Moderator: Good afternoon everyone. We're joining you from State College, a few blocks from the Bryce Jordan Center, for today's Illinois basketball chat. It's sunny here, probably 50 degrees, and that's weird, but we'll take it.

Thanks for coming by and fire away.

Klee

mike, urbana, illinois: Who is your team MVP for Illinois?

Moderator: Mike- I had this conversation with a DIA staffer who watches a lot of practices on Tuesday. He said it’s Chester Frazier. After some thought, I said it's Chester Frazier. On offense, he's the only guy that can get in the lane and create for others. And the coaches are hesitant to take him off the court on the defensive end. When you include the intangibles - a manic desire to win, among them - he would be my choice.

Klee

Robert, Chicago, il: Paul,

It really seems that McCamey would benefit from losing 10-15 lbs and hopefully improving his quickness/explosiveness, he was unable to get past Walton against MSU, has the staff ever brought this up to McCamey?

Moderator: Robert- First, few players are able to get past Travis Walton. I think he’s the best one-on-one defender in the Big Ten, and I see Chester Frazier every day. (Still, Chester should win the Big Ten DPOY award, based on his ability to elevate Illinois' team defense.)

As for Demetri, he told me last week he lost five pounds from the flu. It’s not a weight issue with him, he’s just not a super-quick guard; that’s not his strength. But he’s an above-average athlete for his size, and his size is a strength. You guys, and certain members of the media that don't watch practice, are too hard on Demetri McCamey.

Klee

Pat, Elmhurst, IL: Paul

Great work on the chat. Who are three teams the Illini would like and who are three teams they would fear in NCAA second round matchups or beyond? Thanks

Moderator: Pat- Suppose it's obvious you don’t want to see a No. 1 seed in the second round, because that means Illinois stumbled into the dreaded 8-9 game. So we’ll throw the projected No. 1s out of the equation.

Of the possible No. 2 seeds, Memphis is a team you don't want to see. The Tigers do what previous Illini-beaters (Minnesota, Penn State, Michigan State) do, only they do it better. Memphis is top-rated in field goal percentage defense, it crashes the boards and doesn’t commit many turnovers.

Among the lower-seeded teams, Xavier’s a team you don’t want to see. Utah's another one. If we're going way down the list, I've watched Cleveland State a couple times, and I'd say that's a mid-major you don't want to see, based on its style of play. Not to say Illinois wouldn’t beat those teams – Illinois could be favored, in fact – but they're not great matchups for these Illini.

You should hope for NCAA opponents that A) play a lot of zone B) don’t see a lot of physical man-to-man defense in their conference.

Klee

Barack Obama, Washington, D.C.: I see Bruce Weber is one of ten finalist for the Jim Phelan National Coach of the Year. (Right up there with Calhoun, Self, Williams, Dixon and Romar).

Is he still a lock for Big Ten Coach of the Year?

Moderator: Mr. President- Not sure he was ever a lock, but I'd say he's the frontrunner. If Ed DeChellis sweeps the Illini and lands a higher seed in the Big Ten tournament, it would be tougher to justify the Illinois coach over the Penn State coach, though.

Really, if you run down the postseason awards (Big Ten COY, POY, All-Conference, DPOY), most are still up in the air the last week of the season. That's another sign of a competitive league.

Klee

Ed, Lincolnshire, Il: With Purdue losing last night what are we looking at realistically as a seed for the Big Ten Tourney? Where do you project us as a seed for the NCAA?

Moderator: Ed- With a win tonight, Illinois locks up the No. 2 seed. And the No. 2 seed plays the 7-10 winner at 6:30 (EST) next Friday at Conseco.

With a loss, there are a number of seeding possibilities, depending on how the rest of the week shakes out.

As for the NCAA tournament, I think Illinois can rise as high as a No. 3 seed (with a Big Ten tournament title) to falling to a No. 7 seed (by closing with three straight losses).

Klee

John, Urbana, IL: How old is Bruce Weber? It seems like his coaching is pretty dependent on his energy. If he is going to be a long term coach, like I hope, do we have to be worried about Weber not maintaining his energy as he ages?

