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[DEC. 2, 2000]  As junior high students they led their Chester-East Lincoln basketball team to the championship game of the IESA playoffs. They dreamed of being teammates and making some noise on the high school scene together. Those dreams didn’t materialize as they had planned them. However, now a few years removed from that euphoric trip to state, the duo of Stephanie Urton and Brittany Robbins has emerged once again, this time together on the college scene…and after recording their first collegiate win together this week, it’s apparent that this time they might really make some noise…

[click here for Part 1]

[click here for Part 2]

Q. Back to Stephanie Urton now… Steph you can look up into the crowd and see that Brittany has a large cheering section. Has it been difficult for you knowing that your family is a few thousand miles away on the mission field and not here for your games?

A. Brittany’s family has been great to me, and they’ve included me and have taken care of me while my family is gone. I know that if I needed anything that they would be right there for me. It’s nice to know that I do have a second family. I do e-mail my parents and let them know what is happening, and sometimes we talk on the phone. I basically just deal with it. Like when everyone was gone for Thanksgiving break, that was hard, but I just push to the back burner. When everyone’s back here that helps me push it back even easier. I surround myself with people, and that helps a lot. I will get to go over and see my parents this summer.

A. They are different. I have to do a lot more to get myself ready to play here. There’s not as much yelling or having someone in your face, and that is different. I respond better when someone’s in my face, although I probably haven’t always shown that. I do know that we have some girls on this team that wouldn’t be able to handle it.

A. I would say that it is very, very different. The coaching is completely different. In high school sometimes the yelling was at specific people and sometimes it was directed towards the team in general. The coaching styles are really different when it comes to the makeup of practice and such. Here our coach yells sometimes, but it is different. Sometimes I respond better to someone yelling at me, and sometimes I don’t. When I get angry, I probably don’t. I probably just tune them out and stop. Both styles may have their place, but what we’re experiencing so far seems to be working pretty well. If anything, our coach could probably be a little more demanding now. When we’re playing poorly we need him to point that out to us and not just accept whatever we’re doing. We do have some players who do have a difficult time with any kind of yelling, so I guess that’s taken in consideration.

A. I want to keep winning more games. I want us to continually get better. Up to this point we have gotten better, but I don’t want us to be satisfied. I want us to strive to get better. I hope that throughout my career that the program here will continue to improve and that we will attract some top recruits. I want to bring that same expectation of winning every time out as we had in high school. As for me, I don’t like to lose. I don’t want them to get caught in the trap of just doing our best and see what happens. For some people, it doesn’t hurt them as much to lose. They just accept it and move on. That has to stop.

[to top of second column in this section]

Q. What is the mood of the girls and the spirit of the team presently?

A. It’s pretty good right now…of course, we’re coming off our first win. We’re pretty optimistic about our chances in this weekend’s tournament down in Nashville, Tennessee. We have a chance to win both games down there.

A. I want to keep on winning. I like for us to be the ones that helped turn the program around. Personally, I want to give the sport everything that I have, and I want to put our team in as positive a light as I can.

Q. What do you feel is the morale of the team right now?

A. I think we’ve already come a long way since the beginning of the season. Earlier, I really didn’t feel like we were playing like a team. Everyone was looking to Brittany for everything. If Brittany wasn’t scoring, it was like everybody panicked, and they suddenly forgot everything and didn’t know what to do. We had a team get-together one night recently, and ever since then I’ve noticed that we’ve really meshed nicely both on and off the court. We’re playing better team defense, and obviously we’ve turned our offensive production up a notch too. We’re a really close-knit team right now. I say, let’s get this victory train rolling!

A Probably, strive to do your best in everything you do. Believe in yourself, no matter what anyone else says or does.

A. I think one thing that I’ve learned is that it is hard to play for a crowd. It’s hard to play for other people. I say, don’t just play for other people; play for yourself and your teammates. Don’t let people discourage or try to get you to do things you don’t want to do. Play because you want to do it or don’t play at all. You don’t want to play because someone is going to like what you did or not like what you did. Don’t let anybody get to you, and always keep going towards your goals.

On behalf of the LDN, nice going so far and continued success to you both and to your team throughout the rest of the season.

[Jeff Mayfield]

[DEC. 1, 2000]  As junior high students they led their Chester-East Lincoln basketball team to the championship game of the IESA playoffs. They dreamed of being teammates and making some noise on the high school scene together. Those dreams didn’t materialize as they had planned them. However, now a few years removed from that euphoric trip to state, the duo of Stephanie Urton and Brittany Robbins has emerged once again, this time together on the college scene…and after recording their first collegiate win together this week, it’s apparent that this time they might really make some noise…

[click here for Part 1]

Q. Turning our attention now to Brittany Robbins… Brittany, compare for us college basketball to high school basketball from your experiences so far.

