illinilaw08

Alright, finally home for the night with some thoughts... brian Randle is a huge spark to have, Illinois pulled away in the second half with him on the floor. He does all the dirty work, points come on put backs and he plays very good defense. Cut down on the stupid fouls, and we have a heck of a player. Rich McBride played another solid game, I don't care what the 3 point percentage says. He did quite the job on Grier defnsively. That being said, Jamar is starting to get there defensively, saw a much improved effort from him tonight. The final thing I have to say is that the wave sucks, and i will join krush in holding steve personally accountable for that travesty being displayed in Assembly Hall tonight. Thats all I got.

Artest fior Peja back on pending league approval. http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=2304942

QUOTE(Chisoxfn @ Jan 25, 2006 -> 11:53 AM) Look at there record when Odom takes a lot of shots (I think its 15 or more). They haven't won one of those games. Odom is a douche. He's been it everywhere he was with the exception of 1 year in Miami. The reason he was cool in Miami was because he knew he was on real thin ice after being caught smoking pot a few too many times. I hate Kobe but at least Kobe works his ass off (hardest worker in the league) and leaves it all on the court. The fact that the two of them don't get along is because Kobe expects his teammates to work hard and give it there all. If they don't, might as well kick him out of town. At least with Artest there (if they made the Croshere/Artest for Odom deal) they'd have a guy that works very hard and gives it his all. Plus Kobe and Phil would hopefully be able to give him a decent support network. Oh, I agree completely that LA would be the best spot for Artest. Not only is Kobe the type of player that could keep Artest in line, but it seems like Artest actually wants to be there. In addition, I agree with you that Kobe is one of the hardest working players in the league. As far as the Odom argument goes, I do agree that Odom's work ethic is questionable, but I really think the issue there is that Odom does not feel like he gets the ball enough and he is definitely pouting about it. I also think it is clear watching Lakers games that a lot of his teammates do not get along with Kobe. Now, don't get me wrong, in my opinion Kobe is the best player in the NBA, I just think that he is part of the reason Odom is pouting right now. An Artest-Odom swap makes sense for both teams.

QUOTE(Chisoxfn @ Jan 24, 2006 -> 11:01 PM) That was originally the case, but Kobe wants Odom out and to be honest I don't blame him. Odom doesn't have any work ethic and Kobe won't stand for that. Kobe may be a prick but he's the hardest worker in the league and he's not going to sit around and watch a teammate of his play lazy and thats what Odom does. I will grant you that Odom has looked lazy recently, but honestly I think it is beceause the two of them just do not get along. Odom looks more and more frusturated as the season has gone on by hi lack of touches. IMO Odom is the only player on the Lakers that really can make in impact in games aside from Kobe. As such, I could see an Odom for Artest trade happening at some point, assuming the Pacers would take Odom.

QUOTE(He_Gawn @ Jan 24, 2006 -> 10:01 PM) A lot of fouls called in this game. I wish theyd just let them play. That happens far too much for my liking, especially on the road in the big 10. Also of note, I heard the overrated chant come out tonight which may be dumber than the wave.

QUOTE(maggsmaggs @ Jan 24, 2006 -> 08:04 PM) Now that the trade is off, Peja is PO'd. Pax could try and trade for him. Ben Gordon would likely go, but I think it may be risky considering Peja has injury problems and declining. Peja is an FA next year if I recall correctly. I would not trade Gordon for someone who wasn't signed for a few years. Paul Pierce is still the guy I think the Bulls could get using Gordon, probably won't happen but he would look real nice with the Bulls. As far as Artest goes, I don't want any part of Artest on a young team. Also, I'm skeptical that Artest could get along with Skiles.

QUOTE(Palehosefan @ Jan 24, 2006 -> 03:53 PM) Micah Downs leaving Kansas... http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascity/13700764.htm Dad says he's going "home". Wherever that may be. He's lived in Washington, Las Vegas, Missouri and a few more places. Kansas people were shocked with this transfer, even though he wasn't getting much P/T. Any idea where he might end up? A McDonald's AA last year if I recall correctly, and a pretty good shooter, maybe Gonzaga or Washington if he wants to go home?

QUOTE(q\/\/3r+y @ Jan 23, 2006 -> 09:28 PM) Guess some don't realize the talent that is on this team. The bulls are easily one of the deepest teams in the league, and i also agree we need a superstar type player ( believe we have one in the making in deng). Actually i don't think he will ever be a super star but a type 20 player int he leaguye is not out of reach for a player of his caliber. If you guys do not feel they can win a championship by the 2008-2009 when do you? Five years... ten... twenty? This team has to play it's cards right like i said, otherwise we will continue to be a 6th-8th seed. Sorry, I guess I misread the original post. I agree with you completely that there is a very strong core in place and that the more years they play together the better they will be (no need to look further than Detroit and San Antonio to see the benefit of that). The Bulls are definitely a couple players away though. As i said earlier, someone to draw a double team, and some veteran front court depth and the Bulls could be there. Like you said, the Bulls need to make the right moves.

