3 steps to sanity for Illinois basketball fans

So, you say that you're having trouble dealing with the current basketball season at the University of Illinois? Well, let me tell you, things aren't as bad as they seem. Yes, the Fighting Illini are encountering a down year, but then again, all teams sooner or later go through this. Despite what people keep telling me, Illinois fans are spoiled, because they have been used to cheering on winning teams for nearly a decade now, and the first sign of trouble in paradise, they want to run the head coach out of town. 2005 seems like a long time ago when the Illini went on that magical run to the National Championship game, but let's remember that there were 5 legitimate pro prospects on that team, and this year's crop is nowhere close to that caliber. So, with that being said, here are 5 steps that you, the Fighting Illini fan can do to keep the faith.
1. Support the team anyway- I know it is hard to support a team that keeps going down to defeat game in and game out, but fans are fans for several reasons, and this is one of them. In looking at the Assembly Hall on game night the past couple of outings, there have been a lot of people disguised as empty seats. Believe it or not, the team needs your support and if you are not there cheering them on, then they will think that you have given up hope. I realize that people are busy, and this year especially people are finding things to do rather than go to the Assembly Hall. If you have tickets that you are not going to use, why not give them to a friend, so they can experience the ambience that is Assembly Hall. A full house speaks volumes, and it also looks good when the games are broadcast on the Big Ten Network!
2. Wear your colors proud- Okay, so the Chief is no longer dancing at halftime, but that doesn't stop many of the faithful from going through the motions of the 'Three In One'. It really is a sight to behold, and if the story isn't conveyed to the younger generation, I'm afraid in 20 years or so if it is still being done, many will wonder what is happening. Of course, many Illini fans still proudly wear their Chief Illiniwek attire to sporting events, but I've heard grumblings from people that say that they don't feel right wearing it anymore. I guess to each their own, but until the "thought police" outlaw such behavior, it still should be done.
3. Look to the future- I know this one may be tough for people on the anti-Bruce Weber bandwagon, but the next couple of years should be very exciting. We may not win the Big Ten title next year, but at least we will have a couple of pure shooters that will be back with the club. Transfer Alex Legion will be eligible after the fall semester, and Jamar Smith should be cleared to play following redshirting this past season. Then, the news gets even better for 2009, when several players are set to join the Illini. Guys like Brandon Paul, D. J. Richardson, Joseph Bertrand, Jereme Richmond and Crandall Head will undoubtedly bring the Illini back up to where they were a few years ago. Just look what it did to Ron Zook's football team. Also, Bruce informed us today that he has been looking at a seventh grader. A SEVENTH GRADER!! That might be a bit much, but I guess you have to start somewhere. Weber goes on to say that the kid actually looked pretty good, but wouldn't even consider a commitment from anybody like that until they at least get into high school. At any rate, the future looks very bright, so if Illini Nation can get past this year and possible next year as well, then things will improve.
There, that ought to about cover it. Remember, this is just a basketball game, and there is certainly more worth fretting over than how the Illini are doing. This little bump in the road will pass along soon enough, and if the future holds true, the Illini will be back to battling for Big Ten Championships rather than sweating over making the "Big Dance".

