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Illini
beat Indiana for fifth straight victory
By Greg
Taylor
[FEB.
19, 2001]
OK,
here is the situation:
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First,
starting center Marcus Griffin spends more time vomiting in a towel
than he does playing and finishes with just four points.
Second,
starting guard Cory Bradford cannot hit the broad side of a barn —
finishes the game with just three shot attempts and no points.
Third,
starting forward Sergio McClain forgets he can't shoot from the
outside and thinks he has become Cory Bradford and launches five
3-point shots, hitting just one and finishing with three points.
Finally,
Indiana's terrific trio of Jared Jeffries, Kirk Haston and Tim
Coverdale burn the Illini for a total of 50 points.
Sounds
like a sure defeat, right? Think again — after all, this is not your
father's Fighting Illini basketball team!
Illinois
overcame a subpar effort from three starters and beat their most
despised rival, the Indiana Hoosiers, 67-61 in Big Ten conference play
in Bloomington, Ind. While Marcus Griffin, Sergio McClain and Cory
Bradford combined for just seven points, Illinois played terrific
defense and shut down the Hoosiers (Indiana shot just 35 percent from
the field for the game). The victory moves Illinois’ season record
to 21-5 and allows them to keep a one-game lead in the conference,
with an 11-2 mark. Illinois has now beat Indiana four straight times
(including twice in Big Ten conference play) and has won three of the
last four games played in Bloomington. Somewhere, the bully in red
must be spitting orange and blue.
Lincoln’s
Brian Cook started fast, scoring seven early points, and led Illinois
in scoring with 16 points. Frank Williams added 14 points and, despite
missing six free throws, helped steady the ship when Indiana seemed
poised to make a serious run at the Illini. Cook and Williams, the
Illini's super sophs, are clearly the best two players on this deep
team and both appear to be committing to a return place on the Illini
team next season. Williams actually confirmed this after the game.
However,
the real story of this game was the great play of the Illini bench. Look
at the contributions from the four key bench players:
Arch
also made 7-of-8 free throws, keeping Illinois ahead.
Luke
scored all eight points in a crucial stretch which helped Illinois extend
a four-point lead to double digits.
Damir
also played great defense on Jeffries.
Sean
played an entire 10-minute stretch in the second half because, as Self put
it, "he was playing better defense than Cory."
[to top of second column in
this article]
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Photos by Tom
Seggelke & Brad Neal
Illinois
is one of the deepest teams in the country and may be one of the very
best, a point not lost on Indiana interim coach Mike Davis. "Illinois
is the best team we have seen this year," he said.
This
season marked the first wins Illinois has had at both Purdue and Indiana since
1956.
Sunday
night, Illinois moved up to No. 3 in the AP poll (press) and up to No. 4
in the ESPN/USA Today poll (coaches). Illinois continues to be on par for
a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tourney, but they refuse to look ahead that far.
After
the game, Illinois stated one and only one goal at this point: to win the
Big Ten title outright for the first time since Harry Truman was president
(1952). What must Illinois do to accomplish this feat? Win out — two
road games, Thursday at Ohio State and March 3 or 4 at Minnesota, and one
final home game, this Saturday vs. Iowa for Senior Day. Not one of these
three games will be easy, but Illinois is on a roll, and coach Self has
the Illini playing with great confidence.
So what
lies ahead for this team? Can they win the conference title outright? Can
they capture the conference tourney? Can they make the sweet 16 for the
first time since '89? How about the final four? I don't know about any of
these questions, but it will sure be fun watching!
[Greg
Taylor]
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Illinois
vs. Indiana box score
http://fightingillini.fansonly.com/sports/m-baskbl/stats/021701aaa.html
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The
ghosts of Christmas
visit the Illini
'This
is a special team and a very special season'
—
Jeff Mayfield
[FEB.
16, 2001]
For
Fighting Illini sports fans, the last few weeks have been some of
the best we’ve ever enjoyed. For so many years we’ve been like
the Cubs: Wait until next year. Then all of a sudden, along comes a
pretty good team that spends most of the season teasing us. We
battle for a league title and then are unceremoniously dumped in the
first or second round of the NCAA tournament. Wouldn’t it be nice
if that nightmare could stop this year? Is one national championship
that much to ask? This present group of Illini apparently thinks
that’s it not, because they’re chasing the prize as if they were
possessed. However, it has been no easy ride. And in addition to a
difficult schedule, there have been a lot of eerie, weird and
otherwise strange things that have accompanied this storied season.
