict a finish as high as 3rd and as low as 6th in the Big Ten. Weber would fail if this team doesn’t make it into the NCAAs.
My Opinionated Prescription: Look ahead a bit towards next year…give Carlwell and Brock (and maybe Meacham) more PT instead of McBride and Arnold. GO ILLINI
December 20th, 2006 at 11:02 am
Loved the intensity of this game & the way the Illini handled the pressure. CF played a lot of minutes & did well at the point, but I’ll critique him on one thing that I’ve seen him do before when the shot clock is winding down. It’s probably not all his fault, but I don’t like to see him near 1/2 court dribbling the time away while waiting for a play to develop. With less than 10 seconds left on the clock, he should be in motion towards the basket so at least he can get off a shot if noone else gets open. You should never not get off a shot before the clock runs out. I’m sure he was tired, though, & he played a well-rounded game.
BR….silly reach-in foul away from the basket, but he played well otherwise. I liked the efforts from WC & JS….Pruit a monster inside. RM….???? don’t know what to say.
At the worst, Il. should be 12-3 before B10 play & could be 13-2 if they beat Xavier. That would be a big win to get before conf. play starts. Go Illini!
December 20th, 2006 at 11:09 am
XM #11 - A great hard working win for the Illini and all this guy can do is wish we had a guy from the other team.
X - he’s another one that “got away”. We would be sooooooo great if we had him!
How is it that this kid is catching your eye but you dont know what * recruit he was?
Is it possible that he wasnt at 5* recruit but yet he is an impressive player? Is that possible?
Success! Try enjoying it. You might like it.
Great game by the Illini! Pruitt was a beast! Let’s hope Carter is ready to go by the Big 10 season.
I have to give it up to Mike Anderson for the job he is doing at Illinois. I enjoyed his style of game he has brought to Mizzou. When they arent playing Illinois, I might have to root for these guys.
December 20th, 2006 at 11:12 am
At #6: Totally agree about Shaun. They should have been trying to get him the ball on every possession. I think part of the problem could be height as Brock seems to feed the post easily while Chester doesn’t. Weber could run more plays where Carter, Randle, Smith or Brock feed the post as they have more height and length.
At #8: Alando Tucker is all of 6′6″. Yes he’s a force and fantastically talented, but plays bigger than he is.. in college. He’s trying to convert to a SF for the NBA.
At #9: McBride made some good contributions last night. Besides his defense which is always solid, he only took open shots even though he didn’t have his legs, made some key passes, and didn’t freak out when he had to dribble the ball in the back court. I remember thinking after his skip pass to Jamar in the corner: “That’s Illinois basketball”. He also passed up a look to get the ball to a wide open Carter. He realized it wasn’t going for him and got others involved. He made clutch free throws too.
At #11: Meacham is essentially a walk-on and isn’t taking up a scholarship. How he compares to someone we didn’t offer is irrelevant.
December 20th, 2006 at 11:30 am
Still think this looks like a sweet sixteen team- assuming everyone gets healthy. They’ve come through the early part of the season better than I could have imagined.
My guess: They’ll win these last 2 before conf. play, win 11 in the Big Ten and be a 5 seed.
Bruce does an amazing job of winning the games he should.
December 20th, 2006 at 11:47 am
I guess I watched a different game from everyone else. Very sloppy on both sides. Unbelievable how many missed free throws. It seems like if you can get your team to shoot 80% or better, it’s a huge advantage.
Don’t get me wrong. I was thrilled that Illinois gutted it out and won. I still see alot of potential. Randle & Pruitt played like men last night. Need to see more of Randle and Carter on the floor together at the same time. Carwell should definitely get Arnold’s minutes and McBride needs to sit. Tired of his bad passes and decisions. You have to start Chester, Jamar, Randle, Warren, & Pruitt. Make Brock your first guy off the bench. Limit McBride to 15 minutes a game till he proves he’s ready to play like a senior. Trent is definitely playing at a lower level. He should only be in during blowouts.