A Work In Progress

Those of you that have been anticipating the first meeting between Illinois and Indiana on the basketball court, your wait is now over. On Sunday afternoon, the two teams met for the first time in the Eric Gordon era, and the results were somewhat surprising, given the path each has taken thus far in the 2007-08 college basketball season. Unless you've been living under a rock for the past year and a half, you all know the saga that I am referring to. Gordon, one of the premier recruits in the country, gave Bruce Weber an oral commitment during his junior year, only to reneg on the agreement when the coaching shakedown at Indiana took place near the end of that school year. What followed has haunted Illinois ever since. Mike Davis, now the coach at Alabama-Birmingham, stepped down under harsh criticism from the Hoosier faithful, and his successor, Kelvin Sampson, was brought into the program. This changed the Gordons' mind on where their son should attend, and Sampson recruited him hard, and eventually, Gordon ended up at Indiana. Now, Eric Gordon is a sensational player and a sure lottery pick in the NBA draft next year, but every time the two schools are mentioned in the same breath, this recruiting war keeps resurfacing. Dateline Sunday, Assembly Hall, Bloomington, Indiana: The Hoosiers, in the midst of a great season get set to take on the Illini, who are having a rare down year. Nobody, including yours truly, thought that Illinois had much of a chance in this game. But, stranger things have happened, and the Illini kept the game relatively close. If you've been paying attention lately, the recipe to beat the Illini is to play a zone defense. Sampson played man-to-man, and whether that was out of necessity or just plain stubbornness on his part, it kept Illinois in the ballgame until the bitter end. Gordon did lead the Hoosiers with 17 points, but he struggled from the field and didn't really get going until the second half. The return trip to Illinois promises to be more dramatic, as the Illini crowd and the Orange Krush will let Mr. Gordon and his coach hear just what they think of him. From press row, this ought to be a hoot. Coupled with the Illini's loss at Wisconsin earlier in the week, they have put two decent games together, but Bo Ryan played a lot of man defense in that game as well. The key is will the Illini fare this well when they have to face a zone for 40 minutes? I like what Weber is doing with the lineup, playing some of the young players such as Demetri McCamey. Mike Tisdale and Mike Davis. At this point, it doesn't hurt to play the youth and give them some valuable experience for next season and beyond. Meanwhile, Jamar Smith and Alex Legion can only observe from the sidelines and wonder "what if...". They will get their chance next season, when the Illini will be a year older and playing without Brian Randle and Shaun Pruitt, their two seniors. Nothing against this duo, but Randle sometimes disappears because of foul trouble, and Pruitt is just not as physical as his stature indicates. Chester Frazier is battling a ribcage injury, but you couldn't tell it the other night against the Badgers, as he was diving out of bounds for loose balls. Frazier didn't play against the Hoosiers, and will rest up for the Illini's next contest against Michigan (Wednesday, 8:00 pm central time, Big Ten Network). The next few games will be the key for the Illini, because if they continue to play like they have the last couple of games and find a way to win some games, the season may not be a total wash after all. Yes, the NCAA Tournament looks like a pipe dream at this point, since the Illini currently stand at 8-9 overall and winless in 4 tries in Big Ten play, but the NIT is still a possibility. The last time the Illini had a sub-.500 record was in 1997-98, a year in which they came back to win the Big Ten title. Don't expect this team to achieve that, because frankly, the talent level is just not there. When the time comes for the Big Ten Tournament, however, the Illini could potentially be a spoiler and make a decent run. You never know with this team.

Now that football season is over and the new semester underway at Illinois, Ron Zook has eight players that have enrolled for the spring semester and will be able to take part in the workout drills beginning in March. The players are as follows: Jeff Allen (Chicago King) Lineman, Reggie Ellis (Dunbar HS - Washington, DC) Lineman, Jarred Fayson (Tampa, Florida) Back - transfer from Florida, Mikel LeShoure (Champaign Centennial) Back, Whitney Mercilus (Akron, Ohio) Lineman, Graham Pocic (Lemont, Illinois) Lineman, Fred Sykes (Tampa, Florida) Back, and Ashante Williams (Mayfield, Ohio) Back. This proves that Zook is reloading the talent pool for next season, and even though he is losing some good talent to graduation and the NFL, the future looks bright. Fayson (pictured at right) is an explosive player that played for the Gators last season, but will transfer to the Illini and form quite a speed duo with Aurellious Benn. With talent like this, one would think that another trip to a major bowl is just around the corner.