This week the LDN peers into other dimensions and wonders if the
spirits are speaking to Illini fans…
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I
don’t know…maybe it’s just me, but I think that the Illini have
been visited by the voice of Christmas past. And of course Illini past
would have to appear in the form of Fred Hoppin. Can you imagine how
crazy Fred would be going over this edition of the Illinois hoopsters?
After the ’89 version, he dreamed of a dynasty. I dreamed along with
him, and it can’t get here soon enough as far as we’re concerned.
Who knows…maybe Fred is orchestrating this whole magical season? If
he is…nice going with that last-second Griff shot the other night,
Hop…that was a real nice touch (but on the other hand, for future
use…could you just work it so we drill teams by 25 or more…it’s
a lot easier on our tickers that way).
Seriously,
Fred Hoppin was one of the greatest men that I ever met. He also just
happened to be one of the greatest Illini fans that I ever met…there’s
probably a correlation! I used to stop by his office on my to lunch or
on my way back to work to get a daily dose of Illini optimism. No one
wanted Illinois to win more than Fred…except for me, Greg Taylor and
Lou Henson! I miss Fred. However, if he is visiting us as the ghost of
Illini past, I say…more power to him! Keep the good karma coming our
way, would you, Fred? And don’t forget to douse a little of that
voodoo on those lousy Hoosiers…just in case we need it come
Saturday.
The
ghost of Illini present is a little harder to identify. Having the
huge responsibility of not letting our loyal LDN readers down
motivated me to dig deep for this one. Upon entering the hallowed
ground of Assembly Hall last Tuesday night, I immediately spotted a
coach in a red sweater sitting behind the Wisconsin bench. And, no…it
wasn’t the big fat guy that you’re thinking of. It was the nice
guy — none other than former Badger head coach Dick Bennett.
Bennett
came into the conference a few years ago and from the outset had our
number. I don’t miss him! They battered us with their screens. Guys
like Duany Duany would have careers against us. Their defense looked
impregnable and oftentimes threw out a mirage that we were playing
5-on-8. However, I should point out that our dear old Illini learned a
very valuable lesson from our good friend Dick. If you want to win in
the Big Ten, then you’re going to have to play smash-mouth football…on
the basketball court.
For
years the Illini have been described as finesse oriented. But I’d
rather look ugly and win than be a pretty loser! Thanks to the voice
of Illini present, Illinois has finally learned that lesson: case in
point, the Michigan State and Wisconsin games. We’re not going to
take it anymore! When push comes to shove…we’re shoving back! And
with the emergence of Robert Archibald and Damir Krupalia, coupled
with the stellar play of Marcus Griffin and Brian Cook, we now can
give at least 20 fouls in the post. I believe that if we come to play,
we can send every D-I team in the country home a loser! Thank you,
coach Bennett, for teaching us such a valuable lesson.
[to top of second column in
this article]
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Most
Illini fans had no idea that the voice of Illini future was hovering over
the Hall last Tuesday night. Lost on most spectators was the fact that
former Illini head coach Lon Kruger was in Illinois as his Atlanta Hawks
were a sacrificial lamb to the Chicago Bulls while we were duking it out
with the Badgers. What most fans don’t know is that Kruger had to give
up his game in order for the Illini to win. I have no evidence to support
my claim, but it does look good on paper! Whether it’s true or not, I
don’t know, but it should be!
Regardless,
you have to give coach Kruger some credit for both our present situation
and for our future condition as well. After all, wasn’t it Lon that all
the so-called experts bashed when our recruits were announced? They said
the guys he signed couldn’t play a lick and that no one’s ever heard
of them. I have a little phrase that the LDN would like to share with all
of those experts at this time…Have you heard of them, now? I would never
place the LDN in jeopardy by saying to those clowns that I told you so,
but…I TOLD YOU SO!
