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[NOV. 27, 2000]  OK, so you are the eighth-ranked team in the country. And you just returned from a holiday tournament in Hawaii where you went 2-1 and took the No. 2 team in the country down to the wire. And you have a date with the No. 1 team in the land Tuesday night in far-away North Carolina. Where do you want to be on the Sunday afternoon following Thanksgiving? How about playing a team from the Southwest Athletic — a team that just happens to be winless on the season?

Well, Illinois was faced with just a challenge, facing Texas Southern in the Assembly Hall Sunday afternoon. Illinois slopped its way to an 86-67 victory over the visitors from Houston. Illinois was led in scoring by sophomore reserve Sean Harrington, who was a perfect 6 for 6 from the field, including five 3-pointers, to finish with 17 points. Senior Marcus Griffen chipped in 16 points, mostly on dunks or layups, and junior reserve Robert Archibald scored 12 points in just 11 minutes of action and was also perfect from the field (5 for 5). Junior guard Cory Bradford continued to struggle with his shooting, making just 2 of 8 shots and only 1 of 5 3-pointers to finish with 6 points. Lincoln's Brian Cook played 19 minutes, finishing with 9 points and three rebounds.

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Next up for Illinois is a game on the national stage of ESPN tomorrow night against No. 1 Duke University. The game is a part of the Big Ten-ACC challenge and is being played on a neutral site in Greensboro, N.C. Duke is led by All-American forward Shane Battier and features four former McDonalds All-Americans: Battier, Carlos Boozer, Mike Dunleavy and point guard Jason Williams. Illinois will have to bring their A game if they hope to compete with the Blue Devils but should have one important advantage: team depth. Illinois has used 10 players regularly in the early season, while Duke will usually bring in only one or two players off its bench.

After Tuesday, Illinois travels to Manhattan, Kan., on Saturday to face Kansas State, a team they beat by 33 points last season.

Illinois' next home game is Wednesday, Dec. 6, against Wisconsin-Milwaukee.

Coming tomorrow: LDN looks at the Illinois basketball program: five surprises in the early season and four question marks which need to be answered.

[Greg Taylor]

[NOV. 22, 2000]  The Lincoln Railers began their 2000-2001 season Monday evening with a victory over Limestone High School during the opening session of the annual Lincoln Thanksgiving Tournament. Lincoln will play four more games over this holiday weekend, against the following teams: Pontiac, Danville, Rockford Guilford and Rockford Jefferson. Lincoln High School has compiled an incredible 97-18 record the last four seasons, highlighted by a trip to the Elite Eight during the 1998-99 season. What will this season have in store? Only time will tell, but the LDN was able to sit down with varsity assistant coach Eric Ewald on Monday afternoon and assess the state of Lincoln Railer basketball:

The Railers will be led by their four seniors, including Gregg Alexander, Chad Tungate, Paris Williams and J.T. Ashley. When January rolls around, look for the Railers to start these four seniors with consistency.

In Monday's opener, the Railer's used nine players even though two post players were unavailable for game action. Look for the Railers to play up to 10 players regularly. Depth will also allow the Railer's to expend significant amounts of energy on defense, which could become a real team strength.

Mark this down right now — no team in the Central State Eight has the perimeter players LCHS is blessed with this season. It starts with Alexander, who recently signed with nearby Division I Illinois State University. Gregg will lead the Railers both offensively and defensively. The play of Tungate and Williams will surprise many Railer fans, as both players appear to have the confidence and ability to take over a game if needed. Backing up these three seniors will be juniors Michael Aper and Andy Knopp and sophomore Cory Farmer.

Most teams would face certain demise if they started and played a lineup featuring primarily guards and undersized post players. However, for decades the 1-2-2 ball press has allowed Lincoln to remain very successful against teams from Springfield, Champaign, Decatur, Bloomington-Normal and Quincy. Look for Alexander to play the point on the press defensively and use his 6-5 frame to record steals and force the opposition into mistakes.

Neal Alexander has proven time and again how to win and compete at a very high level. In most other communities, coach Al would be revered for the consistent excellence year in and year out. However, in Lincoln, fans have become spoiled with yearly success. The LDN realizes the value coach Al brings to the basketball program and salutes him for his continued success. The remainder of the coaching staff, consisting of Eric Ewald, Donnie Aeilts, Darrin Worth and Jason Osborn, bring great game knowledge and passion for excellence to LCHS basketball.

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Weaknesses

This will force the Railers to create an up-tempo attack both offensively and defensively and mandate the Railers get very serious about blocking out for rebounds on both ends of the court.

The Railers will be without two former starters, J.T. Ashley and Derek Schrader, for early parts of this season. Players like Brandon Welch and Adam Schonauer will be called up to step their game up a level, and others, like Brock Werner, will need to be ready to go each night as well. The wild card in this mix may be sophomore Ryne Komnick. He appears to have both post and perimeter skills and may allow the Railers to play him in a post position defensively, while utilizing his perimeter skills on offense. As a result, look for the Railers to play four and even five perimeter players at a time (remember the '95-'96 Railer team?). This will work in some situations, but early season games against Danville, Peoria Manual and Springfield will challenge the Railers, not to mention the Bloomington-Normal Holiday Classic, featuring many great teams and players, including all-state center Eddie Curry (6-10, 275 pounds) of Thornwood.

Once again the Railers have one of the toughest schedules in central Illinois. Not only will the Railers face each CS8 team twice again this season, but they will also face Peoria Manual (away), Peoria Richwoods (away), Danville (home), Centralia (away) and Lockport (home), as well as playing in the B-N Holiday Classic.

Overall, Lincoln will once again have exciting players and shoot for excellence on the court. As fans, we have a great opportunity to positively encourage and uplift both players and coaches, both during the games and away from the gym while in the community. For several decades, Lincoln basketball has been known for greatness both in and out of Lincoln. Hopefully, the season will provide more of the same.

[Greg Taylor]

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