Back To The Basics

After a month of preparation, the Fighting Illini football team ventured to play in its first postseason bowl game in six years, as they traveled to sunny Southern California to face USC in the grandaddy of them all, the Rose Bowl. It had nearly been 24 years since the Illini had last played in Pasadena, and sadly, the result was nearly the same as that fateful day in 1984. In what was perhaps the hottest team in the country at the time, the Trojans flattened the Illini 49-17, in a game that was pretty much over by halftime. One of the bright spots in an otherwise dull game was the rushing of Rashard Mendenhall. Mendenhall, who had 155 yards on 17 carries, broke a 79 yard touchdown run early in the third quarter to pull the Illini to within 11 at 21-10. However, it would be the closest that the Illini would get on this night, as it was dominated by the Trojans and their offense, which is led by quarterback John David Booty. The Illini did offer a glimpse of the future late in the game, when Eddie McGee hit Aurellious Benn for a 56 yard touchdown pass. Benn, who is a freshman, will be one of the bright stars next season, along with cornerback Vontae Davis and linebacker Brit Miller. Ron Zook has another stellar recruiting class lined up for next season, so the chances of the Illini returning to a big time bowl game will be pretty good for the next several years to come.

Speaking of next year, it looks as if the Illini will have to endure without Mendenhall, who is expected to make his decision to enter the NFL draft later in the week. Mendenhall has called a news conference for Thursday, where the decision should be made. Zook stands behind whatever Rashard wants to do, and given the season that he had, should be taken pretty high on draft day. Sure, Rashard Mendenhall will be missed, but the Illini will reload with another quality back to replace him.

What in the world has happened to the Illini men's basketball team? We knew going into this season that the offense would be a question mark, but what has happened so far in the 2007-08 season I don't think anyone expected. The shooting has been a nightmare, and the worst part about it is that a possible solution cannot do anything about it. Jamar Smith, who is sitting out this season due to suspension, is still far and away the team's best shooter day in and day out at practice, and when he returns for the 2008-09 season, the offense will respond accordingly. But until then, Illini Nation is left to deal with the fact that the Assembly Hall is not the intimidating place that it once was. Three straight losses will tell you that. The Tennessee State loss was devastating, and Ohio State was probably expected as well. However, the Penn State game was there for the taking, and this team just does not have the will to take these close games. You can blame Bruce Weber, as many have done. After all, it is his responsibility to get the players motivated and that clearly is not being done. You see, Illini fans have been spoiled the last few years, as they have rooted on the team in countless NCAA Tournaments, as well as a Final Four appearance in 2005. You can blame the players, because, after all, they are the ones who are out there on the court making (or in some cases, not making) plays. Guys like Chester Frazier, Shaun Pruitt and Brian Randle, veterans on this team, should be leaders by now. Nobody has really stepped up. Randle cannot stay on the floor without committing fouls, Frazier, when he is on the court, looks like a lost deer in the headlights, and Pruitt, who should be muscling in the paint to put the ball up, has shown flashes, but doesn't seem to know how to put together two quality halves of basketball in the same game. The younger guys, like Rodney Alexander, Mike Davis and Mike Tisdale, don't get the minutes the aforementioned players do, and maybe they should. After all, Weber has repeatedly said that changes are on the way, yet he trots out the same starting lineup game in and game out. After the loss to the Nittany Lions, it appears that freshman Demetri McCamey may have earned a starting spot, either for Frazier, Trent Meacham, or Calvin Brock. McCamey almost singlehandedly brought the Illini back, but even he couldn't do it all. Free throws are an entirely separate issue for this team. By far the worst in the league, they don't do themselves any favors whenever they take a trip to the charity stripe. The term 'free throw', has been anything but free this year, and quite possibly could have lost the Illini several games for their lack of being able to put the ball through the basket. This is evident, even in the defeat to Penn State. The loss puts the Illini at 8-7 overall, and more importantly 0-2 in the Big Ten, which is not a good start at all. The NCAA Tournament is out of reach, and if the season continues at the current pace, so will be the NIT. So, back to Weber and what to do about the season. As I said before, he has taken some harsh criticism by many of the faithful lately, and I can see where these people are coming from. Sure, they will say that he is recruiting the way his mentor, Gene Keady did, and this team is beginning to resemble the Purdue teams that he coached. Weber showed a flash of Keady aganst Penn State, when he flung his sportcoat off during the game. What it might take to get this team back is to find a way, any way, to get ejected out of a ballgame. It appears that Weber has lost this team, and as a result, the season has been lost as well.