A. It’s definitely a lot different. In high school here at LCHS we entered every game with the assumption that we were going to win all of the time. It’s a lot different here because we don’t have nearly as large a talent pool to draw from, and the girls here are not as used to winning. It has been hard for me to adjust to that. I would like to help change that. In high school I looked to a lot of other players to score before taking the shots myself. In a few games I scored a lot, but I always had several teammates that I could rely on, and most of them scored more than me. Here at LCC I do feel more responsibility that I have to be out there, that I have to play and that I have to be on top of my game in order for us to compete.

A. That is true. Now I’m more willing to take the shot because there might not be as many options available as I have been used to in the past.

A. The shot clock is different and really changes the game in many ways. You can’t just stand around…you can’t just keep running plays and running the clock…you have to get up a good shot before the buzzer. It can really help you defensively IF you play good defense! I didn’t realize how much more time you actually play in college than we did in high school. Like the other night after our victory, I was completely exhausted. I think college ball is a lot more physically challenging.

A. I think we’ve made a major improvement. Practices were really rough at the beginning of the season, but I don’t think we were working as hard as we could of or as hard as we should of. Last week we began to turn things around. We started the week with a really good practice, and we’ve had good practices since then. And we’ve played a lot better in our last two games as well. I think the tough and challenging practices that we’ve had lately have made all the difference.

[to top of second column in this section]

Q. What has it meant to you to team up with a friend like Steph and play college basketball together?

A. It was cool to know that I was going to have someone that I knew on the team. We’ve known each other for a really long time. You’re right that we haven’t gotten to play together for all those years and that was different. It hasn’t been exactly the same as it was when we were younger because sometimes we’ve been on the court at different times. Now that we’re on the court together most of the time, that has been really cool. I still know like where she’s going to be…I always know if she’s going to be there…like last night when I tried to pass her the ball — and she wasn’t even in the game at the time — because I saw her there and it looked like she was, but she wasn’t. If I have the ball and I’m dribbling upcourt, if someone else is up there it’s usually her or she’s not too far behind me.

A. Off the court we’re really good friends. I think because we’ve known each other for so long we can talk to each other about anything. We can talk about any particular point about life, and she’ll know what I’m talking about. We confide in each other. I know it is hard for her right now as her family is doing missionary work in Papua New Guinea, and I think it helps her for someone to be here.

A. I’m really happy with my decision. I wouldn’t change it. I’m glad that I’m here. I have changed a lot…for the better. I’m glad I didn’t choose a big school and not play sports, because I really enjoyed LCC soccer and I’m really enjoying basketball. I don’t think I would have had those opportunities at a different school like I have had here. I really like this school, and I like the people here. I wouldn’t change my decision at all. I’ve considered some other majors, but right now I’m a teacher education major (secondary math or Spanish) and I’d like to maybe do some coaching too.

(To be continued)

[Jeff Mayfield]

[click here for Part 3]

[NOV. 30, 2000]  As junior high students they led their Chester-East Lincoln basketball team to the championship game of the IESA playoffs. They dreamed of being teammates and making some noise on the high school scene together. Those dreams didn’t materialize as they had planned them. However, now a few years removed from that euphoric trip to state, the duo of Stephanie Urton and Brittany Robbins has emerged once again, this time together on the college scene…and after recording their first collegiate win together this week, it’s apparent that this time they might really make some noise…

 Brittany Robbins and Stephanie Urton have now teamed up and are currently playing basketball for the Lincoln Christian College Angels. I met with them on campus while they were still enjoying the fruit of their first victory of their respective college careers.

[Stephanie Urton]

A. It’s been a good one. I have been frustrated at times, but it’s been good overall. The adjustment to college ball has been difficult at times. The talent level surprised me. I think it’s helped me because I’ve stepped up my level of play.

A. I’ve played basketball with Brittany for my whole life. We have a good relationship both on and off the court. Like in our first win, I was out with a knee injury and I was standing out of bounds next to the bench when Brittany rifled a pass at me. Someone said that we’ve played together too much when Brittany will throw me the ball when I’m not even in the game. It’s been a lot of fun. Brittany is a great player, and I look to her a lot on the floor for leadership and for help. Like the other night when I got injured she came up to me and said, I need you out on the court. We’re a tandem I guess.

A. Before I knew that Brittany was coming here and I told that I really wanted her to go with me to school so that we could play ball together. I didn’t really think any more about it until she told me that she was coming here. It’s been so exciting. We’ve had a lot of fun playing ball. Road trips have been a fun…experience for us as well. We’ll just leave it at that.

[to top of second column in this section]

Q. This is the first time you’ve played a lot of minutes since your C-EL days. What has playing a lot meant to you, and how do you see your role on this ball club?

A. It’s definitely been a big responsibility, and I was a little uncertain about it at the beginning of the year. Having Brittany on the court helps…Michelle O’Malley because she’s stepping up. If we can get everyone to play hard, it’s not as big of a stress on me.