Moderator: John- Bruce Weber turned 52 in October. He has the energy of a 25-year-old. As he left practice Tuesday to go recruiting, he was shouting orders ("Go to study hall!") as he walked out the door at Ubben. Assistant coach Jerrance Howard just shook his head. Maybe it's from all the Diet Coke, but Bruce Weber has always been that way, tireless.

Klee

Basketball jones, forsyth, Illinois: Paul, Do you think we will get to at least 36 points this game?

Moderator: Jones- For the sake of my offense-loving heart, I really, really hope so. If not, I like to Google "Loyola-Marymount and 1989-90" to feel better.

Klee

Moderator: This is a bigger game for Penn State than Illinois, so we'll see if the Nittany Lions play like it. They sure didn't play that way against Indiana the other day.

Here's what Penn State coach Ed DeChellis said of the bubble talk surrounding his squad:

"We have two games (remaining). I think we're in a position to control what we do. If we play well the last two games, all the 'in,' 'out,' bubble stuff will all go away."

Klee

Mitch, Barry, IL: Paul, What will be the keys to the game for the illini to beat penn state tonight?

Moderator: Mitch- I think the Illini need to match Penn State's physicality, to steal a Jay Bilas term.

Not just tonight, but down the road, the Illini need more from their bench. Now, that also means Bruce Weber will have to trust his bench, which he's been hesitant to do, but the Illinois bench has been outscored in five straight games. The bench has been outscored 66-26 in that stretch.

One of the reserves, Dominique Keller, told me he's been struggling with the flu, but he's "100 percent now."

Klee

Jon, Batavia, IL: Seems like Bill Self is getting a lot of love this year because of low expectations for his team full of 4 and 5 star players including 2 McD's All-Americans. I don't get it, do you?

Moderator: Jon- Sure, I get it. It's deserving. He lost five players to the NBA and carved a top-10 (at least in terms of the polls) and conference-winning team out of what remained. I'm not sure there are ever low expectations at Kansas. Maybe lowered expectations. But a Big 12 title is a Big 12 title, regardless.

Self would be on my short list of National Coach of the Year candidates, along with LSU's Trent Johnson and Butler's Brad Stevens, among others.

Klee

Jeff, Darien, IL: Hi Paul,

How will the staff approach the upcoming layoff? Should we happen to lose our first game of the BTT, we will have only played one game over two weeks. Not exactly building momentum at this critical point in the season. Thanks for taking my question.

Moderator: Jeff- Good to hear from you. The Illini will get two, maybe three days off, between tonight's Penn State game and the Big Ten tournament quarterfinals. You hit it on the head, though, the biggest concern would be the layoff between tonight's game and the first round of the NCAA tournament, if the Illini drop their first Big Ten tournament game.

“I always fear coming back, any time you lay around a couple days," Bruce Weber said of the pre-Big Ten tournament break. "Overall, it will be a good break for our guys.”

Klee

Scotty Pippen, Chicago, Illinois: Biggest surprise this season? Jeff Jordan?

Moderator: Maurice- I'd go with Mike Tisdale. He's tripled his scoring average from last season, he's led the Illini in scoring 14 times (a team high) and Illinois is 14-1 when he scores in double figures.

Klee

Al, West Orange, NJ: Does Weber still ask the team to push the ball? I don't think this cast lends itself well to the break, will that change with the guards coming in the next few years?

Moderator: Al- Every day in practice, I can count on at least one "Push the ballllll!" from Bruce Weber. It's one of his pet peeves with these guards, and one of the reasons he said Jeff Jordan could be in line for more playing time.

"He does push the ball in practice better than probably anyone else on our team," Weber said Tuesday. "Maybe we need to give him a few more minutes to see if he can do something with the right mix."

Klee

Pete G., Chicago, IL: Paul, great job of doing the chats this season. A couple of questions. With the Big Ten Tournament coming up next week, which team or teams would the Illini not want to face for their 1st game? Since McCamey and Mike Tisdale have been somewhat inconsistent at times this season, which of the 2 do you think has to have an Outstanding (not just good)tournament for the Illini to have alot of success next weekend. And finally, did you ever find out what Bruce Weber's favorite pizza is when coming through Chicago (Lansing, IL)? Thanks in advance.

Moderator: Pete- Minnesota is a team you don't want to play in the first round. Wisconsin is probably another. The Gophers are a tough matchup for these Illini, evidenced by the 36-point game in Minneapolis and the hard-fought rematch at the Hall.