I think Illinois has a great chance to win the Big Ten. Very favorable schedule. Going to be a tough team to beat come tourney time if everyone stays healthy. Go Illini!
December 20th, 2006 at 11:50 am
JC #12 and Illinirev #13 above…enjoyed reading your potings…excellent analysis by both of you. I wish to add my observation that they’ve got to improve Frazier’s points off free throws. You can just see what other teams would do towards the end of a game if IL is ahead and the ball is in his hands.
Also, I heard the announcer say that this Hannah (a Chicago kid?) fellow’s first choice of school was IL, but IL didn’t take him. Does anybody on this blog know why? Please share the information with us. I don’t know anything about this kid, but based on what I saw, it seems that he might have been an asset to the Illini.
December 20th, 2006 at 12:29 pm
That Weber sure can coach.
December 20th, 2006 at 12:46 pm
Rich McBride is horrible and should not play. His defense is horrible. Does anyone remember his flagrant foul that cost us any chance of beating Arizona a couple of weeks ago? And from a senior no less. His defense is not all that great. I don’t know where anyone would get an idea otherwise. Are we watching the same games? He may be able to hit threes, but he also takes too many threes that are ill-advised, ie, he doesn’t allow the rest of the team to get in position to rebound on fast breaks. He took at least three shots last night where no one was in position to rebound. Please bench him. He is more of a liablity than he is an asset….senior or not.
December 20th, 2006 at 12:55 pm
Not only can Weber coach…but he knows how to prepare. No question, Bruce is as good as any X’s and O’s coach…and even if he doesn’t get the bluest of blue chippers, if he gets kids who can work together as a unit, Illini Nation will continue to enjoy the fruits of Weber’s labor…now if the Illini Radio Network could just get an engineer who knew how to make the quality of the radio broadcasts sound as best as can be, that would be something…
December 20th, 2006 at 12:59 pm
Xavier McDonald #11- yeah you need to slow down a bit, I usually give you an open ear and mind to what you bring to the table, but man if you were at the game, which in your fandom would mean actually contributing to the u., you would have figured out that the better team won today. Yes stefon wanted to attend the u., however the interest was not mutual…he expressed this pregame when he talked about how hyped he was to show what they were missing out on. Weber just wins. he is 75-3 when we score 70. thats how i roll.
December 20th, 2006 at 1:10 pm
Great posts for the most part from everyone.
#7- Exhausted You’re right. I saw the Dec. ‘77 game…Illini won. Don’t know if it was called Braggin’ Rights then, but it was in the old Checkerdome.
#10 Winston - are you the radio caller to BAM who always suggests they practice free throws? Don’t want to pop your bubble, but I think they’re doing that. Just one of those things.
If it were up to me, in a close game, I would only have McBride and Smith touch the ball at the end. Shooting free throws seems to be RM’s redeeming quality. He didn’t even hesistate when he drained those 2 in prime time last night. He’s better than Frazier or Meachem in that regard.
#11 -X Man Regarding the Hannah kid from Mizzou, I am pretty sure he had grade issues coming out of H S . That is why he initially went to JUCO, and THEN transferred to Missouri (he wasn’t recruited by Quinn Snyder). He is emblematic of many of the “great public league players” who Illinois “doesn’t get”, causing much hand wringing. If you don’t have the grades, you’re not going to play BB for the Illini. 75% of the stars that we “can’t get” is because they can’t qualify.
#6 - Jake Thanks for the tip on Jack Cornell. I hadn’t seen that one yet. The Zooker is awesome!!!
December 20th, 2006 at 1:15 pm
Andy Lee #3: in very much the same way there will always be cockroaches, there will always be Weber (and Guenther) bashers…
altgeld88 #8: Shaun Pruitt may not be the second best big man in the Big Ten, but at 6-6, Alando Tucker doesn’t belong in any discussion about Big Ten big men, and if he did, so would Calvin Brock.
