Illinois

[filbert]

From the Springfield State Journal-Register:

http://www.sj-r.com/sections/sports/stories/71383.asp

Weber preaches realistic goals

By JOHN SUPINIE
COPLEY NEW SERVICE

Published Tuesday, November 15, 2005

CHAMPAIGN - This time, coach Bruce Weber and No. 17 Illinois will take baby steps instead of heading into the basketball season at full speed.

Instead of shooting for an undefeated non-conference season - like the Illini did last year when they accomplished their goal of a 14-0 record - Weber and Illinois will keep things in perspective. The Illini have 10 games in the season's first 23 days, but Weber will keep it simple and break the season into small segments.

"Right now, it's 3-0," Weber said. "That's our first goal. We talked about it Sunday. We talked about the first three games being like a home tournament."

Then come two games at South Padre Island, Texas, and two more games away from home against North Carolina and Xavier. The big picture is much too big for a team still trying to learn Weber's offense and his expectations.

"I've talked to them about the big stretch (of non-conference games)," Weber said. "I don't want them to get overwhelmed. So we'll worry about these three in front of us, then we'll worry about what happens after that."

With an experienced group returning last season, Weber had a chance to teach more details since players already understood concepts and knew the drills. This season, Weber is trying to be patient during the slow learning process.

"Last year, we didn't even have to teach the drills,'' Weber said. "Now, we have to teach the drills from scratch. Then we have to teach them to play hard. Then if we get that far, we teach them why we're teaching the drill.

"Now our goal is to get them to play hard. It's not (the) refining of it, the details of something. They're not quiet there. We had to choose something. We chose defense. I don't think we're great at it, but we're trying.''

[Jacks_Backer]

Re: Illinois

Is the SDSU vs. Illinois game on TV?

I thought I saw in some other posts that it was going to be on ESPNU again. If someone knows please respond so I can start making plans of contacting people to get together to watch the game.

[filbert]

Re: Illinois

Yup, ESPNU, 7 pm CST Friday.

I could get used to Jacks games on TV, ya know?

[jacksfaninne]

Re: Illinois

From the Alumni Assoc. Web site:

UIllinois Pre-game Rally

LOCATION:
Champaign, Ill

DESCRIPTION:
Gathering details – Illinios

Before you watch the Jackrabbit Men’s Basketball Team face the University of Illinois Fighting Illini on November 18, join fellow Jackrabbit alumni and fans for a pre-game gathering at Jillians. Look for others wearing yellow & blue!

Friday – November 18

Gathering begins at 4:30pm
Game Time is 7:00pm

Jillians
1201 S. Neil Street
Champaign, Ill
217-355-2800

Hosts: Bob & Dianne Todd, David & Marcia Chicoine & Steve Wattnem

[SD-STATE]

Re: Illinois

Here's to another strong Jackrabbit performance. Make sure to down some talls for all of back here in the rabbitden.

[MilwaukeeJacksAlum]

Re: Illinois

From the Alumni Assoc. Web site:

UIllinois Pre-game Rally

LOCATION:
Champaign, Ill

DESCRIPTION:
Gathering details – Illinios

Before you watch the Jackrabbit Men’s Basketball Team face the University of Illinois Fighting Illini on November 18, join fellow Jackrabbit alumni and fans for a pre-game gathering at Jillians. Look for others wearing yellow & blue!

Friday – November 18

Gathering begins at 4:30pm
Game Time is 7:00pm

Jillians
1201 S. Neil Street
Champaign, Ill
217-355-2800

Hosts: Bob & Dianne Todd, David & Marcia Chicoine & Steve Wattnem

It was pretty fun walking into DeSha's in Kentucky for the gathering there. This place was packed (45 min wait for a table) with Kentucky fans. Every one of them turned their head whenever a SDSU fan walked by. No animosity, but merely curiosity. RabbitinVerm can appreciate that my SDSU trailor hitch cover made it through the game unscathed.

[89rabbit]

Re: Illinois

Highlights from a great story from The Telegraph:

http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?n...5270&rfi=6

Dakota’s nagy returns home to Assembly Hall


STEVE PORTER, The Telegraph 11/17/2005

Scott Nagy spent some of the best years of his life in Champaign. Now, he’s intent on avoiding a potential nightmare in Champaign County on Friday night.

Nagy is the head basketball coach at South Dakota State, which visits Illinois on Friday. It’s the season opener for the No. 17-rated Illini. They’re coming off a most memorable season, including a second-place finish in the NCAA Tournament.

