Big Ten Race - One for the ages.

The 2008-09 edition of the Big Ten race is shaping up as one of the most entertaining in recent memory. Out of the 11 teams, 10 of them are legitimate contenders for a chance to hoist the trophy on Selection Sunday as the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament (sorry, Indiana). Now, why did I single out the Hoosiers? Frankly, they are just not that good this season, Yes, they have come close to winning some game within the conference, but close just doesn't cut it in this league this season, and as of Wednesday, was 0-7 in Big Ten play. There have been some major surprises this year as well, namely the Fighting Illini. Last season, Illinois had one of their worst seasons in the last decade, and with all of the off-season drama that went on, wasn't expected to do much better this season. But, with a senior nucleus of Chester Frazier, Trent Mecaham, and Calvin Brock a year older and wiser to boot, they have rallied some of the younger players and have stormed out to a 5-2 mark in conference play as the mid-point of the race draws ever so closer. We all knew that Michigan State would be the cream of the crop again this year, and they have not disappointed, leading the Illini by a game. But what else has transpired within the conference has made many a sportswriter or casual fan just shake their heads. Wisconsin losing 5 Big Ten games in a row? Unthinkable! Northwestern defeating Michigan State at the Breslin Center? Preposturous! Michigan looking like world-beaters early on by defeating both Duke and UCLA, and now coming down to earth once they get into conference play? More common. It's been that kind of a year in the Big Ten, and it doesn't seem to be letting up any. Ohio State came in looking to be one of the front runners, but a couple of injuuries and a transfer has relegated the Buckeyes to middle-of-the-road status. Iowa, who have sat near the bottom of the conference the last few seasons, have improved a bit with their new coach Todd Lickliter, but still have a ways to go. Penn State, a scary team the past couple of years, may have turned the corner and looks poised to challenge for one of the top 5 seeds in the upcoming Big Ten Tournament. Purdue is as talented as anyone in the conference, but a couple of key injuries to star players allowed the Illini to go into West Lafayette at the beginning of the conference season and steal a road victory. Minnesota, under Tubby Smith, is challenging for one of those spots as well, and they are the next opponent for the Illini (8:00 pm Thursday, Big Ten Network). What is unique about this series is that the Illini have won the last 20 meetings between the two schools, dating back to the 1999-2000 season. So, the last 4 coaches for the Golden Gophers have not been able to defeat the Illini. Not Dan Monson. Not Clem Haskins. Not Jim Molinari. And so far, Tubby Smith falls into this category. But, this is a different Minnesota team that we are dealing with these days, and it won't be easy. Nothing comes easy in the Big Ten these days. And yes, I believe that even Indiana will get a victory that they shouldn't. Teams need to be prepared to play night in and night out, because if they are not, then a loss is almost certain. Back to Northwestern and Michigan State for a moment. The Spartans have been almost unbeatable at the Breslin Center, and in the 300th game played there, they took on the feisty Wildcats, who had a wickedly successful shooting night. No game is a gimme anymore, and they all need to be earned. As Weber's philosophy states, take care of business at home and hope to steal one or two on the road, and you are in line for a conference title. Which is where the Illini find themselves right now. A win over Minnesota will allow them to keep pace with Michigan State, and will make the game between the Illini and the Spartans all the more important in Champaign when they play at the end of Februrary. The games have all been very enjoyable to watch thus far, and if this is any indication of how the Big Ten Tournament will be, then fans are in for a huge treat when all 11 teams converge on Conseco Fieldhouse in Indianapolis in early March. The race is on!

A milestone win, no doubt.