However, all hope is not lost, as the Weber critics fail to admit. The recruiting horizon looks bright, and it got a little brighter this past week when Alex Legion transferred in from Kentucky. Legion, who had wavered off and on about leaving the Wildcat program, apparently was swayed when Jerrance Howard was hired as an assistant at Illinois. It was Howard who was instrumental in bringing Legion to Lexington, and when Jerrance joined Weber's staff, it gave Legion the notion that he might be better off in Champaign. Sitting courtside on the team bench, he certainly is getting the idea that he can help this team, even though he won't be eligible to do so until after the Fall semester of 2008. So, with Jamar and Alex both watching and waiting, perhaps the two best shooters on the team cannot do anything about their teammates' offensive ineptitude. Weber was quoted as saying that it was a tough scout squad at practice on Saturday, with Legion and Smith doing their best to show the current Illini team what they are missing.

The news gets better still. On Sunday, Crandall Head, younger brother of former Illini and current Houston Rocket Luther Head, verbally announced that he will play for Weber. Head, a 6-4 sophomore, may be even better than his older brother, as was evidenced at the News-Gazette Shootout At The Hall, where he led his Rich South Stars team with 34 points. Head will join fellow recruit Jereme Richmond, as 2 of the Class of 2010. With Stan Simpson set to join the team next year, and then Joseph Bertrand, D. J. Richardson, Brandon Paul on board for 2009, the future looks bright. So, back off the ledge Illini doubters. This season may be lost, but hope should not be. This team will once again return to their glory days. You can bet on it.

Finally, the Illini women's basketball team has hit a bit of a snag, losing their second straight conference road game, this time to Indiana 70-62 at Bloomington. The loss, coupled with a tough 49-48 setback to Penn State last Wednesday night, finishes a tough week for Jolette Law's squad, who fall to 10-5 overall and 2-2 in the Big Ten. Law still has the Illini playing at a higher level than her predecessor, and expect better results in the coming weeks. Just don't expect a free throw shooting contest against the men.

Christmas Wishes - Illini Style

As the holidays come and go, it is a time to get together with family and exchange gifts with one another. Not to be outdone this year, I have a few wishes of my own, from an Illini perspective. So, without further adieu, here are my holiday wants for the Illini:

1) a shooting guard for the Illini basketball team. Bruce Weber probably never envisioned something like this happening to his squad, but with the recent events of the past year in the rear view mirror, it has become apparent that the Illini are sorely missing a perimeter shooter that can hit the mark consistently. Trent Meacham seems to be the most accurate these days, but perhaps the best shooter on the team is not even playing this season. Jamar Smith, who is suspended for the 2007-08 season for his actions in a traffic accident back in February, continues to shoot lights out in practice, but cannot take that marksmanship into game action. Chester Frazier is in a funk this season, and the shots that he does take are not good percentage ones. Help is on the way, though, as Alex Legion, who transferred to Illinois from Kentucky early this week, will become eligible for spring semester of 2009. Yes, that's a year away, but the Illini will also have Smith back by then (if all goes well), and hopefully the woes that have befallen Illinois in the past few games will be a distant memory.

2) a Rose Bowl victory for the Illini football team. I would like to lift a glass of egg nog in honor of Ron Zook, and the transformation that he has given the football program since his arrival in 2005. Sure, the road has been a rough one, but the players on the team persevered and kept the future down the road in their view, and now that time has come. The Fighting Illini are Pasadena bound, and by the time you read this blog entry, should have landed in sunny Southern California and will begin preparing for what amounts to the biggest game in most of these players' lives. Zook is a mastermind from a recruiting standpoint, and he keeps bringing players into the program, now able to pick and choose from a stellar list of prospects. With this team having come so far in just a short time, what else is there to wish for? Maybe a national championship in 2008?

