Brandon Paul was incredible against Ohio State, but it may not be as good of a sign as you think

This post is sponsored by the Hampton Inn & Suites Cincinnati Uptown/University.

Brandon Paul has always had potential.

Wings with his size, athleticism and ability always do. But Paul has never been able to put it all together. Part of the reason was out of Paul's control. When you spend two seasons sharing the perimeter with Demetri McCamey, there aren't going to be many shot opportunities to go around.

And while Paul made many a Breakout Player list during the preseason, he hasn't exactly lived up to those expectations. He came into Tuesday night's game against Ohio State averaging a career-high 12.1 ppg and 4.5 rpg, but he was shooting a career-low 28.4% from three and just 36.4% from the floor. His efficiency was down from 1.002 PPP to 0.917 PPP.

There really wasn't much argument against the statement that Paul was having a disappointing season.

And then Tuesday happened, and Paul put together what may just end up being to single most-impressive individual performance this season.
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The Emery Board

This weekly column is in honor of BYU's Jackson Emery, who, for two straight seasons, claimed his squad would go undefeated and win the National Championship.

College basketball has not seen a team go undefeated since Bobby Knight's Indiana Hoosiers went 32-0 in 1975-1976. The closest we have seen since then was a Jameer Nelson-led St. Joseph's team that went 27-0 in the 2003-2004 season before losing to Xavier in the Atlantic-10 tournament. Every season a team flirts with the notion of an undefeated season, but every season that notion slowly fades as January turns to February and February turns to March.

The Emery Board: 3rd Edition
After a roller-coaster weekend, we are left with just nine undefeated teams. Indiana remains undefeated thanks to a game-winning three point buzzer-beater by Christian Watford. Murray State stayed in the mix with a strong road victory at Memphis. Plus, there was the Crosstown Brawl. How does that effect Xavier's unbeaten record?


No.1 Syracuse (10-0)
Next game: 12/17 at North Carolina State (6-3)
First realistic loss: 12/17 at North Carolina State (6-3)

The Orange have looked down-right impressive this season. Fab Melo has improved by leaps and bounds, and the Orange sport one of the deepest benches in the country. Plus, all the distractions with the Bernie Fine investigation have yet to rattle this bunch. But they've also yet to play a true road game, and will receive a stern test from North Carolina State this Saturday.


No.4 Louisville (9-0)
Next game: 12/17 vs. Memphis (5-3)
First realistic loss: 12/17 vs. Memphis (5-3)

The Cardinals rolled through IUPUI and FDU this past week, and have a tough non-conference game against Memphis on the horizon. Gorgui Deing has been very impressive this year, and Kyle Kuric continues to improve as one of the leaders of this team. And remember, this team continues to fight the injury bug. With games against Georgetown and Kentucky down the road, it's unlikely they will stay undefeated for long, but this team should be considered a real threat to contend for a Final-Four bid.


No.7 Baylor (7-0)
Next game: 12/14 vs. Bethune-Cookman (3-4)
First realistic loss: 12/23 vs. West Virginia (6-2)

The Bears didn't play last week, and don't face any real competition until 12/22 when they play Saint Mary's. But that starts a tough stretch against quality teams, with West Virginia, Mississippi State and Texas A&M to follow. Guard-play and coaching will continue to be the team's question-marks. Can Pierre Jackson and A.J Walton get it done? And can Scott Drew actually coach this team up during late game situations? We should have some answers once 2012 rolls around.


No.8 Missouri (9-0)
Next game: 12/15 vs. Kennesaw State (2-5)
First realistic loss: 12/22 vs. No.19 Illinois (10-0)

This team continues to impress. The Tigers have yet to score less than 80 points in a game, and while rebounding will continue to be a question, the team's chemistry and efficiency will get them by. Phil Pressey is emerging as one of the best guards in the country, and if Kim English can continue to shoot well from outside, teams will have serious match-up problems. This team has rallied behind Frank Haith, and the results thus far have been tremendous. Illinois' seven-footer Meyers Leonard will provide Missouri with a tough match-up, but if the Tigers can defeat the Illini, it's likely they remain undefeated heading into the new year.


No.9 Xavier (8-0)
Next game: 12/18 vs. Oral Roberts (6-3)
First realistic loss: 12/18 vs. Oral Roberts (6-3)

If you spent your weekend under a rock, you might be confused as to why Oral Roberts has a chance to beat an undefeated, top-10 team. But due to the Crosstown Brawl, Xavier will be without their three best players for this game. While the length of suspensions are down-right embarrassing, this team is scary-good when they have all their horses on the court. After Oral Roberts, they play Long Beach State and Gonzaga. I have to imagine Xavier will lose one of the next three games. If not, then we have to start considering this team as a legitimate Final-Four contender.


No.11 Marquette (9-0)
Next game: 12/17 vs. Northern Colorado (3-5)
First realistic loss: 12/29 vs. No.25 Vanderbilt (6-3)

The Golden Eagles may be the most entertaining team in the country. They have a variety of weapons and role players, and one of the most talented coaches in the country. But injuries have started to pile up in the past week. Center Chris Otule will miss significant time with an ACL injury. Plus, freshman Juan Anderson injured his shoulder during practice and sophomore Jamil Wilson sprained his ankle late in the week. Marquette has a tough stretch of games towards the end of the month, and probably will suffer a defeat before January first. Nonetheless, this team is really talented and should be considered a legitimate Final-Four contender.


No.19 Illinois (10-0)
Next game: 12/17 vs. UNLV (9-2)
First realistic loss: 12/17 vs. UNLV (9-2)

Did any of us expect Illinois to be undefeated at this point in the season? If your answer is no, you're clearly lying. Center Meyers Leonard has been playing inspired basketball as of late, and transfer Sam Maniscalco has stepped up as well. This is a much different team than last year. The departures of Demetri McCamey and Jereme Richmond have made this team more cohesive and while they aren't uber-talented, they are a rough, tough team that will be a difficult out.


