New position might be perfect fit

March 26, 2008

When he played outside linebacker, Illinois’ Brit Miller used to look at teammate J Leman and joke, “It’s my job to make all the plays so the great J Leman can be an All-American.”

Miller made sure to say it loud enough for middle linebacker Leman to hear.

Leman, who did become a consensus All-American, would roll his eyes and laugh.

But with Leman gone and hoping for a chance at the NFL, the job of making plays in the middle of the Illini defense now falls to Miller, the senior from Decatur who is being asked to be a major leader when spring practice begins today.

Read more from the Decatur Herald & Review.

Illini keep on winning

March 15, 2008

Call them the Surprising Illini.

“This is a great predicament we got ourselves in,” Illinois center Shaun Pruitt said.

Weeks after their dreams of a ninth straight NCAA tournament berth were put away for the winter, Illinois stands just one victory short of one of the unlikeliest finishes in school history.

Saturday’s 54-50 victory over Minnesota lifted the Illini into Sunday’s Big Ten tournament final against Wisconsin, with the league’s automatic berth going to the winner.

Illini, Frazier reverse course

March 13, 2008

Final scenes like this one aren’t usually happy ones for Illinois.

“I guess the movie ended differently this time,” coach Bruce Weber said.

Chester Frazier’s reverse layup with 3.8 seconds left gave the Illini a 64-63 victory over Penn State in Thursday’s first round of the Big Ten tournament at Conseco Fieldhouse.

It gave the 10th-seeded Illini a berth in Friday’s quarterfinals against second-seeded Purdue. The Boilermakers won both meetings during the season, so one more different ending is needed.

Junior Meacham gives Illini seniors final boost

March 9, 2008

”It means a lot to go out with a win the last time you’ll ever play in Assembly Hall,” Pruitt said. ”I haven’t been a part of a loss on Senior Day since I’ve been here. I remember Dee [Brown] and James [Augustine] getting in foul trouble, the way me and Brian did, and helping Warren [Carter] and Rich [McBride] get a win.”

Hicks, from Whitney Young, threw in a three-pointer as time expired, delighting the crowd and leaving Weber apologizing to Gophers coach Tubby Smith, who responded by complimenting Hicks’ shooting.

”Thanks, from the bottom of my heart, for making the dream of a little kid come true,” Hicks told the crowd afterward.

Illini tie record for futility

March 7, 2008

It seems far off, but it wasn’t that long ago that a Michigan State-Illinois game was a special event with a lot on the line — the Big Ten title, home winning streaks, rankings, seedings, ”SportsCenter” highlights.There wasn’t anything like that when the Illini hosted the 17th-ranked Spartans on Thursday. Brent Musburger and Steve Lavin didn’t even bring Erin Andrews.

The Illini opened an early 10-point lead but were unable to sustain their momentum and fell 59-51 to the Spartans, who won for the first time in five trips to Assembly Hall.

With the defeat, Illinois (12-18, 4-13) locked up the No. 10 seed in the Big Ten tournament, which begins Thursday in Indianapolis. Its most likely first opponent is Iowa.

Illinois gets rare road win

March 1, 2008

Maybe it was because Illinois had been off since last Saturday’s loss at Michigan. Maybe it was because Bruce Weber stopped emphasizing the Illini’s poor free-throw shooting in practice. Who knows, maybe it’s because the snow is melting in Champaign.

Whatever the reason, Illinois played the kind of game it had been expected to play all season in Saturday’s 58-47 victory over Iowa.

“We came out and played with a lot of heart,” freshman forward Mike Davis said. “We were all on the same page, nobody was yelling at each other.”