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South Dakota State, meanwhile, has made the jump from Division II to D-1, so it’s leaping into the Big Pond against one of the Big Ten Conference’s finest teams. Nevertheless, South Dakota State is 1-1 thus far, beating Northern Colorado and losing to Kentucky.

"It’s going to be strange coming back to Champaign," said Nagy, who spent his formative years cheering for the U of I. His dad, Dick, served as a longtime coach for Lou Henson and Scott proudly wore orange and blue colors.

"I haven’t been there in about 12 years," Nagy said. "I went to school in Champaign from the eighth grade all the way through high school. So I spent a lot of time in Assembly Hall watching Illinois teams practice and work out.

"It’s going to be strange to walk in there as an opponent," he admitted.

Strange, indeed. Dick Nagy left the U of I when cohort Jimmy Collins, a Henson assistant, landed the head coaching position at Illinois-Chicago. Mark Coomes, another Henson protege, joined Nagy and Collins at UIC.

Yet Dick Nagy, who helped recruit Alton’s Larry Smith, isn’t coaching basketball these days. He’s retired, or so he says. Dad expects to be on hand Friday to watch his son return to The Hall.

"He’ll be at the game," Scott Nagy assured.

"Fortunately -- and unfortunately -- I’m a lot like him," quipped Scott, a one-time assistant for Jack Margenthaler at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville. "He has influenced me a lot.

"I coach very aggressively and I’m somewhat of a perfectionist," Scott said. "I’m like my dad in that I have high expectations."

When Scott Nagy worked under Margenthaler at SIUE, you could see something bubbling. It was his desire to absorb more, improve and make adjustments. His learning curve stretched a long way.

Nagy assisted Margenthaler in the mid-1990s, then teamed up with Jack’s oldest son, Matt, at South Dakota State. Matt became Scott’s assistant before moving on and becoming the head coach at Minnesota State. Jack Margenthaler’s youngest son, Ty, is the assistant women’s coach at Bradley.

So the coaching tree has many branches and sometimes they intertwine. It’s an interesting network.

"They won’t be intimidated," Illinois coach Bruce Weber said of South Dakota State. "If (Scott) is anything like his dad, his team will work hard and play good defense. Scott has done a good job of working his way up through the coaching ranks." . . .

And even though the Illini are 78-3 at home the past six seasons, Scott Nagy wanted South Dakota State to get a taste of playing in front of a raucous crowd.

Never mind the hostile house. Perhaps the U of I grad also sought an opportunity to return home one more time.

"Because of my connection with Champaign, I always wanted to come back here," Nagy said. "It was a matter of being able to get a game."


Go State! ;D

[89rabbit]

Re: Illinois

And another:

http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?n...5270&rfi=6

Illini ready to run as start nears



STEVE PORTER, The Telegraph 11/17/2005

CHAMPAIGN -- They’re somewhere between eager and antsy to make their debut. By Friday, the Illini should satisfy their pangs to play basketball.

"All of them are anxious to get going," University of Illinois coach Bruce Weber said. "They are sick of practice and sick of me yelling at them. So it will be a good opportunity for them because we play three games in five days."

South Dakota State (1-1) visits Assembly Hall for the 7 p.m. opener Friday. Then, the Illini welcome Texas-Pan American at 4 p.m. Sunday and Texas Southern at 7 p.m. Tuesday. By Thanksgiving weekend, Illinois will be participating in a tournament at South Padre Island in Texas.

"We need to play a game right now and we’ll have a bunch of them in a few days. So we will see what it’s like," Weber said.

If its anything like last year, the Illini will be in for the ride of their lives. Illinois won the Big Ten Conference, the league tournament, wound up 37-2 and finished second to North Carolina in the NCAA finals. The storied season included a 29-0 start and a No. 1 ranking much of the campaign. The U of I is ranked No. 17 in this year’s latest poll.

Of course, Weber knows it’s time to turn the page. Last year’s team, which played in the NCAA championship game at St. Louis, is gone. At least guards Deron Williams (Utah Jazz) and Luther Head (Houston Rockets) and forward Roger Powell (ministry) have departed.

Starting guard Dee Brown and center James Augustine return, giving Weber a couple of guys to lean on early in the season. Brown, a 6-foot senior guard from Chicagoland, is cast as Illinois’ marquee player.