No.20 Indiana (9-0)
Next game: 12/17 vs. Notre Dame (7-4)
First realistic loss: 12/28 at Michigan State (8-2)

Christian Watford's buzzer-beating, game-winning three pointer against Kentucky has been the signature moment of the season. Indiana came into the contest undefeated but untested, and with the victory, Tom Crean got a career-defining win. This team has a superstar center in Cody Zeller, some big-time athletes in Will Sheehey and Victor Oladipo, and a bunch of veteran leadership. A let down will come at some point, but for now, this team should be given all the praise in the world.


Murray State (9-0)
Next game: 12/15 vs. Lipscomb (6-5)
First realistic loss: 12/30 at Eastern Illinois (6-3)

The Racers passed their first real test of the season, a road victory over Memphis. With all their tough non-conference games out of the way, the Racers have set themselves up to make a run at finishing the season undefeated. That might sound ridiculous, but no team in the Ohio Valley Conference is as talented as them, and if they can avoid a significant letdown, going undefeated isn't out of the realm of possibility.



Bottom of the Barrel

Binghamton (0-7)
Next game: 12/17 at Hofstra (3-7)
First real chance to win: 1/5 vs. Stony Brook (3-5)

Chicago State (0-9)
Next game: 12/14 at Wichita State (7-2)
First real chance to win: 12/17 at Loyola (IL) (2-7)

Grambling State (0-6)
Next game: 12/18 at Texas Tech (4-4)
First real chance to win: 1/3 vs. Alabama State (2-6)

Hartford (0-10)
Next game: 1221 at Marist (4/5)
First real chance to win: 1/15 at Binghamton (0-7)

Morgan State (0-7)
Next game: 12/14 at UMBC (1-7)
First real chance to win: 12/14 at UMBC (1-7)

Northern Illinois (0-8)
Next game: 12/14 vs. DePaul (6-3)
First real chance to win: 12/17 vs. Southern Illinois (1-5)

Towson (0-9)
Next game: 12/14 at Coppin State (3-5)
First real chance to win: 12/14 at Coppin State (3-5)



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2011-2012 Top 50 Countdown: Nos. 35-31

Over the coming weeks, we will be counting down our Top 50 teams in the country. Teams 26-50 will be posted in groups of five, while we will count backwards from No. 25 to the No. 1 team in the country. You can find a complete schedule of our 2011-2012 Season Preview coverage here. To browse through the rest of the Top 50, click here.


35. Illinois Fighting Illini:

Last Season: 20-14, 9-9 (Big Ten)

Head Coach: Bruce Weber

Key Losses: Demetri McCamey, Mike Davis, Mike Tisdale, Jereme Richmond, Bill Cole

New Additions: Nnanna Egwu, Tracy Abrams, Mike Shaw, Mychael Henry, Devin Langford, Ibrahima Djimde, Sam Maniscalco, Jereme Richmond?

Projected Lineup:

- G: Sam Maniscalco, Sr.
- G: Brandon Paul, Jr.
- G: DJ Richardson, Jr.
- F: Tyler Griffey, Jr.
- C: Meyers Leonard, So.
- Bench: Crandall Head, So.; Tracy Abrams, Fr.; Mike Shaw, Fr.; Myke Henry, Fr.; Devin Langford, Fr.



Outlook: Illinois is in an interesting position this season. On the one hand, they are losing four starters and a key reserve. On the other hand, they are losing Demetri McCamey and Jereme Richmond, two talented head cases that may end up being an addition by subtraction. So while Bruce Weber's team is losing 56.5 percent of their minutes and 59.2 pecent of their scoring, the team chemistry -- which is so valuable and so underrated -- stands to increase without the fights Richmond may or may not have been involved in and the professional career McCamey may or may not have been preparing for. So what's left? Its going to start on the perimeter for the Illini. Juniors DJ Richardson and Brandon Paul should become the first and second options with the ball-dominating McCamey gone. Bradley transfer Sam Maniscalco -- who is legit -- should slide into the point guard role for a year while freshman Tracy Abrams gets used to the Big Ten. Sophomore Meyers Leonard should be able to provide some solid interior defense and rebounding if he can keep his fouls down while Tyler Griffey gives Weber a face-up four with a dangerous jump shot. Throw in a couple youngsters off the bench -- Crandall Head, Joseph Bertrand, Mike Shaw, Myke Henry, Devin Langford, Nnanna Egwu -- and Illinois has a bright future.


34. Washington Huskies:

Last Season: 24-11, 11-7 (Pac-10)

Head Coach: Lorenzo Romar

Key Losses: Isaiah Thomas, Matthew Bryan-Amaning, Justin Holiday, Venoy Overton

New Additions: Tony Wroten Jr, Shawn Kemp Jr, Hikeem Stewart, Jernard Jarreau, Martin Breunig, Andrew Andrews

Projected Lineup:

- G: Abdul Gaddy, Jr.
- G: Tony Wroten Jr, Fr.
- F: Terrence Ross, So.
- F: Darnell Gant, Sr.
- C: Aziz N'Diaye, Jr.
- Bench: CJ Wilcox, So.; Scott Suggs, Sr.; Shawn Kemp Jr, Fr.; Hikeem Stewart, Fr.; Jernard Jarreau, Fr.


Outlook: Washington is going to have a lot of important pieces to replace next season. Its starts with the most obvious -- Isaiah Thomas -- but with Matthew Bryan-Amaning, Justin Holiday and Venoy Overton also graduating, Lorenzo Romar is going to have quite a few minutes to replace. He certainly will have talent at his disposal, however, especially on the perimeter. It starts with Abdul Gaddy, who should be healthy after tearing his acl a third of the way through last season, and stud point guard recruit Tony Wroten Jr, who is the kind of playmaker that can fill the role Thomas vacated. CJ Wilcox and Scott Suggs should be able to provide an offensive pop off the bench. The x-factor, however, will be Terrence Ross. The sophomore wing has had quite a bit of hype throughout the off-season and could end up being a first-team all-conference performer if he lives up to those expectations. The front court will be a bit of a question mark. Aziz N'Diaye is seven-foot shotblocker, but he doesn't provide much offensive pop. Darnell Gant can stretch the floor with his ability to shoot, but he's not much of a banger. Four freshmen -- Shawn Kemp Jr, Desmond Simmons, Martin Breunig and Jernard Jarreau -- will be competing for front court bench minutes, and Washington is going to need one or two of that group to become impact contributors.