Sean #9: agreed… we’re just so much more quick and athletic w/o McBride on the floor. I hate to think being a senior guarantees McBride a starting spot, but I suppose it has to count for something. And I hate to say anything bad about him, but even Trent Meacham out-hustles him on the court for cryin’ out loud.
Winston #10:
1) how true, how true
2) no kiddin’… dead-last in the Big Ten just doesn’t cut it
3) regressing or not, Trent Meacham appears to be a better player than Rich McBride at this stage in the season…
4) confirmed… Chet Frazier is DA MAN… more assists to date than anyone else in the Big Ten and only OSU’s Conley has more steals.
5) agreed… I’d rather see more Carlwell and less Arnold too, but methinks we’ll need his 5 fouls and large frame before the season’s over, so you gotta give him some minutes…
6) DISAGREED: I’d rather see ‘em shoot free throws in games than in practice…
X-MAN #11: regarding Stefhon Hannah - I finally broke down and joined Scout.com: 6-1, 175-lb. PG originally from Chicago’s Hyde Park HS, then he went to Chipola CC and was ranked among the top 10 JUCO guards and #25 JUCO player overall, and was heavily recruited by KSU and Mizzou.
But of course since he wasn’t a 5-start blue chipper he slipped right under your keen radar huh?
bart #15: “I have to give it up to Mike Anderson for the job he is doing at Illinois?”
trimby #16: your observations are intelligent and insightful.
brookstaylor #18: you were watching the same game. Yeah, it was plenty sloppy, but as has been observed already, beatin’ Mizzou NEVER gets old.
Holiday greetings to all…
Thought he was MIZZOU’S coach?!?
December 20th, 2006 at 1:19 pm
A couple of observations: Chester Frazier is a poor man’s Lafayette Lever. Lever was undersized, not as athletic as his competition, a very mediocre shooter, and a step slow, but worked harder than anyone around him and somehow willed his way to wins. Like Lever, Frazier is never too far away from a triple double and somehow infects his teammates with his blue-collar work ethic. Do I like Frazier? No, in the same way I did not like Lever, but I have the utmost respect for both of them and applaud their hard work, regardless of how ugly it looks while they are doing it.
I have officially put Marcus Arnold in my Top Ten Worst Illini Players of All-Time (not counting walk-ons and 12th men).
Arnold joins my elite group featuring the likes of Marcus Griffin (all hype/no hope), Robert Bennett (hands of stone), Glynn Blackwell (lefty guard is never a good thing), T.J. Wheeler (Good guy with a not-so-good game), Tommy Michael (see T.J. Wheeler), P.J. Bowman (he wasn’t even one-dimensional), Tom Schafer (Gary Busey without a jumpshot), Brooks Taylor (his nickname ‘Bricks’ fit him perfectly) and finally Blandon Ferguson (the ultimate ‘tweener’, who was between not good and simply awful). I’m curious to see if I missed any. Have fun adding or deleting from this list… just don’t leave off Marcus Arnold.
December 20th, 2006 at 1:32 pm
Post deleted by administrator.
December 20th, 2006 at 2:21 pm
A great, tough win. I’ve always wanted to see this game in person–the energy level is apparent even on TV. What appears to be sloppy play is just hard-fought action. You can’t compare this with a regular non-conference game, even against a top ACC or Pac 10 team. This one is usually like a second-round NCAA tourney game (last year was the exception.)
Weber clearly was concerned with Missouri’s tempo. Mizzou was very disruptive with their quickness and pressing, but the Illini kept their poise and didn’t go for immediate shots–they were deliberate and kept the ball moving every posession to keep Mizzou slowed down and expending energy on defense. That’s why they passed up some open looks inside early in the shot clock, and passed off some opens shots outside for better shots. Sometimes it didn’t work (credit Mizzou’s energy and defense) but overall that kept Mizzou from putting big run together.
Weber could have used more players, but this is a game where turnovers are critical and he probably trusted his veterans. For all the Rich McBride critics, don’t forget he didn’t force things, minimized turnovers and fed the ball efficiently to the shooters–and, most importantly, made his free throws.
