Alex Legion is coming! Alex Legion is coming! Paul Revere could hardly have been more excited in announcing the arrival of the Redcoats. With no games for eight whole days Illinois basketball fans had nothing else to complain, argue or obsess about. But true believers have known for some time that late December, at a point around the winter solstice, would see the coming of a savior. Alex Legion is expected to descend from the right hand of Bruce Weber a few minutes after 7 p.m. on Saturday, against Detroit.
Mercy!
To intensify the anticipation, Legion skipped his own press conference Thursday afternoon, preferring to complete a final exam in preparation for NCAA eligibility.
The game wasn't on teevee, so most people have no idea how it played out. You'll have heard that Mike Tisdale led the team with 25 points and 10 rebounds. But that tells you nothing. This game wasn't at all what you'd infer from the box score.
Illinois beat Chicago State 89–50. Lots of times you'll hear, "but it wasn't that close," which means the losing team scored a bunch after the winning team stopped the beating. This time, it wasn't that far. The Illini had the game well in hand before they suddenly didn't. It was so dull for a while that another press row regular and I bantered thus:
Q: "What are you writing about?"
A: "Anything but this game."
This may be the worst game Illinois will play this season, if they're lucky. Hawaii dominated the rebounds 43 to 14, and yet Illinois won 68–58.
From the outset, Hawaii was in charge. On its first play from scrimmage, Illinois went to Mike Tisdale inside. He was tackled for a loss. On the next possession, Chester Frazier ran up the middle, only to get lost in the trees. On the third possession, Tisdale banged an incomplete shovel pass off the backboard, which is made of reinforced glass.
The Hawaii team you'll see tonight (if you get the Big Ten Network) is almost completely different from the one that came within one Calvin Brock heroism of toppling the Illini a year ago. Gone are four starters, including coach's son Bobby Nash, who dropped 30 on Illinois. Only Bill Amis remains, and he's improved significantly (averaging 12 and 9) since fouling out in 13 minutes against the Illini. Amis plays 35 minutes a game on a team which goes only about seven deep.
The Illini staff obviously took umbrage at the 56 points Clemson scored in the paint Tuesday night. Of course, the decisive points were scored by diminutive slasher Demontez Stitt, who's very name is short and fast. But coaches don't let facts get in the way of some good psychological motivation. They spent Thursday's practice instilling not the fear of god, but the fear of really enormous dudes, into the heads of the Illinois frontcourt.
Don't have a cow.
Apart from completely failing to launch the thrilling game-winning shot, Illinois Basketball played the game it wanted to play Tuesday night despite losing to Clemson, 76–74. I ain't even lyin'.
In practice Monday, assistant coach Wayne McCain warned the team that they could not miss any more flares (guys flashing outside for open threes) and hope to beat Clemson. He also guaranteed them that if they guarded, they would win. He was right. They stopped the flaring, and clamped down on the three.
Assistant coach Jay Price warned the team that Clemson's big men would kick their asses if they didn't play with intensity, speed and strength. He was right.
After Clemson snuck off with a victory, Demontez Stitt explained Illinois's scouting failure, while head coach Oliver Purnell gave everyone the Evil Eye (above, right).
Hard workers, good character, good work ethic, good families — these are concepts you've heard about recently regarding Illini basketball. Lately, they've been cited as advantages, not shortcomings.
Bruce Weber specifically cited the families of The Four when he announced their signing on November 11. Weber looks to personal integrity when assessing athletes. But The Four are our future. It could be that the best guy ever to don the uniform is here, right now. He has his priorities straight. He will not stop working. He will come at you. You can knock him down, but he will rise again. To stop him, you may have to kill him. And even then, don't be so sure. He may rise again.
Chester Frazier will be with us for only a few more months, as far as you know. You should be horrified. Like Kenny Battle, Roger Powell and "Otis," Chester Frazier is powered by a spirit incalculable by contemporary scientific means. He plays beyond his abilities, and without regard for pain. You cannot stop him. He is a machine.
ALL WORK AND NO PLAY
Tuesday morning's workout was the last full practice before the lads fly off to sunny South Padre Island. There, they will work like dogs (dogs that work, not lapdogs). When they're not learning to shift around Kent State's shifting 1–3–1 zone, when not trying to figure out how to shut down Al Fisher, they'll be hitting the books. Chester Frazier, for example, has a big Psychology test next week.