33. Michigan State Spartans:

Last Season: 19-15, 9-9 (Big Ten)

Head Coach: Tom Izzo

Key Losses: Kalin Lucas, Durrell Summers, Garrick Sherman, Korie Lucious, Mike Kebler

New Additions: Branden Dawson, Brandon Kearney, Travis Trice, Brandon Wood

Projected Lineup:

- G: Keith Appling, So.
- G: Brandon Wood, Sr.
- F: Branden Dawson, Fr.
- F: Draymond Green, Sr.
- C: Delvon Roe, Sr.
- Bench: Adreian Payne, So.; Derrick Nix, Jr.; Austin Thornton, Sr.; Brandon Kearney, Fr.; Russell Byrd, Fr.


Outlook: Last season was, frankly, a disaster for the Spartans. After being picked as a consensus top five team heading into the season, Michigan State never found that rhythm. There were chemistry issues, Kalin Lucas couldn't get healthy, Durrell Summers couldn't get a shot to fall and Michigan State found themselves knocked out in the first round of the tournament after failing to crack the 20 win barrier. Next season will be an interesting mix. The strength of this group will be the front court. Draymond Green and Delvon Roe (Ed. Note: Only hours after we posted this, news of Roe announced his retirement) are senior leaders that have been through quite a few battles in their careers. Adreian Payne and Derrick Nix both have some question marks -- Payne needs Nix to donate him about 30 pounds, among other things -- but if they can put it together, both have the potential to be impact players in the Big Ten this year. Freshman small forward Branden Dawson has drawn comparisons to Raymar Morgan and should fit well with this team. The back court is a bigger question. Sophomore Keith Appling is going to be asked to take over a much more prominent role while senior Valpo transfer -- who, like Maniscalco at Illinois, is legit -- will be counted on to provide some back court experience. Austin Thornton will see minutes, as will Brandon Kearney and Russell Byrd (if he can get healthy), but the only natural point guard on the roster is freshman Travis Trice. Tom Izzo is going to need to turn this group into an old-school, beat-em-up Spartan team.


32. Wichita State Shockers:

Last Season: 29-8, 14-4 (MVC)

Head Coach: Gregg Marshall

Key Losses: JT Durley, Graham Hatch, Gabe Blair, Aaron Ellis

New Additions: Jake White, Evan Wessel, Tekele Cotton, Ron Baker, Carl Hall, Ede Egharevba

Projected Lineup:

- G: Joe Ragland, Sr.
- G: David Kyles, Sr.
- F: Toure' Murry, Sr.
- F: Ben Smith, Sr.
- C: Garrett Stutz, Sr.
- Bench: Carl Hall, Jr.; Demetric Williams, Jr.; Jake White, Fr.


Outlook: The Shockers had some rough luck during the regular season, taking a couple of tough losses that cost them the MVC regular season title and a trip to the tournament. That said, they did make a run to the NIT championship. Wichita State should be able to compete for an MVC title this season based on their back court alone. Its headlined by a trio of talented and unselfish seniors that buy into what Gregg Marshall is selling. Joe Ragland is the point guard, David Kyles is the shooter, and Toure' Murry is the play-maker and the slasher. All three are capable of producing big games, but they also all understand their role within the team. Junior Demetric Williams showed flashes of promise last season, but he will be battling for bench minutes with freshmen Evan Wessel and Tekele Cotton. Where the Shockers have question marks is along their front line. Garrett Stutz, their seven-foot senior center, returns. He is going to need to increase his productivity to make up for JT Durley's scoring and Gabe Blair's rebounding and physicality inside. The undersized Ben Smith will be back, although he tends to spend more on his time on the perimeter. Beyond that, Marshall is going to have a lot of fresh faces manning the paint, but the most interesting are two newcomers. Jake White is a face-up four that had some legitimate high-major interest and Carl Hall is a JuCo transfer that has some hype coming into the program.


31. UNLV Runnin' Rebels:

Last Season: 24-9, 11-5 (MWC)

Head Coach: Dave Rice

Key Losses: Tre'Von Willis, Derrick Jasper, Lon Kruger

New Additions: Mike Moser, Dave Rice

Projected Lineup:

- G: Oscar Bellfield, Sr.
- G: Anthony Marshall, Jr.
- G: Justin Hawkins, Jr.
- F: Chace Stanback, Sr.
- C: Quintrel Thomas, Jr.
- Bench: Mike Moser, So.; Carlos Lopez, So.; Kendall Wallace, Sr., Brice Massamba, Sr.; Reggie Smith, So.


Outlook: UNLV is going to be going through a regime change as the Mountain West goes through a membership change, but there is plenty of talent on this roster to compete with New Mexico in the two-horse race to win the MWC. Oscar Bellfield and Anthony Marshall are going to share ball-handling and playmaking duties. Bellfield is a better shooter and creator than Marshall, but Marshall is the kind of player coaches love. He does seemingly everything well and can be a lock-down defensive presence. Defensive stopper Justin Hawkins and three-point sniper Kendall Wallace, who is coming off of an acl tear, will both be back as well. Don't be surprised is Marquette transfer Reggie Smith works his way into the lineup when he gets eligible in December. Up front, Rice figures to continue the three-man rotation that Kruger had last season. Quintrel Thomas, Brice Massamba and Carlos Lopez are all big and strong and do enough well to get on the court but don't do enough to earn a permanent starting spot. UCLA transfer Mike Moser will also see time in the front court, which would allow Chace Stanback to slide over and play some three. The x-factor is going to be Stanback. With much of the MWC's star power gone from last season, he has a real shot at being the Player of the Year in the conference. A 6'8" wing, he can do a lot of different things on the floor -- shoot from deep, score, rebound, defend multiple positions -- but is he ready to become "the man"? Will he take that next step towards being a star? If he does, UNLV has a very good chance of winning the MWC.


