Illinois vs. Purdon't

Tonight, 8pm @ The Yard
Shoot me an email if you're going to make it.


How about a little psych experiment? We’ll call it the college basketball version of the Rorshach test. Take a look at each of the pictures below and write down the first three words that come to mind.

1) Brian Cardinal

















2) Jess Settles





















3) Lucas Johnson
















4) Tom Coverdale




















5) Dane Fife

6) Greg Paulus















7) Chris Kramer

With the exception of #2, I have a feeling that each of these pictures made your blood boil. Brian Cardinal’s knee pads never lost a game to Illinois in his 4 years at Purdue; Dane Fife once bit Iowa’s Duez Henderson on national television; and Tom Coverdale was so despised that Illini student section booed him every time he touched the ball in Champaign (even during warm-ups). Each of these players would get so deep under the skin of opposing teams that they could change a game.

Earlier in the year I thought the Illini needed a defensive stopper from the past, but now I am convinced they need a little more. They need something like the guys shown above - a player that seems like he’s been in the conference forever, one who scraps during every play.

He’ll dive after loose balls (sometimes even when there is no chance to save it – always a fan favorite), he’ll take charges (sometimes flopping and many times getting the call), he’ll always get tangled up with the opposing teams best player (usually ending with his hands in the air proclaiming innocence), and at some point in his career he'll wear one of those plastic face masks because his nose was broken mixing it up.

Lucas Johnson once got Lute Olson so riled up that Arizona Head Coach ran out onto the court to complain to ref and pointed directly at Johnson, “He’s crazy!” Bill Self once said, “Lucas isn’t dirty; Lucas is annoying,”

I want a guy like this to come play for the Illini. This player could give the Illini some personality and be a character to rally behind when momentum seems like it's working against us.

Purdue

Purdue has one of those guys in Chris Kramer. Kramer seems like he’s been at Purdue since the late 90s. He’s a blue collar guy – a glue man that gets his nose dirty and his team riled up. Kramer is a defensive stopper who I expect to follow Dimitri McCamey all game; heck, he might even follow McCamey into the Illini huddle. After being ranked as high as 4th in the AP top 25, Purdue is now 7th in the Big10 coming off back-to-back-to-back losses.

This scares me. If we had problems with Michigan States pressure on Saturday, I am scared to think what is going to happen when the Boilermakers try to put the shackles on Illinois. Turnovers will be key. We have to hold on to the basketball – 12 or less turnovers please. We also have to crash the boards. JaJuan Johnson is an animal down low for Purdue. The second key to anIllini victory is to protect the glass. We did well on the boards for the first 15 minutes Saturday, but we fell off late in the game.

Bill Cole or Tyler Griffey, one of you has to put on your Lucas Johnson jersey if we want to win.

Illinois – 72
Purdon't - 69


Sincerely,
Victor Chukwedebe Spitz

Illinois vs. tOSU

Illini Game Preview
Illinois vs. tOSU
Tonight @ 6 p.m.
I will be in class. Please text me score updates.

Ranked

Despite going 1-1 last week, Illinois cracked the top 25 in both the AP and USA Today Coaches poll after a valiant road effort against Michigan State on Saturday. Illinois is now 15-3 and ranked 25th in the AP poll and 24th in the USA Today Coaches poll. I was hoping the Illini would go another week without being ranked. I like flying under the radar and the motivation Head Coach Bruce Weber can deliver with the "nobody thinks you guys are any good" speech.

Looking at the season to date, the Illini definitely deserve to be in the top 25. Two of our losses are to teams ranked in the top 10. Clemson is 16-1 and ranked #9 in country, while MSU is 15-2 and ranked number 7. Even Michigan was in the top 25 when we lost to them on the road.

Home Cooking

After getting an earful from the Izzone on Saturday, the Illini will be back in Champaign for both games this week. Tuesday is Paint the Hall Orange, and I really expect the Illini faithful to give tOSU a hard time today. I mean...not a hard time like this Clemson fan...but a hard time.



The Crush should get into the faces of the Buckeyes and be relentless with their insults, cheers, and obnoxious behavior. I mean...not actually in their faces like this goofy Providence fan...but figuratively get in their faces from a comfortable distance.




Friends, taunting your opponent is an art that these morons have not perfected. For example, earlier in the year when Georgia came to town, Georgia Guard Corey Butler decided to wear black athletic tights under his shorts. My taunting went a little something like this...

5 minutes in..."Hey, Corey, nice tights. Did you get those from your mother's drawer?"
10 minutes in..."Yo, Corey, I get a Victoria Secret catalog too. Except I don't actually order from it."
15 minutes in..."Hey, Corey, the women's game is next, are you going to play in that as well?"

My mom said to me, "Michael, what if he hears you?"
"Ma, that's the point. As the sixth man, it is my responsibility to take him out of his game."
"Well, what if comes into the stand after you?"
"I'll just point to Shomo."