As for your second question, Shaun Pruitt, Brian Randle and Demetri McCamey were the three biggest reasons -- at least in terms of individuals -- Illinois reached the Big Ten tournament title game last season. Only Demetri remains. So I'd say they need the sophomore to play big in Indy.

As for the pizza place I wrote about, the name escapes me. It's an Italian name. I'll try to track it down. Bruce Weber has been going there for over two decades. He usually calls the owner before he arrives, and she cuts the pizza pie into smaller slices, so he can eat while he's driving home from recruiting trips.

Klee

Boulevard Gender, St.Louis, Missouri: We already have solidified the recruting classes for the next two years. Do you think the season we are having will have a trickle down effect for 2011,2012,and 2013 recruting classes.

Moderator: BG- Winning never hurts recruiting. Then again, losing doesn't always hurt, either. I remember covering Penn State's win at Illinois last season, a loss that dropped Illinois' record to 8-7, and UI recruits Tyler Griffey, Crandall Head and Jereme Richmond were in the stands. Each of them said the team's current record had little impact on their decisions.

"Wherever I'm going, I'm going to play with the recruits for three or four years," Tyler Griffey told me then. "That's a big factor in what I look at."

So yeah, it can't hurt. But Georgia Tech is 2-13 in the ACC and recently got a commitment from Derrick Favors, the nation's top-rated big man, so there's really no rhyme or reason in recruiting.

Klee

Sean, Springfield, il: With the season winding down, which teams out there have had the most disappointing seasons so far? Notre Dame? Oregon? ...

Moderator: Sean- Off the top of my head, Notre Dame comes to mind. Before the season, one oddsmaker pegged the Irish at 20-to-1 to win the national title. Last time I checked that Web site, the Irish were 150-to-1.

Klee

Jancy Scott, Urbana, IL: Hey, Paul -- Do you have any information on how former Illini Brian Carlwell is doing at his new school? He seemed like a nice kid from a wonderful family, and I wish him well.

Moderator: Jancy- Brian Carlwell is sitting out this season after transferring to San Diego State. A San Diego State staffer tells me the Aztecs have six seniors on their current team, so B.C. presumably will be a key contributor and likely "one of the top newcomers in the Mountain West next season." Last time I saw him play, he had a ways to go, but perhaps he's made significant strides.

Hope that helps.

Klee

CornFedPerformer, Danville, IL: Do you think Weber is going to adjust his stolid motion offense - with its inherent propensity to milk the shot clock - once the high-flying athletes begin to arrive? It would be hard to fathom Weber reigning in talents like Richmond, Richardson, Paul, Abrams and Head, and forcing them to adhere to a style of play that at times takes the air out of the ball.

Moderator: CFP- The motion offense will be at Illinois as long as Bruce Weber is at Illinois, if that's your question. Of all the recruits you mentioned, Jereme Richmond could really flourish in this type of system, mainly due to his abilities as a passer.

Klee

Ed Bond, State College, Pa: Paul are you going to have some Peachy Paterno with us? It is a good day outside

Moderator: Ed Bond's eating ice cream. And it is, in fact, a beautiful day in State College.

Klee

Oaktree 2412, Moline, Illinois: When inbounding the ball...if a player steps on the end line it is a violation...when dribbling the ball if a player steps on the end line it is a violation...what's your take?...I enjoy the chats..keep up the good work...

Moderator: Thanks. Not sure of the question, though.

Klee

Theresa, St. Louis, MO: Trent mentioned possibly continuing his basketball career in your Sunday session. Any idea where he would fit in? How do his skills transfer to a job in Europe?

Moderator: Ms. Lisch- Former Illini Marcus Arnold is leading his Czech Republic league in scoring and rebounding. So Trent can play in Europe. Maybe it's somewhere you, the leading scorer in the Atlantic-10, can play, too.

Trent and the seniors wrote an open letter to the fans on HQ on Sunday. Check it out. And he has at least one more diary coming up. I'll let you know when.

Klee

Moderator: Going to wrap this one up for today and get some lunch on College Ave. Maybe at the Tap Room. Good spot.

We'll have an abbreviated Live Report from Bryce Jordan Center tonight, so feel free to send your questions and observations. Thanks for coming by.

Klee