Friday, November 04, 2005

Illinois 82, Wesleyan 60

• Starters:  Brown, Augustine, Randle, Carter, McBride.
• The first points scored by the Illini this year came on a three-pointer by Rich McBride.  Let us all hope that this was a sign of things to come from Rich this year.
• The Illini made lots of silly defensive mistakes in the first half.  Fewer in the second half.
• I hate watching basketball games where the refs are whistle-happy.  The pacing is completely messed up because they're calling fouls constantly.  They called a total of 25 fouls in the first half alone.
• Crowd was decent.  Not full, but plenty of orange.
• There were a lot of Wesleyan fans at the game.  In fact, two of them were sitting in our seats.  Grrr.
• Wesleyan did pretty well, considering they are a Division III team playing last year's national runner up.  They might have caused even more stress if they could hit their free throws.
• Over the next year or two, I'll be watching for Coach Weber to help Brian Randle make the same transition Luther Head did -- he needs to learn how to shoot.  Encouraging signs from last night:  Randle attempted one three pointer (missed it) and made a jump shot from just inside the arc.
• Dee looked like a point guard and a senior.  He didn't score much, but I had the impression he was always in control of the game.  He was very unselfish.  I imagine he'll shoot more in games where the opponent is something other than a D-III team.
• Augie looked very good.  If this is what King James is like when he is still less than 100% from an injury, we can expect great things from him this year.  That turnaround jump shot was sweet.  Most encouraging of all:  He stayed out of foul trouble in a game when the refs were calling fouls if you merely frowned at the other team.
• Pruitt was very impressive.  This guy is making a case for a starting spot.
• It seems like people like to criticize Rich McBride.  I suppose I could pile on that bandwagon, but I'll wait until I see something more deserving.  He looked pretty good last night.
• Warren Carter wasn't as impressive as I hoped he would be.  Luckily, there is still plenty of season left.  :-)
• People keep wondering who will be the next Dee Brown.  After watching Frazier last night, I think he wants to be the next Dee Brown.  I was impressed with the speed and skills I saw.  The obvious disclaimer remains:  He's very young, and it shows.
• Jamar Smith was very impressive.  This guy can shoot.  If we need more scoring options this year, Smith needs to get plenty of minutes.
• I would hate to be the guy who got his shot blocked by Dee Brown.  He probably got flack from his teammates on the bus ride all the way back to Bloomington.
• I wanted a more impressive performance from Marcus Arnold.  I want to see the Marcus Arnold who worked us over two years ago when he was playing for Illinois State.
• Don't worry even one second if you thought Brown and Randle weren't that impressive last night.  This is an exhibition game.  It's an opportunity to see what our team is made of.  We already know that Dee has plenty of game.  If the big stars last night had been Brown, Randle and Augustine, then you should worry.
• I caught a few minutes of the radio coverage.  I miss Steve Bardo already.
• At no point was I worried about losing this game, even when Wesleyan tied the score in the second half.
• Looks to me like Weber has at least five guys on the team who haven't quite figured out the motion offense yet.
• I generally liked what I saw.  This team has problems, but they are the kind of problems Coach Weber knows how to fix.