Illinois vs. the Lophers

Illini Game Preview
Tonight vs. Minny


IGPs have been few and far between in the month of February. I am sorry for that loyal readers, but I've been travelling a bunch for work and school is kicking my ass. But do not worry, I've kept my eye on the Big10 Network and my ears open to everything except Dick Vitale's bogus ramblings collecting material for when I get a spare moment.

Last weekend (post PSU and pre-OSU), after playing some pick up basketball at the Moody Bible Institute (the same court where Dee Brown broke his leg before his senior year and was forced to return to school), a few friends engaged me in one of my favorite discussion topics...Illini Hoops.

"Man, we suck. 33 points?! Weber did not have his team ready to play," said one Illini alum.
"Yeah, not a single one of these guys would start on the 04, 05, or 06 team. We are so over rated," exclaimed another Illini Alum.

Ooompfh. It felt like someone had disparaged my mother, soiled the Nett family name, or blasphemed Michael Jordan by claiming that he cheated on his wife. I couldn't believe what I was hearing. I will not name these lost Illini souls because I hope they will find their ways home.

So this is my invite. This is me being mother bird and cucawing my fallen Illini friends back to the nest. Come home friends. Here's why...

Why I love the '08-'09 Illini

• Chester...A quote from an NBA scout, "The test for whether you can make the NBA is if you can score on Chester Frazier."
• Heart...The Northwestern Game. We were down 14 with 6 minutes left!
• Chemistry...We have assists on 71% of all baskets - #1 in the nation.
• Da Coach...We have the '08-'09 Big10 Coach of the Year. We were 16-19 last year!
• Mid-Range J...Mike Davis, Mike Tisdale, and Calvin Brock all have great pull up jumpers. Davis was exceptional against tOSU on Sunday.
• Charity... 71% this season vs. 62% LY
• Jerrance Howard. He's excitable, he's a great recruiter, and he has almost as much style as Wayne McClain.
• Defense...Teams are averaging a mere 56pts a game against us - 3rd lowest in the country.
• 1,000 points...Don't look now, but Trent Meachum is 4 baskets shy of scoring 1,000 points in his collegiate career. Not bad for a walk-on that many thought could not hack it as a starter.

College basketball has been crazy this year. Number 1 Pittsburgh was just knocked off by a mediocre, unranked Providence team (Providence was leading by 20 in the 2nd half). Oklahoma lost its last 2 games. Yes, they were without Blake Griffin, but they looked horrendous in losses to Texas and Kansas. Missouri, who we clobbered by 16 points, is ranked 8th in the country!

Folks, these Illini are overachievers and they are for real. Let's start treating them that way.

Cucaww!

Illini vs. Lophers

The Golden Gophers created a defensive template that held the Illini to only 36 points in the first meeting. PSU used a similar defense to hold Illinois to 33 last week. It's pretty simple actually, in your jersey man-to-man defense, avoid switching on picks, do not double anyone, and avoid helping out on defense. Sound simple?

Illinois scores 71% of their baskets off assists. When the opposition over rotates, or double teams, or hedges on picks, Illinois hits the open man. If you stay at home on D, Illinois only has 1 real player that can beat you consistently off the dribble - Demetri McCamey. OSU tried the exact opposite game plan on Sunday and look how that turned out. OSU's over extended zone played right into Illinois' hands because we found Davis open in the hi-post and short corner for easy baskets.

Minnesota is playing for their tournament lives right now, so they will bring the intensity. You can bet that the Illini are a bit embarrassed by the last game these teams played. It is going to be a Big10 brawl tonight, and I can't wait to see the blood and emotion being mopped off the floor during timeouts.

The quicker we can get he ball up court, the less time Minny has to set their defense. I would love to see us push the pace tonight. We need some slashing and energy from Chester Frazier, some bench energy from Calvin Brock, and our big men will have to play far more physical than they did in last contest.

Illinois - 57

Lophers - 53

Sincerely,

The Bubble

Illinois vs. the Mildcats

Illini Game Preview

Tonight @ Northwestern - 8 p.m.

