Brian Carlwell hoped he’d be able to bounce back from his severe concussion and somehow find his way onto the basketball court in the NCAA Tournament.
Alas, that appears unlikely to happen.
Illinois’ freshman center with be with the team in Columbus, Ohio and will be on the bench Friday night when Illinois takes on Virginia Tech. But hopes of getting back on the floor have faded while Carlwell undergoes a recuperation that has taken longer than first hoped.
“He is not practicing,” Illini coach Bruce Weber confirmed Tuesday. “He’s still going through a lot of physical therapy. I talked with him yesterday and it’s been a little slower than he thought.
“There’s a little sadness and frustration. He was hoping to maybe have a chance to be a part of the tournament. That was one of the first things the doctors talked about but it hasn’t come as fast as he’d hoped.
“But at the same time, he is alive. He went through a very traumatic injury. We’re just telling him to stay positive, to keep working on it. It’s a good life lesson and make the most of it.”
When asked about the physical therapy, Weber said: “He had some trauma to the brain and he just has to recover from that. He has to let the hemorrhage heal.” Weber said Carlwell’s therapy involves, “just learning to walk, run, jump, catch, all of those things.”
I don’t think any of that is particulary surprising, but it is a reminder that Carlwell truly was in a severe collison and was lucky he was not hurt worse.
Meanwhile, the story of Virgina Tech’s adversity is a compelling one. That team went through a ton last season and it’s one reason they are so grateful to be in the tournament this year.
One player lost his father to cancer at age 56. Two others lost their grandmothers. Another lost the mother of his host family after moving to the United States from Puerto Rico. One player learned his mother had been diagnosed with cancer. One player, a senior last year, was diagnosed with cancer and now, after graduation, fights cancer that has spread to his lungs and brain. And another, forward Deron Washington, learned that his mother lost her home and her job during Hurricane Katrina. She has since moved to Blacksburg, Va., to be near her son.
That says nothing of the on-court grief Virginia Tech felt when Duke (after getting extra time put back on the clock) spoiled Virginia Tech’s upset bid when Sean Dockery (remember?) heaved in that shot from nearly half-court.
No wonder Virginia Tech took such great delight this season beating Duke and beating North Carolina twice.
Compared to the truly tragic stuff, however, one Virginia Tech insider told me losing to Duke on a last-second prayer, “is not even a blip on the screen.”
I’m off to Columbus Wednesday and will be blogging from there some time Wednesday evening. There are team press conferences (head coaches and select players) and open practices on Thursday from Nationwide Arena, site of the tournament.
The site is listed as a sellout and each school gets only its allotment of 250 or 350 tickets. Weber is hoping Illinois will find some friendly voices of support in the crowd from SIU fans and from neutral fans from the Columbus area that might decide to root for a Big Ten Conference team.
Over and out ’til Wednesday evening.
March 13th, 2007 at 7:46 pm
OK, since I’ve been accused of making worthless posts, here’s one I hope will generate solid discussion:
Why don’t the Illini run a high-low game with Carter out top and Pruitt in the post? The team seems to me to be poorly suited to the motion offense, given their poor outside shooting and difficulties with turnovers lately.
The high-low would keep the ball in the hands of the two best offensive weapons on the team. And Carter has a decent mid-range jumper. They seem pretty well suited to it. Even just a few high-low sets would seem like something worth trying given the offensive difficulties the team has.
March 13th, 2007 at 8:51 pm
So glad to hear that Brian is at least well enought to make the trip, that alone is good medicine for him and incentive for next year. If he isn’t ready to play so be it. Go Illini and get a couple more wins to make 25 wins for the season a number many didn’t think would happen with this team…..or even 23 that are already in the books! On one hand I am sorry to see Basketball season come to a close but given this season filled with so much adversity I am sure we all be glad to close out this one and regroup for next year!
March 13th, 2007 at 9:53 pm
Rock, it’s a little late now buddy to talk about their Offensive sets. WE have been saying this all year and BAM couldn’t quite figure it out. Don’t expect him to change now.
Now let’s get a win and shock a few people.
March 13th, 2007 at 11:13 pm
#1 Rock- Definitely don’t want the high-low back, Bill Self is long gone. I got tired of watching the lob that only worked about half the time. Unfortunately, Pruitt can’t jump very high so it makes it hard to lob the ball inside. Plus, you don’t change your offense going going in to a single elimination tournament.
How far we go will depend on McBride and Randle. Here’s hoping Randle decides he is ready to finally start playing and that McBride finds his shooting touch again. Our tough defense will be a factor, but we have to score more than 60 points per game. Go Illini!
March 14th, 2007 at 5:20 am
Sorry to burst any bubbles…but thinking this team gets by VT just doesn’t come to mind…and I agree: these kids don’t have a clue about the motion offense. Motion means MOVE…here’s hoping the kids coming in, along with the ones who had to sit out this year, will understand that Weber’s motion offense will work…if they run it right. Go Illini!
