Illini freshmen get first taste of midnight madness
Not long after Illinois' freshmen showed up in Champaign for summer school, they volunteered to take an immediate mid-term in College Basketball 301.
Newcomers D.J. Richardson, Brandon Paul, Tyler Griffey, Joseph Bertrand and redshirt freshman center Stan Simpson challenged the veterans - including three starters from last year's team that won 24 games and earned a No. 5 NCAA Tournament seed - to a slew of open-gym duels.
"We wanted it that way in the beginning, just to see how we'd play together and to get a sense of how it would be to play with each other," said Paul, the Warren Township product who's the first "Mr. Basketball" to attend Illinois since Dee Brown.
So- how'd it go?
"They would hand it to us a little bit," Paul admitted. "But then we started playing well together and actually started beating them a few times."
The last sentence helps to explain why hopes are so high at Illinois.
When 16,500 fans fill Assembly Hall Friday night for the school's "Spike the Record" promotion - the basketball team will strut its stuff after Illinois' No. 10-ranked volleyball team faces No. 6 Minnesota - many of them will be there for their first glimpse at Bruce Weber's best recruiting class to date.
They have yet to disappoint their coaches. In fact, they've been a pleasant surprise.
"We have better depth," Weber said. "We have better talent. Just the freshmen, adding that talent, physically (makes a difference).
"One of the biggest transitions, beside homesickness and getting up in the morning to go to class and all the things that normal students go through, is usually conditioning and weight training.
"Not only have they dealt with it, but they've gone to the top. D.J. has been the best runner for the guards, Brandon might be second. Tyler Griffey has been the best runner for the big guys. Him and Mike Davis are neck-and-neck. That's a good sign."
Illinois isn't the only local Big Ten school hoping to team a bunch of talented veterans with a few key freshmen.
Northwestern, coming off a school-record-tying 17 regular-season wins and an NIT appearance, lost just one of its top 11 scorers.
Shooting guard Craig Moore, the lone departee, was a third-team all-Big Ten pick whose presence and 3-point touch will be a real loss.
But Bill Carmody has a hunch freshman guard Drew Crawford from Naperville Central, who finished third in the Mr. Basketball voting, can help fill Moore's void from the start.
"Drew, he just looks like one of these guys who's just going to be stuffing the stat sheet as they say," Carmody said. "Maybe 10 points and 6 rebounds and 2 blocks and 3 steals. One of those kind of guys."
Northwestern opens official practice on Friday without any revelry, but DePaul and Loyola are conducting their traditional opening-day festivities.
The doors open at DePaul's McGrath Arena at 7:30 p.m. for an hour-long entertainment package. For those interested in a double-dip near Lake Michigan, Loyola's shindig at the Gentile Center begins at 10 p.m.
DePaul fans get their first look at junior-college transfer Mike Stovall, the Chicago Marshall product who likely joins the starting lineup alongside Mac Koshwal, Will Walker, Ohio State transfer Eric Wallace and soph Devin Hill.
Fifth-year coach Jerry Wainwright hopes the Demons' improved athleticism and size will make a difference where they need the biggest upgrade.
"Ultimately you have to make a stand," he said. "And that's defensively and rebounding."