Basketblog

Illini prep for Michigan

Posted by: Paul Klee

Tuesday, January 13, 2009 1:34 PM

Heading back to Ubben for player interviews in a few minutes, but here's a quick look at Bruce Weber's press conference this morning...

- It's only been nine days since Illinois and Michigan met in Ann Arbor. Not surprising, but Weber emphasized film study of that loss with his players. They watched the second half (Illinois' meltdown) the day after the loss, watched the first half on Sunday (after the Indiana game) and then watched clips of the entire game yesterday (the first day of preparation for Michigan).

"It still baffles me.... some of the stuff we did down the stretch at the Michigan game," Weber said.

You'll remember Michigan - which has attempted 170 more three-pointers than Illinois - connected on 11 treys (eight in the first half) in their first meeting.

"Our weakside defense was just atrocious," Weber said.

- Much has been made of John Beilein's unique 1-3-1 zone defense, and that makes sense, because not many teams in the current Big Ten employ unique zones. Truth is, though, he doesn't use it as often as reports might suggest.

"They only played 15 possessions of zone against us last time," Weber said. "That's where it's deceptive."

- Klee watched Mike Davis (tonsillitis) in practice yesterday, and he's fine. Watched Chester Frazier (groin), and he's fine, too. The Illini remain injury-free, a big part of why they're 14-2.

- Once again, Weber said Chester Frazier's impact has been noticeable off the court as well.

"He took Stan (Simpson, the team's lone freshman) under his wing, brought him over for dinner," the coach said.

- Alex Legion played only 18 minutes Saturday against Indiana, though Weber said there's an easy explanation: when you build a 21-2 lead, why change the lineup?

"How do you sub (in that situation)?" Weber said.

Going into Legion's second game against his would-be school, coaches aren't concerned with his 1-for-6 shooting in the Indiana game. He's a rhythm guy, evidenced by how he scores in spurts in practice. When your minutes are up and down, it's tough to get in a rhythm, and the starting guards are playing so well, there's little reason to shake up the rotation.

"He's going to be a very good player for us," Weber said of Legion. "I don't have any doubt about that."

- Someone asked me yesterday if I felt Weber ran up the score on Indiana. No, that wasn't the case. Two of the three starting guards (Frazier, Trent Meacham) played season-low minutes, and Demetri McCamey played the third-fewest minutes he's played in a game this season.

- One Wolverine figures to have the Illini's attention more than he did the first time around. Arizona transfer Laval Lucas-Perry had only played in four games at Michigan before the first meeting with Illinois, but Weber said the guard "has really started to feel more comfortable" since the Jan. 4 matchup.

- Illinois has 1,599 wins, so a triumph Wednesday would be a program milestone. Michigan's John Beilein also is staring down a milestone. The only active coach with 20-win seasons at four levels of basketball: junior college - NAIA, NCAA Division II and NCAA Division I - Beilein has 499 wins as the head coach at a four-year college program.

"I've coached a lot of games," Beilein said Monday, downplaying the 500-win plateau. "That's what it is. I've coached a lot of games."

- The Illinois seniors - Meacham, Frazier and Calvin Brock - will exit the program without having played in a win at Michigan. The Jan. 4 loss was Illinois' fourth straight in Ann Arbor. But with a win Wednesday, they will leave the program without having lost to Michigan at the Assembly Hall.

Illinois has won 11 straight against Michigan in Champaign, a streak that dates back to the 1995-96 season.

- Finally, as we wrote last week, Sports Illustrated was in town working on a profile of these Illini and sophomore Mike Davis. Klee spent time with the staff writer, who interviewed parents and coaches and teammates and SIDs and the like, and graciously picked up the beer tab at the Esquire.

Let me say this, and I'll leave the rest to S.I.: I hope they also interviewed Tracy Webster. He's the biggest reason Mike Davis is at Illinois. He's the one that found the raw, bouncy and semi-aloof 18-year-old and helped convince him it would be in his best interest to develop last season at Illinois, instead of a prep school. Tracy also convinced his fellow coaches at Illinois that Davis was a guy worth taking a chance on. Webster sold the Davis family - a terrific group that has made several trips to the Midwest to see him play - and then sold the guys down the hall from his own office. He saw the potential in Mike D that is now coming to fruition. It's the kind of ability that earns a profile in S.I.

The Illinois feature was completed Sunday or Monday, and S.I's Mark Beech said the magazine will be on newsstands Wednesday.

- Why is IUPUI the Team of the Week in The Insider? Click here.

- In the N-G tomorrow, we're going to analyze the Matto chart (aka the "Play Hard" chart) and its impact on the Illini this season. Chester Frazier cracked 100 Matto points (for the season) in the Indiana game, though Trent Meacham is holding his own with 87 on the season. More tomorrow.

pklee@news-gazette.com

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