Bleacher Report - Illinois Fighting Illini Basketball

Fighting Illini Basketball Is Back and Here to Stay

Christopher Murphy — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 14:23:00 -0500

After a two-year showing of complete mediocrity and borderline bad..ocrity in 2006 through 2008, the Fighting Illini of Illinois are back.

After a 24-10 campaign last year, which ended in a first-round loss to Western Kentucky as a five seed in the NCAA tournament, with sophomores Demetri McCamey, Mike Davis, and Mike Tisdale breaking out, the Illini have added freshman Brandon Paul and D.J. Richardson to the mix.

Richardson was ranked 14th among high school shooting guards in the country, while Paul was 23rd, both being 2009 ESPN Top 100 recruits, and both have shown to fit well in Bruce Weber's system early in the season.

Richardson plays stifling defense which makes up for the loss of Chester Frazier and Calvin Brock, who, although unable to put the ball in the basket, played shut-down defense. Richardson, however, can score as well.

Paul can simply do it all. He can drive, shoot, and the Illini finally have another three-point threat besides McCamey, who worked in the offseason moving from shooting guard to the point.

What people are not seeing with the Illini is the other two freshman, Tyler Griffey and Joseph Bertrand, who are simply not starting because the Illinois starting five is just that good.

Griffey, another 2009 ESPN Top 100 recruit, is a power forward with the ability to work in the post, while having the ability to hit from beyond the arc with regularity. Bertrand, although not a Top 100 recruit, was given a grade of 88/100 from ESPN, is a shooting guard who can also hit the three-point shot and has confidence handling the ball.

This season you are looking at a starting five of juniors McCamey, Davis, and Tisdale along with freshman Paul and Richardson. The Illini also have big-bodied senior Dominique Keller to come off the bench to fill in for Tisdale when he decides to play like a frightened child, junior Alex Legion to come in for an offensive spark, along with Griffey and Bertrand.

Next season, the Illini should only lose Keller and fan-favorite Bubba Chisolm. They will gain, however, the 5th-ranked small forward in Jereme Richmond, who some are calling the "biggest recruit in Illinois history", the 3rd-ranked center in Meyers Leonard, and Crandall Head, brother of Luther and ranked 21st among shooting guards. All three are 2010 ESPN Top 100 recruits.

The Illini are already set for when Tisdale and Davis leave in two seasons with Stan Simpson and Griffey, but these recruiting classes not only secure the Illini even more, but make for difficult competition for playing time along with an impressive bench.

Illinois also has verbal commitments for 2011 from Chicago southland standouts 9th-ranked point guard Tracy Abrams from Mount Carmel High School and 11th-ranked center Nnanna Egwu from St. Ignatius. We all know how verbal commitments can play out, however.

The Illini ran into a bad match-up in the tournament last year, facing a Western Kentucky team that not only defeated Louisville, but had four players from the Sweet Sixteen team the year before. The Illini, as a team, had 74 minutes of tournament experience 56 of which were sitting on the bench with an injury in the form of Frazier. Any intelligent college basketball fan had Illinois losing that game.

This year, however, is a different story. The Illini are young, talented, and more importantly, experienced.

The Big Ten is on the rise and these recruiting classes were a must not just for the Illini to compete, but also for Weber to keep his job.

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Brandon Paul Leads Fighting Illini to Win Over Northern Illinois

Frank Gasper — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 23:51:08 -0500

The Illini faced the not so tough Northern Illinois Huskies tonight. The game was not on TV, so I had to keep track online. One stat intrigued me: Brandon Paul, a freshman guard, had 14 of Illinois' first 21 points. He broke a record for most points in an Illini freshman debut in the first game, and now this! He is looking to be a phenomenal player.

Northern Illinois gave Illinois a scare at the end of the half, going on a 14-3 run to close the gap to 49-41. The Huskies didn't let up, trimming the Illini's lead to seven points with 12:27 remaining in the game.

The Illini were dangered by turnovers that resulted in 17 Huskie points. As usual, they are having ball handling troubles.

The Illini eventually bounced back to dominate the rest of the game and go on to their second win of the season.

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How Big of a Difference Will Illinois' Jeffery Jordan Make When He Comes Back?