Last week the Fighting Illini men's basketball team achieved a milestone that only 12 other programs have matched. The Illini notched win #1600, putting them in some elite company. Granted, the program has been around a long time, but you have to figure that all of those 20 win seasons during the Lou Henson era, coupled with the recent success of the program under the Lon Kruger, Bill $elf, and now Bruce Weber regimes, that number couldn't have been far off. The magic number came against the Michigan Wolverines, and was also at home in front of the fans, which, measured by the unexpected success of the 2008-09 season thus far, are finally seeing near capacity crowds again. This milestone is a big deal in many facets, namely the company that they now keep as a member of this exclusive club. The other 12 teams, in order of overall wins, are as follows: Kentucky, North Carolina, Kansas, Duke, Syracuse, Temple, St. John's, UCLA, Pennsylvania, Notre Dame, Indiana and Utah. All good programs, and every one successful at once point over the last 20 years or so. Now back to this year's team. With the win over Michigan, the Illini hit the road to East Lansing hoping to sweep the Michigan teams for the week and finally crack the top 25 rankings for the first time in nearly 3 years. The trip to Spartan country was not successful, although the Illini led for nearly the entire game except the end, where it counts most. Michigan State, perenially the cream of the crop in the Big Ten Conference, has another stellar squad that looks like the team to beat in the league right now. It seems that when Tom Izzo is in a rebuilding year, it's almost like he reloads and they are good within a year. I have the utmost respect for Coach Izzo, and outside of Weber, is my favorite coach in the entire league. So, after the Illini went down to defeat 63-57 at the hands of the
Spartans on Saturday, the thought was that the Illini would be on the outside looking in once again when the new polls came out on Monday. However, to the amazement of many, including this blogger, the Illini cracked both polls, coming in at #25 in the AP poll and #24 in the USA Today/ESPN poll. This can be viewed in both good and bad terms, with the good being that finally the Illini are getting the respect that they deserve. This could also be bad in that now they have a target on their back and they cannot hide anymore. The Illini will get a chance to test their first ranking since the 2005-06 season on Tuesday evening when the welcome the Ohio State Buckeyes to the Assembly Hall (6:00 pm central time, ESPN). Fans attending the game on Tuesday will be part of a unique setting, as since that day is the inaguration of Barack Obama as the 44th President of the United States of America, each person will be given an American flag to wave that will be quite a scene for the national television audience. Here's hoping that the Illini are up to the challenge and they don't let that ranking go to their heads. There is still an awfully lot of basketball to be played.
The Illini women's basketball team is enduring a nightmare of a season, one that Coach Jolette Law did not envision. With only 9 scholarship players on the roster, that is playing a major role in the disappointment. The women are just 4-15 on the season, and winless in 8 Big Ten games. It's not that they aren't getting good play from the people that they should be, it's just that they are not getting enough of it. Jenna Smith and Lacey Simpson each notched double-doubles in a 61-43 loss to Wisconsin on Sunday evening in Madison, and Smith continues to play like an MVP candidate. It remains to be seen what the Illini would be without her. Coach Law takes her team into conference leader Ohio State on Thursday night with the hopes of any good news to turn this season around.
Finally this week, now that the changing of the guard has happened for University of Illini women's volleyball, a new coach has emerged, but he is not new to the program. Kevin Hambly, who has been an assistant under outgoing coach Don Hardin for a few years, steps into the top job with both feet in forward motion. Hambly is attending tournaments in the Chicagoland area and continues to have his eyes focused on bringing in new talent to a program that is on the upswing and figures not to lose much of anything with the coaching change. Hambly is also a very personable individual and seems capable of getting the job done.

New year, new possibilities.

