Illinois basketball fans

[IlliniFan]

Griffey To the Illini according to Klee.

http://www.news-gazette.com/blogs/ba...ey_to_illinois

[TheGame414]

That's awesome news, if true. So much for my prediction that he was gonna be awhile.

Weber's getting so much better in recruiting, it's not even funny. He played the same "whoever commits first" card that swayed Evan Turner to Ohio State when he was so close to committing to Illinois a couple years ago, when Matta dangled their last scholarship between Turner and Alex Tyus and said whoever commits first, gets it.

[TheGame414]

So here's my guess of future depth charts, now that recruiting through 2010 appears almost set (could still add Johnson or little McCamey in 2010....I think we have one scholly left through '10 unless I'm forgetting someone), barring future roster changes:

'08-'09:

1G- McCamey(So)/Frazier(Sr)/Jordan(So)
2G- Smith(r-Jr)/Meacham(r-Sr)
3G- Legion(So)/Brock(r-Sr)/Holdren(r-Jr)
F- Alexander(Sr)/Cole(So)/Semrau(r-So)
C- Tisdale(So)/Davis(So)/Carlwell(Jr)/Simpson(redshirts)

'09-'10:

1G- McCamey(Jr)/Bertrand(Fr)/Jordan(Jr)
2G- Smith(r-Sr)/Richardson(Fr)
3G- Legion(Jr)/Paul(Fr)/Holdren(r-Sr)
F- Davis (Jr)/Cole(Jr)/Griffey(Fr)/Semrau (r-Jr)
C- Tisdale (Jr)/Simpson(r-Fr)/Carlwell(Sr)

'10-'11:

1G- McCamey(Sr)/Bertrand(So)/Jordan(Sr)
2G- Richardson(So)/Paul(So)
3G- Legion(Sr)/Head(Fr)
F- Richmond(Fr)/Davis(Sr)/Cole(Sr)/Semrau(r-Sr)
C- Tisdale(Sr)/Griffey(So.)/Simpson(r-So.)

[IlliniFan]

I thought we were done through '10. One more couldn't hurt with the way Weber is bringing em in.

[TheGame414]

You're right, I forgot about Semrau's fifth year. Still, here's guessing that at least one scholarship opens up through transfer or NBA early entry (McCamey and Legion both being legit candidates for that after their junior years, possibly even Tisdale as he gets stronger) before then.

[IlliniFan]

We already have 3 stud linemen (2 defensive, 1 offensive) committed for the '09 class.

Lendell Buckner (Top 5 player in Chicago)
Leon Hill (Already ranked 45 in the nation by Rivals, also From Chicago)
Melvin Fellows (one of the top players in Ohio)

What a GREAT start to '09 recruiting for Zook.

Link:
http://illinois.rivals.com/commitlist.asp

[IlliniFan]

Just to follow up on what I posted earlier, Leon Hill was named to the Rivals Junior First Team All Americans. Impressive.

Oh, and The Indiana game is tomorrow, lets hope we can pull one out at home against our most hated rival.

[TheGame414]

I'm not familiar with Hill other than knowing he's supposedly pretty damn good. I've kinda been out of the loop on recruiting the last few months, by and large. Basketball's been all but wrapped up- and now with Griffey's commitment, it is totally wrapped up until 2011 barring future defections from our roster- and I just haven't kept up with football recruiting until this week.

But it looks like we're off to a quick start on a fourth straight banner class. That's how you do it. You stack classes one on top of the other, and once you you have them stacked, you do it again. The rebuilding is complete- not that we're at the final destination, but we're on solid ground and set to compete on a yearly basis- now it's time for a yearly reload.

Of the 2008 recruits, I'm most excited by these guys:

-Jacob Charest

Not a dual-threat guy per-se, but the spread doesn't have to be operated by a running QB. This guy can flat-out throw the ball, and though I'm not a passing guru I don't understand why he isn't a high 4-star, borderline Top 100 guy. As exciting as Juice and the spread-option is now, it'll also be fun when Charest is slinging it all over the place in a few years.

-Cory Luiget

I think he's a better prospect than either of our blue-chip DL recruits from last year, McCray and Brent. And those guys have big upside. But whether Cory plays end or tackle, he's gonna be a monster. Rivals finally caught onto what everyone has been saying about him all year, and moved him to No. 80 overall. He could have the same kind of impact on the line that Martez Wilson is going to have at linebacker.

-Cordale Scott

He can really go get a jump ball, giving us three guys in Benn, Cumberland and Scott that can leap and just take the ball away from a defender. He's going to be a part of the receiving rotation as a freshman and help Juice a lot as we transition from a running attack to a more balanced run/pass (I hope and expect we'll average around 200-220 pass yards and 200-220 rush yards this year).

-Jason Ford

It was disappointing to not get Jamie Harper, who's the next Mendenhall, but that was a longshot. And in reality Daries Hodge, with his grades, was always a longshot. Ford's not quite Mendenhall, but Rashard is a once-a-generation talent at tailback for all but a few programs. I'm happy to add a workhorse like Ford to the mix. I think he'll be a similar player to former Ohio State tailback Antonio Pittman, except a little bigger. I'd love to say my fellow Centennial alum Mikel Leshoure will add to the mix, but I'm worried he's gotten too big and too stiff (no homo), working too much on weights with a personal trainer, from what my friends on the Centennial coaching staff tell me, and has lost speed and agility in the process. But Ford, Pollard and Dufrene will do a fine job in replacing most of Rashard's production by committee.