And no wonder. He earned first team, All-America honors last season and should push for Player of the Year honors. You have to go back to Rod Fletcher in 1952 to find Illinois’ last consensus first-team, All-America player.

"We had a veteran team last year and clinched the conference so early," Weber said. "We don’t have that, but we can still play hard and guard people. If we can do that, we can survive turnovers, sloppiness and questionable shots.

"Then we can tweak things a little," he said.

Brian Randle, Rich McBride and Shaun Pruitt figure to earn starting assignments against South Dakota State, which has beaten Northern Colorado and lost to Kentucky. Randle and McBride could emerge as pivotal players in the rebuilding process.

Randle, a 6-8 sophomore forward from Peoria, took a medical redshirt after breaking his left hand last November. McBride, a 6-3 junior from Springfield, is poised to flourish. He could take Head’s place as a reliable shooter. . . .

Warren Carter, a rugged 6-9, 215-pound junior from Dallas, would have elbowed his way into the starting lineup, but he’s recovering from a broken nose.

"He’s wearing a mask to protect it, but he needs to get in a comfort zone," Weber said of Carter. "I think he’ll be back in there in about a week."

Calvin Brock, a 6-5 freshman redshirt from Chicago; Chester Fraizer, a 6-2 freshman from Baltimore and Marcus Arnold, a 6-8 junior from Chicago and Illinois State transfer, also play prominently in Weber’s plans.


Go State! ;D

[JBNJBQ]

Re: Illinois

http://fightingillini.collegesports....111805aae.html


Illinois Game Notes vs. South Dakota State


Illini open season Friday at the Assembly Hall


Nov 17, 2005

Champaign, Ill. -

Illinois Men's Basketball Game Notes vs. South Dakota State in PDF Format
Download Free Acrobat Reader


FIGHTING ILLINI BASKETBALL
Game #1: #17 Illinois (37-2 in 2005) vs. South Dakota State (1-1)
Nov. 18, 2005 •7:05 p.m. CT •ESPN-Plus Local
Champaign, Ill. •Assembly Hall (16,618)

On the Air
Television
ESPN-PlusLocal: Jim Barbar, play-by-play; Doug Altenberger, expert analyst.

Radio
Illini Sports Network - 50 stations: Brian Barnhart, play-by-play; Jerry Hester, expert analyst; and, Loren Tate pregame/halftime/ postgame interviews.

Probable Starters
#17 ILLINOIS (0-0, 0-0)
F - 42 Brian Randle (So.-r, 6-8, 215, 1.8 ppg, 1.7 rpg 2003-04)
F - 40 James Augustine (Sr., 6-10, 235, 10.1 ppg, 7.6 rpg, 1.2 bpg)
C - 55 Shaun Pruitt (So., 6-10, 240, 1.4 ppg, 0.9 rpg)
G - 33 Rich McBride (Jr., 6-3, 205, 2.6 ppg, 1.3 rpg)
G - 11 Dee Brown (Sr., 6-0, 185, 13.3 ppg, 2.7 rpg, 4.5 apg)

Off The Bench ...
G - 3 Chester Frazier (Fr., 6-2, 190)
G - 25 Calvin Brock (Fr.-r, 6-4, 185)
G - 31 Jamar Smith (Fr., 6-3, 175)
F - 34 C.J. Jackson (Fr., 6-8, 265)
F - 41 Warren Carter (Jr., 6-9, 210, 2.2 ppg, 1.8 rpg)
C - 44 Marcus Arnold (Jr.-r, 6-8, 245)





Illinois Head Coach Bruce Weber
Overall Record: 166-63/.725 (8th year)
At Illinois: 63-9/.875 (3rd year)
Big Ten: 28-4/.875
Vs. South Dakota State: 0-0
Assistant Coaches: Wayne McClain (5th year), Jay Price (3rd year), Tracy Webster (2nd year)
Assistant to the head coach: Gary Nottingham (3rd year)
Trainer: Al Martindale (23rd year at Illinois)

South Dakota State Head Coach: Scott Nagy
Overall Record: 221-78 (11th year)
At South Dakota State: 221-78 (11th year)
Vs. Illinois: 0-0
Assistant Coaches: Troy Larson, Matt Wilber, Deryl Cunningham

Series Notes vs. South Dakota State
Illinois and South Dakota State are meeting for the first time. Jackrabbit head coach Scott Nagy served at Illinois for two seasons as a graduate assistant under Lou Henson, helping the Illini to the 1989 Final Four. He is the son of longtime Illinois assistant coach Dick Nagy, and is a native of Champaign, having attended Champaign Centennial High School before a record-setting career at Delta State. South Dakota State is in its second season at the Division I level.