What a difference a year makes. At this time last year, the Fighting Illini men's basketball team was slogging through one of their worst seasons in nearly a decade. Several factors attribute to the reversal of fortunes. First of all, the players on this team are all a year older and more experienced. Guys like Demetri McCamey, Mike Tisdale and Mike Davis have all seen their individual games stepped up a notch, while the elder players on the team, Chester Frazier, Trent Meacham and Calvin Brock have stepped into leadership roles. It could also be addition by subtraction. There were times last season when Brian Randle and Shawn Pruitt both did more harm than good, and frankly, I'm not sure where either of them would fit on this year's team. Last year's team played more on an individual level, and it showed on the floor, as communication and team effort just was not there. The problem was so dire that Bruce Weber decided at the beginning of the season to remove the names of the players off the backs of the uniforms, citing that they play for the name on the front of the jersey, not on the back. The tactic must be working, because this season the Illini have come out and are playing more as a team, more together cohesively. They have raced off to a 13-2 mark through the first 15 games, compared to 8-7 at the same jucture one year ago. As a matter of fact, the Illini did not get win number 13 until game 31 last season, which happened on March 8. So here we are, into the Big Ten season and the calendar has turned over to 2009, and Illinois has a road win at Purdue, and a game that maybe they should have won at Michigan, but still no Top 25 ranking. Maybe this is a good thing, because the players won't lose focus over being ranked. On the other hand, this is a team that deserves to be ranked, so the recognition needs to be there. Going into the first full week of conference play, one would have thought that a split would have meant a national ranking once and for all, but after the win at Purdue, the Illini were thinking sweep, and not just splitting the two. One really cannot explain why some teams get ranked and others don't, but I have to believe that last year somehow plays a part in it. Pollsters have taken a look at what the Illini did in 2007-08 and have concluded that this may be a fluke and that they will come back down to earth once the Big Ten season gets rolling. The Illini will look to get back on the winning track once again and make another push toward cracking the Top 25 this weekend when they take on a new look Indiana Hoosiers squad at the Assembly Hall on Saturday (2:00 pm central time, Big Ten Network). Gone are Eric Gordon (NBA), Kelvin Sampson (coaching in the NBA), and a whole host of other players, leaving new mentor Tom Crean with a big mess and everything to play for, since expectations are very low for the Hoosiers this season. This will also be a good chance for the Illini to exact some revenge on Indiana for the past couple of seasons. And who knows, it might be the start of getting those names back on the jerseys.

Basketball season in full force

Let's face it, this is a pretty good basketball team that Bruce Weber has assembled this season. Gone are some of the distractions (Jamar Smith), and team unity is once again making it's presence known. Maybe it had something to do with Weber's decision to remove the names from the backs of the jerseys, claiming that you play for the name on the front, and not on the back. Whatever the reason, the Illini are 9-1 and just a shot away from a perfect 10-0 record. Call it "The Shot Not Taken" if you wish, but the Clemson game right now is the only thing standing in their way. And, the news is about to get even better for Weber and the Illini, as Alex Legion becomes eligible for Saturday's game against Detroit Mercy (7:00 pm, Big Ten Network). Legion, who has been idle since last December when he transferred in from Kentucky, will look to give the Illini another weapon shooting the basketball. But don't go expecting miracles immediately for Legion. He has had quite a journey since his high school days in Michigan. He attended prestigious Oak Hill Academy his senior season before enrolling at Kentucky, where he only played a handful of games before leaving the program. The departure of Jerrance Howard from Lexington had as much of an impact on Legion leaving as anyone did. Howard, who basically switched positions with Tracy Webster (although it wasn't like that at all), came to Illinois, and Legion soon wanted to follow. Weber had recruited him pretty aggressively, but didn't get him initially. Then, when he wanted to commit to Weber when he left the Wildcats, Weber essentially told him to come check it out before making a decision. So, to make a long story short, you will be seeing #33 entering the lineup (hopefully, if all of the grades and the like get posted) on Saturday night when the Illini seek their 10th win of the season.
Illini women's basketball coach Jolette Law has been enduring an up and down 2008 season so far, with 3 early wins that was followed up by a six game losing streak. The Illini get a taste of the best of the best on Saturday afternoon when they travel down to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina to face the second ranked North Carolina Tar Heels. Then, it is on to the Big Ten portion of the season when the Illini host Purdue on Monday night at the Assembly Hall. Law has maintained her belief that you get to be the best by playing the best, and she relishes this opportunity to go against one of the best teams in the entire country. With only 9 scholarship players this season, depth is obviously an issue, and that could be part of the problem with the early season losses. Still, you should not be losing to teams like Montana and South Dakota State, and that is something that Law hopes to change. Working with the players and changing some things with the game plan may be the driving force for the Illini as they enter Big Ten play.

Big 10/ACC Challenge - Must See Tv, or Mismatch?

