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If you had been told before the game started that Illinois would win
the rebounding battle 30-27 and the turnover battle 16-12, you
probably would've thought that the writer wasn't using much
objectivity in his reporting. But that's exactly what happened as
the Illini won a hard-fought game and stretched their record to 8-0
for the first time since the last Dee Brown sighting. I know the
big boys will write about D.J. Richardson's 19 points; Brandon
Paul's 13 points, five assists and four rebounds; Sam Maniscalco's
10 points, six assists and four steal efforts; and of course, Meyers
Leonard's spectacular 21-point effort on 9 of 11 shooting to go
along with six rebounds, while limiting NBA-bound 7-foot center
Robert Sacre to two rebounds for the game and only two second-half
points. Kudos all around.
They also probably wrote about the exciting play of another
NBA-bound player in Gonzaga forward Elias Harris. All he did was
turn in a 19-point performance coupled with eight rebounds and three
steals and was literally everywhere.
But how 'bout the play of Tyler Griffey? He seems to be coming
into his own of late (I hope he can keep it up -- as I called for
more PT for him last season, as you loyal LDN readers will recall)
and chipped in eight points along with three rebounds and three
steals.
And while I liked all of that, what I really liked was the way he
stood tall and made a stand. He was not just letting the Zags push
and shove, even when there were some interesting whistles along the
way. He stood his ground, making Gonzaga's outstanding guards
dribble back out of the paint and making them reset their offense
sometimes late in the shot clock.
Ibby Djimde and Tracy Abrams also contributed 12 very effective
minutes respectively. Ibby was seemingly an immovable force in the
paint. His line shows only one point and one rebound, but the way he
contained Gonzaga's bigs and ate up time while Leonard was in foul
trouble should be duly noted. Abrams, on the other hand, had three
assists and according to my notes could have had more if not for
some fumblitis. Crandall Head also had eight strong minutes that
included a timely steal and a coast-to-coast layup.
Nnanna Egwu, Mike Shaw and Myke Henry also made nice
contributions, combining for six points, four rebounds and zero
turnovers. I'll take that any day of the week and twice on
Saturdays!
In fact, Illini coach Bruce Weber (and the staff) should also get
a game ball. They don't always rotate like they did in this game and
sometimes don't get the kind of effort that we saw in this contest.
However, they kept us from getting in further foul trouble, rested
guys, brought in guys in a timely fashion and ran great plays in
critical situations.
Take the time the ball fell out of bounds under our basket with
only one second on the shot clock. We have an inbounds play where a
big can run around a screen at the elbow and get a lob or a quick
tip. Instead, Leonard made a quick jab step, went back to the rim,
got the sweet lob from Brandon Paul, and though he missed, got it
right back and put it in. That execution and that kind of a hustle
play, especially late in the shot clock, is an example of the kind
of thing we weren't seeing enough of the last couple of seasons.
Illinois did shoot well, going 53 percent for the game on 32 of
60 shots, and also made 77 percent from the line on 13 of 17 charity
tosses. They also outscored the Zags 36-32 on points in the paint,
something I wouldn't have given you a nickel's chance of before the
game! The Illini's hustle allowed them to take nine more shots in
the contest, and again, I'll take that any time you want to send it
my way!
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Some questions for Illinois in the future are: How will they handle
adversity... maybe a really cold shooting night, an injury, etc.
Will the players continue to "buy in" if they only get a few minutes
(which is better than zero minutes, if you ask me). And how much
upside is there for their potential improvement?
They played really well on Saturday, and I hope we see a lot more
of the passionate, inspired play that we saw last game.
Haters beware
I'm sure the haters are having some trouble with Illinois'
success. They are probably saying, just wait until the next game...
or just wait until UNLV... or Missouri... or Ohio State... or the
Lakers... whatever. I've always been one to just enjoy the journey
(btw, a great show on the BTN -- my son loves it and won't let us
miss an episode).
And speaking of haters... How 'bout all the hate for Tim Tebow
and his resurgent Denver Broncos? I'm a lifelong Raiders guy, so you
know how we feel about the Donkeys, but is all this hate really
happening nationwide?
Yes, I know all about the separation of church and state. I've
been hearing it for years... especially when I subbed or did
workshops in our schools. But I for one think that the pendulum has
swung too far. When haters can win the day and claim free speech,
then those who feel the way Mr. Tebow does can too... simple as
that. And besides, I didn't think that was supposed to matter when
discussing things like professional sports anyway -- in this case
the NFL.
Yes, Tebow's stats are not all that impressive. His passes are
wobbly, and he doesn't have the most picturesque form.
But, I was brought up in an old-school family with an old-school
dad. One thing my dad taught me was that in pro sports, there is
only one stat at the end of the day that you'll be remembered for:
Did you win or did you lose?
As a Raider fan it's hard for me to say it, but it looks to me
like all Tebow is doing is winning. That does not make him any
better than anyone else, etc. But veterans like my father, who
spilled their blood (in his case, a Purple Heart in Korea), did so
for ALL Americans. Not just the ones we agree with.
Sometimes sports give us the chance to learn something bigger
than the games. I hope we are using situations like these to teach
and reteach our kids and grandkids the importance of sportsmanship,
character and grace before it is too late.
Have a great week, everybody!
[By JEFF MAYFIELD]
Respond to the writer at
jmayfield@ctitech.com.
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