Usually, a good way to gauge your taunting is by the reaction of the the fans around you. If you get a chuckle, your doing a good job. If they pull away and don't make contact, your a little out of hand.


tOSU


The Thad Matta led Buckeyes are looking sharper than expected this year sporting a 13-3 overall record and a 3-2 record in the Big10. They have a similar record and team makeup as the Illini. Their center is a 7 foot underclassman with a soft touch that makes him feel more at home on the perimeter, and their best player, Evan Turner, like our best player is a 2007 graduate of St. Joe's High School. Turner and Illini Guard Demetri McCamey made up one of the best high school back courts in the country in '07, and they were coached by Illinois legend Gene Pingatore (to learn more about Coach Ping, see the movie Hoop Dreams or ask Benny because Benny's fiance's, sister's, husbands, cousin's, son is Ping's 1st cousin).


tOSU plays a lot of zone, and the Illini have been great against zone this year. Sophomore Mike Davis is skilled enough to score and pass from the short corner or the high post (traditional weaknesses in any zone), and McCamey, Trent Meachum, and Alex Legion have proven to be legitimate threats from beyond the arc. The Illini back court will have to do better than the 1 for 17 shooting performance that was on displayed against MSU if they hope to win.




Illinois - 64
tOSU - 58




Sincerely,
Jerrance Howard's Sweater Vest

PS...Trent Meachum was voted by IGP readers as their favorite Illini walk-on in the past 5 years. A special consideration should go to Fred Nkemdi who was accidently left off the list but received 2 write in votes.

PPS...I've received a few requests for past IGPs. Check out the archive section at the bottom of the left hand menu to see all the IGPs from the historic 2004-05 season. I even included Brad Cohen's 'Missing IGP' for the National Championship Game.

IGP: Illinois vs. Rock City

Illinois Game Preview
Tomorrow vs. Rock City
7pm @ The Yard
Let me know if you're interested

Moving in a terrible housing market

With interest rates reaching 37 year lows, the IGP bought a little piece of internet property yesterday. Come visit us at our new address: http://www.illinigamepreview.com/. Beer is the only acceptable house warming present.

Be sure to sign up as an IGP follower.

Hoosier Dank

Long time reader and newly hired field reporter HC, e-mailed me a story yesterday explaining why the Loosiers fell apart last season after starting with only 1 loss in their first 18 games. Drugs. If I were a Hoosier, I would self medicate as well.

Former guard Eric Gordon said that the team was splintered because half liked to smoke up, and the other half…was studying. I have no idea what would posses Gordon to talk about this; but he does bring to light how easy it is for a team to screw up its chemistry, especially a team made up of 18 to 21 year olds.

Last year’s Illini team might have been in a similar place – though not pulled apart by drugs. Ego is a better explanation. We all praised and cursed Senior Center Shaun Pruitt the entire year. The swearing was loudest when Pruitt blew 3 free throws that each would have sealed the game against the aforementioned Hoosiers. This was the only time all year that I felt sorry for Big Shaun (the IGP is very empathetic).

Any other time I watched Pruitt, he was pouting at the refs, his teammates, or his coaches – sometimes all at once. Pruitt was not a great team player; but being a senior, he was viewed as a leader – one who I would have found uninspiring and difficult to follow. We didn’t have high expectations for last year’s team, but a lack of team chemistry definitely lead to an underachieving season.

What about this year?

The Hoosiers won’t have to blame drug use for this year’s crappy season. They have no talent, and they will suck. They’ve already lost 5 games, and it will be their fans who smoke copious amounts of weed in 08/09.

What about this year?...for the Illini!

From all accounts I’ve read, the team gets along far better this year. The top sophomore in the state of Illinois, Tracy Abrams, recently committed to Illinois (great news) and said “The players [at Illinois] were like family, it was an atmosphere that I want to be a part of.” Even more important, the guys looks more like a team than they have in the last 3 years.

Although the competition has been light so far, I like watching this team play. Last year, the Illini lead most games heading into the second half…then they tightened up and blew it (see Shaun Pruitt in paragraph 5 of today’s IGP). This year, with the exception of Clemson, Illinois has shown tremendous heart. Heart makes up for a lot in college basketball.

Rock City

Detroit is 3-6 and nothing more than a warm-up before the Illinois heads to St. Louis for the annual Bragging Rights Game against Missouri. Now that finals are over, sophomore transfer Alex Legion is eligible to play for the first time this year. Supposedly, Legion is tearing it up on the practice court. Head Coach Bruce Weber even referred to him as ‘Kobe’ during summer workouts. It will be exciting to see Legion hit the court, but Weber will probably ease him into the line-up. The adrenaline will be pumping for this talented guard, so don’t be too hard on him if he’s a bit heavy on his shot to start.


Illinois – 87
Not so mighty Titans – 55


Sincerely,
Mike Lockley’s Retired Headset

PS…Last week 9 of you agreed that the Illini would make it back to the Final Four, while 4 of you told me that I am bat shit crazy. You’re all right. The Illini will make it to the Final Four, and I have a few screws loose.

PPS...Let me know where you think the Illini will end the year in the Big10. See the left hand side of the blog at http://www.illinigamepreview.com/

PPS...Happy Birthday Rhandi!