2008 Illinois Fighting Illini Hoops Preview

On a late June afternoon, a familiar face stepped into Bruce Weber’s office. The visitor went by one name, still and forever. “Dee,” said Weber with a smile. Too bad Dee Brown couldn’t stick around for a while. Say, through next season or so.

What has been missing from Illinois basketball the past two seasons — “That swagger,” as Dee put it — is what defined the program’s golden era. The likes of Dee, Deron, Luther, Frank and Cook averaged 27 wins from 1999-00 through ’05-06 and did so with, well, a certain swagger.

But since Dee and James Augustine’s departure two long seasons ago, the Illini have stumbled. The low point was last season’s 16–19 campaign, setting a program record for losses in a season only 36 months after tying an NCAA record for wins (37).

“They’ve got to get back to playing with that passion,” says Deron Williams, a member of the Illini’s national runner-up team.

Last season, Weber endured his second losing record in 29 years as a Division I assistant and head coach. The coach seemingly aged during timeouts, often because of a volatile relationship with senior Shaun Pruitt. Though Pruitt finished as the team’s leading scorer and rebounder — and in-practice shouting matches with the staff — he was not named team MVP at the team banquet. No one was: Players felt the season did not live up to Illinois’ standards and chose to nix the team’s MVP award.

Illinois’ issues have less to do with Xs and Os and more to do with discipline and valuing the team concept.

Frontcourt 

If Illinois can find a solid rotation in the frontcourt, there are enough scorers in the backcourt to make this team a factor in the Big Ten. Sophomore Mike Tisdale, considered a project out of small-town Riverton, Ill., is the heir to Pruitt’s center position. Thanks to a 6,000-calorie-per-day diet, the 7'1" Tisdale was up to 235 pounds in the offseason. Still, he’s a pick-and-pop specialist, not a banger.

Mike Davis, Bill Cole and Dominique Keller will battle for the start at power foward.

Davis won the team’s slam dunk contest before last season and has the athleticism to develop into a big-time forward. “What we tell him is to be consistent, not just have the occasional highlight,” Weber says of Davis.

Coaches mentioned Cole as a possible starter heading into last season, but a knee injury limited him to 12 games. Keller, a junior college transfer, needs to be a rebounder and screen-setter, not another shooter. Richard Semrau has battled chest and knee injuries and enters his third season without an apparent niche.

Backcourt 

Point guard Demetri McCamey, a sophomore coming off an All-Big Ten Tournament selection, has visions of making a leap to the NBA prior to his senior season. He excelled in offseason workouts, including those that featured pros like Brown and Luther Head, and also benefited from an overseas trip to China in May. “He’s kind of similar to me, a big-bodied guard who can pass and score,” Williams says of McCamey.

Swingman Alex Legion, a former top-50 recruit who transferred from Kentucky in January, will be eligible after the first semester this season. He will have an opportunity to be one of the Illini’s top options.

The two guards who led the backcourt in minutes played could see a dip in their playing time this season thanks to Legion’s arrival. Then again, Trent Meacham shot 40 percent behind the arc, tops on the team, while Chester Frazier is a bulldog competitor and Illinois’ premier defender.

Jamar Smith was dismissed from the team in early August after another run-in with the law. The superbly talented guard, considered to be the Illini’s best player, allegedly compromised his probation by drinking alcohol. He sat out last season after a DUI conviction.

Final Analysis 

After a brilliant first two seasons, the Weber era has hit the skids. Now, the coach must bridge the gap: The golden era is behind Illinois, and six highly regarded recruits are scheduled to arrive in 2009 and ’10. A more attractive style of play would help regain fans’ optimism, and a top-6 Big Ten finish would be a success. But the ninth NCAA Tournament berth in 10 years appears to be a reach.