Meltdown Leaves Illini On NCAA Bubble

The Illini blew a 12-point lead in the second half to lose to Michigan and leave themselves, once again, at the whims of the NCAA Selection Committee.

The Illini were in disarray over the last 8 minutes of the game. They refused to push the ball inside, they stood around watching each other dribble, no one took matters into their own hands and drove to the basket, and, in a dazzling display of team ineptitude, Jereme Richmond, a freshman with one made three pointer during Big Ten conference play, was set up for a key three-pointer in the final minute. This on a team with four senior starters.

Jereme also had the ball in the last seconds and, down 5 with about 6 seconds to play, inexplicably passed up a three pointer and passed to Demetri McCamey who wasn't ready for the pass. The ball bounced to a Michigan player and the meltdown was complete.

More painful news came later in the day when Penn St. beat Wisconsin in one of the worst-played games in basketball history, and Virginia Tech beat Florida St. when the refs waved off FSU's apparent game-winning shot in the final second. Penn St. and Va Tech are competing with the Illini for the last available spots in the NCAA tourney. The results were doubly worse because Va Tech beat PSU earlier in the season, and that win now gives Va Tech another RPI top-5o win because PSU moved into the top-5o with its win over Wisconsin.

Of course the Illini also have a win over Penn St. so factor that in as you will.

The whole situation would be humorous if it wasn't so infuriating.

I Temporarily Recant My Negative Words About The Illini

Heading into last night's game against Michigan St., I was very down on the Illini. They have talent but they are inconsistent in applying it. They seem to lack focus and effort at times. They drop their shoulders when faced with adversity, and can't close out when they have big leads.

Last night against Michigan St., particularly in performances by Brandon Paul and Jereme Richmond, the Illini set aside those issues and pulled out a clutch home win. They now sit in second place in the conference heading into Saturday afternoon's showdown with Ohio St.

True, had the Spartans shot better I might be in a very different mood this morning. But the Illini defense played at least a part in forcing the Spartans to settle for so many jump shots. And strong rebounding in the second half prevented at least a few Spartan put backs.

Bring on Sullinger, Lighty, Diebler and the rest.

Illinois Just Might Be Not Very Good

What is the deal with the Illini basketball program?

Here's a quick list of things that annoy me about the team:

- the three seniors - Demetri McCamey, Mike Davis, and Mike Tisdale - are inconsistent and don't appear to have a winner's mentality;

- Tisdale can't stay on the court because of foul trouble;

- Davis, despite having innate rebounding talent, manages to have games where he only gets 1 rebound;

- Tyler Griffey doesn't get much playing time and then whines about it;

- Meyers Leonard looks like a goofy doofus, is often out of position, and looks like he's focused on dunking every play rather than improving his post presence on the offensive and defensive ends;

- D.J. Richardson hasn't made a basket in two games;

- Brandon Paul always seems to be knicked up or fighting a cold and isn't all that good on defense;

- Bill Cole should play for a mid-major;

- Jereme Richmond mysteriously missed practice last week and was benched for the Wisconsin game;

- the team in general relies too much on the three-point shot; and

- Bruce Weber yells all the time, calls out his players all the time in the press, and generally seems like a guy the players don't have a ton of respect for.

I say Bruce has two months to get this together. If Illinois isn't in the Sweet Sixteen in March I say we hand the program over to Jerrance Howard or Wayne McClain and start anew.

Jereme Richmond Comports Himself Well For USA

Well played, Jereme.

I see you played huge for the USA U18 basketball team a few weeks ago in San Antonio, helping the team to a 5-0 record and a championship game win over Brazil in the FIBA Americas U18 Championships. Your averages of 10.8 points in 19 minutes per game off the bench speak highly of your ability not only to be a game-changer, but also to accept a role as a super sub, which Bruce may have you do to start the Illini's '10-'11 season.

You're also saying all the right things during your first week on campus, complimenting Billy Cole, your competition for a starting spot, and noting that hard work is the key to success at the D-1 level.

Welcome to the Illini.

Best,
Bevormo

Jereme Richmond Looks Sluggish In Loss to Ames

Spent the afternoon watching the Ames (IA)-Waukegan (IL) high school hoops game that aired last night on ESPN. The matchup pitted Harrison Barnes, a UNC recruit and the #1 high school senior in the country, against our boy Jereme Richmond, an Illini recruit and the #17 prep in the nation.

Barnes and his Ames squad dominated, winning 87-59 over Jereme's Waukegan squad.

Throughout the first quarter, Jereme's D looked good on Barnes, holding the UNC recruit to just one field goal. Jereme also had a choice dunk on an alley-oop pass that looked absolutely effortless.

The taller Ames squad wore down Waukegan, however, and as Ames pulled away, Barnes put on a show, ending the game with 26 points and double digit rebounds. Jereme, who was battling an injured finger, looked uncomfortable shooting all night, and finished with about 12 points. He also played the second half in traction, slowing down his play as Ames pulled away.

Let's hope he turns up the energy in the Big Ten.