So after seeing how well Indiana's incoming recruits were received, Illinois
decided to steal the idea by holding their own barnstorming tour around Illinois.
While all the incoming recruits were playing, they also involved some heavily
recruited younger players that Bruce Weber is hoping to land.
First here are the incoming recruits:
As you can see, the Illini are addressing their needs at guard with the recent
talent loss to the NBA.
As for the younger players (07-09) we have each of them profiled.
Game 1 in Peoria featured the Illini recruit team losing a heartbreaker at
the buzzer 2-1. Scoring the last second shot was potential recruit Johnny "Dribbles"
Cartwell, Johnny stands about 5'4" and is really a terror on defense. He
tends to foul out, a lot, but his screeching really disrupted the play of the
Illini. He has a bit of an attitude problem and bites occasionally.
Game 2 in East St. Louis provided the Illini recruits with their first true
test. The recruits battled but lost 113-2 as the East St. Louis squad really
displayed their speed and athleticism. Here is recruit Brian Lipshits posing
for a picture with the East St. Louis Squad.
Game 3 in Rockford provided a delight to the fans as several targeted recruits
played against the Illini. While the score ended in a 0-0 tie, the box score
definitely cant retell the emotion played in the game.
Here is Shirley McGirley, a 6'6" 260 lbs. power forward that would fit
right in to Bruce Webers motion-esque offense. She pulls down rebounds and shorts
with the best of them. Shirley has had a hard time keeping her weight down but
she is commited to her off-season program of "wandering".
Also in this game was highly sout after recruit , James Masser-Baiter, who
drops dimes more than Muhammad Ali making change. He is listed at 6'1"
with his back brace. Without his back brace he is about 5'4" but really
keeps his center of gravity low.
The final game in Danville featured a high scoring affair of 5-3 won by the
Illini recruits. Scoring was mainly due a mistake in the first half where teams
were shooting at their own bucket,
08 recruit Chad "36" Morrison showed his clutch free throw ability
by hitting backboard. It was quite an effort as he had just come in from plowing
the fields, with his lower jaw.
09 recruit Tony Hollis and his twin brother chipped in with half a rebound
each. 2 seconds later they were whistled for traveling as they wrestled for
possession of the big orange. It took splitting a baby ruth before the game
could be continued.
When questioned about the validity of the boys being twins, we were corrected
by a bystander who simply said "Shhhh...keep the lie alive"..
Pay it forward indeed.
So things are looking bright for Bruce Weber and the future of Illinois basketball.
If there are any more updates, I'll be sure to write more.
decided to steal the idea by holding their own barnstorming tour around Illinois.
While all the incoming recruits were playing, they also involved some heavily
recruited younger players that Bruce Weber is hoping to land.
First here are the incoming recruits:
As you can see, the Illini are addressing their needs at guard with the recent
talent loss to the NBA.
As for the younger players (07-09) we have each of them profiled.
Game 1 in Peoria featured the Illini recruit team losing a heartbreaker at
the buzzer 2-1. Scoring the last second shot was potential recruit Johnny "Dribbles"
Cartwell, Johnny stands about 5'4" and is really a terror on defense. He
tends to foul out, a lot, but his screeching really disrupted the play of the
Illini. He has a bit of an attitude problem and bites occasionally.
Game 2 in East St. Louis provided the Illini recruits with their first true
test. The recruits battled but lost 113-2 as the East St. Louis squad really
displayed their speed and athleticism. Here is recruit Brian Lipshits posing
for a picture with the East St. Louis Squad.
Game 3 in Rockford provided a delight to the fans as several targeted recruits
played against the Illini. While the score ended in a 0-0 tie, the box score
definitely cant retell the emotion played in the game.
Here is Shirley McGirley, a 6'6" 260 lbs. power forward that would fit
right in to Bruce Webers motion-esque offense. She pulls down rebounds and shorts
with the best of them. Shirley has had a hard time keeping her weight down but
she is commited to her off-season program of "wandering".
Also in this game was highly sout after recruit , James Masser-Baiter, who
drops dimes more than Muhammad Ali making change. He is listed at 6'1"
with his back brace. Without his back brace he is about 5'4" but really
keeps his center of gravity low.
The final game in Danville featured a high scoring affair of 5-3 won by the
Illini recruits. Scoring was mainly due a mistake in the first half where teams
were shooting at their own bucket,
08 recruit Chad "36" Morrison showed his clutch free throw ability
by hitting backboard. It was quite an effort as he had just come in from plowing
the fields, with his lower jaw.
09 recruit Tony Hollis and his twin brother chipped in with half a rebound
each. 2 seconds later they were whistled for traveling as they wrestled for
possession of the big orange. It took splitting a baby ruth before the game
could be continued.
When questioned about the validity of the boys being twins, we were corrected
by a bystander who simply said "Shhhh...keep the lie alive"..
Pay it forward indeed.
So things are looking bright for Bruce Weber and the future of Illinois basketball.
If there are any more updates, I'll be sure to write more.
