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.

Are We There Yet? Not Quite.

The strain of a season full of expectations are finally starting to wear on Ron Zook, who is finding out that he might be more correct than he led on at the start of the season. The Fighting Illini are just 1 year removed from their Rose Bowl appearance, and after that game he mentioned that the team wasn't where they wanted to be yet. It's hard to tell the average Illini fan that, however. As I have said numerous times within the borders of this blog, Illini fans are a fickle group and the slightest teeter between the negative and the positive will usually cause wild fan comments. When things are going good, such as last year, then everyone is on top of the world and the talk of erecting a statue of Zook was a frequent topic. But, when things aren't going so well, then things get a little different. After a 55-13 dismantling of Indiana back on October 18, the Illini had regained some of that swagger that had eluded them much of this season. The Illini were poised to travel to Wisconsin and face a Badger team that had not won a game in the Big Ten this season. If ever there was a trap game, this was it. The Illini fell behind early, but found the endzone at the start of the second quarter as Juice Williams hit Zach Becker, a freshman backup fullback from St. Joseph-Ogden for his first collegiate touchdown. Watching Zach come through the ranks for the Spartans gave me a lot of pride to see him finally catch his first pass of his career, much less it be for a score. However, the Illini couldn't stay out of their own way as penalties and turnovers once again proved to be the deciding factor as the Illini dropped to 2-3 in the Big Ten and 4-4 overall. If ever there was a must win for Zook and his Illinois team, it is this Saturday, when the Iowa Hawkeyes come to town for a visit (2:30 pm central time, ABC). A footnote regarding television for the game; those fans out of the Big Ten market will be able to see the game on ESPN. Iowa is one of those teams that is hard to figure out. They come in at 5-3 overall and 2-2 in league lay, and feature one of the better running backs in the conference in Shonn Greene. The Hawkeyes were on a bye last week, and haven't played since they beat Wisconsin 38-16 back on October 18. For the Illini to retain any hopes of getting a bowl bid, this game must go in the win column. That pretty much sums it up.
The curtain will rise on the 2008-09 Fighting Illini men's basketball team this coming Sunday afternoon when they host Florida Southern in an exhibition game at the Assembly Hall. The Illini will be young, and starting the season a little short-handed at guard play. The three seniors, Trent Meacham, Chester Frazier, and Calvin Brock will provide the leadership that will be sorely needed. The Illini had planned on having Jamar Smith back for another season, but you all know the story and how that particular chapter ended, so I won't go into any more detail on it. There are only two juniors on the team this year, juco transfer Dominique Keller and the ever re-appearing C. J. Jackson, who is done with football and wants to come back and give basketball another try. Keller, who hails from Texas, should give the Illini some depth down in the post. Jackson is a bruiser that may or may not factor in to the mix, given his fluctuating back and forth between sports. The conditioning will be undoubetedly the most difficult for Jackson, and we shall see how he handles all of it early on in the season. For sophomores, the Illini are absolutely loaded, as seven players dot the roster from that class. Mike Tisdale leads this group of upcoming stars, and will be expected to contribute to the void left by Shaun Pruitt, who graduated last year. Guard Demetri McCamey will need to keep his shooting skills in tact, because he will be one of the top guns early on. Mike Davis and Richard Semrau will also be expected to add some depth to the front line. Semrau, who has battled injuries and illness during his time as an Illini, seems to have put on some weight and is ready for the season to begin. Davis can be a wild card, and has good leaping ability for a 6'9 player. Bill Cole, who played sparingly as freshman, will also be asked to spell some of the post players. Jeff Jordan, who had some good moments last season, can also be that type of player who can come in and give McCamey and Meacham some needed rest. The final sophomore, Alex Legion, is the transfer from Kentucky, and must sit out the first part of the season as part of NCAA rules. He will become eligible in December after fall finals end. Legion could be that key that sparks the Illini once the Big Ten season begins. In summer workouts before the Smith debacle, Legion and Smith were the two best shooters on the team. The hard part here will be to keep Alex focused when it finally is his turn. The lone freshman on the team is Stan Simpson, a gangly 6'9 center, who may or may not be a factor this season. Nobody intends to redshirt at the start of a season, and according to Coach Bruce Weber, it is always ultimately up to the player to make that final decision. Whether or not Simpson decides to make that choice is anybody's guess right now, but if he doesn't and chooses to play, look for him to give Tisdale some much needed rest.
Now, looking at this roster, you really don't see an NCAA Tournament team, do you? This team could very well surprise some people, but it will be in the non-conference portion of the season where we will really see what this team is all about. A tough road contest at Vanderbilt, a United Center matchup with Georgia, and the Big 10/ACC Challenge game at home against Clemson will be three games that will tell a lot of this story. However the season plays out, one thing is clear. The 2009 recruits are on the way, and if they are as advertised, things could get fun again at the Assembly Hall. Illini fans just have to exhibit a little patience. No, really, I mean it.
Next week, I will preview the women's basketball outlook for the 2008-09 season, as well as get everyone caught up to speed on the fall sports scene on campus, and whether or not the Illini were able to get past Iowa and if their bowl hopes are still floating, or are flushed down the drain.