-Graham Pocic

Down the line, Pocic and Jack Cornell are going to be- to make another Ohio State comparison- the next Alex Boone and Kirk Barton (hopefully minus the getting blown away by SEC pass rushes part, but if that happens and it means we're in the BCS title game, there are worse fates)

-Donsay Hardeman

The reason I'm not fretting the loss of our senior safeties. He'll light people up like those guys did, if not even harder, and he's a lot faster in coverage. And actually, he's big enough at 215-220 pounds that they may put him at outside linebacker and let Flowers, Bussey and Gamble handle the safety spots. (On a sidenote, I feel pretty good about Miami Thomas and Dere Hicks at the corner spots and obviously feel great about Vontae at the other corner, so I wouldn't mind seeing the returning Travon Bellamy get a look at safety whether Hardeman plays safety or LB.)

[ItsMillerTime]

What are you guys going to do after IU crushes Illinois tonight?

[TheGame414]

Probably be thankful that my program, while down at the moment, isn't an outlaw program about to go on probation, and that anything your team accomplishes has an asterick on it because of recruiting violations.

Take solace in the fact that we're going to be very good again soon.

Be relieved that we don't have a backup power forward that's a threat to eat the entire first row, like Indiana does with 6'7", 516-pound DeAndre Thomas.

Probably smile that, even with our current problems, we haven't missed the tournament in two straight years like Indiana did in '04 and '05.

Enjoy the fact that we're 14-8 against Indiana since the Lon Kruger era.

Enjoy the fact that Indiana has lost at least nine games for 15 straight seasons, and lost at least 11 games in 13 of those 15 seasons.

Enjoy the fact that Illinois football is a budding power, and Indiana football's bowl appearance (albeit losing to a mediocre team in a crappy bowl) was probably a one-year fluke.

Laugh at silly redneck Indiana fans clinging to the past, pointing to championship banners that were won before current college players were even born.

Remind you that the most Indiana has actually won since 1993 is a four-way share of the Big Ten title and has never won the Big Ten tourney, whereas Illinois has five Big Ten titles, two outright, and two Big Ten tournament titles since 1998.

Remind you that you've been past the 2nd round of the NCAAs just ONCE since 1994.

Generally, just be happy that I don't live in Indiana, I guess. Does any of this help?

[TheGame414]

Hell of a game. Free throws killed us again, but you can't fault anything else. Weber coached a fantastic game and kept his composure. Demetri McCamey....what else is there to say? He was the best player on the floor tonight. He was electric. The future is undoubtedly bright...the three-guard lineup is coming back with a vengeance next year with D-Mac, Jamar and Legion.

Props to Indiana, especially Jordan Crawford. He was their best player tonight. Absolutely killed us from behind the arc. They kept their composure even as a team even as Gordon lost his for most of the game. And what was with the black jerseys his prick parents were wearing? What a despicable family.

[IlliniFan]

I really thought Pruitt would knock down at least one of those last two free throws he got. The most annoying thing is that it shouldn't have even gotten to that point. I mean were up by 10, and playing well. I don't know what happens to this team at the end of games.

[TheGame414]

It's a lack of playmakers. It's the reason a team like Memphis can overcome free throw shooting woes and we can't. Right now we have a sometimes-brilliant freshman point guard who's going through the ups and downs that 98% of freshmen go through. We have a tough post scorer who's nonetheless limited, an undersized catch-and-shoot SG, and a limited slasher who's always in foul trouble.

With two more good guards, Pruitt would have way more open looks and his limitations would be less pronounced. Meacham would get way more clean catch-and-shoot looks, and we'd only need him for the 12-15 minutes he should be playing. Randle wouldn't need to create on his own, he could merely finish the backdoor lobs, the open-court runouts and the occasional open looks and slashes to the rim when it's there.

And what do you know, we have two really good guards on the sidelines right now.

That's irony for you. We have the answer already on our squad, kicking ass every practice...they just can't can't play until next year.

Nothing to do but keep the heads up, keep fighting, and build for what's an undoubtedly very bright future.

Let's remember this: Indiana really wanted Demetri McCamey on their side. Jordan Crawford also considered Illinois, but never got an offer. Indiana wanted McCamey as bad as anyone else, and he'll be tearing up the Big Ten long after Gordon is averaging something like 14 ppg in the NBA.

I've said it before, but the Big Ten better get their shots in now. We're nearly down for the count and it's still taking everything the best of the Big Ten has to knock us out. They already know what Illinois does when we have a fully loaded gun, and they'd best be warned that we're adding some bullets over the next couple years.

Don't shovel dirt on the grave yet.

With that said, don't expect to hear from me for the next few days, as I'll be busy and out of town all weekend and should have a busy week ahead of me next week. I'll try to pop in if I get a chance just to delete the idiotic spam threads are sure to be posted.

I'm drunk.

[ItsMillerTime]

Told ya.

[ThaKing]

What happened last night had to be embarrassing to your university. No class what so ever. The bump from Frazier set the tone for an ugly night where basketball was the last thing on everyones mind. Frazier did however play outstanding defense on Gordon, and showed real toughness out there. McCamey was very impressive and he was indeed the best freshmen on the floor last night. He wasn't dealing witht he same sort of pressure Gordon was and I don't expect McCamey to EVER outplay Gordon again. I apparently wasn't the only one apauled by what went on last night. Here is just one of many articles written today about the collapse of a once proud basketball program.

CHAMPAIGN