Take a lesson from Lou

I've been through 25 years of being an Illini basketball fan. In spite of recent success, and no doubt the wins first over Gonzaga and then Wake Forest a year and a half ago leading to almost a full season as #1 was quite enjoyable, my favorite season was and still is 198383-84 when Steve Alford was a freshman and we pounded his Indiana team at home by 20. It was the first year I went to see and NCAA tournament game. I was there with the Larboy at Rupp Arena in Lexington Kentucky for that fabled game in the Elite Eight, where Dicky Beal did the famous two-step and Hank (you make the call) Nichols swallowed his whistle and then inexplicably made the the foul call on us that of course made the 20,000 Kentucky fans in the stands delirious with joy but also showed that justice being served is not what college basketball is about. They changed the rules of the NCAA tournament after that - teams couldn't play games at their home arena - not much of a reward for us, but that wasn't the point.

While the 2004-05 season was anticipated based ont the strong showing the previous year, the 1983-84 season was improbable. Derek Harper turned pro so the returning team was young immature and without an obvious leader. But the team blossomed and all the pieces fit together. I think it might be an exemplar for us next season, so consider this little exercise.

Match the current players with their prior generation counterparts:

2006-07 probable starting lineup
a) Jamar Smith, b) Brian Randle, c) Rich McBride, d) Shaun Pruitt, and e) Chester Frazier

1983-84 starting lineup
1) George Montgomery, 2) Doug Altenberger, 3) Ephrem Winters, 4) Bruce Douglas, and 5) Quinn Richardson

Here's the way they match up.

Brian Randle and Ephrem Winters - This is the most important one and the critical one to get right. This past year we had Brian trying to do too many different things, so he occassionally flashed brilliance, but he had no bread and butter play. He needs on and the obvious thing is to return to the alley-oop. Randle needs to average about 4 dunks off the pass per game, and I mean that in the half-court offense not on the break. That we he is an offensive threat. Play him at the 4, and let him watch films of the E-Man against Villanova getting 16 boards. That's what he needs to do. Forget playing him at the wing. We've got othere players for htat.

Shaun Pruit and George Montgomery

George was fun to watch but kind of a joke as Freshman and then again as a sophomore. He got serious as a junior. How did he do it? He got in shape and rand and ran and ran all summer long breathing the beautiful aromas of the south farms. Shaun, that's what you'e got to do. Run. You should be able to play a full half without being substituted. Get in shape. And get tough like George.

Rich McBride and Doug Altenberger

We lucked out tremendously when Anthony Welch went down and Altenberger got put at the small forward spot. Anthony was fun to watch but he was soft defensively. Altenberger was a shooting guard, not a forward, but we didn't need a forward with George and Ephrem - meaning we didn't need another rebounder. We needed a tough defender and somebody who scored consistently from the outside. This is you Rich. Sometimes you'll have to guard guys who are 5 inches taller than you. You can do it. Be tough. And stay in the game.

Jamar Smith and Quinn Richardson

Let's start with the fact that nobody thought Quinn was good enough to be a starter and sometimes his ball handling was a little suspect. But he shot 59% from the floor. And he made them under pressure, when it was needed. Jamar, we need the consistency. Don't try to be an All American. Be somebody who off the pass can make the shot at a very high rate. Also you hae to toughen up on defense. Don't expect your teammates to cover up your shortcomings.

Chester Frazier and Bruce Douglas

This one is the most unfair because Bruce was the star of the team and a starter the previous year. He had a feel for the alley oop pass and for forcing turnovers. He wasn't a guard in high school and that physicality in his play really helped him. Chester doesn't have those advantages. But Bruce is is abetter model than Dee, no matter how much fun Dee was to watch. Bruce was very strong with the dribble. Nobody took the ball away from him. He could break the press on his one. Chester has to be able to keep his dribble through the double team and he has to understand how to control tempo. Chester's been out of control as a freshman, but Bruce was too. Chester has to learn to score even if he is not a great shooter. He can't get assists if he is not a threat. But his main role is to set the table. Bruce was great at that. Chester can be good too.

Meta Lessons

That 83-84 team really controlled tempo. This past year we did some things like a good transition team and some things like a good slow down team, but the combination meant we had a split personality. Next year's clup has to be a possession team. It must be efficient in the half court. And for that it must have a real inside presence. Pruitt can't be that. It has to be Randle on the alley-oop. Because he'd mobile he'll occupy multiple defenders. That will allow penetration by the guards for the kick out three pointer.

Let the starters play a lot of minutes and shorten the bench. This means conditioning, not getting into foul trouble, and a slower pace to the game. This past year we were really weak in stopping dribble penetration. With Augustine no longer here, the trap is not going to work for us like it did in the past. So pack it in more. If we don't go to an overt zone, which in my opinion we should try for variety, do a lot more switching and double teaming inside. We won't be as athletic across the board as we've been in the past. So we need to adjust and be smart about it.

Coach Weber, our current players will be looking to the recent past for the model. But better to look further back, when shorts were short, there was no shot clock or three point line, and Dickie V had yet to invent the Lou Doo.

Any questions?

We have one. Did Rowinski really do it just by hard work or did he take steroids?