To win games like this in the Big 10 and NCAA’s you need to develop a deep bench with everyone contributing what they do best, and minimizing their weaknesses. You’re going to have foul trouble, or poor shooting, or something to deal with. It’s not a question of playing one guy instead of another, they all will need to step up and contribute at some point in some game.
Figuring out and developing players, with all the injuries, and keeping everything together in a close game is where Weber really shows his mettle.
December 20th, 2006 at 2:22 pm
Perhaps the most encourging thing I have seen are the Pomeroy rankings. Look for yourself:
http://www.kenpom.com/rate.php
Great job against the press. I hated the missed free throws, but I am sure Bruce has the players working on what is most important.
December 20th, 2006 at 2:25 pm
My list of worst Fighting Illini hoopsters:
Brooks Taylor, Tim Geers (they were teammates at DeLaSalle HS in Chicago) Ken Gibson (one year here, transferred to UNLV), Olaf Blab, Marcus Arnold, Bryan Leonard.
December 20th, 2006 at 2:28 pm
Barry - #26 Interesting list…although I would take off Glynn Blackwell and T J Wheeler so I could put on Olaf Blab and Nick Smith.
Or are they the same person????
December 20th, 2006 at 2:45 pm
great effort by Illinois. I marveled at the Missour’s coach’s offense and pressure defense, and, just as I thought things were going the wrong way, Coach Weber found ways to manipulate the game in his favor and come away with a win with a team that was a little quicker. Fantastic efforts by Pruit. He demostrates that a big heart cane make the difference in the game. he was relentless and made me proud to be an illini fan. Chester f. was terrific as well…Great job to one of the best game coaches in america…
December 20th, 2006 at 2:49 pm
Barry #26: if you don’t like Chet Frazier, man would I ever hate to be YOUR kid…
And what’s with the “Top Ten Worst Illini Players of All-Time” list?
That must be quite an Illini scrapbook you’re working on there, pal…
Algonquin Bill #27: top TWENTY?
According to Scout.com, Cornell’s LOI just moved Illinois’ 2007 class up from #18 to #13, three notches above Ohio State.
How about TOP TEN!?!?!
Wonder if Zook will have any free time this summer to tutor Weber in the mysterious art of schmoozing…
December 20th, 2006 at 3:01 pm
We need to have Pruitt bank all of his free throws. At least that way you have a better chance of getting a long rebound. #26 Barry, I must say that Bricks Taylor was in a class of his own. He’s the only guy I can remember to come up short on a free throw by 5′.
December 20th, 2006 at 3:08 pm
Editor Boy - Oops! Thanks for the catch.
Of course I meant Mizzou. Merry Christmas!
December 20th, 2006 at 3:34 pm
Now I’m getting pointers from someone called Whiz Kid?? Please read actual posts before you try to talk smack. Your taking too many pointers from people like Ridings. He’s the one who wants KY Mike and myself to play nice but hasn’t said a positive thing on this board in weeks. Always funny how THOSE type of people work that way.
Algonquin, thanks for giving a simple answer to a simple question. That’s how we should talk to each other.
Again folks like Wee little Editor Boy misconstrue a simple question.
In all honesty “BOY” I was surprised that someone (who could play) actually wanted to play for Bruce and was lobbying to do so. It is confusing to me how grades are a defining criteria for Bruce but lack of talent isn’t. Don’t get me wrong-grades are important. However, when was the last time the Illini grabbed a Juco player? If a player like him tests poorly out of HS, does his time in JUCO, has talent and practically BEGS to play for us, shouldn’t we be looking at him?? Instead we end up with Oversized “Project” type guys who don’t really fit into our “3 guard” system and who most of the posters rip on. And we haven’t even been blessed with Coles and Tisdale yet. Someone help me understand this recruiting strategy (and I know you will).
-I can ALMOST handle hard working and less talented players as long as they are athletic BUT slow and untalented?? What a recipe for success.