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Jereme Richmond arrested for assault, threatening with a gun

In one fell swoop, Jereme Richmond may have made himself completely undesirable to any professional basketball team as well as every potential girlfriend he may have.

The former Illinois forward was charged with three felonies stemming from a series of incidents the past two days -- aggravated battery, aggravated unlawful use of a weapon and aggravated assault, as well as misdemeanor charges of domestic battery, battery, and two counts of disorderly conduct.


The specifics are unclear as of now -- ESPN Chicago, the Daily Herald, and the Chicago Sun-Times have slight differences in their reports -- but essentially what happened is that Richmond had a confrontation with a 17 year old girl he had been dating at her house, in front of her parents. From the ESPN report:

According to [Waukegan police commander Gabe] Guzman, Richmond, 19, was involved in a confrontation with a woman on the 3000 block of Golfmoor in Waukegan on Monday. When a Waukegan police car arrived on the scene, Richmond was in the resident's yard.

According to the police report, Richmond made a statement to the resident, "You looking for me? I'm here now. I'll shoot your [expletive]."

Three of Richmond's friends were found in a car outside the resident's home. A loaded .40 caliber Smith and Wesson handgun was discovered in the car, and all three passengers were taken into custody.

There's more.

The Daily Herald is reporting that on Sunday, the woman drove to Richmond's house to get her cell phone and the two had a confrontation that ended with Richmond shoving the girl into her car.

This isn't the first time that Richmond has been in trouble, either. He missed a game against Wisconsin during Big Ten after skipping two days of practice to return home for unspecified personal reasons. He was suspended for the Illini's two NCAA Tournament games after a reported fight with a teammate following their loss to Michigan in the Big Ten Tournament.

Its a sad ending that should serve as a cautionary tale for every elite recruit in the country.

There is no question that Richmond is an immensely talented basketball player. A 6'8" small forward, he has a versatile skill set that should have allowed him to be a weapon at both the college level and potentially the NBA. But Richmond, who committed to Illinois when he was a freshman and went on to make the McDonald's all-american team, bought into the hype. He believed -- more than likely due to the influence of his family -- that the NBA was a foregone conclusion, not a goal that he had to work to achieve.

And now, not only did he lose his collegiate eligibility by foolishly entering the NBA Draft after one year in college, he is now facing as much as 14 years in prison.

Destiny is a fickle bitch, ain't she.
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Jereme Richmond's father and uncle provide a glimpse into his decision-making process

Crawford Richmond seems like he is just a bit off his rocker.

The uncle of Jereme Richmond, who left Illinois after one lackluster season in Champaign, made the ill-advised decision to pop-off to Chicago Tribune reporter Chris Hine over the weekend. In the process, he blamed seemingly everyone except Jereme for his nephew going undrafted on Thursday night.

"NBA executives have to be a fool not to consider him," the self-described 'passionate basketball uncle' told Hine. "They have to be fools and they are fools, but what they're going to do is they're going to get him for cheap. He's going to play in the NBA."

"He's way better than (No. 1 overall selection) Kyrie Irving. He's right there with (North Carolina's) Harrison Barnes. I can't tell the difference. Jereme is soft spoken and he's different, but that doesn't make him a bad person."


Crawford went a step further than that. After stating that Jereme's off-the-court issues didn't involve the police -- like Klay Thompson of Washington State, who went 11th to Golden State -- Crawford proceeded to rip Illinois assistant coach Jerrance Howard:

Crawford Richmond blames undue influence on his nephew from a young age, a mantra telling him he was a "one-and-done" prospect.

He says it was a constant chorus from friends, agents, the media and, in particular, Illinois assistant coach Jerrance Howard. Howard handled Richmond's recruitment at Illinois after former assistant Tracy Webster left for an assistant's job at Kentucky.

...

"I have a lot of other kids I'm coaching right now and Jerrance Howard can't talk to them," Richmond said, not elaborating on who those players are.

For good measure, he added: "I would never want to talk to Jerrance Howard again in my life. (That is) on the record."

It was bad enough that Jereme's father, Bill, called Hine on Sunday to try and perform some damage control.

"Jereme doesn't feel that way about the process, Illinois or Jerrance Howard," Crawford's brother said. "We love Jerrance. He's like a friend to me, he really is. He's a good guy and he's never done anything but try and help our kid get to where he wanted to go."

"[Jereme] doesn't have any character issues. He might have some sense of entitlement, based on being put in this position for so many years. … It has to go into your head at some point. He's been humbled by this process, believe me."

When you hear Crawford Richmond spouting off about how Jereme is better than Kyrie Irving, this year's No. 1 pick, or Harrison Barnes, who may very well be next year's No. 1 pick, its easy to write off what he is saying. But if you dig a little bit, what Crawford is saying actually makes sense.

Jereme Richmond was a top 25 recruit in the country. He was a McDonald's all-american. He was talented enough that, as a freshman, he was able to commit to play at Illinois. Think about that. He was 14 years old when he gave his collegiate commitment. And you don't expect him to have a sense of entitlement? If he had been hearing how great he was since he was in middle school, you don't think that is eventually going to go to his head?

To a point, Crawford is right. When you are an elite recruit like Jereme was, its important to keep the people around you grounded and level-headed.

But the fact that Crawford is the one saying all this is a bit ironic. Because based on how he sees Jereme in comparison to Barnes and Irving, I don't think it is a stretch to say that he's at least partly responsible for the player's inflated sense of his ability.

If anything, the Jereme Richmond saga should serve as a cautionary tale.

