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[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.

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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.

[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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