March 14th, 2007 at 7:18 am
Anyone who really wants to see the Illini play in Columbus shouldn’t believe the “there’s no tickets” line. There are always tickets to be had at the site, and you don’t have to pay an arm and a leg for them. This should be especially true since its the second session of the day. We’ve been following the Illini in the NCAAs for the last 8 years (save last year when the Illini went to San Diego). I am always amazed at the number of good seats available at “sold out” arenas. Want tickets? Here’s my suggestions:
1. Check with the schools like Long Beach of Albany’s ticket offices. Sometimes you can get one of their alloted tickets (good seats at face value that you pick up at will-call)
2. Check with the box office before the game, often other schools will turn in any unused tickets. More likely for second-session or second-round games.
3. Be there as fans leave the first session. Fans of losing teams will often try to get rid of their tickets — beat the scalpers to them and you can usually pay a fair price.
4. Lastly, if you don’t mind missing the first few minutes of the Illini game, wait until then to approach a scalper. Once the game or session starts, they are more willing to lower their price.
And there’s always online brokers or ebay. We’ve always had good luck, but always pay more for the “sure thing” rather than taking the gamble and getting our tickets on site. We’ll be sitting on the floor, 4 rows up in Columbus. (That’s way better than any seats we’ve ever gotten from the school through I-Fund.)
See you in Columbus. Go Illini!
March 14th, 2007 at 7:46 am
Glad to hear that BC is making the trip. I never did expect him to play again this year. Good luck next year!
Like a lot of other people, I saw VT beat Duke & NC & was impressed with their level of play. However, I believe hard-nosed defense by the Illini can beat them. By biggest fear is that we will get an officiating crew that will not allow this lock-down defense & will nullify our biggest strength, leaving us with only our anemic offense. That is when RM needs to heat up & BR needs to get inspiration from somewhere to go along with WC & SP as offensive threats. Go Illini!
March 14th, 2007 at 8:14 am
Let’s see … 23 and 11. Yup. The motion offense stinks. Better change it. *rolling eyes*.
March 14th, 2007 at 9:17 am
Speaking of Randle. Was I mistaken or did he have the highest 3point shooting percentage on the team? I know he shoots it seldomly, but since he refuses to use his real talent, maybe he should shoot more threes. What happened to Chester after the Thursday game? Lights out shooting followed by nothing. I missed the last two games. Did he not shoot or did he quit hitting?
March 14th, 2007 at 9:27 am
“”Our APR (NCAA Academic Progress Rate) for basketball is one of the best in the country. I think we’re No. 1 in the Big Ten in basketball.”
I now understand the rational for firing Guenther. He has some assinine expectation that academics is part of college. I would bet if we were last in the nation in academics and first in sports DIF would be ready to Canonize him. I finally see and objective reason to fire Guenther.
March 14th, 2007 at 10:46 am
“That says nothing of the on-court grief Virginia Tech felt when Duke (after getting extra time put back on the clock) spoiled Virginia Tech’s upset bid”
*sigh*
nice try Tupper, but that was the Clemson game this year. The VaTech game last year did not have any clock issues at all. Dockery hit that miracle shot without any time added to the clock.
to all illinois fans, if you are going to whine and moan and do brainless and ceaseless Duke bashing, at least have your facts straight.
March 14th, 2007 at 11:30 am
Does anybody know if Brian is suppose to make a full recovery from the accident? Reading these quotes from Bruce leads me to believe that theres a chance Brain may not be able to return to play basketball especially if he’s struggling with general everyday motor skills….. Anybody know more about this?
March 14th, 2007 at 11:46 am
Comment by Bill Arter — 3/14/2007 @ 7:46 am
Let’s see … 23 and 11. Yup. The motion offense stinks. Better change it. *rolling eyes*.
**rolling eyes** and **shaking head**
I know it’s sacrilegious to question or even make a suggestion that contradicts Bruce Weber, but perhaps they would be 26 and 8 with a better suited offense for the makeup of this team. Even a blind man can see our forwards are our strength this year not our guards, typically the motion offense requires strong guard play and good passing, 2 things this team has struggled with this year. Plus it’s not necessarily a bad thing to have a few offensive sets to run either.
Of course it hard to implement a new offensive set if more then half your team in injured all year long, but lets not dismiss the notion totally.
March 14th, 2007 at 11:54 am
Walt-I would build a statute of RG and put it at Zuppke Field if that happened!
March 14th, 2007 at 12:35 pm
“Let’s see … 23 and 11. Yup. The motion offense stinks. Better change it.”
23 wins is a testament to the Illinois defense and rebounding, not its’s offense. It’s no sacrilege to say this isn’t a good offensive team.
And I wasn’t suggesting scrapping the motion offense, particular going into possibly the last game of the season. But giving the personnel of the team, I think would be interesting to see them run a high-low game on a few possessions. It would challenge VaTech inside, we’re they are more vulnerable and keeps the ball in the hands of UI’s best offensive threats.
Has Weber run anything besides motion? I would think going into next season, it would be worthwhile to be able run some high-low (Semrau and Pruitt? Randle and Pruitt?) in addition to motion.
March 14th, 2007 at 1:18 pm
Jim(13) You’ve made the mistake of putting my name with the comment below it which was made by Doug.
FRG(14) You can build a statue, but I don’t believe you can build a statute.