Don't buy the hype. Understand that any ranking you receive is based as much on your potential as your talent. IF you don't continue to work on your game, you will end up being the same player as a college freshman that you were as a high school sophomore. That's not a good thing, and that's not the way to fast track yourself to NBA stardom.
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NBA Draft Profiles: Demetri McCamey, Illinois

Bjorn Zetterberg of SwishScout.com will be helping us out with all of our NBA Draft Profiles this year. You can follow him on twitter @swishscout.

To browse through the latest prospect profiles, click here. To see a complete list of the players we have profiled, click here.

Stats: 14.6 ppg, 6.1 apg, 3.4 rpg, 45.1 3PT%, 2.9 t/o's

Age: 22, senior

Size:

• Listed: 6'3", 200 lb
• Official: 6'1.75" (no shoes), 6'3" (with shoes), 6'6.25" (wingspan), 8'3.5" (reach), 204 lb

Strengths: Skillwise, McCamey is an attractive prospect. He's not the most explosive or the quickest player on the floor, but he's got a tight handle and the ability to get by his man. He also not only has the ability to shoot the ball from deep (he hit over 45% of his threes this year), but he's a terrific passer that can really set up his teammates. His size in beneficial to him, as he will likely be able to play off the ball at times.

Weaknesses: McCamey is not an ideal NBA athlete. There are questions about whether or not he is quick enough laterally (or has the desire) to defend at the NBA level. He also lacks the explosion to consistently beat his man off the dribble and struggles finishing around the rim with an average vertical. The bigger issues, however, are in his leadership ability. McCamey put up impressive numbers over his last two seasons at Illinois, but those Illini teams never lived up to expectations. He had a long-standing and public feud with head coach Bruce Weber, likely the result of McCamey's so-so work ethic, questionable shot-selection, and coachability. He's not exactly proven to be an ideal candidate to lead a team.

Comparisons:

• Best Case Scenario: A poor man's Chauncey Billups or a better shooting Jamaal Tinsley. McCamey has a similar build and style of play to Billups. Both players shoot the ball well and want to take the shot in crunch time. They both are good passers while lacking in the ability to create off the dribble. With Tinsley, both he and McCamey can rack up the assists, but Tinsley was a good starting point guard in the NBA for a number of years. I don't think McCamey will ever be more than a back-up at the next level.


• Worst Case Scenario: Its tough to come up with a worst case scenario for McCamey, because his worst-case scenario won't have anything to do with his ability on the floor. Out-of-shape point guards that don't defend and shoot too much don't last long in the NBA.

Outlook: McCamey has had off-the-court red flags seemingly his entire career at Illinois. His longstanding feud with Bruce Weber finally boiled over when the coach called him out for his work ethic in February, which is a less-than-ideal time for a star player to be coasting. Its a shame that his career ended the way it did, because McCamey was tearing up the competition early in the year. He was making smart decisions with the ball, he was distributing to his teammates, he was hitting seemingly every shot that he put up, and he had Illinois looking like a legitimate sleeper in the Big Ten. But as the season wore on, McCamey became more selfish and seemed to lose his explosiveness, once again raising the red flags -- work ethic, shot selection, decision making, and conditioning. In terms of his skill-set, there may actually be a place in the NBA for McCamey. He can flat out shoot the ball and he is a very effective player in the pick-and-roll, two things that NBA GM's look for in point guards. But his lack of defensive intensity and the apathy he seems to display towards his team and his improvement may eventually be his downfall.

Draft Range: Mid-to-Late 2nd round

And the experts say...

• Draft Express: "Much of the evaluation that NBA teams will need to do with McCamey will center around gathering information on his character and commitment to the game. His size, feel for the game, and shooting ability are all very attractive to teams searching for point guards, but scouts will need to get a better feel for whether or not they believe that he'll ever fully dedicate himself to working on his game and getting his body into the type of condition to where he can maximize his talents. He'll have opportunities to boost his stock with workouts and interviews with teams between now and this summer's draft, but his senior season will likely have NBA decision-makers using more caution in projecting his NBA future."


• Swish Scout: "Veteran senior point guard who killed teams with his confident deep shooting, playmaking passes for teammates, and solid ball handling skills to get where he needed. Doesn’t always make the right decisions, take the greatest shots, or play the best D, but McCamey is a risk taker who has potential to play PG in the NBA because of his solid build and efficient talents."

Highlights: (There are not a lot of good videos out there for McCamey. You might want to turn the volume down before you hit play.)


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Tuesday's Pregame Beat: Michigan State and Illinois highlight a mediocre night

7:00 pm: No. 18 Michigan State @ No. 22 Illinois: Both the Illini and the Spartans were expected to contend for the Big Ten title, and while that is still a feat that is quite possible for either team, both have been disappointing early on in Big Ten play. The Spartans have redeemed themselves a bit with back to back overtime wins against Wisconsin and Northwestern at home, but they have yet to really be tested on the road. That will happen tonight as they travel to Champaign to take on the Illini.

Illinois has struggled of late. They've lost four of their last seven games, including Penn State and Illinois-Chicago. Throw in the personal issues that Jereme Richmond has been dealing with, and this Illini team is one that could certainly use a big game in front of a raucous home crowd. There will be two keys for the Illini tonight -- get Demetri McCamey back on track and match the physicality of Michigan State's front line. Draymond Green and company haven't exactly been the Michigan State of old, but Illinois' bigs are known for their lack of strength and finesse post game.

This is an important game for both teams. Illinois cannot afford to fall three games behind Ohio State in the loss column, while the Spartans are looking to reestablish themselves as a legitimate contender. There's no way better to do that than by going into Assembly Hall and beating the Illini.