The Human Pogo stick tallied another 20 points Sunday in Illinois’ 78–64 win against Jackson State.
Yawn.
Mike Davis is automatic, so there’s really no excitement in his statistics. He gets the ball, and then it’s in the basket. It's like an assembly line. Besides, he didn’t even tally a double-double this time.
Boooor-ing.
The excitement came from Dominique Keller, who enjoyed his coming out party with flash, dash, a splash of panache and other things rhyming with ash. Eight shot attempts, eight buckets, 16 points. Old school.
Prior to Thursday's game at Vanderbilt, I drew up a list of questions about this year's team. I figured it might make for interesting reading among the faithful. It hadn't occurred to me that Illinois might win, impressively, in Nashville. The final was 69–63.
And before you could say "a pair of cupcakes," Illinois was 2–0 on the season. The Illini trounced Texas A&M-Corpus Christi yesterday, 72–53. Friday's opener against Eastern Washington was tied at the half, but our guys prevailed by a healthy 66–50 margin. In both games, senior Trent Meacham had a hot hand from downtown.
But the real story is the coming out party for our new star.
Guard Chester Frazier pulled down ten rebounds, while forward Mike Davis led the team in shooting in a tough battle against a Div. II team from Romeoville, Ill. It's role reversal, but this year's Illini squad will take whatever it can get from its players. In truth, Davis added seven rebounds to his scoring effort (18 points in 25 minutes). Demetri McCamey added four of ten treys, tallying 16 points to go with four rebounds and three assists.
"Sharpshooter" Trent Meacham was one for eight from the floor, with four turnovers. Starting post-man Mike Tisdale contributed three rebounds.
Division II Lewis University nearly won Sunday's game. Yes, it's an exhibition. But the truth is that Lewis was competitive. Guard Brandon Dagans repeatedly found a shot — whether off screens, or knifing through the middle. Swingman Jason Genova hurt Illinois with soft runners and long bombs. Freshman center Marty Strus outplayed the taller, older Tisdale.
This week's Illini punching bag comes from Romeoville. Lewis University fields... well, courts... a pretty good basketball team, by Division II standards.
Led by Harvey-Thornton graduate Brandon Dagans, the Flyers notched 20 wins in 2007–08. But they were not scheduled for the purpose of challenging a young Illini team, still searching for an identity. Expect another 20 point win, and perhaps your last chance to see Stan Simpson in action this year.
It's just an exhibition game, but Ed Hightower's presence in the stripey shirt meant this game was not mere pretend. Florida Southern wing-forward Preston Fredrick probably doesn't know who Ed Hightower is. But he was the only big man, for either team, who brought his A-game Sunday.
Illinois had more points at the end of the exhibition, 82–61. It's not so much a victory as a discovery of strengths and weaknesses.
Footwork and floor-position are the big priorities right now. It's not nearly so exciting as the John Calipari free-for-all shooting and dunking cavalcade. But both are vital for running an effective motion offense, as well as a quick-shifting man-to-man defense. That last part is especially true for Sunday's opponent: Four guys for Florida Southern shoot over 40% from three.
You can see the habits Bruce Weber seeks to instill. While working on the offense, Weber scored one point for every pass, five for each lay-up, and regulation scoring for everything else. Mike Tisdale even passed to Calvin Brock over the rim, an alley-oop in miniature, scoring the incredibly rare six-point-play.
The season doesn't really start for a few weeks. But it sort of started two weeks ago, on a football field, after a football game. It kind of starts Sunday, when our basketball team will play basketball in its basketball arena.
After that, it will start again, sort of, on the following successive Sundays. All the Sunday games(-ish) tip at 4:30 p.m. You will be early for the contest versus Florida Southern next week, because you will have forgotten to Fall Back. By the time the actual, real, official first game comes around on November 14, you will have acclimated to Standard Time.
Dramatic headlines, such as IT BEGINS, or ARE YOU READY?!? are tricky given these fits and starts. But this basketball team is finding its way, so dry runs and dress rehearsals are important.
You won't have to watch Shaun Pruitt. That should be sufficient reason to show up, and give the lads some cheer.
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