No way the Bulls are within 3 years of a title. There need someone who can draw a double team, maybe that will be Deng, but at this point he is the only one with that potential. I actually am really hoping they can maybe send Gordon, a pick and Tim Thomas to the Celtics for Pierce (for all his faults a legitimate guy to draw double teams). Then you can have a lineup of Hinrich, Pierce and Deng with Duhon coming off the bench. Add some veteran help to the frontcourt, and the Bulls could be in good shape. They absolutely need that guy to draw a double team though.

Wow, real tough day to be a QB named Jake so far.

QUOTE(SnB @ Jan 21, 2006 -> 04:42 PM) mcbride having a wonderful game, it's about time. Agreed. When McBride plays well and with confidence, Illinois is a very dangerous team.

Very good half for the Illini in what is a must win game. Nice to see Dee shooting the ball well on the road, and I really like seeing Carter getting Arnold's minutes.

Brian Randle with a nasty looking cut on his forehead. Good start for the Illini though up 13-7. Hopefully they can stitch Randle up and get him back in the game

QUOTE(Rowand44 @ Jan 21, 2006 -> 01:23 PM) North Dakota State has won. That has to be the upset of the year right there. It will be very interesting to see how Wisconsin rebounds from a loss like that.

Wow, Georgetown up 14 at the half

QUOTE(whitesoxfan99 @ Jan 17, 2006 -> 08:32 PM) The thing was Rich's ballhandling and passing was also terrible tonight and he had 0 assists. He brought nothing to the table tonight. No, I agree completely that Rich did not show up tonight. I just really don't think Jamar is ready to be starting or taking too many of those minutes. Now Chester Frazier may start to see some of those minutes because it seems to me that he is further developed on the defensive end and has a better understanding of what to do in the half court offense. All in all though, I agree that we do need to see more from Rich than he showed tonight.

QUOTE(WHarris1 @ Jan 17, 2006 -> 08:21 PM) Agreed on all accounts. Rich McBride is more and more frustrating as the games go by. Jamar needs to starting taking his minutes. First off, Chester Frazier is going to be a very solid point guard for this team before he is done. He played excellent defense tonight and, though I doubt he will ever be a scorer, the Illinois offense seems to run very well when he's on the floor. With regard to Rich McBride, no he did not shoot the ball well tonight, but neither did anyone from the outside. Rich still plays much better defense than Jamar, and I really do not think Jamar Smith has a very good grasp of the offense right now. Most of his open looks have come off in transition. Give him some time and that will come around. No, Rich has not shot the ball very well, especially on the road, but until Jamar Smith becomes more than just a shooter, the Illini are better off with McBride, and maybe even Frazier, on the floor. Finally, just a great game from Pruitt and Randle. Notice that both Ager and Vaden have really struggled when they played the Illini which is largely a result of Brian Randle. All in all, a tough loss to swallow, but not one that was unexpected. The Illini just need to steal a couple road wins and hold serve at home and they will be in the Big 10 race at the end.

QUOTE(ZoomSlowik @ Jan 17, 2006 -> 12:26 PM) I'm not really enamored with the Illini or a White-less Hoosiers team. As good as Killingsworth is, he turns the ball over a ton and is brutal at the free throw line. Both of those can be crippling in a close game against a good team. On the other hand, my opinions on the Illini are well known. Unless Dee hits every outside shot again (not literally, you know what I mean), they should probably lose by about 8 (it will be very close, but I'm factoring in free throws at the end). They'd already have two more losses without some well-placed Dee Brown barages, so I'm starting to wonder how many of those he has left. I am not optimistic about this game tonight. The Illini need to get a good effort from both Augustine and Brown to have a chance in this game and some sort of a contribution from a third guy (Randle or McBride maybe?). If Randle and Augustine manage to stay out of foul trouble, it should be one hell of a basketball game tonight.