7:00 pm: Tennessee @ Georgia: Tennessee is looking to rebuild their resume -- and their confidence -- after a horrific stretch of games that saw them lose six of nine. The Vols are riding high right now, as Scotty Hopson and Brian Williams spurred on an impressive 17 point comeback against Vanderbilt on Saturday afternoon. Like Michigan State, the way to prove that the Vols have finally figured it out is by winning on the road. Georgia bounced back from a tough loss at Vanderbilt to blow out Ole miss on the road. The Bulldogs already boast a win over Kentucky in Athens, but a win tonight would allow them to keep pace with Kentucky atop the SEC East standings.

8:00 pm: Clemson @ UNC: Want to hear an incredible stat? Clemson hasn't won at North Carolina in their last 54 games. Crazy, right? The Tigers are a bit of an unknown this season. They had a couple of solid performances early in the season, but then lost three straight games to high major competition. They've rebounded from it, however, winning eight in a row, including their last two in ACC play against Miami and Georgia Tech at home. That same Georgia Tech team is coming off of a 20 point win over these very Tar Heels, who have once again looked disappointing given the amount of talent on their roster.

No. 23 Georgetown @ Seton Hall: This is a bit of a make or break game for both teams. With a losing record as it stands, the Pirates cannot afford anymore losses this season, and with the return of Jeremy Hazell, they are finally at full strength as a program. Georgetown, on the other hand, has lost four of six to start Big East play and has looked, well, bad the past three weeks. Will the winner be able to turn their season around?

9:00 pm: No. 12 Kentucky @ Alabama: Kentucky should be able to roll through the Tide tonight, but the Wildcats better come to play for 40 minutes, something that they haven't really been doing of late. Alabama has a couple of talented forwards in JaMychal Green and Tony Mitchell. If Josh Harrellson or Terrence Jones get into foul trouble, the Cats may have some problems.

7:00 pm: Colorado @ Nebraska: The Cornhuskers have been a tough out at home recently. They are also a big team, which could give the smaller Buffaloes some trouble. I'd recommend tuning in for at least a couple minutes of this one if you want to get a sense of whether or not Colorado is for real.

10:00 pm: TCU @ No. 9 BYU: The Jimmer Show.

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UPDATE: Bruce Weber addresses the Jereme Richmond rumors

UPDATE: Here is Richmond's statement today on the matter:

I dealt with some personal issues last week that caused me to miss two practices while I was home with my family in Waukegan. With the help of Coach Weber and my family, I have worked through this situation. I appreciate their support and the support of my teammates for getting me through a difficult time. Unfortunately, my absence led to some false rumors that I want to put to rest. I have been and always will be 100 percent committed to the Illinois basketball program. My coaches and teammates are my family, and I'm looking forward to helping our team achieve our goals. I am an Illini for life.

Bruce Weber shouldn't be surprised that there are rumors of Jereme Richmond wanting to transfer.

That's what happens when your McDonald's all-american freshman sits out a game against a top 25 team when he missed the previous two day's practice after going home to deal with "personal issues". Comments like those made by Bill Cole and Tyler Griffey after the game didn't help the situation, either:

Asked if he was surprised that Richmond didn't play, forward Bill Cole offered an abrupt, "No." Said forward Tyler Griffey, "I'm not going to comment on the Jereme situation, sorry."

Its not that hard to put together, is it? Anyone could make that inference, right?

Well, Bruce Weber addressed those rumors on Monday.

"I'm not sure where all the rumors come from, to be honest," Weber said during Monday's teleconference. "I think that's one of (the media's) dilemmas that you have to deal with -- the internet and all. It really puts things as a negative thing. I feel bad for you guys, to be honest. Now we don't feel good about things that were put out there and then there's a lot of distrust there that happens."

"You know, Jereme had some personal issues he wanted to deal with. We talked and talked and then he went home and talked with his family. He came back. He was in Madison and he was at practice yesterday and hopefully be a valuable member of our team down the stretch run."

So there you have it.

Keep in mind, Richmond is an Illinois-native that committed to the Illini his freshman year in high school. He never wavered throughout high school despite becoming a McDonald's all-american. Sounds like a kid that truly wanted to be in Champaign, right?

Maybe -- just maybe -- he truly had some personal issues to deal with that had nothing to do with potentially leaving the school.

Or maybe he didn't like his role with the team and needed some sense talked into by his family.

Whatever the case, he's back with the Illini, and that's what truly matters here, isn't it?

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Conference Play Primer: The Big Ten

Favorite: Ohio State

The favorite in the Big Ten is pretty easy to identify right now. Ohio State is playing as well as anyone in the country -- in fact, they overtook Duke as the No. 1 team in Kenpom's rankings. Offensively, this group is terrific. Their offense is based around the play of Jared Sullinger, the freshman big man that is on the short list for first team all-american. He's a bully on the block that plays with the strength and the savvy of a veteran. Its not just Sullinger, however. David Lighty, William Buford, and Jon Diebler are all capable of going off for 25 points if the situation calls for it. Dallas Lauderdale blocks shots, Aaron Craft has proven to be a solid point guard as a freshman, and DeShaun Thomas is instant offense coming off of the bench. The thing that is so impressive about this team, however, is that every player understands and has bought into their role. The Buckeyes are going to be a tough team to beat.


Player of the Year: Jared Sullinger, Ohio State

The a Player of the Year thus far is probably Sullinger, but seeing as I just talked about the Buckeyes, let's mix it up a bit, eh? Northwestern's John Shurna has been terrific this season. He's averaging 23.3 ppg, 5.3 rpg, and 3.4 apg. (Those numbers would be better if he didn't miss half of Northwestern's last game against Mt. St. Mary's with an ankle injury.) He's shooting 61.1% from the field and an absurd 62.3% from three, taking more than five per game. He's a huge reason that the Wildcats have gotten off to this 9-1 start. The problem? Northwestern still hasn't beaten anybody. This is a program that has never made the NCAA Tournament, and with guys like Michael Thompson and Drew Crawford around Shurna, this may be the year. We will get a real feel for the legitness (I know that's not a word, but it should be) of Northwestern after their first three Big Ten games -- at Purdue, home for Michigan State, at Illinois.