I
miss Lon. I wish he were taking this ride with us. For four years I tried
to tell you jokers that Mr. Kruger knew what he was doing, but so many
became doubters. He’s starting to look smarter every game. The way Arch
has come on really validates the upside the Lon said he had. Lucas Johnson
doesn’t bring the stability that his older brother Brian brought, but he
does bring the team energy — the crowd loves him! At times Krupalia has
been huge, and Bradford and Cook are not chopped liver either. If you give
coach Judson credit for bringing in the holy trinity from Peoria, then you
have to give credit to Lon once again. He was the guy who cleverly lured
Judson away from Bradley and his good friend coach Jim Molinari!
The
Illini seem to have a great future in front of them — that is, IF
everyone stays healthy and IF everyone continues to do well in the
classroom and IF nobody jumps to the NBA.
The
ghost of Illini future was so good to all of us through the years that
most of us did not realize what we had until he went away! Some of us did.
Thanks, coach K (Lon is the true coach K in my book) for the many gifts
you left behind. If we win the national championship, the LDN will vote
you a ring!
Finally,
I have concluded one certainty. Either we have been visited by the ghosts
of Christmas/Illini past or…I’ve got to stop eating cold pizza when I’m
giving Payne his late-night feedings!
[Jeff
Mayfield]
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Illini
survive Badger scare
By Greg
Taylor
[FEB.
14, 2001]
Former
Lincoln College standout Marcus Griffin hit a short jumper with just
two seconds remaining as No. 4 Illinois overcame a superior effort
by No. 19 Wisconsin and beat the Badgers 68-67. Wisconsin led for
over 35 game minutes (out of a total of 40) and built 13-point leads
on three occasions, including the halftime margin (35-22). Illinois
made just 3-of-14 3-point baskets on the night, and just one in the
first half (a game-opening 3-point basket by Lincoln’s Brian
Cook). Wisconsin, on the other hand, made nine 3-point baskets on
the evening, including six in the first half on 67 percent shooting
from behind the arc.
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One
of the greatest streaks in college basketball history came to an end
Tuesday night, as junior Cory Bradford failed to connect on a 3-point
basket. His consecutive game streak ends at 88 games, a record which
should stand for years to come. Bradford had ample opportunities to extend
the streak, but missed all six 3-point attempts and finished with just two
points in 33 minutes of action. However, after the game, Bradford was
nothing but a class act, stating "the win is much more important than
the streak."
For
a while Tuesday night, it looked like both the Bradford streak and
Illinois’ 15-game home winning streak would come crashing to a halt.
However, from the nine-minute mark of the second half, Illinois began to
chip away at the double-digit Badger lead. In a sloppy foul-fest, 30 fouls
were called in the second half alone, and Illinois found themselves
attacking the Wisconsin lead from the free-throw line. Illinois shot an
excellent 76 percent from the line in the second half and 75 percent from
the line for the game.
Lincoln’s
duo of Griffin and Cook both had strong performances. Cook scored 16
points and grabbed a team-high eight rebounds in 33 minutes of action.
Griffin scored 18 points and grabbed six boards, including five huge
offensive rebounds. On the night, Illinois outrebounded the Badgers 30-20
and limited Wisconsin to just three offensive rebounds. Peoria native
Frank Williams led the Illini in scoring with 22 points, but probably had
the biggest play of the game by setting the pick on Griffin’s defender,
which allowed his former high school teammate to play the part of hero.
Again, much credit should go to coach Bill Self. After the game, Self was
asked if it was Williams who would normally throw in the lob pass to
Griffin. Self responded, "Normally he (Frank) has that
responsibility, but I really wanted Frankie to be able to set the pick and
free Grif." Can you say Big Ten coach of the year?
Several
potential troubling signs were in plain view Tuesday night. Among them:
-
Bradford
appears to once again be in shooting funk.
Answer: Illinois really struggles when Bradford is not in stride.
-
Wisconsin
was able to take away the 3-point attempt.
Answer: Illinois must hit the "3" to win against good teams.
-
Illinois’
bench gave very little.
Answer: Illinois needs Archibald to be a factor (one point and one
rebound in seven minutes), Harrington to make shots (only one attempt
in 17 minutes), and Johnson to make his free throws (just 1-of-3,
including a missed 1-and-1).
- Big Ten officials are trying
to clean up the game, but inconsistency reigns.
