ILLINOIS
Help wanted everywhere
After reaching the Elite Eight two years ago, making the NCAA Sweet Sixteen last March and winning back-to-back Big Ten titles for the first time in 50 years, Illinois begins paying the price when practice begins Friday night.
Gone are starters Frank Williams, Robert Archibald and Cory Bradford, the first two of whom were taken in the NBA draft. Gone are a pair of injury-plagued but inspirational role players–Lucas Johnson and Damir Krupalija–and a third, forward Brett Melton, who transferred to San Diego to get more playing time. In their places are talented but inconsistent senior forward Brian Cook and a frying pan full of question marks:
Are true freshmen Dee Brown and Deron Williams good enough to start together in the backcourt? If not, is sophomore guard Luther Head ready to take charge?
Does the quiet Cook have the personality to motivate an otherwise young team? Without Archibald and Krupalija, who will get the rebounds? Will it be Cook, who has always looked more comfortable away from the basket? Or can freshman Aaron Spears and center Nick Smith pick up the slack? The Illini need another scorer besides Cook. Can Sean Harrington finally become a double-figure contributor?
Were sophomore forward Roger Powell’s stellar performances for the Big Ten’s European traveling team a mirage or, as coach Bill Self suspects, will Powell be Illinois’ most improved player this winter?
The Illini probably won’t contend for the Big Ten title, but an easier schedule and lowered expectations could help them exceed predictions. With Self’s first two recruiting classes working their way onto the floor, this isn’t Lon Kruger’s former team anymore. The emphasis is on speed, explosiveness and athleticism rather than inside strength.
DEPAUL
New coach, new hopes
DePaul starts fresh under new coach Dave Leitao, the former Connecticut assistant who replaced Pat Kennedy last spring. With him he has brought the no-nonsense approach favored by his mentor, Huskies coach Jim Calhoun, and the results are obvious, at least in the case of forward/center Sam Hoskin. He has gone from more than 280 pounds down to 240-plus under Leitao’s off-season regimen.
Gone, too, is erratic point guard Imari Sawyer, who left school after two seasons and never fulfilled the promise he once showed. His spot is expected to be filled by junior Chris Exilus, a Toronto native out of Butler County Community College who once played on Canada’s junior national team.
Another junior-college import expected to contribute is 6-foot-7-inch Delonte Holland, who averaged more than 20 points per game at Vincennes and could be the slashing forward the Blue Demons have recently lacked. But the rest of their cast includes familiar names like forwards Andre Brown, Quemont Greer and Marlon London and guards Drake Diener, Joe Tulley, Marlon Brooks and LeVar Seals.
They, along with Hoskins, were all part of last year’s disastrous Blue Demons team, which finished 9-19 overall, 2-14 in Conference USA and unqualified even for the league’s postseason tournament. So it is no surprise to hear that Leitao is not referring to that train wreck when he talks of the past.
He is, instead, speaking of last month, which is another way of getting that season out of mind and starting fresh.
NOTRE DAME
3 starting slots filled
The only thing set in stone at Notre Dame is that few things are set in stone. Three of the starting spots have been filled: Sophomore Chris Thomas will play the point, senior Matt Carroll will be the shooting guard and senior transfer Danny Miller will suit up as the small forward.
The other two spots, though, are up for grabs. Among those expected to challenge for a starting spot will be 6-foot-9-inch sophomore forward Jordan Cornette, who has the size to play inside and the touch to shoot effectively from the perimeter.
Freshman Torin Francis, a 6-10 forward from Massachusetts, is also expected to make an immediate impact. Veterans Torrian Jones, a junior, and Jere Macura, a senior, will also figure into the fray. Freshman Rick Cornett, a product of Homewood Christian Academy, will also see significant playing time.
NORTHWESTERN
6-9 Croatian ready to step in
Bill Carmody has searched the world for talent to augment his team, which lost to Michigan in the first round of the Big Ten tournament last season. Ivan Tolic, a 6-foot-9-inch, 255-pounder, has been added to the roster and is eligible to play immediately.
“He’s a big guy who will give us some added depth in the front court,” Carmody said. “He’s a good defender in the post, especially, and I think he will be able to help take the load off [6-11 senior] Aaron Jennings in there.”
Tolic is the third Croatian to join the program in the last two years. Vedran Vukusic and Davor Duvancic are sophomores this season.
