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Fighting Illini report: Notes, quotes

June 30, 2008
The Sports Xchange

Notes, quotes · Getting inside · Strategy and personnel

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FINAL RECORD
16-19, 5-13, 10th in the Big Ten.

WHAT WENT RIGHT
Illinois discovered its point guard of the future in freshman Demetri McCamey (8.2 ppg, 3.2 apg), who made the all-Big Ten tournament team. He has everything Illinois needs to make the motion offense purr, but he needs to become more interested in defense in order to please Bruce Weber. Fellow freshmen Mike Tisdale and Mike Davis showed signs that their skills might translate into Big Ten excellence, but they're not nearly strong enough to handle huge minutes. The Illini also finished strong with five wins in their last seven games. That will make the younger guys think they're on the right track, which might lead to better offseason workouts.

WHAT WENT WRONG
It's hard to believe Illinois was in the NCAA championship game just three Aprils ago. The Illini have now gone two complete seasons without a single week in the Associated Press' Top 25 -- and they've only beaten two ranked opponents over the last two years as well.

Injuries were part of the issue. Senior Brian Randle missed just two games, but multiple injuries kept him from being 100 percent in so many others. That was tough for the Illini because he got off to a sparkling start in Hawaii in November. Then, too, fellow senior Shaun Pruitt didn't take the next step and put the team on his back. At least, not until the Big Ten tournament when he deserved his all-tourney honors.

Head coach Bruce Weber also declared that he didn't think he got his team to "buy in" until it was too late. When you don't have enough skilled players to compete -- and Illinois didn't in 2007-08 -- then it needed a cohesiveness that didn't happen until March.

QUOTE TO NOTE
"I've got lots of calls from former players and coaching friends. They've told me it will make you a better coach, a better person. You've got to learn from it." -- Illinois coach Bruce Weber in the Daily Herald, summing up the positives from the school's 19-loss season -- the most in Illini annals.