Answer: Fans have this discussion every year. After the game, no one
from either team appeared pleased with the officials.
However,
we can highlight three positives on this night:
Illinois
returns to action Saturday with a road game against their rivals from the
east, the Indiana Hoosiers. While Wisconsin used three guards throughout
the game, Indiana starts a front line of 6-9, 6-9 and 6-10, and features
the one-two punch of all-conference center Kirk Haston and the best
freshman in the Big Ten, Jared Jeffries. Game time is 3:30 p.m. and the
action can be seen on WCIA-TV.
[Greg
Taylor]
[to top of second column in
this article]
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Photos
by Ed Bacon
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Wisconsin
vs. Illinois box score
http://fightingillini.fansonly.com/sports/m-baskbl/stats/021301aaa.html
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The
men of the Big Ten
By Greg
Taylor
[FEB.
13, 2001]
Every
year a national argument is waged over which conference in America
can claim to be the best. Most years, the Big Ten conference is able
to argue fairly effectively about the merits of their conference of
11. One thing that cannot be argued, however, is the solid track
record for great head coaches throughout the history of the Big Ten.
In the last two decades alone, men like Lute Olsen, Bobby Knight,
Bill Frieder, Gene Keady, Lou Henson, Dick Bennett and Lon Kruger
have set themselves apart as excellent (in most cases) leaders of
their respective teams. Today, the LDN looks at the current state of
coaches in the Big Ten and assesses which coaches are in trouble,
which ones are keepers and which leaders are probably headed for
bigger (and maybe better) programs.
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Coaches on
the bubble and/or in trouble (have your resume ready)
1.
Brian Ellerbe, University
of Michigan
Insiders
say Michigan never wanted Ellerbe for more than an interim period.
However, his ’97-’98 team won the first ever Big Ten tourney, and
Wolverine players lobbied hard for Ellerbe to stay. Many of those very
players (Robert Trailor) never played another game for Michigan, and the
Wolverines are just plain bad — they are light years behind rival MSU
and might not even be the second best D-1 team in the state. Ellerbe is
probably gone at the end of the year, and look for Michigan to hire one of
two available legends: NBA failure Rick Pitino or former IU coach Bob
Knight, with the former having the ability and willpower to come in and
clean up a program which looks awful dirty on the outside. As an Illini
fan, however, I sure hope Michigan locks up Ellerbe and signs him to
another five-year contract!
2.
Brad Soberberg,
University of Wisconsin (interim)
Placed
in a really bad spot early this season, Soderberg stepped in when Dick
Bennett retired suddenly, and the Badgers have not missed a beat. The
bruisers from Madison are still one of the two toughest teams in the Big
Ten, and Soderberg appears to have continued the Wisconsin system without
much trouble. If Soderberg does not get the job on a full-time basis, the
next coach will have the problem of inheriting a team of blue-collar, hard
workers who might not fit in a system that emphasizes athleticism. At this
point, it appears any decision has not been made, but the LDN feels good
about the possibility of Soderberg staying.
3.
Mike Davis, Indiana University (interim)
Illinois
plays at IU Saturday and something will be missing — big Bob Knight.
When IU dismissed the man in the big red sweater on Sept. 10, very few
thought Davis would have much of a shot of keeping the job past this
season. The Hoosiers have been up and down throughout the year, losing to
Indiana State (really bad loss), while handing Michigan State their first
loss of the season (great win!). Davis appears to have the respect of the
current players, but don’t be surprised to see a more established coach
roaming the sidelines in southern Indiana next season (can anyone say Tim
Floyd?). Again, from the view of an Illini fan, I would love to see Davis
stay as head coach for many years to come.
Too early to
tell
1.
Dan Monson, Minnesota University
In
just his second season, Monson inherited a program in serious trouble from
the Clem Haskins era and has done a great job building respect and dignity
in Minneapolis. This year’s version of the Golden Gophers has been
decimated by injuries and will not win many more games this season.
However, Monson looks like a keeper (only time will tell) and could be
just what the doctor ordered for Minnesota in light of past moral and
ethical problems.
2.