3) some respect for Jolette Law. The new leader of the women's basketball team is beginning to turn heads, but not turnstiles just yet. All Law has done has propelled the women to an 8-3 non-conference record as the team heads into conference play on Thursday night at Northwestern (7:00 pm, Big Ten Network). Sophomore forward Jenna Smith has been anything but average so far this season, garnering her third Big Ten player of the week honor this past week. To get that honor, she had another monster game against Missouri, scoring 19 points and pulling down 16 rebounds for a solid double-double. Smith's play is just one of the reasons why this installment of women's basketball is one to take notice of (they are plain good, folks). See for yourself this coming Sunday, when they take on Wisconsin after the men's game that day. Your ticket for the men's game is good for admission to the women's game, so
that's another good reason to check them out.

4) an NCAA tournament bid for both basketball teams this year. Normally this isn't an issue with the men's team, but for reasons previously discussed, this season nothing is a given. The Big Ten is down this year, and the clear cut favorites are Michigan State and Indiana. After that, it's anyone's guess as to how it will play out. The Illini finally got that marquee win, a 59-58 win over Missouri in the Braggin' Rights Game in St. Louis last Saturday, their eighth straight in the series. However, they have some clunkers on their resume too, namely a loss to Miami of Ohio last week at the Assembly Hall. For the men to get in, they will have to get it done within the conference. As for the women, they are in much better shape, and if they keep their noses clean in Big Ten play, an invite on selection Monday should be forthcoming.

There, that about covers it, doesn't it? Not too much to ask, don't you think? I hope everyone got what they wanted for Christmas, and we'll see you in 2008!

Shootout At The Hall showcases future Illini talents

On a snowy day in Champaign-Urbana, the Assembly Hall was lively, as the second annual News-Gazette Shootout At The Hall displayed some of the talents that could soon be donning the orange and blue. With coach Bruce Weber and the entire Illini basketball team in attendance, the shootout got off to an explosive start with the second game of the day, in which the Centennial Chargers defeated the Rich South Stars 62-60. Crandall Head, younger brother of former Illini and current Houston Rockets player Luther Head, scored 34 points to almost take the Stars to victory. Head, a 6'3 sophomore, was running and shooting all over the court, and displayed some excitement for the many Illini fans in attendance. In the next game, two Illini recruits went head-to-head, D. J. Richardson, a 6'2 junior guard against Joseph Bertrand, a 6'5 junior. Richardson plays for Peoria Central, while Bertrand plays for Sterling. Even though both players had their share of good plays, remember that they are still only juniors, and that their games could bet even better next year. Still, it is a thrill for these players to take the court where they will be playing their college basketball. Just like current Illini players Mike Tisdale and Bill Cole, who both played in the shootout last season, the experience gets them used to playing in this atmosphere, which is often different than their high school games normally are. Personally, I think that Richardson's game is a little better than Bertrand's at the moment, but Bertrand does show some potential to be even better, so the roles could be reversed next season. Nevertheless, under the watchful eye of Weber, these players hopefully instilled
the confidence that they are being worth followed.
