The evaluations from spring and summer basketball have been tabulated and the consensus is there is no agreement on who is the No. 1 player going into the 2008-09 season. But five Illinois products and four of coach Bruce Weber's recruits earned recognition among the top 100 seniors in the nation.

Van Coleman of Hoopmasters.com and Scout.com favored 6-10 Derrick Favors of Atlanta, Ga., as the leading prospect in the country.

Bob Gibbons of All-Star Sports and EPSN picked 6-6 Xavier Henry of Oklahoma City, Okla.

Rivals.com chose 6-4 guard John Wall of Raleigh, N.C.

Clark Francis of HoopScoop selected 6-5 guard Lance Stephenson of Brooklyn, N.Y.

Continue reading "The preseason top 100" »

I remember the first time I saw Tom Mitchell...or the first time I thought I saw Tom Mitchell.

It was 1968, my first year reporting high school sports for the old Chicago Daily News, and I was covering a Catholic League football game at Gately Stadium on a sunny Sunday afternoon.

I was standing on the Brother Rice sideline when I was forced to make way for a white-haired, hard-boiled, shouting, screaming wild man whom I assumed at the time was head coach Tom Mitchell. He had something to say to every player on the field who was wearing a crimson jersey and it wasn't very complimentary.

Standing a few yards away from him was a much younger man whom I assumed at the time was an assistant coach. He barely said a word or blinked an eye.

Continue reading "Tom Mitchell gets his props" »

Illinois basketball coach Bruce Weber spent only three nights at home for meals during the month of July. But he did manage to find time to go to the beach for some sun and relaxation with his wife and three daughters.

"The summer isn't as bad as it used to be," he said. "You have to take some time to unwind or (the recruiting grind) will take its toll."

Weber is starting his 30th year in Division I coaching--from Purdue to Southern Illinois to Illinois--and he admits there have been a lot of changes along the way. When he started, there was no AAU or Internet, only a few camps and tournaments such as 5-Star and B/C.

But Dorothy isn't living in Kansas any more.

Continue reading "Bruce Weber's philosophy" »

Illinois basketball coach Bruce Weber desperately wanted to sign Crane's Sherron Collins to become the point guard to succeed Deron Williams and Dee Brown. Then he hoped to land Simeon's Derrick Rose. Can you imagine Collins and Rose in the same backcourt for even one season? But it didn't happen.

It only added to the list of Weber's disappointments that included Villaneueva, Livingston, Wright and Frasor. The theory is if he keeps winning games, some blue-chippers will be persuaded to join the program. But upperclassmen haven't been persuaded.

It's an Illinois/Chicago thing, not a Weber thing. In the 1940s and 1950s and early 1960s, in the Harry Combes era, the state's best players were anxious to play in Champaign...Kerr, Beach, Brothers, the Judson twins, Ohl, Sunderledge, Jackson, Vaughn, Downey, Freeman.

Continue reading "Still trying to catch up" »

If there is a lost art in basketball, according to Illinois coach Bruce Weber, it is the point guard. He knows. He coached Deron Williams and Dee Brown.

"When you don't have one, you know it," Weber said.

"It is a difference-maker for a coach to have a great point guard on the court. He makes the right play, the right decision at the end of the clock. He will pass first. He doesn't mind passing first. He has an understanding of the game, a feel for the game."

Let's hope he is talking about Chris Colvin, Whitney Young's 6-3 point guard. After his breakout performance at the Reebok camp, Colvin's stock soared. Illinois, which had expressed some interest early but backed off, leaped back into the chase.

Continue reading "Bruce Weber talks point guards" »

Joe Wardynski knew what he was getting into. But after serving as coach Ron Muhitch's defensive coordinator for the last four years, he felt he was ready to be a head coach and he didn't want to wait until Muhitch decided to retire in four or five years. So he decided to toss his fishing line into the water and see who would nibble or bite.

"I might have had an opportunity to succeed Muhitch," he said. "But there are no guarantees. I felt it was time for me to become a head coach. I don't know what my window is. I felt the window of opportunity was there."

Wardynski, 36, talked to New Trier officials about their opening but never was invited to interview. In the end, he didn't want to move his family. When Wheaton North called last March,he jumped at the offer.

Continue reading "New era at Wheaton North" »

Recruiting analyst Tom Lemming's annual Prep Football Report, 286 pages of evaluations and pictures of the top-rated senior prospects in the United States, is hot off the press. To order a copy, call (630) 907-1000.

It's a labor of love. Lemming annually travels from coast to coast to personally evaluate film and interview the best players in each state. Last year, he logged more miles that ever before, close to 60,000 miles while driving through 47 states. He missed only North Dakota, Alaska and Hawaii. This year, he missed only Alaska. From November to June, he interviewed over 2,000 players.

Continue reading "Lemming's annual report is available" »

I couldn't argue with longtime Champaign News-Gazette sports columnist Loren Tate's choices for the Top Twenty University of Illinois basketball players whose jerseys should be retired and hoisted in the Assembly Hall.

Oh, I'm sure some die-hard members of Illini Nation will stump for their favorites. But Tate's list, in my view, is a no-brainer.

However, I can't say the same for News-Gazette sportswriter Bob Asmussen's picks for five Illini football jerseys--after Red Grange and Dick Butkus, of course--that should be hung from the Memorial Stadium press box.

Continue reading "Agase, Nitschke, Young, Caroline?" »

Longtime Champaign News-Gazette sports columnist Loren Tate hit the nail on the head with his recent list of 20 former Illinois basketball players whose jerseys should be retired and hung in the Assembly Hall.

Oh, some people already have nominated other players. Even Tate had trouble overlooking some old-timers. But his list of 20, very similar to Illinois' All-Century lineup that was announced a year ago, is a virtual no-brainer.

When considering another player, ask yourself this question: Which of the 20 would I drop to make room? I certainly couldn't find a reason to insert another player.

Tate's 20?

Continue reading "Tate's Twenty Is On The Money" »

Willie Scott, an outstanding point guard at King High School in the late 1970s and the leader of Bradley's 1982 NIT championship team, is the new head men's basketball coach at Malcolm X College in Chicago.

Scott, 47, served as assistant coach at Jackson (Miss.) State last season. He hopes to rebuild a program that hasn't had a winning season in more than 10 years. "I'm starting from scratch. My goal is to rebuild the program, use my sources from the city and show that I can prepare kids for Division I schools if they choose to stay home and play here in the heart of the city," he said.

Continue reading "New era at Malcolm X" »