Illini in Season Openers

A Look Back at the Fighting Illini's Magical 2004-05 Season

Brown Preseason Player of the Year Candidate
Illinois senior guard Dee Brown is the first Illini player to ever be named preseason All-American by the Associated Press, and is a preseason Wooden Award, Naismith Award and Oscar Robertson Award candidate. He is also on the preseason Playboy Magazine All-America team for the second time. Brown earned Big Ten Preseason Player of the Year honors for the second time in his career (also prior to the 2004 season). Illinois has had the Big Ten Preseason Player of the Year for each of the last six seasons (2001-Cory Bradford; 2002-Frank Williams; 2003-Brian Cook; 2004-Dee Brown; 2005-Deron Williams; 2006-Dee Brown).

Illini Reach 25-Win Marker for Fifth Straight Season in 2005

Home Cookin'

Illini Nation's Second-Winningest Team over Past Five Seasons

Illini Unveil New Starting Lineup
With the departure of three starters from last year, Illinois will have a new starting lineup on Friday for the first time since the 2004 Big Ten Tournament Championship game. Dee Brown, Deron Williams, Luther Head, Roger Powell and James Augustine were all in the same starting lineup for a school-record streak of 42 consecutive games, which included all 39 games of the 2004-05 season.

Quick Shots

Last Time Out: Exhibition

Brown Sixth-Straight Illini Chosen Preseason Player of the Year Pick

Illinois Begins Season in the Top 25

Randle Returns after Redshirt

Hot Ticket to Watch the Illini at the Hall

Topics discussed listed above. Edited for length

[89rabbit]

Re: Illinois

Highlights from the Journal Gazette and Times-Courier (can you say consolidation):

http://www.jg-tc.com/articles/2005/1...orts%20005.txt

Nagy returns to Assembly Hall as opponent in Illini opener

By MARK TUPPER, Staff Writer

CHAMPAIGN -- It used to be his home away from home.

But when Scott Nagy walks back into the Assembly Hall tonight, he says it will be an odd feeling taking his place as the visiting coach in the same gym he learned to love the game of basketball many years ago.

It’s the season opener for 17th-ranked Illinois and the opponent is South Dakota State, coached by Nagy, the son of former Illini assistant coach Dick Nagy, who was such a familiar face on Lou Henson’s staff for 16 seasons.

Scott Nagy watched countless practices and games at the Assembly Hall from eighth grade through his four years at Champaign Centennial High School, then again as a graduate assistant coach for two seasons under Henson, including the 1989 season during which Illinois reached the Final Four.

Since then, he was an assistant coach at Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville, then was an assistant at South Dakota State from 1990 to 1993 before being appointed head coach at age 29.

For the first nine years there, the Jackrabbits were classified as a Division II team. But last year South Dakota State made the jump to Division I and now faces the struggle of finding conference affiliation while tackling a much tougher schedule.

Tonight that includes the matchup with Illinois, but just five days ago it meant playing the Kentucky Wildcats at Rupp Arena in Lexington, Ky. South Dakota State lost that game, but the 71-54 score was hardly an embarrassment.

“It’s going to be strange coming back,” Nagy said of his return to the Assembly Hall. “It’s probably been 12 years or so since I’ve been back. It will be very strange to walk in and be an opponent.”

Nagy said he holds many fond memories of his times in the Assembly Hall, including a Christmas Eve game in 1983 when second-ranked Kentucky won a classic tussle 56-54. “There was a big snow storm and they brought refs out of the stands,” he recalled.

And he remembers the Super Bowl Sunday battle with Georgia Tech in 1989, a double-overtime victory that catapulted Illinois to No. 1 in the country.

Now, Nagy is trying to guide South Dakota State through its transition into Division I. His career coaching record of 221-78 indicates that he understands how it should be done.

“He’s done a good job,” Illini coach Bruce Weber said of Nagy. “If he’s like his dad, his teams are going to play hard and guard people.” Dick Nagy will be in the stands tonight watching his son coach.

Scott Nagy isn’t the only one from the South Dakota State team making a homecoming. Sophomore Steve Holdren, a 6-5 wing player, is a Champaign Centennial graduate who was the Jackrabbit’s second leading scorer a year ago.