December 20th, 2006 at 4:08 pm
In regards to the Chicgo kid at Mizzou, sometimes the coaches are not able to get a kid through admissions. They have to decide who to fight for. You only want to fight for the sure things.
December 20th, 2006 at 4:16 pm
Ouch. Alot of Brooks Taylor haters out there. haha. I think Brooks made two dunks his entire career and I saw both of them live. You have to put Nick Smith on the all time worst list. Tall, no talent, and sitting in the background pouting after the big Arizona win. What a waste. One more bad game and I am ready to add McBride to the list. Shelly Clark was kind of a waste too.
December 20th, 2006 at 4:27 pm
Editor Boy & Trimby:
You’re wrong. Doesn’t matter that Tucker is 6′6″. Last season he essentially WAS Wisconsin inside and was often dominant, even against bigger men.
He played much bigger than 6″11″ Butch, which after Stiemsma’s withdrawal from school was all they had underneath.
I like Shaun and Warren and am impressed at their improvement form last season. However, I’ll reserve further judgement until I see us play the Badgers. I see no one down low who can contain Tucker offensively. I hope I’m wrong about that come January 20th. Doesn’t look that way now, however. I fear that he will school us pretty badly.
As for those carping about free throws… shhhhhh….! Don’t you know that free throws are inconsequential?! Or so I’ve been told repeatedly here. 61% Yee-hah.
December 20th, 2006 at 4:41 pm
X-MAN #36: lemme get this straight: you’re bitchin’ about getting pointers from someone named “Whiz Kid,” yet you make the arrogant assumption that YOU’RE qualified to tutor the rest of us on how to talk to each other, huh?
That’s freakin’ RICH, wee ‘lil X.
If you REALLY want people to “play nice” with you and your Lemon Krush crackhead pals, you wouldn’t be such a turd.
By anyone’s measure, you and your lunatic fringe pals are seriously outnumbered, not only in this blog, but in the REAL world as well.
But don’t let a little fact like that keep you from believing that only your opinion matters.
Here’s another little pointer for you: opinions are like anal orifices… everyone’s got one, and some of them really stink.
December 20th, 2006 at 4:57 pm
It was fun to watch the Illini last night. And, as someone said here, it is always fun to beat Mizzou. But guys, let’s get serious here. If you watched any of the Ohio State game earlier in the evening, you have to believe that everyone else in the B10 is playing for second place this year. OhowIhate Ohio State, but they were terrifyingly good. I just don’t see us, or anyone else, for that matter, staying with them in B10 play. I hope I’m wrong. And remember, Mizzou lost to Purdue by 17. We should be absolutely thrilled with a 10-6 B10 record, and if we can achieve it, Weber should be the coach of the year.
December 20th, 2006 at 5:12 pm
Do you suppose Zook could recruit basketball, too, and Weber could coach football, as well?
there must be a way…
December 20th, 2006 at 6:33 pm
RPIC - If you are not impressed by Xavier’s knowledge and opinions, I think you should just say so. No more beating around the bush trying to sugarcoat it.
Why has everyone failed to congratulate BAM on his 100th win as an Illini? Even the dumbest Hoosier has to be impressed with that! 100 - 18 and going strong!
Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night.
December 20th, 2006 at 7:54 pm
Marcus griffen on the all time worst illini list? No way. He had some pretty good post moves. Pulled down his share of boards. What did you expect from an undersized center?
Also in defense of nick smith, he was starting to shine in Bail’s high/low just before he skipped town. The weber system couldn’t have been worse for him. Way too slow and scared of contact to set picks like Auggie and rev. Sure was a punk though. No doubt about that.
You guys are being way too hard on Trent. Sure he’s nothing special but he’s got to bridge the gap until mccamey shows up. I remember covering my eyes when Sean Harrington handled the ball. It was a 50% chance to turn into a dunk for the opposition. He was PG backup for at least 2 years. Trent is better. He knows his role, leave the guy alone.