I thought I would deviate from the normal format of this blog and concentrate on a central topic this week. With the football team ending their season prematurely, and basketball season just beginning for both the men and women, only the volleyball team is playing games that mean a whole lot right now. More on them later.
The Big 10/ACC Challenge turns 10 this week, and so far in this series, it has been a landslide in favor of the ACC. With teams like North Carolina, Duke and Wake Forest perennially challenging for national titles, the Big Ten has been getting whitewashed in the previous 9 events. The Illini have not fared very well in the challenge either, winning only 3 of the 9 games. So, what seems to be the problem, you say? Personally, I just think the ACC breeds better basketball, hands down. They have the better coaches, guys like Roy Williams, Mike Krzyzewski, among others, and have more exposure than the Big Ten. When you compare apples to apples, the ACC most always will win any argument between the two conferences. Now, the Big Ten has some good coaches, namely Tom Izzo and Bo Ryan, plus some that are up and coming, such as Bruce Weber, Thad Matta, and Tom Crean. But, the ACC continually gets the better talent, and they recruit more nationally than the Big Ten does. Sure, the Big Ten Network debuted a year ago to give fans in other areas a chance to see the conference, but the ACC has had their own network for many years, the sports giant known as ESPN. Guys like Dick Vitale and Dave Barnett spouting off at the mouth about the Tar Heels or the beloved Dukies gets old real fast. But, who can blame them? With as much exposure as they get, who wouldn't think they were far superior? This year vowed to be different, right? Well......., not so fast. With the train wreck happening at Indiana, and rebuilding projects at Iowa and Michigan, the Big Ten figured to be behind the eight ball once again. The Illini gave it their best shot on Tuesday night, coming within a final shot of defeating Clemson. Even though the Illini lost the game, some positives can be drawn from it. To be frank, this Illini team wasn't supposed to do much this season, so starting out at 6-0 left some to doubt if what they were seeing was real. The result was a 76-74 loss, as the Illini couldn't get the last shot off in regulation, and even though the crowd left disappointed at the first loss of the season, it is only the first loss and this team can build on that. With only 3 games and counting until the debut of Alex Legion, the Illini hope that another outside shooter can propel them into the Big Ten season.
Now, back to the challenge issue. The Illini are beginning to recruit more on a national level, and the addition of Mike Davis from Virginia (ACC territory, by the way) is a welcome start. At the Clemson game on Tuesday night, someone asked coach Oliver Purnell if he tried to recruit Davis while in high school. Purnell said he did, but since Davis was planning on going the prep school way, some coaches turned him off of their radar screens. It was Weber that convinced Davis to come to Illinois, where he could possible play right away. So far, so good on the result, as Davis has been a monster for the Illini, and an integral part of the team's 6-1 start.
Will the Big Ten ever win of these challenges? The jury remains out on that one, but for 2008, the Big Ten got closer. losing the 10th annual event by a 6-5 margin. Yes, the Big Ten could have taken their first challenge if the Illini could have gotten that final shot off (and made it). But, blowout losses by Michigan State to North Carolina and Indiana to Wake Forest make the answer to this question abundantly clear. The ACC is still superior to the Big Ten, and things will not change unless the brand of basketball that is played on the prairie matches that of the style that takes place on Tobacco Road.
Don Hardin announced his retirement this week as coach of the Illinois women's volleyball team, a position that he had held at Illinois for the past 13 seasons. Hardin has brought a level of talent to the program that has seen 9 trips to the NCAA Tournament, including the Final Four in 1987. Hardin wanted to imply that he is not leaving because he has to, he just wants to focus on teaching as the next phase of his career path. Having been given the opportunity to know Coach Hardin over the past few years, he is a superb individual that will be greatly missed within the Illinois program. The 2008 squad received an invitation to the NCAA Tournament, and will actually host first and second round matches on Friday and Saturday evening. The Illini, who finished the regular season at 24-7, received a #9 seed and will take on Wisconsin-Milwaukee, while Cincinnati and Western Kentucky will square off in the other match, with the winners facing each other on Saturday for the right to move on to the Sweet Sixteen. Let's hope that Coach Hardin can take this team deep into the tourney and extend what has been a brilliant coaching career.

A wild week of sports - Illini Style!