In the next game, another Illini recruit, Brandon Paul, took the floor for Warren Township in Gurnee against New Trier. Paul, who is a 6'2 junior, has pretty good skills now, and with another year of seasoning, should be a nice addition to the Fighting Illini family. New Trier has a 6'4 sophomore, Alex Rossi, who the Illini are looking at. Assistant coaches Wayne McClain, Gary Nottingham and Jerrance Howard were all milling around during this game, watching the action. What impressed me in this game was not Paul or Rossi, but the outside shooting of guard Jack Boehm of New Trier. Don't get me wrong, Paul looked good, but this Boehm kid was lights out for the Trevians. Boehm, who plays along with his twin brother Peter, had 13 points at the half, and finished with 27 points. Brandon did get things going in the fourth quarter, and at the end of the first half, he banked in a shot that was estimated at about 55 feet at the buzzer.
I mentioned earlier that there were a lot of Illini fans in attendance, and orange was present all over the Assembly Hall. The next game featured even more orange, as the Peoria Manual Rams took on the Waukegan Bulldogs and yet another recruit for Weber, 6'6 sophomore Jereme Richmond. Richmond was the player that indicated interest in Illinois before his freshman year. Richmond is quite a player, and if he works on his game, he should be quite a player when he hits the collegiate ranks.
Not forgotten by any stretch of the imagination is the football team, who continues its preparation for the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California on New Year's Day. The Illini, who finished the regular season at 9-3 overall, are the only team to be in the BCS with 3 losses. This fact is not getting them much love from the national media, which is not surprising. And, to some extent, can you blame them? After all, this is a team that won just 4 games in the past 2 seasons, and here they reel off 5 straight to elevate themselves to the upper echelon of the Big Ten standings. I'm sure they would like to have the Iowa and Michigan games back, because this could be an even greater story if that were the case. Ron Zook, who grew up in Ohio, always dreamed of coaching in the Rose Bowl, but until this year, had never been given the opportunity to do so. Zook credits the dedication of the upperclassmen for persevering through some bleak times to get over the hump. But, emphatic as he is on the topic, insists that they still are not where they need to be. The number and quality of recruits that he is bringing in shows proof of that. The bar has been set higher, and the Illini will strive to get over that bar next season. They will finish up practice this week and then the team will spend Christmas with their families before re-convening after the holidays to fly out towards California on Christmas night. Regardless of the outcome, this is the feel good story of the year in Illini athletics and Illini Nation should enjoy the ride that this team is giving them.
While the basketball team was idle for 9 days for final exams, it gave them a chance to regroup and focus on the task at hand, which is winning ballgames. So far in the 2007-08 campaign, the Illini have only taken the Assembly Hall floor for 2 regular season games, but that is set to change in the next couple of weeks, as the Illini play 6 of their next 7 games at home. The barrage of home cooking begins on Monday night, when the Catamounts of Western Carolina come to visit (7:00 pm Central time, Big Ten Network), followed by a Thursday evening tilt against Miami of Ohio (6:00 pm, Central time, BTN). Then, the Illini are off to St. Louis to play in the annual Busch Braggin' Rights game against Missouri at the ScottTrade Center. With the flurry of activity upcoming, Coach Weber hopes that this will give his guys some continuity, despite playing only 1 game in the past 2 weeks. Senior Shaun Pruitt is coming off a career high in points with 24 in the loss to Arizona back on December 8, and for the Illini to become a team to be reckoned with in the Big Ten Conference, they will need more of the same from Pruitt, as well as veterans Brian Randle and Chester Frazier. Randle is once again battling the injury bug, and Frazier needs to find his shot once again. The Illini enter play with the Catamounts at 5-3 overall.

