Illinois basketball fans

[IlliniFan]

I honestly never thought he would go through with it so I'm not too surprised. If McCamey and Watkins come in and play well right away, we should be right there in the top 3 maybe 4 in the big ten. Is Semrau fully recovered from his surgery?

[wang4three]

The knowledge he gained from the camps must be invaluable to him. I read he was working with Tim Grover. Hopefully he comes back next year and averages 16 ppg for us...which he could do if he made 70% of his FTs.

As for Iman, I am unsure whether to really get my hopes up for him. The competition doesn't seem to be that great, but same time, if he continually thinks he is an ACC type player, really isn't anything we can do. Although, this year's Big Ten is going to be a lot more competitive.

[wang4three]

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


Jordan was on campus!!!!!! I wonder if he'll come back for games.

[TheGame414]

I'd have to think he'd be here at some point.

Here's what I was confused about in that story (not sure if it was in that link...read it in the News-Gazette tonight)...but freshmen can live in Illini Towers?

That's something I really know nothing about. I ended up deciding to go to (and getting into) U of I kinda late, so I lived at home my freshman year before living off-campus my sophomore year.

Of course, I'm pretty high, so for about five minutes when I read that story I was thinking Green Street Towers in my head. Which I've been to way more often.

[IlliniFan]

"With C.J., it's looking more and more every day like it's going to be football for him," Weber said Monday at the Illinois satellite team camp at Chicago's Moody Bible Institute. "He's around us all the time. He plays pick-up games. He's with the guys.

"He's trying to make a commitment to them (the football program) in the weight room. I hope he keeps a passion and a motivation for what he wants to do," Weber said. "They (the football staff) feel he has some pretty good potential. Now, you stick your nose in there and see some action on the football field, that's another story."

Looks like Jackson is leaning towards football. I guess that's good news. More room for what's looking to be a solid recruiting year.

[TheGame414]

Looks like Jackson is leaning towards football. I guess that's good news. More room for what's looking to be a solid recruiting year.

I'll wait for a commit before I decide what it's looking like. I'm encouraged by the number of high-level players we're in soid with, but though it's a higher number of players than in the past, we've been here before.

[wang4three]

Liggins said the other day he likes Kansas over Illinois....why does this seem like deja vu all over again? Is it really that hard to get people to stay in state?

Nevertheless, I wasn't really thinking this guy was going to come to Illinois. Same with Shumpert. However, if they end up committing, I'll be welcome them.

[wang4three]

Well seems like Liggins chose Kentucky. A major hit since we were on this guy, but I think most of us realized he wasn't coming to UI starting the summer...

Well now to focus on Humphrey, Dunigan, and Shumpert for in-staters.. and Miller and Suggs for out-of-state. I don't know who we'll land but I hope it's one of these five. Dunigan's stock has been rising tremendously.

[IlliniFan]

Well seems like Liggins chose Kentucky. A major hit since we were on this guy, but I think most of us realized he wasn't coming to UI starting the summer

Hes probably going to be academically ineligible anyways according to some guy from the news gazette.

[foutz]

illinois is of the baderest teams of the nba miny league
they have no champion chip to say they of great
but florida have won of two champion ship so they gotten of my bestest team on miny nba

[TheGame414]

Well seems like Liggins chose Kentucky. A major hit since we were on this guy, but I think most of us realized he wasn't coming to UI starting the summer...

Well now to focus on Humphrey, Dunigan, and Shumpert for in-staters.. and Miller and Suggs for out-of-state. I don't know who we'll land but I hope it's one of these five. Dunigan's stock has been rising tremendously.

It wasn't a major hit since everyone knew Liggins wasn't coming here anyway.

This wasn't anything remotely like losing Rose, Collins or Livingston in past years, because it's not like Liggins is a blowaway megastar that's head and shoulders above the rest. He's a very good player, but he's also already 18 and might not have as much room for growth as other prospects. I think Shumpert, Miller, Dunigan and Suggs are probably all at least as good of college prospects.