The crossover season in sports is heaven to the sports fan of any age. At the University of Illinois, that time has come, and if you are any kind of a sports fan that follows the Illini, then last weekend was your Mecca. Starting off with earlier in the week, fall signing day for both basketball teams and the volleyball teams arrived, and Bruce Weber and Jolette Law both made quite a splash with announcing their 2009 classes. On the men's side, four players were signed, and the talent level of these guys may be just what the Illini need to get back to the NCAA Tournament. Brandon Paul, Joseph Bertrand, D. J. Richardson, and Tyler Griffey are coming into a program at just the right time. Beset by defections and graduation, Weber and the Illini need some positive reinforcement to take place within the program. Paul, a 6'3 guard from Warren High School in Gurnee, can move up and down the court much like Richardson, also a 6'3 guard from the basketball factory of Peoria, Illinois. However, Richardson is away at prep school in Henderson, Nevada this season to concentrate on academics before enrolling at Illinois. Bertrand, a 6'5 guard from Sterling, is the reigning Class 3A slam dunk champion in the state, and may be versatile at either the 2 or the 3 position. Griffey, the lone out-of-stater from Wildwood, Missouri, is a 6'9 forward that has had the Illini on his radar for several years. His high school coach also coached former Illini Robert Archibald, giving instant credibility to the program. On the court, the Illini opened up the season with a pair of wins, defeating Eastern Washington 66-50 and Texas A & M - Corpus Christi 72-53, both at the Assembly Hall. In the win over TAMCC, sophomore Mike Davis showed some potential, recording a double double, scoring 20 points and grabbing 14 rebounds in the win. Things get a bit tougher for Weber and his young team when they travel to Nashville, Tennessee for their first road game on Thursday night against Vanderbilt (7:00 pm CT, Fox Sports Midwest). The Commodores are coached by Kevin Stallings, who is a close and personal friend of Weber's from their days at Purdue.
Illinois women's basketball coach Jolette Law was also busy on signing day, inking six players to letters of intent. Those players are as follows: Adrienne GodBold (Marshall HS, Chicago, Ill.), Brianna Jones (Central Catholic HS, Toledo, Ohio), Kersten Magrum (Lincoln-Way East HS, Frankfort, Ill.), Amber Moore (Country Day HS, Detroit, Mich.), Karisma Penn (Shaker Heights HS, Shaker Heights, Ohio) and Destiny Williams (Benton Harbor HS, Benton Harbor, Mich). This class has been ranked #2 nationally, meaning that Law is trying to make good on her promise to put Illinois women's basketball on the national map and bring a championship to Champaign. The Illini women have also begun their season, and so far, things are looking pretty good. A win last Friday against Indiana-Purdue Fort Wayne 64-44, and a home win against Eastern Illinois 49-45 last Sunday ahead of the men's game, is just the way Law wanted to start things out. With only 9 scholarship players, minutes are up for grabs and a total team effort needs to occur each night out for continued success. The Illini will battle Missouri at the Assembly Hall on Wednesday night (8:30 pm CT, Big Ten Network) to try and keep up the favorable start to the new season.