In addition, the Wildcats’ roster includes Thomas Soltau from Denmark; T.J. Parker, a French national; and Mohammed Hachad, a Moroccan whose family moved to Montreal a few years ago.
Winston Blake, a member of a Big Ten touring team last summer, returns for his senior year after averaging a team-high 13.6 points a game last season. And guards Jitim Young and Jason Burke must continue to provide offensive spark while making smarter decisions on the court.
But the onus may be on the rapid development of younger players such as the high-scoring Parker, who averaged 22 points a game as a senior in high school. Parker’s brother, Tony, is a guard with the San Antonio Spurs.
“The biggest thing for them is how they compete,” Carmody said of his young players. “It’s a major step to go from high school to the Big Ten. All of these guys are going to get a chance to play right away. I like to play freshmen; I like to start freshmen. If you’re ready, I don’t care what year you are, you’re going to play.”
ILLINOIS-CHICAGO
Aiming to be `city’s team’
Illinois-Chicago coach Jimmy Collins realizes the prize at stake in the 2002-03 season.
“Chicago is hungry for someone to come out of the shadows and become the city’s college team,” Collins said. “I’d certainly like us to get our piece of that pie.”
UIC (20-14) sampled that pie last spring. Sparked by sophomores Martell Bailey and Cedric Banks, both former stars at Westinghouse High, the Flames edged Loyola 76-75 in overtime to win the Horizon League tournament and garner an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament.
Like several Horizon teams, UIC will employ a three-guard lineup. The 6-foot-2-inch Banks averaged 13.9 points slashing to the basket last year. The 5-10 Bailey averaged 7.0 points and 4.8 assists. Slender 6-1 Jonathan Schneiderman, playing furious defense, averaged 8.5 points and hit 41 percent of his three-point shots.
Joe Scott, a 6-9 senior, and 6-5 junior Armond Williams provide the front-court muscle to complement their strong guard line. Scott, fully recovered from the knee injury that cost him last season, averaged 9.4 points as a sophomore.
LOYOLA
Guard lineup looks strong
David Bailey, Loyola’s 5-foot-8-inch guard, leads an optimistic team coming off the Ramblers’ best season (17-13) since they crashed the NCAA tournament Sweet Sixteen in 1984-85.
Former Westinghouse star Bailey averaged 21.7 points, 16th in the nation, for the 2002 team, which reached the final of the Horizon League tournament before losing to UIC.
Coach Larry Farmer started three guards last season. All return. Kevin Clancy averaged 7.8 points and excelled on defense. Vaslis Tsimpliaridis from Greece averaged 7.8 and drilled three-pointers. Farmer’s guard line is deep. Louis Smith can score. Junior Jason Telford or freshman Terrance Williams can play the point, enabling Bailey, at times, to move to shooting guard.
Up front, however, Farmer will struggle to replace 6-10 Silvije Turklovic and 6-6 Ryan Blankson, whose 10.1 rebounds per game led the Horizon League. Corey Minnifield is the only experienced front-line player. The 6-8 senior can improve last year’s averages of 7.7 points and 4.9 rebounds.
Paul McMillan, a 6-6, 240-pound junior-college transfer from Miami Middletown (Ohio), could provide muscle, but Loyola still lacks front-line depth.
NORTHERN ILLINOIS
New gymnasium boosts Huskies
Two numbers jump off the page when one examines prospects for coach Rob Judson’s second season as the coach at Northern Illinois.
The first stat is $35.8 million. That was the cost of the Huskies’ new gym, the 9,100-seat Convocation Center that Judson’s team will dedicate when it hosts DePaul on Nov. 23.
The second stat is NIU’s 12-16 record in Judson’s first season as coach, a seven-win improvement over the previous season.
Can the new gym and the return of four starters from last year’s squad add up to further improvement? The Huskies believe so, despite the loss of Leon Rodgers, who averaged 21.3 points and 8.5 rebounds.
Marcus Smallwood, a 6-6 junior forward from Elgin, may not match Rodgers’ stats, but Judson expects him to improve on last year’s averages of 12.2 points and 6.4 rebounds. Judson also expects improvement from 6-4 junior guard P.J. Smith, who averaged 11.8 points and was a defensive leader last year.
NIU returns its Nos. 2-3-4-5 scorers and rebounders from last year. They includes Jamel Staten, Eugene Bates and Al Sewasciuk, the latter a .382 shooter from three-point range.
“If we play better defense and get more production from the rest of the team, we can make up what we lose in Leon Rodgers,” Judson said.