Unfinished business, or a work in progress?

Well, now that wasn't the way things were supposed to go. A beautiful October afternoon, many former alumni on hand to watch their beloved do battle, and a basketball court at one end of the stadium that was to stage the "biggest outdoor basketball practice" (more on that later). Then again, things happen for a reason, but the question I want to know is: Will the real Illinois football program please step forward? After an annihilation of Michigan one week earlier 45-20, the Illini finally returned home to their new renovated stadium with renewed hopes for a successful season and a possible warm destination for a bowl game. This one looked good on paper, but as the old saying goes, you don't play games on paper, and for good reason. The Illini, despite another good performance (at least numbers wise) from Juice Williams, who completed 26 of 41 passes for 462 yards and 2 touchdown passes, both going to true freshman A. J. Jenkins (right, #8) went down to defeat at the hands of Minnesota 27-20. Gopher coach Tim Brewster, who was making a homecoming of his own, came away the victor, and left scores of Illini fans exiting Memorial Stadium shaking their heads and wondering what they just witnessed. Brewster, who played tight end for the 1984 Illini Rose Bowl team, had to enjoy the feeling of knocking off his alma mater, and it was no secret that they were looking forward to coming in to Champaign with one thing on their minds. This continues a disturbing pattern for Illinois football teams of playing mediocre the year after a major bowl appearance. It happened in 1984 after the Illini went to the Rose Bowl (10-2 in 1983, 7-4 in 1984, but a free-fall after that). It also happened in 2002 after the Illini made their first ever BCS bowl appearance, the Nokia Sugar Bowl in New Orleans (10-2 in 2001, 5-7 in 2002, and everyone knows what happened after that). So, here we sit the season after another Rose Bowl trip, where the Illini went 9-4. Could they be heading in that direction again? The Illini currently sit at 3-3 overall, and even though there are 6 games left in the season, the prospects of running the table seem very unlikely at this point, especially with the likes of Ohio State, Wisconsin and Northwestern on the schedule.
Too much emphasis is put on trying to match a previous campaign, and it is not like Zook doesn't have the horses in place to make it happen. For the second straight week, Williams set a stadium record in offensive output, having totaled 503 yards against the Gophers after piling up 431 in the "Big House" against Michigan just one week earlier. Now the win over Michigan doesn't look as impressive after the Wolverines were blanked at home by Toledo 13-0. I heard several people mutter as they left the stadium on Saturday that they are looking forward to basketball season, which is eerily reminiscent of 2005, when similar remarks were overheard. Bottom line is, Illini fans are frustrated, and you figure that you ought to hold serve at home against teams that you should beat. Another one of those teams visit this coming Saturday night when Indiana pays a visit to Memorial Stadium (7:00 pm central time, Big Ten Network). The Hoosiers were thoroughly embarrassed against Iowa in Bloomington last Saturday 45-9, and will come into town reeling. But, for some reason, the Hoosiers always give the Illini their best game and this one will be no different. The Hoosiers have a quarterback that moves much like Juice does in Kellen Lewis. Hoosier coach Bill Lynch has stated that Lewis is questionable for the game, but everyone suspects that he will play. For the Illini to come out on top in this one, they need to cut down the mistakes, hold onto the ball, and convert their chances for points.
At least we're not Michigan.
Following the football game, the basketball program (see below) held what was deemed the "World's Biggest Basketball Practice", but given the disappointing end to the football game, not many people hung around to see the event. For starters, the court was at the south end of the football field, and not very well visible by people on the north end of the stadium. The court, made by Flex Court in Kewanee, was to be auctioned off after the scrimmage, and the starting bid was to be $12,500. It is rather uncertain if the Illini would have pulled out the win over the Gophers to see if more people would have stayed to watch the basketball team. By my guestimation, about 5-6,000 people remained in the stands, while many others decided to return to their pre-game tailgates for Homecoming. Still, a nice idea by the DIA in trying to get more people to stay.
The calendar may say October, but basketball season is just around the corner. Bruce Weber and Jolette Law unveiled their basketball teams to the media on Tuesday at Illini Basketball Media Day. Weber returns a young team that has 3 seniors, 2 juniors, 7 sophomores and 1 freshman. This will be a team that will attempt to come back after a 16-19 season that saw them just miss the NCAA Tournament by coming up short in the championship game of the Big Ten Tournament. On the flip side, Jolette Law will only have 9 players, with 2 seniors, 2 juniors, 1 sophomore, and 4 freshmen. Law's Illini also came up just short last season, getting even closer to the Big Ten Tournament title by losing to Purdue on a buzzer-beater. In the next couple of weeks, I will preview each of the teams, complete with analysis of position, leading up to the season openers for both squads in early November. Stay tuned for that.