It has come down to this for Ron Zook and his Illini football team. Win and become bowl eligible, or lose and watch other teams battle in bowls for the upcoming holiday season. The Illini couldn't get it done last Saturday, falling to Ohio State 30-20 for Senior Day at Memorial Stadium. This has not been the season that these seniors envisioned at the start of the season. Fresh off a Rose Bowl appearance, the Illini wanted to improve on their 8-4 record and possibly play another meaningful bowl game. Instead, the Illini find themselves literally against the wall, needing a win against Northwestern (2:30 pm CT, Big Ten Network) on Saturday to get that all-important sixth win that will make them bowl eligible. Now, getting a win on Saturday doesn't mean that the Illini will get a bowl bid. Based on attendance figures, the Illini would be a better choice than some 7-5 teams, such as, ironically, Northwestern. But, how do you choose a 6-6 team (assuming Illinois wins) over a 7-5 team? Not an easy task at all. Northwestern will be up for this game, as they always are when facing their in-state rival. The main knock on Zook as of late has been his coaching ability in key situations. The removal of Juice Williams against the Buckeyes was more or less just a wake-up call, and you will see #7 behind center when the Illini take the field against the Wildcats on Saturday. When Zook was at Florida, he was known as a great recruiter, but not a good game coach. Similar patterns are beginning to develop during his tenure at Illinois as well. Zook continues to bring in top level players, but with as much talent that is on this team now, you would think that consecutive winning seasons would be in order. This has caused concern that some of the recruits that have given soft verbals may be wanting to reconsider and re-open their options. Failure to secure these prospective recruits could signal an alarming message to the program. Then again, these players could see this as a positive in knowing that the team needs help and they could step right in and play immediately. Losing Brit Miller, Ryan McDonald, Xavier Fulton and David Lindquist will no doubt hurt, and rumors are abound that junior cornerback Vontae Davis is going to skip his senior year to enter the NFL draft. However this plays out, the Illini need this win on Saturday to restore some credibility to the program because it has been awhile, a long while, since Illinois made consecutive bowl appearances.
Janet Rayfield's Illini women's soccer team has been moving through the NCAA Tournament this past week, and have advanced to the round of 16, putting them in some pretty select company. The Illini will travel to Chapel Hill, North Carolina on Saturday to face the North Carolina Tar Heels, who have been the face of success in collegiate soccer over the past two decades. Rayfield is no stranger to the Tar Heels, having played there and helped them to their first national title back in 1982. This is the third appearance in the Sweet 16 for the Illini in the last five years, all in the Rayfield tenure. Tall order may it be, the fact remains that the Illini are poised to keep their season going, no matter what it takes.
Finally, volleyball was also in action this past week, and like the basketball teams, they signed some more talent as well for 2009. 6-1 outside hitter Jessica Jendryk (Wheaton, Ill./Benet Academy) , 6-3 middle blocker Erin Johnson (Crystal Lake, Ill./Crystal Lake South) , and 5-9 setter Jackie Wolfe (Wheaton, Ill./Wheaton-Warrenville South H.S.) will join Don Hardin's squad next year, and will add to some pretty stellar talent already in place. On the court, the Illini dropped a match to top-ranked Penn State last Friday night, and came back with wins over Indiana at Huff Hall, and Purdue on the road. In the match against the Nittany Lions, Penn State won in three games, and what is more impressive is that they have not lost a single game this season. The Illini will wrap up their regular season this weekend when they host Michigan State for senior night.
Is that enough sports for ya? This is only one week's worth, which means they'll be more this week, and the next, and.......