Bill Carmody, Northwestern University
In
his first season at NU, Carmody came this year from Princeton and
installed a system which could prove to be a gold mine for the Wildcat
program. Never able to compete with other Big Ten schools for high-profile
athletes, Carmody looks like the man to create a "Princeton of the
Midwest" — a team which will never beat you by 25 but could knock
off anyone in the conference as a result of their discipline, ball control
and unselfish play. Already, signs exist Northwestern has found a coach
who is a keeper in more ways than one.
Hard to read
1.
Jerry Dunn, Penn State University
Here
is an idea: Try to build a basketball power in the back yard of one of the
most storied football programs in the country. Penn State has been just
about average during Dunn’s six seasons, but average may be good enough
for Penn State basketball. Anyway, Penn State gets almost no serious press
coverage, and unless a major scandal hits the basketball program, the LDN
does not see Dunn leaving the program anytime soon.
[to top of second column in
this article]
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Coaches who
are in great shape
1.
Gene Keady, Purdue University
Keady
is in his 21st season in West Lafayette and will probably stay
as long as he desires — more than likely until he retires. The coach who
led the Boilers to three straight Big Ten conference titles in the ’90s
(’94, ’95 and ’96), Keady has always kept Purdue in the mix of the
conference race, and Mackey arena is usually one of the toughest places to
win in the Big Ten. While Keady will not be confused with a Boy Scout
anytime soon, he has a proven track record and appears set to stay at
Purdue for the rest of his career.
2.
Jim O’Brien, Ohio State University
O’Brien
came to Ohio State when the Buckeyes were in sad shape and proceeded to
lead the Buckeyes to the final four in just his second year. In addition,
this year’s team was not expected to finish higher than seventh, yet is
currently tied for third place, holds victories over Michigan State, Iowa
and Wisconsin, and lost by just one point to No. 6 Kansas in December. O’Brien
appears to like Columbus, and the natives in Ohio like him a whole lot
more than John Cooper (although I’m not sure that is much of a
compliment). Look for O’Brien to stay quite a while.
Coaches who
could stay forever, but probably/maybe will not
1.
Tom Izzo, Michigan State University
Izzo
almost left for the NBA in May after leading MSU to the national title,
but instead returned for his sixth year in East Lansing. All Izzo has
accomplished in five seasons is this: three Big Ten titles, two final four
appearances and a national title. Not bad for a coach from the upper
peninsula of Michigan who many thought was not up to the job. MSU is the
premier program in the Big Ten today, and they absolutely own of the state
of Michigan when it comes to recruiting. Izzo was able to say no to the
Atlanta Hawks, but will he be able to resist a premier college program
(like Kentucky or UCLA) or a good NBA situation (maybe Detroit)? Our guess
is Izzo stays for a while, but we don’t see him at MSU forever.
2.
Steve Alford, Iowa University
Everyone
in America (for the most part) thinks Alford will eventually end up in
Bloomington, Ind. However, the Hawkeyes would love to lock him up and keep
their conference rival from stealing their fair-haired boy. Alford says he
plans to stay in Iowa forever, but — herein lies the program — we are
talking about Iowa (ouch!). While the Hawkeye fans love their team, can
Alford be happy long-term in Iowa City? (We don’t think so.) And what
happens when one of the premier programs in America comes calling? We say
Steve says, "See ya!"
3.
Bill Self, University of Illinois
This one
breaks my heart. I absolutely love Self and hope he stays in Champaign for
25 years. But the bottom line is this: Self is one of the rising stars in
college coaching, and I could see him stick in Illini land just long
enough to acquire a job like Kentucky, Kansas or UCLA. I do think Illinois
A.D. Ron Guenther will do whatever he can to keep Self, and I don’t see
him jumping ship to the NBA (like Lon Kruger), but I think eventually one
of two things will happen: One, Self will build Illinois into one of the
best five programs in America and stay forever (probably will not happen
— but we sure would love it!). Or, number two, one of the top five
programs in America will come calling and Self will be gone. Only time
will tell, but right now, Self seems like a great fit in Illini-land.
Oh,
by the way, what are the top five programs in the land, you may ask? From
where I am looking, they would appear to be (in no particular order):
Duke
Kansas
Kentucky
North
Carolina
UCLA
(Michigan
State is knocking on the door)
We would
love to hear what you think! E-mail
us with your top five programs and/or any comments or predictions
about Big Ten coaches.
[Greg
Taylor]
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