Frank Gasper — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 17:13:12 -0500

Jeffery Jordan has missed the first game and will miss tonight's game against the Northern Illinois Huskies due to a rule violation.

Jordan will almost take Chester Frazier's spot on the team this year.

Jordan's defensive skills are what will give him a chance at a starting job. But how big of a difference will he make when he comes back after tonight's game?

Jordan is not a terrific player, but is a great player to have on a team.

Brandon Paul scored 22 points in his first career game, an Illini record. So I don't really think Jordan will get a starting spot if Paul plays the same way tonight.

Jordan is one of my favorite players on the Illini, and I think he has a great future ahead of him. He originally quit the team to focus on his academic career. He decided he was going to play in a 3-on-3 tournament with the Illini. Due to the fact that he was not on the team at the time, the NCAA suspended him. An almost harmless rule.

So when Jordan comes back, I want to know how big of a change the team will have to make, and how big of a difference will he make. I also want to know if it will be good or bad. Please comment on what you think.

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Would You Want Chester Frazier As an Assistant for Illinois Basketball?

Frank Gasper — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 01:13:25 -0500

There has been talks about former University of Illinois point guard, Chester Frazier, coming back to be an assistant. I think he would be a great help with his basketball knowledge and great athletic skills. But there might be some of you out there who disagree, so I am going to try and turn you over.

Chester was a great point guard, and probably the best defender in the Big Ten last year. I think he got screwed over for Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year.

Chester has great knowledge for the game. I have seen him play in person and he is just great. In fact, I went to the Fighting Illini basketball camp, and I got to talk to him a lot because he was a coach for my age group, but not mine. He is a very down to earth guy.

He loves to crack a joke every once in a while as well. During the basketball camp, one of the days, he was trying to bounce the ball from half-court, about a couple feet in front of the hoop, and bounce it in. A seemingly impossible shot. He actually made it. Of course, not on his first attempt, but it was still a great shot.

I also got to sit down and eat lunch with him and Dominique Keller. We talked about Keller's visit to China and all the crazy food down there. It was a great time for me and a couple of the kids I met down there.

Chester was an amazing defender. He definitely should have won the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year. No disrespect to Travis Walton , but Frazier is just a flat-out better defender.

I think Chester would be a great assistant coach for the fact that he will be with former teammates as well. Which would be a great match up.

So those of you thought that Chester Frazier would not be a good assistant have hopefully turned around and figured out that the former point guard would be a great fit for the job.

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Illinois Fighting Illini Men's Basketball All-Time Starting Lineup

Frank Gasper — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 00:21:00 -0500

The Fighting Illini have not had many great teams, with their best being of course the 2004-05 team. I was only about seven years old during that year, so I only remember certain things from that year.

The thing I remember the most is coming home from school, walking in the door, and my brother telling me the Illini lost to Ohio State by one. I was devastated. But that team was just so good.

As most of you know, they lost to the University of North Carolina Tar Heels in the national championship game.

Here is my all-time Fighting Illini basketball team.

Starting Point Guard: No. 11 Daniel "Dee" Brown (2002-2006)

Dee was my favorite player of all time, my favorite athlete of all time, and my role model. Hearing the announcer faintly scream DEEEEEE FOOORRRR THREEEEE!!!! on TV was just a huge joy to me.

Dee had a great career and is basically considered a god down at University of Illinois. When he retired his famous orange headband, he ended the four best years in the school's history.

Brown is the winningest player in Illinois history (tied with James Augustine) with 114 victories, leads in all-time minutes (4,698), and started the most games (136) of any player in school history.

Brown played in 137 games during his career, the most in school history (tied with Augustine). He is third on the Illini all-time scoring chart with 1,812 career points and second in school history in career three-pointers (299), career assists (674), and career steals (231). His career assists total ranks fifth in Big Ten history, while his career three-pointers and career steals totals rank sixth in Big Ten history.

Brown is also Illinois' record holder in the NCAA Tournament for career points (179) and career field goals (64). So many stunning records. His quickness was just quite amazing

I actually keep up with what he is doing on his twitter, MySpace, and his own website. He also has a career in music with two mixtapes currently out right now.