“I know him because he comes to my house, is friends with my daughter and plays with our guys in the summer,” Weber said. “He’s a happy-go-lucky kid, a rugged kid who plays hard. I know he’ll be excited to be coming home.”

For Weber, it’s a chance to finally play for keeps, finding out as much as he can about a team that has three new starters after going 37-2 and finishing second in the nation last season. And it’s the first in a flurry of early games that will give his team a rapid fire test.

“I guess we need games and we’re going to have a bunch of them quickly and see what it’s like,” he said. “If you watch the early games, basketball is really sloppy. It’s not very pretty. You have to make a decision because unless you have a veteran team, you can’t have everything be good.

“You have to make a decision about what you’ll emphasize and we’re emphasizing playing hard and guarding. We’re hoping if we do that we can survive the turnovers and sloppiness and questionable shots. Then, as we go, we’ll tweak the rest of it.” . . .


Go State! ;D

[89rabbit]

Re: Illinois

Another story from tonight's game.  This time we have highlights from the Pantagraph:

http://www.pantagraph.com/stories/11...51118026.shtml

McBride hopes to gain Weber's trust

No. 17 Illini open season tonight

By Jim Benson
jbenson@pantagraph.com

CHAMPAIGN -- He's lost 20 pounds since April. Whether Rich McBride has gained what Dee Brown likes to call the "swagger" of the guys he's replacing remains to be seen.
McBride gets the first start of his University of Illinois basketball career at 7 o'clock tonight. The 17th-ranked Illini play their season opener against South Dakota State (1-1) at the Assembly Hall.

"We're all confident and ready to show everyone what we can do. Nobody on this team isn't confident. We're ready to play," said the 6-foot-3, 210-pound McBride.

Although he was the first guard off the bench, McBride didn't get to play much last season. With Brown, Deron Williams and Luther Head providing a three-headed monster in the backcourt, McBride was limited to 14.4 minutes per game.  

McBride was known as a shooter when he came to Illinois from Springfield Lanphier High School. He provided a tantalizing glimpse of that early as a freshman when he knocked down six 3-pointers against Memphis.

However, McBride's shooting has been anything but consistent. He made only 32.3 percent from the field and 31.0 percent from outside the 3-point line last season when he averaged 2.3 points.  .  .  .

It's interesting that McBride's defensive ability -- which was thought to be a liability when he came to Illinois -- now seems to be ahead of his offense.  .  .  .

Freshman guard Jamar Smith showed in the two exhibition games a confidence shooting that McBride often lacks.

Weber might not wait long for McBride to come around. McBride insists his chronic foot problems are fine and won't hold him back.

"It seems like he can't get it going. If we can get him to hit four or five 3s, he'll start feeling confident," said Weber. "There's days in practice he'll step up and be playing like an upperclassman and dominating and talking trash. Then there's other days he doesn't seem to get involved and takes some questionable shots."  .  .  .

South Dakota State shouldn't be intimidated by the Assembly Hall surroundings. The Jackrabbits, who are in their second year in Division I, went to Rupp Arena and lost to Kentucky 71-54 earlier this week in the Guardians Classic before beating Northern Colorado 61-59.

The game will be a homecoming for South Dakota State coach Scott Nagy, a Champaign Centennial High School graduate who was a graduate assistant for the Illini in 1989 when they went to The Final Four. Nagy is the son of Dick Nagy, a longtime Illinois assistant for Lou Henson.

Another Centennial product, 6-5 sophomore swingman Steve Holdren, was the Jackrabbits' second-leading scorer last season. Holdren was a high school teammate of Illinois' Trent Meacham, who is sitting out this season after transferring from Dayton.


Go State!  ;D

[89rabbit]

Re: Illinois

Here are highlights from a Brookings Register story (well worth the time to read the whole thing)