Meet me at the Stadium Club...in Arkansas

The Illini earned a very timely win on Sunday. After dropping 2 of the last 3 and looking miserable against Wisconsin and even worse against Minnesota, Illinois stepped up big time with an 18 point dismantling of number 12 Purdue. Sophomore Forward Mike Davis looked phenomenal against the Choo-Choo's pulling down a career high 16 rebounds. Davis was soft in losses against Minnesota and Wisconsin, but it turns out that our sweet shooting forward had an extended bout of tonsillitis and is battling Bells Palsy. I think it also helps that Weber lit a fire under his a$$.

There are 5 teams in the Big10 within a game and a half of each other. Illinois, tOSU, and PurWon't are tied for second at 7-4 and Minnesota is in 5th place at 7-5. MSU has a seemingly solid 2.5 game lead, but they're at Purdue next Tuesday and they still have to visit Champaign later this month. We're in for some fireworks as conference play is winding down. Here is how the standings look as of 2/11.

Free Throw Shooting

Throughout the year, I've been amazed by how well the Illini have been shooting free throws. Last year we lost several games down the stretch because we couldn't hit the freebies. This year, the Illini are putting games away with their proficiency at the line. Our good buddy Mark Pinsof hypothesized that the loss of Brian Randle and Shaun Pruit alone gave the Illini free throw shooting surge. We brow beat him into doing the research, and here is what he found...

We shot 62% from the line last year, and five players from last years team's free throw % have increased DRAMATICALLY:
Mike Davis up from 46.9% to 75.6% this year
McCamey up from 62.7% to 81.8% this year
Frasier up from 51.9% to 68.8% this year
Tisdale up from 63.3% to 80.0% this year
and even Meachum is up from 74.7% to 89.7% this year

So I guess all of the work on free throws in practice and the off-season has really paid off!!

Speaking of Shaun

Spitzer sent me a story the other day about Shaun Pruitt. As of Saturday, the big boy was the leading rebounder and 3rd highest scorer in a European league. Unfortunately, the article wasn't praising his great play, it was reporting that he had been cut from the team. "If you're a league's leading rebounder and third leading scorer, how do you get released? Let's ask Shaun Pruitt," wrote spitzer.

http://www.eurobasket.com/Czech-Republic/basketball.asp?NewsID=152398

"While statistically Pruitt was very impressive, a closer examination of his game showed some serious rookie-flaws that Prostejov, currently fourth in the NBL, felt they could no longer deal with. For example, Pruitt did not possess great court-vision, apparent in his 0.9 assist per game averages and numerous offensive fouls he accumulated per game. Also, while a dominant force inside, Pruitt has not been able to correct his horrendous free-throw shooting (46.2%) to capitalize on the fouls he draws. But aside from these performance flaws, as most players have, Pruitts lack of commitment to defense was probably the final nail in the coffin for his time at Prostejov."

WOW. MOM. WOW.

The Illini Nation Invades Evanston

The Northwestern Mildcats have been completely baffling this year. They've roared to wins against #25 FSU, Minnesota, #9 MSU, and Wisconsin, but they lost to I.O.W.A. and were taken to the wire by Indiana (you know, the team that lost to Lipscomb). So what I am saying is, who the hell knows which Wildcat team will show up.

Kevin Coble is Northwestern's top player. He's averaging 15.2 points per game. When the sweet shooting Junior is on, the Cats are tough to beat, but NU has not won a game when Coble scores less than 10 points. Coble is a good match-up for Davis or JuCo Transfer Dominique Keller because they are both tall and can defend off the dribble.

Chester Frazier has been guarding the oppositions top scorer for most of the season, but his hands will be full against speedy sophomore Michael Thompson (10ppg, 4apg). Thompson will take you off the dribble and will finish or dish to an open man (hopefully not to Coble for 3).

On defense, the Cats play a tricked out match-up zone or a 1-3-1 (they also play man). Watch the way they switch and match-up when they play a 2-3. It is fascinating. When Illini Assistant Jay Price scouted NU for the first time, he watched an entire season's worth of tape, but couldn't figure out what they were doing - it almost drove him looney. We've had problems against their unorthodox but organized style in the past, however this year's team speciallizes in finding the open man. Zones typically have a weaknesses at the short corner and the hi-post. These are sweet spots for Davis and Tisdale. If the Mike's are shooting well, we will roll.




Illinois - 67
Cats - 59




Sincerely,

Jeff Jordan's Scholarship