Carl- No, I don't see the Big Ten winning the Challenge this season.

A) The matchups don't favor the Big Ten. I see seven wins for the ACC.

B) The ACC is better. Before the Big Ten crushes the ACC, it needs to simply become competitive (0-9).

Michigan State (5-3) is the only Big Ten team that has a winning record in the Challenge. The Spartans are also involved in the marquee game of this year's Challenge

Mitch- Alex Legion has a refined mid-range game. He's spent hours working on that shot since he arrived in January, coming around invisible screens or chairs at the team

Rob- Bruce Weber said he wants to use these two exhibition games to help trim the playing rotation to 8 or 9 guys. That's as deep as he wants to go, to get a more fluid substitution pattern. I'm sure that rotation will evolve during the season, but he would like to enter the season with a rough draft.

The odd man out? Whoever doesn't defend.

And Weber wants a second defensive stopper. He used Jeff Jordan as an example of one candidate for that role.

"Last year we had Brian Randle and Chester (Frazier). We had two of the best defensive players in the league," Weber said. "They could just limit people. I don't think we can do that. We have to do it as a team, help each other out."

Klee

David- I polled Bob Asmussen, our football writer, for his thoughts on your question. Here's what Bob said:

David,

It's possible Daniel Dufrene will be the starter. I don't have a final answer yet and probably won't get it until later in the week. If it isn't Daniel, it will be Jason Ford. Make me guess and I'd say Dufrene will start.
Troy Pollard is healthy again and is ready for more work. Besides recovering from knee surgery, he also had a high ankle sprain to come back from. With Mikel Leshoure out for the season, Pollard will get more carries.

Bob

BigT- Good idea. I'll see if that's possible -- shouldn't be a problem.

Thanks. If anyone has ideas or complaints about IlliniHQ.com, feel free to send them to sports editor Jim Rossow (jrossow@news-gazette.com) or Paul Klee (pklee@news-gazette.com).

Klee

Jesse- Can't tell you how much I miss fishing the Big Horn River outside Billings. The black caddis hatch in August - awesome.

The team's leader, at this point, is Chester Frazier. He will be named a captain. The coaches would like to see Demetri McCamey move into that role, and they want to name him a captain, too. But Weber said the sophomore has to earn it.

Klee

Mitch- Thanks. Shaun Pratl is a very good get for EIU. He's a big, tough kid, probably 6-6 and 230. With that kind of a frame, he's ready-made to make an early impact in the OVC. Truthfully, I wasn't sure if he would pursue college basketball or football.

Shaun was an honorable mention News-Gazette All-Stater last season. Wouldn't surprise me if he's in contention for one of the 15 first-team spots this season.

Big recruiting pull by Mike Miller and his staff.

Klee

John- I detailed the biggest surprise on IlliniHQ.com, on my blog, yesterday. I have been and will be updating the blog every day, so check back from time to time.

Richard Semrau is the biggest surprise. To quote Bruce Weber, "There's no doubt."

Klee

Geno- To quote former Wyoming coach Steve McClain, "Again, there's no doubt."

Richard Semrau has turned the corner; the next step is applying it over a two- or three-game stretch. The next step, as one assistant said yesterday, is to "punch back when he gets punched." Don't take that literally. And it's probably a bad choice of words in these circles, at the moment. But you know what I'm saying. Bruce Weber wants the big men to get tougher.

Here's some of what Richard Semrau told me yesterday at Ubben.

"This is my time to prove myself, in practice. Every time I come out here I treat it like it's the time when I have to prove myself to the coaches," he said. "The exhibition games to me are no different than practice, they just mean a little more. If I show them that I understand our system and understand our offense so they trust me."

Measure your expectations for the third-year sophomore. But Semrau can make a difference. He weighed in at 243 pounds yesterday, and he's 6-10.

You can read more Richard Semrau on IlliniHQ.com. And there will be more on him in Sunday's News-Gazette.