Preparing For Pasadena

Rewind a little bit with me for a minute to October 22, 2005, a night that Ron Zook would love to forget. The scene is Memorial Stadium at halftime of a game that Penn State is running away with 56-3. After the Marching Illini and Chief Illiniwek exits the field, there is a mass exodus out of the stadium, as the crowd has seen enough. Coach Zook told his team that night that it was the lowest point of his coaching career, and this would be the worst that it would ever get for the players on the field that night. Zook later said that Penn State "took everything but the equipment" that night, but something else happened that night, unbeknownst to everyone but perhaps the coaching staff. It was that evening that Juice Williams and Vontae Davis committed to the Illini, and Chris James was persuaded to jump on board as well. It seems hard to believe that just a little over two years later, Zook has his team preparing to play in the Rose Bowl, the "granddaddy of them all". Yes, there are people out there that believe that the Illini sneaked in the back door to the BCS, and those are the same people that are clamoring a playoff system like the one that the FCS, or the old Division 1-AA uses. Still, it is Illinois that will be matching up against the USC Trojans on New Year's Day, a true matchup of Big Ten vs. Pac-10, the way the Rose Bowl was set up to be. This year's team has been besieged with awards, and they continue well into the layoff leading up to the most anticipated football game that Illinois has played in many years. I believe this even foreshadows the Sugar Bowl back in 2001, mainly because it has been 24 years since the Illini have played in Pasadena. As the Illini continue to get ready for the Men of Troy, the recruiting continues to shine. The number of recruits totals 24 as of Tuesday, with A. J. Jenkins the latest to give a commitment. Jenkins is a receiver that will complement Arrelious Benn very nicely. What makes this one especially sweet is that we beat out Florida for A.J.'s services. With the high level of recruits coming in for next year, it seems a good bet that the Illini will be very much in the national title hunt. So what do you think? Did Illinois sneak their way into the BCS? I would be interested in hearing what everyone has to say on this.
What a difference a year makes for Bruce Weber and his Illini basketball team. If last Saturday's game against Arizona at the United Center is any indication of how this season will go, then it might be a long year for Weber and his crew. The Illini were defeated by the Wildcats 78-72 in overtime, and once again, it is a game that for all intensive purposes should have gone in the win column. The Illini started off really well, getting out to a quick 12-0 lead. However, free throw shooting has been a concern for the Illini over the past couple of seasons, and it pretty much cost them the game against the Wildcats. That and the erratic play of Chester Frazier, who seems like he is winging shots with reckless abandon, not knowing where they will end up. Shaun Pruitt, who was listed as questionable with an ankle injury, ended up playing and had the game of his career, scoring a personal high of 24 points on 10-11 from the field. The level of play needs to step up for the Illini, who fell to 5-3 with the loss. The 3 losses on the season are all to formidable opponents, but they need quality wins to boost their NCAA Tournament resume, right now void of a such victory. The Illini get to hit the books this week as final exams invade the campus. Then, next week it is a busy one, with games at home against Western Carolina and Miami of Ohio, then the annual Border War game against Missouri on December 22. Hopefully the rumblings about Weber and the Illini won't get too loud to ruin anybody's holiday. So, I pose this question to all of you readers out there. What do you think of the Illini basketball team this year? Do you think they are an NCAA tourney team at this point? Please let me know what you think.

Smell The Roses, Illini Nation!!!

The speculation is over, so let the journey begin! The Fighting Illini football team found out on Sunday evening that they will be heading to California for the holidays to play in the Rose Bowl Game, presented by Citi. Thought to be a glimmer of hope as late as two weeks ago, things just started to magically fall in place, and the Illini were being mentioned for BCS inclusion. Then, on Saturday, the unthinkable happened. For the Illini to be considered for Pasadena, three outcomes needed to occur. First, Boston College needed to lose to Virginia Tech, which happened. Next, West Virginia needed to be defeated by Pitt, which also took place. Finally, the Illini needed Oklahoma to defeat Missouri in the Big 12 Championship game, which would more than likely put Ohio State in the national title game on January 7th. The Sooners were able to get the job done, and all that was really left was the official announcement, which was handed down on Sunday evening. It has been 24 years since the Illini have played in the Rose Bowl, and the last visit wasn't very memorable. The Illini were defeated by UCLA 45-9, and it wasn't much of a contest from what I remember. This time around, the Illini will be facing Southern Cal, who is one of the better teams in the country and is playing that way. In a telephone interview on Sunday evening, Ron Zook was asked about the Trojans and he simply stated that "you want to have a chance to go against one of the nation's best, and we will get that chance, because USC is one of the best teams in the country". Aside from the fact that the Trojans play just minutes from the Rose Bowl gives them an edge right from the start. However, Zook thinks that there will be plenty of Illini orange in the stands, given the strong alumni representation in Southern California.
This is a remarkable story, mainly because it has taken Zook just 3 years to turn this program around and now has them in a BCS bowl for the first time since 2001. The seniors on the football team deserve this, and I am very happy for them. Now the fun begins, with alumni and season ticket holders trying to scrounge to get tickets for the game. The university will get an allotment of 25,000 tickets, which probably will get snapped up rather quickly. Then, add to the fact that airfare and hotel accomodations will not be cheap, puts the average fan to watching it on television. However, the diehards will find a way to get there, even if it breaks the bank for them. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity for most, and having been at the last BCS appearance for the Illini in New Orleans on New Year's Day 2002, I know the feeling. Sadly, I'll be sitting this one out, for reasons that I have already talked about in previous blog entries. I will, however, be covering as much as I can in the weeks that lead up to the game itself. As always, I welcome you comments and questions, football, or anything Illini.