All-Conference Team:

• G: Demetri McCamey, Illinois: 15.7 ppg, 7.5 apg, 49.2% 3PT
  
• G: E'Twaun Moore, Purdue: 19.4 ppg, 5.8 rpg, 1.8 spg
  
• F: Jon Leuer, Wisconsin: 19.8 ppg, 7.8 rpg, 50% 3PT, 1.8 bpg
  
• F: John Shurna, Northwestern: 23.3 ppg, 5.3 rpg, 3.4 apg
  
• C: JaJuan Johnson, Purdue: 19.8 ppg, 7.9 rpg
  

Biggest Surprise: Minnesota Golden Gophers

Minnesota had a bit of hype coming into the season, but not enough to warrant much consideration nationally for the top 25. Boy, did we miss on that. The Gophers blew through the Puerto Rico Tip-Off and, at one point in the season, climbed all the way into the top ten. The biggest reason has been the addition of Trevor Mbakwe, a strong, athletic power forward that is a perfect complement to Ralph Sampson and Colton Iverson, as he is averaging 13.3 ppg and 9.8 rpg on the season. Minnesota hit a rough patch in December, dropping a home game to Virginia, as they dealt with their starting point guard Al Nolen, their best perimeter defender and distributor, sitting out. With Nolen in the lineup, and guys like Blake Hoffarber and Rodney Williams having good seasons on the wing, this team can compete with anyone in the conference.


Biggest Disappointment: Michigan State Spartans

The Spartans are currently 8-4 on the season. Not a great start, especially by a team that was considered Duke's biggest challenger in the preseason. MSU has a bad habit of starting a season out slowly, and all of their four losses have come to teams currently ranked in the top 13 nationally. The bigger issue, however, is how the Spartans have looked in those losses. They are not playing like typical Tom Izzo clubs. Their defense is not where it needs to be and they aren't competing on the glass like we've come to expect out of Sparty. I have complete faith that Izzo will turn this thing around. There is just too much talent on that roster not too.

Teams to keep an eye on:

• Illinois: There is talent up and down this lineup, led by Demetri McCamey, who is arguably the best back court player in this league. But Illinois has been, well, Illinois -- they settle for too many jumpers and are too soft on the interior.
• Wisconsin: Jon Leuer has been unbelievable early in the season, Jordan Taylor's filled Trevon Hughes' shoes, and Bo Ryan is still coaching this team. The Badgers will always be in the discussion with him at the helm.
• Purdue: The Boilermakers have arguably the best 1-2 punch in the conference in JaJuan Johnson and E'Twaun Moore. They defend as well as anyone in the country. If they continue to get solid performances out of their role players, this team will make a lot of noise this winter.

Teams to forget about:

• Indiana: Tom Crean has been cleaning up on the recruiting trail, landing seemingly every high-major talent in the state of Indiana. The problem with that? He is getting commitments from kids in the class of 2014, while his team is losing games at home to Penn State this season. Cean needs results, not recruits.
• Penn State: I love Talor Battle. Jeff Brooks has been good this season as well. But a team that can lose at home to Maine is not a team that can compete with the big dogs in the Big Ten.
• Michigan: John Beilein always has teams that are difficult to play against because of the system that he runs. The problem is that this season, he just doesn't have the talent level to be effective with that system. To make matters worse, his best player -- Darius Morris -- was benched at the start of Tuesday's game against Purdue.
  

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12/27 - College Hoops Week in Review: I hope you all enjoyed your holidays

Game of the Week: Missouri 75, Illinois 64

Missouri is the most exciting team in the country to watch this season. Not just because they play a hectic, up and down style -- its called the "Fastest 40 Minutes in Basketball" for a reason -- but because every game they play seems to come down to the wire. This is already this third time this season that we have used a game that the Tiger's have played in as Game of the Week.

Wednesday night's matchup was no different. Illinois jumped out to a 10 point lead early in the first half, but a 17-2 run by Mizzou that spanned the two halves gave the tigers a 35-29 lead early in the second half. Illinois answered with a 12-2 run of their own, and it was on. Both teams made big shot after big shot. It was like a boxing match between two fighters with glass jaws but not all that much skill. Illinois and Mizzou were both landing haymaker after haymaker, waiting for the other team to drop.

Eventually, Missouri took a 62-58 lead when Brandon Paul missed two free throws with 48 seconds left. Michael Dixon tracked the ball down, but it was stolen from him in the back court by Mike Davis, setting up an exciting sequence (jump to the 1:30 mark, and don't mind the music in the back ground):



The intentional foul called on Tisdale may have cost Illinois the game, but it was the correct call. Two handed shoves in the back of a player moving at full speed are dangerous, and they are the precise reason that the intentional foul was added to the rulebook.

That sequence is the perfect example of Missouri basketball. A potentially momentum changing three is made off of a turnover, cutting Mizzou's lead to one with 44 seconds left. Most teams hold the ball for one shot in that situation. Missouri threw an inbounds pass to Marcus Denmon, who was already heading up the floor. He took one dribble and passed ahead to Laurence Bowers, who was wide open on a wing. Layup, foul, six point possession, game over.

It deserves to be noted: UAB 68, VCU 65

In a battle of anagrams, VCU took a 19 point with just 13 minutes left in the game. UAB was able to whittle that down to nine at one point, but eventually UAB took a 65-53 lead with just 5:08 left in the game. That's when Jamarr Sanders took over. He hit a three to cut the lead to nine, but neither team scored until Sanders scored four points -- one of two free throws and then a three -- when he picked up a steal on back-to-back possessions, cutting the lead to 65-60 with 1:30 left. After Aaron Johnson picked up a steal, he hit one of two free throws. UAB grabbed the rebound off of the miss and the ball ended up in Sanders' hands. He buried another three, and the lead was now just 65-64 with 1:15 left. VCU had possession, but they turned the ball over again, and with just 10 seconds left in the game, Sanders drove, drew a foul, and hit both free throws to take the lead 66-65. Two more Johnson free throws sealed the win.