Back home again............

After nearly a month on the road, including a bye week with no game at all, Ron Zook brings his charges home to Memorial Stadium to face Minnesota for Homecoming in Champaign-Urbana. The place where this tradition began many years ago, the Illini will be glad to get back in front of the faithful. Not that the last few weeks have been totally bad for the Illini, they split their two games and had a chance to relax and heal some injuries with the bye week. The back end of the two game road swing, a trip to Ann Arbor, where the Illini never seem to play very well. The result was much better than anticipated, as Illinois rolled the Wolverines 45-20 in what could be labeled the Juice Williams show. All Juice did was total 431 yards of total offense, throwing for 310 yards, and rushing for another 121. The performance set a Michigan Stadium record for an individual performance, one that is not likely to be broken for quite some time. Williams threw 2 touchdowns, one to Daniel Dufrene, and the other one to Jeff Cumberland, which totaled 77 yards. Arrelious Benn caught 6 balls for 122 yards, but did not reach the endzone. It is dominance such as this that gives one the thought that maybe this Illini team is not that far from contending for a Big Ten title. Sure, the loss to Penn State didn't help in that regard, and they still have games against Wisconsin and Ohio State left on the schedule, so this could be a tall order for the 2008 season. Nevertheless, the Illini are now 3-2 overall and 1-1 in Big Ten play coming into the game against Minnesota (11:00 am, ESPN). This game has irony written all over it, since the Golden Gophers are coached by Tim Brewster, who was a tight end for the Illini back in the 1980's. I'm sure that Brewster would like nothing more than to beat his alma mater, who took his Gophers to the woodshed last year, 44-17 at the Metrodome in Minneapolis. So, I'm sure that is weighing on his mind as well.
The next phase of the "Zook Zone" campaign will be unveiled on Saturday, when the Illini want the fans to "Rock The House". Fans are encouraged to bring their Zook Zone towels with them to the game and wave them when Minnesota has the ball. The fans are also encouraged to stand whenever the opponent has the ball, making Memorial Stadium a decided Illini Territory. Hey, if Penn State can have a "white-out" at Beaver Stadium, why can't Illinois do the same with the color orange? It would make for quite a spectacle, and I'm sure the players would thoroughly enjoy the atmosphere. So, whadda you say Illini fans, those of you going to the game on Saturday......MAKE SOME ILLI-NOISE!!
Immediately following the football game, Memorial Stadium will be transformed into the "World's Biggest Basketball Practice", showcasing both the mens and women's teams for the 2008-09 season. Flex Court Athletics, a company out of Kewanee, Illinois, is donating the playing surface for the event, which will take place in the horseshoe area of the stadium. Once the game clock hits zero, the players will come out and start warming up. Among the events to take place include a three-point shooting contest, slam dunk contest, and a short scrimmage. The DIA estimates that the event will last no longer than 45 minutes. So, if you're attending the game on Saturday, why not stick around a while longer and take in the first basketball practice in an outdoor venue.
Up next week, a full report from Illinois basketball media day, as well as a preview of the Chicago Bulls and Utah Jazz NBA exhibition game, which will be at the Assembly Hall next Friday night.