Klee

Bill- Not at the moment, but I like where your head's at. I'm a proponent of not redshirting freshmen, but redshirting sophomores, if you're going to redshirt someone. By then you know what you have, and if he's a guy you want for five years.

Bill Cole has had a tough run thus far. There was the shoulder injury before the Canada trip last year, then the shin injury that cut short his freshman season.

(On a sidenote: the injury Cole suffered, he said, is similar to what Tyler Hansbrough is dealing with.)

Bill Cole told me yesterday he was about three games over the NCAA's limit for a medical redshirt. But he has returned to the court after sustaining an ankle injury last week. He was taped and he wore a brace yesterday, but is hoping to go with one or the other in the second exhibition game on Sunday.

I asked him yesterday where he thinks he stands, in regards to the playing rotation.

"I just want to get a solid spot in the rotation. Like I said before, I just want to help the team win," Cole said. "I think the ankle injury might have set me back, because this is the time when people are claiming their spots. But I think I can bounce back from that. It

Art- Good to hear from you. Parkland and first-year coach Sergio McClain are 1-1 at this point. He will have to juggle a small lineup this season; there are a pair of 6-6 guys, but that's it in terms of size.

This is going to be a project, but I think they will be competitive a year from now. Sergio's name should help recruiting, and Marcus Griffin is an assistant. The Parkland guys often played pickup games at Ubben over the summer.

My question: How about the Orange Krush visits Parkland for one of the first games? Sergio McClain stood in the Krush last season - perhaps they could return the favor.

Talk to you later, Art.

Klee

Mitch- Ohio State's B.J. Mullens is the Big Ten's best freshman.

Steve- You're not over-reaching. That's something I wrote about on HQ before the first exhibition game. Mike Tisdale fouls too much. It happens in practice, it happens in games. He had three fouls in the first three minutes of a practice scrimmage last week, and he fouled out in 15 minutes on Sunday.

The big guy has potential, but not if he's saddled with foul trouble. He knows that. Illinois needs him on the court.

Klee

Smokin' Joe- My thoughts: Sounds like a solid story idea for Sunday's N-G. And how about we include Loren Tate's list of "10 Illinois Freshman Who Should Have Redshirted."

Stan Simpson doesn't want to redshirt. He said as much again yesterday. It's an interesting dilemma for Illinois; he excels in the spotlight (in games) but has faced the normal freshmen struggles in practice sessions.

Simpson had six points and six boards in seven minutes against Florida Southern.

"I think I played good for the time I

Clay- It's a great rule. The best closed-scrimmage matchup this preseason will take place Saturday in Denver: Gonzaga vs. Texas.

That looks more like a Sweet 16 game than a scrimmage.

Unless something changes, Illinois and SIU will not play each other, as long as Bruce Weber and Chris Lowery are the coaches at the respective schools. Lowery doesn't want to face Weber; Weber doesn't want to face Lowery. It's mutual. They're too close.

Look for the Salukis to start two freshmen this season: Ryan Hare and Kevin Dillard. Bryan Mullins' leadership is a gift for those young guys -- I hope they take advantage of it.

Lowery suspended Hare for their exhibition opener -- complacency in the classroom doesn't sit well with those guys -- but the Marshall product has a chance to be a very good one in C'Dale. He's a winner.

Clay, I'll check for you on potential scrimmages for Illinois. Thanks for reminding me.

Klee

Al- Billy Cole is a realist when it comes to playing time. The formula, in his mind, is simple.

"If you do what the coaches want you to do, you're going to get minutes on this team," he said.

Remember, Bill Cole was flirting with a starting role going into last season. Injuries have bothered him, and that's been frustrating, but this isn't an established frontcourt where minutes are thin. There are minutes to be had.

Bill Cole injured the same ankle when he was in high school at Peoria Richwoods.

"That's probably why it's loose," he said yesterday. But other than that, he said, he did not experience injuries prior to his arrival at Illinois.

An extended period sans injuries would go a long way toward Cole establishing a spot in the playing rotation.

Klee