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[JAN. 15, 2001]  Playing its first game of the year without point guard Frank Williams, Illinois responded with a "point guard by committee" and destroyed Michigan 80-51. Senior Sergio McClain led the Illini with the first-ever triple-double in school history — 10 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists in 33 minutes of action. The only downer for McClain was his poor free throw shooting, as he made just one of seven attempts from the charity stripe. Illinois had a total of four players in double figures.

Lincoln's Brian Cook was hampered by early foul trouble but still managed to score 17 points and grab seven rebounds in just 18 minutes of play. Cook appeared frustrated by the two first half foul calls, as both were calls in the post away from the game action. Junior Cory Bradford hit two 3-point baskets to continue his consecutive game streak (now 81 straight) and he finished with 15 points. Fellow junior Damir Krupalija scored 10 points and grabbed six rebounds in just 14 minutes of action.

While several Illini excelled at the offensive end, the story of the night was twofold: defense and injuries.

First, the good news. Illinois tied an Assembly Hall record by holding the Wolverines to just 13 field goals for the game, and Michigan only scored five field goals in the first half. On a night when the Illini played without Williams and lost another starter, Marcus Griffin, shortly before halftime, the defense gave their best effort of the year. Michigan shot just 28 percent from the field for the game and was never in the game.

Now, for the bad news. As earlier stated, point guard Frank Williams was in street clothes on the sideline. Illini support staff are hopeful he will return for Wednesday’s game on the road against Northwestern. Griffin went down in the last minute of the first half with a bruised tailbone, an injury identical to Williams’. Griffin did not return to action but is hopeful to be back in the lineup Wednesday night as well.

With the victory, Illinois is 3-1 in the Big Ten and in second place behind Iowa. The Hawkeyes are undefeated in conference play and have already won two big road games, at Penn State and at Purdue on Saturday. Illinois will play three of their next four games on the road.

Upcoming games:

At Northwestern, Jan. 17, 7 p.m., WCIA-TV

Vs. Penn State, Jan. 20, 2 p.m., WCIA-TV

At Michigan, Jan. 25, 6 p.m., ESPN

At Penn State, Jan. 31, 7 p.m., WCIA-TV

Box score

	1st	2nd	TOTAL
Michigan	23	28	51
Illinois	38	42	80

Percentages: Fg-.277, Ft-.724.
3-point goals: 4-21, .190 (Blanchard 2-7, Queen 1-5, Robinson Jr 0-3, Jones 1-2, Searight 0-1, Groninger 0-3).
Team rebounds: None.
Blocked shots: 1 (Young).
Turnovers: 21 (Young 5, Robinson Jr 3, Searight 3, Asselin 2, Blanchard 2, Groninger 2, Moore 2, Jones, Queen).
Steals: 3 (Robinson Jr 2, Young).
Illinois

Percentages: Fg-.438, Ft-.571.
3-point goals: 8-23, .348 (Cook 1-3, McClain 1-3, Bradford 2-4, Harrington 0-5, Melton 1-4, Mast 1-1, Johnson 1-1, Krupalija 1-2).
Team rebounds: 1.
Blocked shots: None.
Turnovers: 8 (Bradford 2, McClain 2, Cook, Griffin, Krupalija, Mast).
Steals: 11 (Harrington 4, McClain 3, Archibald, Cross, Krupalija, Melton).
Technical fouls: Illinois 1 (Bench).
Attendance: 16,683.
Officials: Mike Sanzere, Joe Demayo, Jd Collins.

[JAN. 9, 2001]  The LDN knew that Gregg Alexander had already become one of the most prolific scorers in Lincoln High School history, but by the time the dust settles, no one may be left in his wake. Alexander had passed his brother, Geoff, who sits on the tote board currently in fifth place…bumped from his comfortable fourth-place perch by his little brother. However, the LDN has learned that even the double-teaming, slappin’ and hackin’ Lions and Tornadoes, who limited Gregg to games of 13 and 16, weren’t enough to keep him from passing yet two more legends on the Railers’ all-time scoring list.

Earlier this season Alexander passed one of the all-time greats, Seymour Reed at 1,478 points, and Reed had held third place since the ’70s!

Now comes the news this weekend that Gregg has passed former All-American at Kansas and a former NBAer with the Boston Celtics, Norm Cook, who finished his career in 1973 with 1,697 points.

Arguably some people feel that being the coach’s son is to Gregg’s advantage…but he still has to make the shots! What some people fail to realize is that he makes a lot of his offense happen by playing some of the best defense ever seen in Roy S. Anderson gymnasium. Former Lincoln College coach Allen Pickering told the LDN that Gregg has a pair of the quickest hands that he has ever seen and that his ability to transition from defense to offense is the best that he has ever encountered…high praise from a man who once took a college team to the national championship game. The LDN thinks that this man knows what he’s talking about!

Another factoid that is often overlooked about young Alexander’s game is his consistency. It is our understanding that since Gregg became a starter; he has scored in double figures in every game. That is truly remarkable on any level.

[to top of second column in this article]

Unofficially the LDN has Gregg Alexander down for 1,706 points, which now places him in sole possession of second place on the Railsplitters’ all-time scoring list.

Who’s No. 1 one, you ask? Why, Chuck Verderber of 1974-78 fame, of course, who finished an outstanding career with 2,032 points. If our math is correct, Gregg would still needs 326 points just to tie Verderber. He is currently averaging a little over 23 points per game, but would need to bump that to 25-plus ppg in order to catch the leader.

Whether he catches him or not is irrelevant to us — especially when you consider that the four other players in this elite club of all-time scorers were all interior post players. Gregg is the only guard, which makes what he has accomplished all the more remarkable to us. He’s also fashioned this colossal performance while carrying the burden of following an older brother, being the coach’s son, along with a few other burdens.

From our perspective, Gregg has made his mark with flair, with dignity and with pride. This week the Lincoln Daily News salutes Gregg Alexander, the second-highest scorer in Lincoln Railer history!

[Jeff Mayfield]

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