[wang4three]

Since there has really been no news about the team lately, I'm just gonna write down my hopes for next season:

1. The team shoots at least 70% from the free throw line. I figure 70% is not that much to ask for. Thinking about how many close games we lost, it's just frustrating. Shuan would be averaging 17 ppg and be contention for B10 POY if he improved his free throw shooting. I just hope all the workouts and advice he's gotten has helped him.

2. Our recruiting class turns out stellar. Supposedly Alexander is more than impressive..but then again I was really high on Marcus Arnold and was let down, though he played well this season, especially against Indiana. I'll hold my judgments but if he's anywhere as athletic and aggressive as the reports I read, I'll be happy. I hope McCamey is as good if not better than advertised. I don't want to go out and say he's the next great PG for us, but if he can pass the ball and handle presses then I'll be more than satisfied. All indications point that he can do so. Q is who I'm most excited for though, well besides Jordan. I hope he can contribute immediately off the bench.

3. Jamar Smith turns it on. Maybe his shot was off last year cause he was injured. Maybe it's cause he spent his time focusing on the wrong things, but as ascension to upperclassmen begins, I hope he will start taking responsibility. I read that he recently just had a son, hopefully this will help his maturity level because a stellar junior year can really propel his potential pro career. My friends at CRCE says he looks a lot better than before in terms of handling the ball and aggressiveness, but really hard to tell anything from pick up games. One friend told me that he took Calvin Brock to school, but having played against Calvin last summer, I realize he doesn't try that hard at all and spends most of his time cherry picking.

4. Which leads me to Calvin Brock. I just hope he's refined his skills. Athleticism is there...but he hasn't really seemed to change his game a lot over the years. It's his senior year and I hope that he's really taken stock of how important it is to get better.

5. Health. I hope the team stays healthy. Especially Chester. I don't really worry about Chester's improvement because I know he's the type of guy who works hard at becoming a better player. He's probably at the gym right now shooting jumpers and working on free throws. Chester aside, I hope we bounce back from the injuries to Randle, Carlwell, and Semrau. With everyone healthy we should have a shot at making the top 25.

6. Bruce brings in a top 20 class for '08. I think he has a shot at it, but I wouldn't put money on it. Lets hope that after this years class he begins to gain momentum in constructing a stellar team for the future.

I know I have nothing for Brian Randle, but I think I have come to terms with who he is. Maybe it was the injuries that slowed him down, but I don't really expect anything more than last season for him. I understand he's probably frustrated because this isn't how he imagined his basketball career to be. Either way, I'm not frustrated with him, but I don't expect anything from him anymore.

[IlliniFan]

Chester aside, I hope we bounce back from the injuries to Randle, Carlwell, and Semrau. With everyone healthy we should have a shot at making the top 25.

While I read that Semrau has made a full recovery and is now 100% and practicing with the team, Carlwell is apparently no where near as athletic as he used to be. Hopefully he can bounce back and be back to his old form. It worries me though because it has been a while since the accident and it seems to me that if he hasn't fully recovered by now, it seems doubtful that he ever truly will.

[wang4three]

For Brian, I'm just gladly he's ok. Going from critical condition to being able to even function today 4 months later is incredible. Even our plans for him have diminished, it's just good that he's ok. I think the great thing about college is that even though a door may have closed unexpectedly, you have a chance to make good out of something else. If Brian never fully recovers and his basketball career, God forbid, is over after college, hopefully he'll use his scholarship to gain valuable knowledge to better serve him in the world.

I know how it is. After closing the door on Finance and opportunities to make lots of money, I discovered a passion for East Asian history and linguistics. I'm in a life that I never imagined when I was a high school student. I'm happy for it, though sometimes my family questions my choice in life.

[IlliniFan]

Apparently there is a lot of talk that Humphrey/Dunnigan will choose Oregon. If this proves to be true, that would be a big loss for the Illini. I really thought we were the front runners for those two.

Paul Klee: No confirmation yet. I would not be surprised if Matthew Humphrey goes to Oregon. Good program, great facilities, tons of exposure, a former Mean Streets player already on the roster. And frankly, the Pac-10 is on a roll and is only getting better. I was told by a couple people today that Mike Dunigan and Matt Humphrey may announce their decision at the Peach Jam later this week.

We'll see.