QUOTE(Chisoxfn @ Jan 13, 2006 -> 04:31 PM) Or lets talk Big 10 football. Ferentz, whom hasn't had great recruiting classes to work with or some guy like Zook who does a good job recruiting. I know one thing, Ferentz gets his guys and makes em better. He hasn't had much of a recruiting class, but I'm hoping his statement where he once again turned down the pro's will help get a couple more good recruits in. IIRC they had a good recruiting class last year (especially by Iowa's standards). Oh and I'd take Ferenzt (a hell of a coach, maybe not the greatest recruiter) over just a recruiter any day of the week. Ferentz outrecruited Turner in Illinois the past couple years. Turner had extreme trouble recruiting highly rated players that were not running backs. I do think that Ferentz is a very good coach AND a good recruiter and in direct response to this, one of the first things Zook said as head football coach was that Illinois needs to seal the border and stop the top players in the state from going to Iowa. My argument is merely that Illinois needed better recruiting, Zook will bring that, and then let's see what he can do with the talent.

Alright, I feel the need to jump in on this Zook discussion. As a glass half full guy, I can point to several reasons that the University of Illinois is better off with Zook. First of all this recruiting class IS incredibly impressive. Zook sold the program to a lot of very good high school players when the results on the field this year were absolutely pathetic. It is also very unfair to judge Zook based on the team's performance this year. When Turner left, the talent cupboard, especially on the defensive side of the ball was absolutely empty. Illinois started one of the highest numbers of upperclassmen in the country this year, and that will translate to a lot of losses for a college football team. Zook's impact as a recruiter will be noticeable in terms of record 3-4 years down the road when his players have gained experience. The next point I want to bring up is that Zook is a poor coach. Now I did not follow his Florida teams all that closely, so I will not judge his performance there. However, another guy who "can't coach" just won a national title for Texas and the guy coaching opposite him was a major failure as an NFL coach. If Zook can bring in top 25 talent, Illinois will be a top 25 team. That being said, I do not expect Illinois to consistently be able to compete with Michigan and Ohio State, but it is not an unreasonable expectation for Illinois to go to a bowl game almost every year and contend for a Big 10 title once every five years. Based on what Zook has shown as a recruiter thus far, there is no reason in my mind that he cannot accomplish that.

QUOTE(Elcaballo45 @ Jan 9, 2006 -> 12:10 PM) I'm pretty sure they should be able to medical redshirt him. I remember Andy Krupalia for Illinois about 4 years ago played like 5 or 6 games and then medically redshirted. I think the max games might be 8 to 10. Or im talking out my ass... who knows, it's Monday. It was Damir Krupalija, and yeah he did receive a medical red-shirt. The NCAA has to approve it, but they usually do. Brian Randle received one from last year even though he played in a few games at the very start of the year as well. All in all though a very tough blow for IU though I still think they will go as the outside shooting takes them. Killingsworth is still in my opinion the top big man in the big 10, but if Vaden and Strickland hit big shots, IU is still going to be very dangerous.

I got all the stuff about 3 weeks ago, but the baseballs were the last thing I received and they all shipped seperately. I got the baseballs within about a week of getting the coin.

QUOTE(aboz56 @ Jan 5, 2006 -> 09:48 PM) I guess Maurice Ager is taking the night off. Brian Randle is going to make a lot of good guards/ wings take nights off this year. Huge f***in win for the Illini. The defense was incredible, I think I could count the MSU open looks on one hand. Some other thoughts, you can tell the defensive difference when Warren Carter and Jamar Smith are in the game. They just physically are not there yet which is unfortunate considering that they are two of the more skilled offensive players on the team. Chester Frazier, on the other hand, played a hell of a defensive game tonight. When he's in the game, Dee isn't the only primary ball handler and in close games in the big 10, he will be getting a lot of Jamar's minutes. And Augustine, even though he played like a giant pussy on the offensive end, was very active defensively, especially when he traps off of a ball screen. If he could ever show up on the offensive end, this team could be very very good this year. Finally, MSU is still a hell of a team and will be right there at the end of the year.

QUOTE(SS Gload @ Dec 14, 2005 -> 03:58 PM) Carl Crawford would be awesome, but doesn't anyone want to see what brian anderson can do? If infact we do find a way to make a trade for crawford, is there any chance vazquez is used? I've heard that the d-rays have interest in him and he would be close to puerto rico. DOesn't make sense to deal Vazquez when he's locked up through 2007 with arbitration eligibility in '08 vs. Garland being an FA after this year, especially since I get the impression KW is looking long term.

QUOTE(maggsmaggs @ Dec 13, 2005 -> 04:44 PM) Bill Cole has been compared to Brian Cook because they are post players who can dribble and shoot threes. I would be happy if he turned out to be Brian Cook II Yeah, Cole is a very nice commit, don't get me wrong, but Brian Cook was Mr. Basketball in the state of Illinois his Sr. year and was Big Ten Freshman of the Year. Could Cole develop into as good of a player as Cook, absolutely. But to compare them at this point is absurd.