Basketblog

Alex Legion countdown

Posted by: Paul Klee

Monday, December 15, 2008 10:42 PM

To break up a 10-day break between games, the Illini held a series of brief scrimmages, with IHSA refs, at Ubben this afternoon. This morning, actually, since they started practice at 11 a.m. to accomodate the players that have finals this week.

Everyone played, including sophomore Mike Davis, who had the flu over the weekend and had to miss Saturday's practice session. Chester Frazier's teams went 3-0, and I counted the senior as the only player that didn't lose a game.

- Alex Legion did his thing. He took a lot of shots and made more than he missed. I feel like the Kentucky transfer has really come on over the past few weeks. He's a worker, and was the last player to leave the gym again today.

Having watched Legion in practice and pickup games for the past 11 months, it's odd to think he hasn't played in a game, because it feels like he's been a part of the team for a long time. That changes Saturday against Detroit, when he's expected to make his debut in the Illinois rotation.

"Scoring-wise, offensively, he's probably our best player," coach Bruce Weber said after practice today. "As far as some of the other parts of the game, he's probably not in the top of those, whether it's defense or passing. But he can definitely make a difference. Now we've got to slowly get him involved, and he's got to prove it."

As far as integrating Legion, a 6-5 shooting guard, Weber put some of the pressure on the coaches.

"A key thing will be me and the coaches: how we keep everyone involved and yet back off their minutes a little bit, and yet get Alex involved," he said.

I think this team's strength, so far, is its chemistry. Outside the occasional rift in practice, these guys enjoy each other, which has helped build a level of trust in game-deciding situations.

Alex Legion is a popular teammate, no doubt about it, but you're still injecting a talented new element into the mix. And those minutes have to come from somewhere. For Illinois, the good part is that some of those minutes are probably coming from a pair of seniors, Chester Frazier and Trent Meacham, and those guys simply want to win.

"There's no doubt - chemistry's an issue now," Weber said. "We had kind of built up some roles, some chemistry, some confidence. Now, you know, a good scenario is we're doing well and we've got to mix him in."

On Saturday, it will have been 381 days since Legion played in a college game. He played in this one. Weber's immediate hope as the sophomore starts over?

"It's something I talked about with Calvin (Brock). You can't go in and think you have to make a big play every time you touch it. That's where Alex has got to let the game kind of come to him," Weber said. "It's not a perfect scenario. But as we get in to six or seven games from now, I think he'll be a vital part of us.

"The good thing is, I think Trent (Meacham) will get better, get open shots. You have another offensive threat (Legion) who I think they'll put the best defensive player on. Or Demetri (McCamey). I think it will help Trent's legs, Chester's legs, down the road."

- More on Alex Legion and three UI recruits in The Insider on HQ.

pklee@news-gazette.com

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