Over the past several seasons, the Illinois football program has enjoyed a resurgence, thanks in part to Ron Zook coming to take over a squad that was run into the ground by the former regime. This marginal success has spread to the NFL, where a quite a few ex-Illini have gone on to varying degrees of success. However, this past weekend was not a good one to be a former Illini player in the league, as the injury bug hit rather hard. First, Brandon Lloyd, now a receiver with the Bears, was injured during their game on Sunday night with Philadelphia and had to leave the game. Okay, so that's one, you say. Well, fast forward to Monday night, and the Steelers-Ravens game, in which Rashard Mendenhall was making the first start of his career for the injured Willie Parker. The spotlight, however, was short-lived, as Mendenhall fractured his shoulder and is done for the season. Enter in Mendenhall's backup, also a former Illini, Carey Davis. There must have been something in the water in Pittsburgh, because Davis also left the game with an injury. The thought brought to mind a Seinfeld episode, where son, father and grandfather are all laid up in bed after throwing their backs out. Picture Parker, Mendenhall and Davis in the same situation and, well, you get the idea. As far as I know, no other former Illini players went down over the weekend, but three is plenty for one weekend, don't you think?
Now to the playing field, as the Illini came off of their bye week with a trip to Happy Valley to battle Penn State, arguably the best team that the Illini has faced all season long. Amid "white out" conditions, the Illini broke out of the gate first against their hosts and looked rather well doing it. Both teams traded scores, and at the end of the first quarter, a 14-14 tie ensued, and it looked like it would be a high scoring game. But Penn State was ranked #12 for a reason, and they eventually wore the Illini down with their running game. Daniel Dufrene led the Illini on the ground with 96 yards on 14 carries, while Juice Williams ran the ball 18 times for 64 yards. Williams completed 13 of 24 passes for 183 yards and 2 touchdowns, and was picked off once. The back-breaker for the Illini occurred in the fourth quarter, as Derrick Williams ran back a kickoff 94 yards for a touchdown right after Illini placekicker Matt Eller had drilled a 43 yards field goal to cut the Nittany Lion lead to 24-17. The loss drops the Illini to 2-2 overall and 0-1 in the Big Ten, while Penn State remains undefeated at 5-0 overall and 1-0 in league play.
The road does not get any easier for the Illini, as they are back away from Memorial Stadiun again this weekend when they travel to Ann Arbor to face the Michigan Wolverines (2:30 pm central time, ABC Regional). Michigan escaped with a 27-25 upset win over Wisconsin last Saturday in Ann Arbor and come into the contest at 2-2 overall and 1-0 in conference play.
Don Hardin's Illini volleyball team split their first weekend of Big Ten action, defeating Indiana in 4 sets, then losing to top-ranked and defending national champion Penn State in straight sets. Johannah Bangert and Kylie McCulley came up big in the win over the Hoosiers, while the lone bright spot for the Illini in the loss to the Nittany Lions was once again McCulley, who had 9 kills and a hitting percentage of .381. Up next for the Illini, a couple of home matches this weekend, first hosting Minnesota on Friday night, then welcoming Iowa in on Saturday evening. The Illini are currently 10-3 overall and 1-1 in Big Ten play.
Janet Rayfield's soccer team also split their games last weekend, defeating Wisconsin 2-1 on Friday as Jessica Levitt and Marti Desjarlais scored the Illini goals. Then, on Sunday, the Illini lost a hard fought 1-0 contest to Northwestern. Up next for the women, a return home for a couple of matches this weekend against Michigan State on Friday evening and Michigan on Sunday afternoon. The #17 ranked Illini are 7-4 overall on the season, and 1-1 in conference play.