December 20th, 2006 at 9:31 pm
Did anyone notice that the tightness of this game forced Weber to settle on a “rotation” of sorts? I noticed that not as many guys got significant minutes as usual. Still, there was a lot of foul trouble in the first half, especially with Randle. Here’s where I see the starting line-up and rotation should be now:
Frazier, McBride, Randle, Carter, Pruitt (solidified); Off Bench: Brock, Meacham, Smith, Arnold, Carlwell, Jackson
Why does Illinois always seem to get in foul trouble in big games? I’m trying to just not blame the refs for being “anti-Illini”, because it happens so much, that there has to be a reason for it. Theory #1: All Big Ten teams face “foul call bias” in big games, to include the NCAA tournament. This is because the Big Ten has long had a reputation for being a physical, bruising conference. We don’t notice it during Big Ten season, because the refs are able to adjust and call an even game. During big inter-conference games, however, the referees have that “physical” idea about the Big Ten ingrained in their brains, and they’re determined to call a “close” game to prevent the “brutes” from the Big Ten from beating up on the “finesse” teams that make up the rest of the nation. Coaches like Lute Olsen, who are masters at subliminal media hypnotization of the referee crews, only magnify the Big Ten’s reputation. My opinion on Theory #1: I think the whole thing about the Big Ten being “way more physical” is a bunch of bunk, an old wives tale. ACC games are just as physical, and so are Big East games. You know what the implication is, though, right? Yep, that’s right– media elites like Duke Vitale and Seth Duke-is are placing a silent dagger in the back of the whole Big Ten conference. “Physical Conference” is another way of saying “Lower Quality of Basketball Play”. Anyhow, I guess the notion is out there about the Big Ten, because it clearly is a factor during non-conference big games. Theory #2: The Illini’s bright orange uniforms, when inter-mixed with an opponent’s usually dull, off-color jerseys on the court, make the Illini players stand out like neon sore thumbs to the officials. Thus, though the Illini are probably doing less “hand fouls” than their opponents, because the referees’ eyes are sub-consciously drawn to the orange-hue surrounding our players’ every slight move, they tend to call many more ticky-tack fouls on the Illini. Don’t we usually wear the Orange jerseys in big games, too? My opinion on Theory #2: I don’t know, but it sounds interesting. Does the Illini Sports Information office keep historical records of what uniform colors the team wears for every game? Maybe we could compare historical foul ratios for games when we’re in orange to games when we’re in white or blue. Am I going overboard? I guess I am, but then again, maybe there’s something to this…..
December 20th, 2006 at 10:00 pm
I agree with #44 - Trent is just silghtly better than the lashing you all are giving him - especially when compared to the likes of Rich McBride and Marcus Arnold; at least the kid tries and puts forth a solid effort (albeit with not as much talent to back it up as one would like for a B10 team), which is more than can be said of the other two players I mentioned.
I’ve been duly impressed by Carter so far this year, but is anyone else concerned by the foul trouble he seems to get into in big games? For that matter, I’m concerned about Randle’s foul troubles as well.
December 20th, 2006 at 10:11 pm
A real must win last night and kudos to Pruitt, Frazier, Randle, and Smith. McBride continues to get taken to the woodshed by most Illini faithful, but he is relatively strong and plays defense. Given the fact that he is a senior, I doubt Weber will lift him and his offense most certainly should improve. If not, then we will see more of Smith.
What concerned me last night other than our free throw shooting was Mizzou’s ability to drive to the hole. We probably are not blessed with the greatest one on one defenders with Randle maybe an exception (to some degree Chet)and therefore need to play better help and recover defense and communicating better.
To the person who mentioned Purdue beat Mizzou worse than we did, remember that was AT PURDUE.
Lastly, I would remove Marcus Griffin from worst Illini…He beat Wisconsin on a last second shot and was third team All Big Ten. I will grant you that he was a disappointment after being named a McDonald’s All American and never lived up to that hype.