A. Sometimes I have to tell myself that I can do this. Sometimes I don’t feel comfortable running the floor in late-game situations. I know it was something I had to do since Cassie had already fouled out. So I just had to step up and do a good job for my teammates. I felt more comfortable last night because both Brittany and Michelle were having really good games…and I knew if they could do it, I could do it. I’m not exactly comfortable as a point guard; I’m much more at ease in the 2-spot. Coach has me working on more than one spot in practice, so I’m working into those roles more.

[Longtime basketball buddies Brittany Robbins and Stephanie Urton, still dunking 'em.]

[Jeff Mayfield]

[click here for Part 2]

[NOV. 28, 2000]  Today, the LDN takes a look at five early-season surprises from Illinois men's basketball.

1.  Emergence of Frank Williams as the team leader. Most people considered this year's team to be Cory Bradford's for the taking. Williams has proved early on he has improved greatly and is the best player on the court most of the time. Williams single-handedly brought Illinois within range of knocking off No. 2 Arizona. Many experts believe Williams has become one of the top three or four point guards nationally and has a real future at the next level.

2.  The rebounding force Brian Cook has become. Lincoln's No. 1 native son appears to be rebounding with a never-seen-before level of intensity. He was especially impressive against top ten teams Maryland and Arizona. Now, if his outside shooting becomes effective (à la Lincoln high school games), Cook will become a national force to be dealt with.

3.  Shooting consistency of Sean Harrington. Harrington looks like he should still be in high school but has shot unbelievably well from the field. The talk in Champaign on Sunday was Harrington may move into the starting lineup if he continues to hit with consistency and Bradford continues to struggle.

4.  Quality bench contributions from Robert Archibald, Lucas Johnson, Damir Krupalija and Harrington. Archibald needs to stay out of foul trouble but looks like a new, more aggressive player. Johnson has become the sixth man Self was hoping for, and Krupalija, when he has played, brings enthusiasm and a rebounding force off the bench. Add Harrington's shooting, and Illinois is developing a very strong bench. Mahomet freshmen Brett Melton has looked good at times and could eventually enter the rotation as well.

5.  The impact of the Bill Self defensive system. When Illinois was down to UNLV by 14 in the first game in Maui, no one on the Illini bench panicked. Why? Self's system defensively is perfect for igniting comebacks. All three games in Hawaii found Illinois down by substantial amounts, and all three games saw Illinois recover and come all the way back.

Conversely, five serious questions still exist about the Illinois program:

1.  Will Illinois get serious about free throw shooting? They cannot seriously expect to contend for any titles and miss the easy ones like they have early in the year. Against Maryland, McClain alone missed three one-and-ones in the first half and allowed Illinois to go from up by four to down by four in a two-minute span. Illinois must make the freebees.

2.  Will Cory Bradford regain his shooting touch? He just looks unhappy on the court, and this must change if Illinois wants to make some serious noise. Many feel his current streak of hitting at least one 3-point basket in 69 straight games may actually be hurting him. Whatever the problem is, look for Self to work hard to help Bradford regain his form of old.

[to top of second column in this article]

3.  Will Illinois' lack of athleticism haunt them late in the season (especially in the NCAA tourney). The Self system will really be fun in the years to come when Self is able to get serious athletes in the program (like November signees Luther Head of Chicago and Roger Powell of Joliet). The problem Illinois will face is in March, when cat-quick NCAA tourney teams come calling. Illinois could struggle (see last year's Florida game for reference).

4.  What will Sergio McClain's role be with this Illini team? It must be hard for McClain to watch former high school teammates Williams and Marcus Griffin develop into two of the top three players in the program. McClain could bring a great deal of senior leadership to the program but only if he will play within himself and not try to shoot 3-pointers or drive to the basket against 6-foot-10 post players. McClain has always struggled with his role in college basketball, and this question must be answered sooner rather than later.

5.  Are any Illini not long for the program? Word out of Champaign is one or two Illini may not be with the program next year even though they would still have years of eligibility remaining. The jury is still out on whether Peoria's Jerrance Howard can contribute on the Big Ten level. Maybe Howard will follow in former Illini Rich Beyers’ footsteps and land in Normal to be a backcourt running mate with Lincoln high school's Gregg Alexander. Or maybe he heads home to Peoria and joins the Bradley program. Maybe Howard goes to a Division II program and plays right away (Fess Hawkins did this last year). Or maybe he stays in Champaign for three more years and follows in the footsteps of former Peoria Central star Chris Reynolds of Indiana and becomes a defensive standout and dependable point guard after Williams leaves. This question will not be answered for some time.

Illinois basketball faces their biggest challenge of the year tonight at 8 p.m. on a so-called neutral court in Greensboro, N.C. (51 miles from Duke's Durham campus). The game is televised on ESPN and will be seen nationally. LDN prediction for the Duke/Illinois game:  Illinois hangs tough for most of the game, but in the end, the home cooking tastes real good to Duke: Duke 77, Illinois 72.

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