A Legendary Night in Champaign

Last Saturday had a little bit of everything. First, a near scare on the football field as Ron Zook's Fighting Illini survived Louisiana-Lafayette in a game that should not have been nearly this tight by a final score of 20-17. The Ragin' Cajuns, who play in the Football Championship Subdivision, fell behind early, but managed to stick around and give the Illini everything they could handle. Daniel Dufrene led the Illini on the ground with 19 carries for 126 yards, while Juice Williams completed 13 of 25 passes for 147 yards. Yes, not great totals, but enough to sustain and get the victory. But, a win is a win, nonetheless, and gave the Illini a 2-1 record heading into their bye week. Coach Zook said last week that this bye week was much needed, since the team had a long and prosperous training camp and went headlong into the season pretty much right after that. They say that defenses win championships, and the Illini's sure was on target, especially Brit Miller, who stripped the ball from Cajun quarterback Michael Desormeaux and ran it back 27 yards for a touchdown. Never at a loss for words, Miller lets his actions speak on the field, and this score surely spoke volumes. Having a bye week this early in the season lets the team recharge their batteries and get ready for the Big Ten season, which begins this coming Saturday night at State College, Pennsylvania against the Penn State Nittany Lions (7:00 pm CT, ABC). For the Illini to be successful in Happy Valley, they will have to limit their mistakes and learn to take better care of the football, something that eluded them against Lafayette. Then, it is on to Michigan to face a much different Wolverine squad under the leadership of Rich Rodriguez. We will certainly know more about what this year's edition of the Illini will be after these two games. Stay tuned.
On Saturday night, the stars were out in full force at the Assembly Hall in what amounted to one of the most anticipated nights on the U of I campus in recent memory. Those of you in attendance will agree with me that the Hall was sweltering in the mid-September heat, but that didn't seem to dampen spirits of those that braved the elements. For the first time since their Final Four run back in 2005, Deron Williams, Dee Brown, Luther Head and Roger Powell all took the Assembly Hall floor together and dazzled the crowd. Williams, who is a superstar for the Utah Jazz, had his gold medal in hand and was recognized with USA Basketball director Jerry Colangelo, himself an alum that was being recognized, for their outstanding achievement in bringing the highest honor home. The game did not dissapoint either, as the Blue team that featured this quartet defeated the White team, which was a bit older 84-7o. Williams led the Blue squad with 19 points, while Powell and Head scored 13 and 11 points, respectively. Former Flyin' Illini standout Kendall Gill led the White team with 14 points, while fellow teammate Nick Anderson netted 13. Perhaps the highlight of the evening was the unveiling of the 30 jerseys that will be displayed in the Assembly Hall next season. Simultaneously, the representatives all untied their respective banner, and the sight was one to not be forgotten for quite some time. With all of the talk about what will become of the Assembly Hall if and when the decision is made to either renovate the existing building, or build a new facility, one thing is clear; if renovation is chosen, AIR CONDITIONING will be at the top of the wish list!
The Fighting Illini women's volleyball team continued their non-conference season with a win over Southern Illinois-Edwardsville (25-18, 25-13, 25-13) to push their record to 9-2 before the conference season begins next weekend when they play at Indiana on Friday night, then travel to State College to battle Penn State on Saturday.
Janet Rayfield's women's soccer team continues to play well, as they won a pair of matches last weekend, first defeating Colorado College 2-0, then coming back on Sunday to defeat Washington 3-0. In the win over the Huskies, Emily Zurrer put in the eventual game winner, and also received goals from Jessica Levitt and Chichi Nweke. The victories move the Illini to 6-3 overall and they also begin conference play on the road next weekend, first playing at Madison against Wisconsin on Friday evening, then traveling back into the state to battle Northwestern on Sunday afternoon.