March 14th, 2007 at 1:24 pm
Let’s all get ready for a TON of called fouls and a lot of whining from the Big Ten and especially Illini fans. The Big 10 officials do us a diservice every year by letting the players brawl and then when we get into the tourney, we can’t stop sending the other team to the line.
Anyone remember Lucas and and AZ game as well as the Washington game last year (you could probably add the title game to this list as well)?
It happens every year!!!!
Come Saturday, let the whining begin.
March 14th, 2007 at 1:33 pm
“Walt-I would build a statute of RG and put it at Zuppke Field if that happened!”
If that happened I would be on the “Fire Guenther” platform. We are still an academic institution. The proudist I have ever been as an Illini was when we won the B10 with Hester and Johnson as graduate students and all other starters graduated ON TIME. I am willing to put up with marginal students, but I find no excuse for graduation rates of OSU, Huggins, UNLV and many others. As much as I love Illini sports, running up an down fields and courts wearing silly outfits will nrver replace college and education. We have done well in the past and with anticipated success in football we will have balanced the two well.
March 14th, 2007 at 2:23 pm
This:
http://www.techsideline.com/home
is a seriously good article on the Virginia teck/Illinois matchup by a Hokie fan. Interesting in reading what a dispassionate outsider thinks about the ball club and the saeson. Here’s a teaser from the article about his thoughts on Weber as a coach:
“In a way, the 2006-07 Fighting Illini are like last year’s Hokies with the injuries and off-court drama, except Illinois managed to get into the NCAA tournament. This is arguably the best coaching job in the fine career of Bruce Weber.”
March 14th, 2007 at 2:45 pm
Please excuse the misspellings in my last post!
March 14th, 2007 at 3:01 pm
I’ve been saying for weeks that Randle and Carter should switch positions. Randle is useless as a permiter player, Carter loves to shoot from the permiter - at least Randle could out jump people for rebounds and get some junk baskets.
March 14th, 2007 at 3:32 pm
#13 - Jim - perhaps they’d have the record would be 23-8 if they didn’t have so many injuries. Perhaps the offense is tailored for a pain free Brian Randle, a pain free Chester Frazier, a pain free Jamar Smith, a pain free Marcus Arnold, a pain-free Sean Pruitt, a pain free Warren Carter. Who else played injured? Did I miss anyone?
Perhaps the record would have been better if they had 10 guys who could practice 90% the time.
All year, we kept waiting for the players to get better. About mid-January, we realized it wasn’t going to happen, and by then, YES, it’s too late to make significant changes to an offense. Luckily, we played a bunch of teams that played zone which I swear makes Carter’s eyes get big and drool.
Of their 11 losses, how many involved key players missing or playing uninjured? Let me think… oh that’s right: all of them.
#15 Rock: Yes, the team has offensive challenges. No question about it. I wouldn’t be surprised if we see something different in the tourney. AFter all, this is the first full week of practice they’ve had since, what, November?
#17 - Xavier. I agree, but and yes, I’ll whine. Honestly, shouldn’t Randle just start with 2 fouls and sit out the first half to get it over with?
March 14th, 2007 at 3:32 pm
Here is a look at how Illinois has done in their last nine NCAA tournament appearances.
Illinois in the NCAA Tournament
Year Seed Result
2006 4 2nd Round
2005 1 National Title Game
2004 5 Sweet 16
2003 4 2nd Round
2002 4 Sweet 16
2001 1 Elite 8
2000 4 2nd Round
1998 5 2nd Round
1997 6 2nd Round
That’s very impressive. A trip to the National Championship game, an Elite 8 and two Sweet 16s. Perhaps even more impressive, they haven’t been eliminated in the first round in their last nine tournament appearances. The last time the Fighting Illini were eliminated in the first round was back in the 1995.
Different coaches, different players, same quality program. And, oh yes, ALL of those coaches were hired by the incompetent Ron Guenther.
March 14th, 2007 at 4:30 pm
#17 - Xavier - the day has come you have finally posted one thing I agree with ! If the Big Ten Comiss / Jim Delany don’t do something about the Big Ten Refs, it will drive recruits from our league, and hurt us greatly in years to come. It should be OBVIOUS by now, something needs to be done, and soon.
March 14th, 2007 at 7:52 pm
Buffalowing, do you want to talk about football?
March 15th, 2007 at 7:19 am
Gotta admit FRG I don’t follow football as much as basketball, but I think I read that Zook had recruited one of the top classes in the country this year.
March 15th, 2007 at 10:09 am
buffalowing-under Football Guy RG, the football team has gone 64-106-2. 4 bowl games in 15 years. At any other school, he would be fired.
March 15th, 2007 at 10:45 am
FRG. Why don’t we take this up again after the 07 football season to see if Zook has made improvements to the program. I promise I’ll study up on UofI football so I can discuss this intelligently. In the meantime, you might want to read this article about this year’s recruiting:
http://msn.foxsports.com/cfb/story/6459314
Looks to me like the FB program is headed in the right direction.
March 19th, 2007 at 1:12 pm
Well we will see how it goes. Fingers crossed!