http://www.brookingsregister.com/mai...51&page=25




Jackrabbits, Act No. 2

BY MIKE JOHNSON

The South Dakota State University men's basketball team has embarked on its second season in NCAA Division I competition under head coach Scott Nagy.
Nagy, along with a mix of some familiar faces and a new crop of ballers wearing yellow and blue, the Jackrabbits are 1-1 in this new season.
And the beginning of the 2005-06 campaign has already produced the unexpected.
"I did not expect us to struggle offensively the way we have," Nagy said. "We're a lot more athletic than we've been in a long time, and I think that's going to help us. Defensively, we should be good immediately. Offensively, we're just gonna struggle for awhile."
After dropping their nationally-televised season-opener 71-54 to Kentucky on Sunday, the Jackrabbits earned their first win Monday by defeating Northern Colorado 61-59.
Kentucky was the first of several stalwart Division I teams SDSU will face, including the upcoming game against Big 10 Conference powerhouse Illinois, where Nagy grew up and watched his father Dick coach the Fighting Illini.
"We have a lot of tough games on the road, and we're going to be starting two freshman most of the time," Nagy said.
The Jackrabbit lineup will feature three new starters, including two in the backcourt.
Guards André Gilbert and Matt Cadwell and power forward Mohaméd Berté make up the new generation.
Gilbert and Cadwell redshirted last year.
"André is, in terms of skills and athletic ability, if you combine both of them, he's probably the top guy we have,” Nagy said. "We have to get him game experience because the more we do, the better he'll get. He's the most versatile guy on our team. He can play four positions, and he's the only guy on our team that can do that."
Nagy said Cadwell gives the backcourt the balanced player it needs.
"Matt gives us stability," Nagy said. "He's a good ball handler, he's a good passer, he's a good shooter, and he's really a good defender, and we're able to play him at a couple positions."
Berté, a junior college transfer who is originally from the west African nation of the Ivory Coast, will also be looked to for big things this season. . . .

This year, SDSU does not have a single senior on the roster.
But Nagy said he does not feel the leadership issue will be a problem.
Ben Beran, the team's leading scorer from a year ago at 13.6 points per game and 380 points overall, will serve as a team captain along with Michael Loney.
"Ben and Mike (Loney) are our captains," Nagy said. "Those are the guys we look to lead us, and those are the guys that the team really voted on to do that, so that's who we expect to get it done." Beran got a quick head start on this season's scoring lead as well, pouring in 25 points against Kentucky in the opener.
"I don't expect him to get 25 every night," Nagy said. "We expect him to be one of our two leading scorers. We need him to score. He's very versatile, he can score inside, he can score outside, and I think he's a tough match up for a lot of big guys."
Steve Holdren rounds out the starting five, coming off a season in which he pulled down averages of 12.5 points six rebounds per game.
Like Beran, Holdren should bring some leadership to the table as well.
Holdren saw plenty of playing time as a true freshman last season, and that experience should only help this year's squad.
Even though the Jackrabbits struggled offensively in their first two games, the squad has performers such as Holdren, Beran, Gilbert and Berté who have play-making ability.
"After the first exhibition game, we had two more dunks in that game than we had all last year," Nagy said. "We're so much more athletic than we've ever been, and it's a lot more fun to coach that way."
At the guard spots, Nagy will also be counting on sophomore three-point specialist Mackenzie Casey, junior college transfer and point guard Jose Frias, and two-time letterwinner Andy Kleinjan of nearby Bruce who played at Sioux Valley.
Loney will serve as the main post reserve.  .  .  .

A Homecoming

Scott Nagy's father Dick was a long-time assistant coach at Illinois, and Scott himself was a former graduate assistant for the Fighting Illini.
So Nagy knows what it's like to be part of a basketball game at Assembly Hall.
Though it may be odd for Nagy to be back, he said he knew the upcoming game would mean a lot to him and Holdren — who is a native of Champaign, Ill.
"My wife (Jamie) is nuts about them because she graduated from there. I got my master's there, but that's her alma mater," Nagy said. "Steve is more closely tied to Champaign than I am. I have some friends there, but Steve, his whole life was spent there. My concern for him is that he may try to do too much, with the added pressure for him, playing in front of all those people. But for me, it's going to be strange to be back because obviously I've been in there hundreds of times and coached there for two years, so it'll be strange being there."

Go State!  ;D

[filbert]

Re: Illinois

I see that Jimmy Keller hasn't gotten into either the Kentucky or N. Colo. games. Does anybody have any insight?

Seems like we could sure use another guard in the rotation, and since Keller's an Illinois guy, I was wondering what's up with him.

[filbert]

Re: Illinois

Bison having some early success at Minnesota--14-5, don't know where in the first half they are--the TV isn't showing the game clock.

Update: Minnesota is 1-9 shooting. NDSU has 7 fouls, Woodside has 3 of them. 14-9 now as the Gophs get a layup.

[gojacksgo]

Re: Illinois

Minnesota 19 NDSU 18
5:58 to go in 1st half

Bison hanging in there still. Good showing for them.