Don't look now, but..........

What in the name of Red Grange is going on? After a successful run to the Rose Bowl in 2007, the Fighting Illini football team finds themselves on the outside looking in at the bowl picture just one year later. The latest setback, a 23-17 loss to Western Michigan at spacious Ford Field in Detroit, Michigan. If ever there was a trap game, this one was it. Playing out of conference so late in the season, and for that matter, out of their element as well, the Illini made the trip up to Detroit to take on the Broncos, who came into the game at 7-2. After the Illini had beaten Iowa the week before on a field goal by Matt Eller with just 24 seconds remaining, momentum was on their side. Or, was it? Picture this if you will. Ford Field seats 65, 000 fans, but the announced attendance was just under 13,ooo. Now, I'm no mathematician, but that doesn't compute to me. To add insult to injury, no local markets picked up the game on television, so fans had to resort to either listening to Brian Barnhart and Kurt Kittner call the action on the Illini Sports Network (not a bad option, by the way), or get to a local watering hole that actually ponied up the money to get the telecast (there weren't many). The only other option was to find a computer that somehow got ESPN360, where the game was streamed online. Not that the fans missed much by not seeing this one. Before a crowd that wouldn't fill the Assembly Hall, the Illini were outplayed for much of the game. Sure, the Illini took an early lead as they often do, but then they watched the Broncos reel off 17 unanswered points to trail 20-7 at the half. Juice Williams was able to throw for over 300 yards once again, and his favorite target, Arrelious Benn, once again eclipsed the century mark in receiving yards. But this team needs to be about more than just Juice and Regus, as they are affectionately known to fans and media alike. They simply are not getting the job done, and losing to a MAC team at a neutral site is about the tip of the iceberg in terms of frustration. Ron Zook always manages to try to explain what went wrong, and vows that they will get whatever it is wrong fixed, but as the season nears its end, the Illini and the coaching staff are still looking for answers. Is it really asking too much for the Illini to put together back-to-back solid games, that end up in the win column? I guess this kind of all started with the opening game back in late August in St. Louis, as the defense allowed Missouri to run and pass them ragged, en route to a 52-42 loss. The Illini did win two in a row early on in the season, but they barely beat Louisiana-Lafayette, and didn't play that well in the game. Winning at Michigan was a start, but Michigan is way down this year and Indiana, who the Illini also beat, is even worse than that. Left on the schedule this season are two games that could go either way. Ohio State comes to Memorial Stadium this Saturday (11:00 am CST, ESPN), and then the Illini travel to Evanston to face in-state rival Northwestern the following Saturday. Currently sitting at 5-5 overall and 3-3 in the Big Ten, the Illini know what they need to do to secure a bowl berth. They need to win out, because a split would put them at 6-6, which would be bowl eligible, but not necessarily a given. Ohio State is beatable, but they are still playing for plenty themselves and have fared rather well in Champaign the last few visite, winning the last 6. Northwestern is streaky, and can either light it up on oppenents, or hiccup and let one get away. The Buckeyes have one of the best young quarterbacks in the country in Terrelle Pryor, and this ought to be fun watching Juice and Terrelle go at it. Also, a split in these last two games could very well send the Illini right back to Detroit for bowl season, as the Big Ten has a tie-in to the Motor City Bowl, slated for the day after Christmas at Ford Field. The MAC also ties into that bowl, so you could very well see the Illini matching up against either Ball State, Central Michigan, or Western Michigan again. But, I'm getting a bit ahead of myself. Coaches don't look ahead past opponents, and neither should I. The Buckeyes are the focus this week, and the Illini need to worry about beating them first before any talk of the Wildcats hit the floor.
It's not that Zook isn't getting talent to come to Illinois. With the likes of Juice, Regus, Vontae Davis, Martez Wilson, and others, he has proven that he is a dynamic recruiter. Zook was fired at Florida 5 years ago because he wasn't meeting expectations for whatever reason. Some here in Champaign have begun to see that maybe his in-game coaching could have been the reason for his seperation from Gainesville, because his successor down there, Urban Meyer, seems to be doing fairly well. We are seeing the last of the Ron Turner recruits exit out of the program, and Zook has some more recruits ready to come in next season as well. Guys like WR Kraig Appleton of East St. Louis, DE Craig Drummond of Chicago, and QB Nathan Scheelhaase of Kansas City, Missouri headline another nationally ranked class for Zook. Add Florida transfer Jarrod Fayson to the mix, and things should continue to look up for the Illini. There should be ample cause for these freshmen to step right in and play, because Zook has shown that he is not afraid to play freshmen. Now, they need to get over the hump and secure that second straight bowl appearance, something that has not happened in Champaign-Urbana for quite a while. Is that too much to ask?
When previewing the Illini women's basketball team for 2008-09, a lot of space isn't necessary. It's not because of the coverage that the program has received over the past few years, but due primarily to the fact that there are only 9 scholarship players on the team. Coach Jolette Law, who is already making positive strides to reverse the program's direction previous bench boss Theresa Grentz sent it, came within one second of defeating Purdue in last year's Big Ten Tournament title game, which would have sent the Illini to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in quite a while. The two seniors on the team, Chelsea Gordon and Lacey Simpson, will be asked to assume leadership of a team that will have 6 newcomers out of the 9 players. Jenna Smith, the only other player that has experience at the Big Ten level, is a junior and is shaping her game to have a monster season. Law brought in Whitney Toone, a junior college transfer out of Brooklyn, New York to play forward, and add redshirt freshman Lydia McCully as a sharpshooting guard. Four other freshmen dot the roster, and will be asked to help out almost immediately. Macie Blinn, from Greenville, Ohio will play guard, as will Fabiola Josil (Coral Springs, Florida) and Eboni Mitchell (Decatur, Georgia). Joining them will be 6'3 forward Lana Rukavina, from Wheeling, Illinois. Out of the nine players, seven hail from out of the state of Illinois. Coach Law has vowed to recruit the state from top to bottom to find the best players to bring to Illinois, but is also not afraid to bring in players outside the state's borders. On Wednesday, both the mens and women's teams will finally be able to sign their recruits for the 2009 seasonat National Letter of Intent signing day. Law will be bringing in 5 new players that day, and men's coach Bruce Weber will be getting 4. I'll have complete coverage of the new players and how they expect to fit into the respective mixes later in the week. Stay tuned for that.