Illinois destroys Texas Southern

By Greg Taylor              

[NOV. 23, 2005]  CHAMPAIGN -- Illinois rebounded from a subpar effort on Tuesday evening at the Assembly Hall with a 93-59 victory over Texas Southern. Illinois moves to 3-0 on the year behind a balanced scoring effort by the Illini, with five players in double figures for the boys in orange. Illinois shot 49 percent for the game and dominated the game on both ends of the court. All 10 eligible scholarship players received double-digit minutes and contributed points in the blowout win.

Illinois will now face an excellent Wichita State team Friday afternoon at the South Padre Island Invitational. Game time is set for 3:30 p.m. and the game can be seen on CSTV.

On Tuesday, Illinois was led by seniors Dee Brown and James Augustine, with Brown scoring 14 and Augustine chipping in 13. Freshman Jamar Smith finished strong with 12 points, while juniors Marcus Arnold and Warren Carter each scored in double figures -- Carter with 11 and Arnold with 10. Illinois outrebounded Texas Southern 41-32 and shot far fewer 3-point attempts -- just 21 on the night and only seven in the second half. Sophomore Brian Randle and Brown each contributed five assists to lead the team.

Coach Bruce Weber seemed to really attempt to get freshman Calvin Brock and Randle going early. Brock continues to struggle to adjust to the pace of the college game, and both Brock and Randle, incredibly gifted players athletically, showed flashes of their potential Tuesday night. Arnold had another solid effort and is showing Illini fans what most of the team already knew -- he will be a factor for this year's squad.

Two areas continue to plague the Illini. First, they converted just 15 of 25 free-throw attempts on the night, and second, they seemed very content to jack up 3-point attempts, especially early in the game. Illinois did improve in the turnover area, having just 10 on the night, and didn't commit a turnover until the five-minute mark of the first half. Illinois also pushed the tempo of the game in the second half and showed that this team can survive and even thrive in a track-meet-type atmosphere.

I was asked after this third game who are the best five Illini at this time -- and I think that is a really tough question to answer. Obviously Dee Brown and James Augustine are in the game most, if not all, of the time. As odd as it may seem, I'm really leaning toward, hoping for consistent three-guard lineups -- with huge minutes for Rich McBride and Jamar Smith and regular time for Chet Frazier. I really like what Arnold and Shaun Pruitt are doing down low and could see them sharing the "five" spot most of the time. Three players are then forced to "play themselves" into the rotation: Brock, Carter and Randle. My guess is Randle will get significant minutes because of his defense, athleticism and potential. Carter will need to make the most of the chances he receives early and make the easy shots, or he could find himself as the odd man out. Brock will need to really improve to get regular rotation minutes.

Illini tidbits

• The Illini wore their orange jerseys for the first time this season.
• Illinois had 23 assists on the night, while Texas Southern had just three.
• Illinois will play Friday and Saturday in South Texas and return to action on Tuesday at North Carolina in the ACC/Big Ten shootout. The game is a rematch of last season's national title game.
• Walk-on Chris Hicks of Chicago Whitney Young received his first playing time of the year.
• Several former Illini were in attendance on the evening, including 7-footer Bill Rucks of nearby Mount Pulaski and Jerry Hester of the '98 conference title team. Hester is handling the radio color commentary for the majority of the games this year.

[Greg Taylor; picture by Tom Seggelke]

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