Starting Shooting Guard: No. 25 Deon Thomas (1991-1994)

Thomas was maybe the best player in Illini history. He was Illinois' all-time leading scorer (2,129 points) and second all-time leading rebounder with 846. He averaged 18.0 points per game over his career and was a Second-Team All-Big Ten selection in 1992, 1993, and 1994 after earning Third-Team honors in 1991.

He holds Illini records for most field goals in a career (803), most blocked shots in a career (177), and most free throws in a game with 19. He was the Illini team MVP in 1992, 1993, and 1994.

Thomas set Illini freshman records by scoring 21 points in his debut, which was just broken by freshman Brandon Paul this year.

Thomas will always be known as a great Illini player.

Starting Small Forward: No. 22 Johnny "Red" Kerr (1952-1954)

Kerr was another great player. He earned the Chicago Tribune Silver Basketball Trophy in 1954 as the Big Ten's Most Valuable Player and was named team MVP and captain in 1954. He played for Syracuse in the NBA from 1955-63, for Philadelphia in 1964 and 1965, and at Baltimore in 1966.

Kerr was Second Team All-Big Ten in 1952 and 1953 and First Team in 1954. He earned Honorable Mention All-America honors in 1952 and 1953 and Second Team All-America honors in 1954. He was named to the 1952 NCAA Final Four All-Tournament Team.

He finished his Illini career as the school's all-time leading scorer with 1,299 points and 18.6 scoring average. Kerr averaged 25.3 points per game in 1954, the second-best scoring season in school history. He was a great player who recently passed away from an illness.

Starting Power Forward: No. 34 Brian Cook (1999-2002)

Cook, who is currently playing in the NBA, was the 2003 Big Ten Player of the Year and Chicago Tribune Silver Basketball Winner. He was a First Team All-Big Ten pick in 2003 after earning Second Team honors in 2001 and 2002. He was the 2000 Big Ten Co-Freshman of the Year and was named a Third Team All-American in 2003.

Cook finished his Illini career third on the all-time scoring list with 1,748 points and fifth on the career rebounding list with 815. He led the Big Ten in scoring in 2003 with an average of 20.0 points per game and set the Illini single-season free throw record in 2002 by making 96-110 for 87.3 percent.

He played in 98 wins over his Illini career, third-most in school history. Cook is one of my favorite players in the NBA.

Starting Center: No. ?? Duane "Skip" Thoren (1963-65)

Thoren is a player who I have barely heard of...until I looked him up. He was a phenomenal player. Named First Team All-Big Ten in 1965 and Second Team in 1964. He was a First Team All-American in 1965 and Honorable Mention in 1964.

He ranks 25th on the Illini career scoring chart with 1,164 points, averaging 15.7 points and 11.2 rebounds per game over his three-year career. He averaged 20.3 points and 13.8 rebounds as a junior and 22.2 points and 14.5 rebounds as a senior.

He holds the top two spots on the Illini rebounding lists for season average (14.5 and 13.8) and total rebounds in a season (349 and 331). He also set the Illini single-game rebound record with 24 against UCLA on Dec. 28, 1963. His scoring average of 22.2 points ranks as the fifth-best season in Illini history. He has four of the top 10 rebounding efforts in Illini history, each over 20 rebounds.

He was an early ABA star before a serious knee injury ended a promising pro career.

Honorable Mention: No. 30 Frank Williams (2000-2002)

Williams was a great point guard. He earned First-Team All-America honors in 2001 and was Honorable Mention in 2002. He was Big Ten Player of the Year and Big Ten Silver Basketball Award winner in 2001. He was First-Team All-Big Ten in 2001 and 2002 and a Wooden Award nominee in 2001 and 2002.

Williams ranks 12th on the Illini career scoring list with 1,440 points, a career 14.3 scoring average. He ranks fifth in school history in career assists with 432 and third in career steals with 212. He holds the Illini record with most free throw attempts in a game with 24.

He was the Illini team MVP in 2001 and 2002 after helping Illinois to shares of the Big Ten title each season.

This is my all-time University of Fighting Illini men's basketball all-time starting lineup. The Illini have never won a national championship, unfortunately.

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