All told, Sanders had 12 of his 29 points in the final five minutes. UAB had not been closer than nine points since the 14:50 mark of the first half. That's not quite Jay Williams-vs.-Maryland territory, but Sanders' performance was quite impressive nonetheless.

Player of the Week: Klay Thompson, Washington State

I know that Washington State was beaten pretty handily by Butler in the final of the Diamond Head Classic, but that does nothing to diminish the week that Thompson had. In the three games in Hawaii, he averaged 26.3 ppg, including 31 in the loss to Butler that kept things close. He was 25-46 from the floor and 13-25 from three. It was, without a doubt, an impressive performance, and Thompson's play this week is a huge reason why Wazzu's name is being tossed around as a potential top 25 team and a sleeper in the Pac-10.


What makes this performance by Thompson so impressive is not that he shot the ball well. We've known that Thompson was a good shooter. That is no secret. But, like we said after the win over Gonzaga, Thompson has become an all-around player. He's jumping passing lanes. He's creating for his teammates. Most importantly, however, he's been able to put the ball on the floor and attack the rim while handling physical, one-on-one defense much better than last year. Thompson started out the 2009-2010 season on fire, but once Pac-10 play came around his numbers dropped considerably. He likely will not find defense as physical as Butler's in the Pac-10 this season. He had 31 against Butler and kept the Cougars in the game despite subpar performances from Reggie Moore, DeAngelo Casto, and Faisal Aden.

The All-they-were-good-too team:

• G: Darius Morris, Michigan: Granted, it came against Bryant, but Morris had 26 points and 12 assists in his only game of the week. It was the fifth time he's reached double figure assists and his fourth double-double of the season. Morris is now averaging 15.3 ppg and 7.5 apg on the season.
• G: Jio Fontan, USC: Fontan averaged 17.0 ppg, 4.0 apg, and 3.5 spg while leading the Trojans to a 2-0 week, including a win at Tennessee, to bounce back from a tough loss to Kansas in Fontan's debut.
• G: Doron Lamb, Kentucky: Lamb had 32 points on 11-12 shooting (7-8 from three) as he set the Kentucky freshman scoring record, previously held by Jamal Mashburn, in a win over Winthrop.
  
• F: Travis Franklin, Colorado State: Franklin led the Rams to a win in the Cancun Governer's Cup by averaging 22.3 ppg, 6.0 rpg, and 2.0 spg, including a 25-point, 9-rebound performance against Gary Flowers and Southern Miss in the final.
• F: Justin Harper, Richmond: Harper averaged 20.5 ppg and 8.0 rpg, leading the Spiders in scoring in both games, as Richmond knocked off UNC-Greensboro and Seton Hall. Harper had 24 points and hit six three against the Hall.
• Bench: Jimmer Fredette, BYU; Justin Hurtt, Tulsa; Chris Singleton, Florida State; Matt Howard, Butler
  

Team of the Week: Butler Bulldogs

Butler may have given life to their chances of earning an at-large bid this season with a win in the Diamond Head Classic out in Hawaii. With wins over Florida State and Washington State, as well as Utah, Butler landed themselves two quality victories against teams that will likely be in the tournament come March. Without much in the way of a resume booster from here on out, the Bulldogs are going to want to win the Horizon Tournament to be safe, but the resume is not what was important coming out of this week.


What's important is that Butler looked like the Butler we expected to see all season long. Matt Howard has really grown as a player in his four season with the Bulldogs. He's now knocking down threes, he's putting the ball on the floor and hitting mid-range shots and fadeaways. He's still a terrific rebounder. He averaged 18.7 ppg and 8.7 rpg this week, upping his averages to 18.1 ppg and 8.2 rpg on the season. Shelvin Mack broke out of his slump this week, scoring 17 points on FSU and 20 on WSU. Andrew Smith looks like he is going to be a force on the block in the Horizon this year. Chase Stigall and Zack Hahn are both knocking down jumpers now. Ronald Nored and Shawn Vanzant are just as pesky and athletic as they were last season. I'm not usually a big believer in the eye test, but this team passed with flying colors this week.


A disappointing week: I don't have an explanation for it.

The only reason I can think of is that teams that aren't as good as they think they are were distracted by the end of the finals and the start of the holiday season.

Regardless, it seemed like every time I looked at the college basketball scoreboard this week, another team had a disappointing performance.

We'll start with the obvious -- Renardo Sidney, Elgin Bailey, and Mississippi State. What else is there to say? These two embarrassed their team and their program and managed to get themselves sent home early from a Christmas trip to Hawaii for fighting in the stands. The Bulldogs are a mess this season.

Then there was Jacob Pullen and Curtis Kelly, who managed to get themselves suspended for accepting discounts on clothing from a department store. The act itself isn't all that terrible -- the fact that these two are NCAA athletes is the only reason anyone is frowning upon them taking advantage of a hook-up -- but it is just another example of the lack of leadership within the Kansas State program. The Wildcats lost to UNLV on Tuesday due to a lack of talent. It wasn't, however, a lack of effort, as Kansas State, for the first time all season, looked like the Kansas State I expected -- scrappy defense, aggressive to the offensive glass, win with floor burns. Now can they do the same with Pullen in the lineup?

Tennessee may have had their season saved with a jumper from Scotty Hopson against Belmont. Tennessee had lost to USC by one point earlier in the week, their third straight loss, before the Bruins came back to take a late lead on the Vols. Hopson hit a runner with 5.7 seconds left, however, and gave the Vols a win. Right now, the Vol's problem is execution in close games. Their last three games have been decided by one point. Two of them are losses, and both of those games Tennessee had a shot to win the game late. The Vols have three games -- against Tennessee-Martin, the College of Charleston, and Memphis -- to get this thing figured out before Bruce Pearl's eight game suspension kicks in.

How about Virginia Tech's season? They have struggled all year long to find the rhythm many of us expected them to have, and over the holiday break news leaked that Dorenzo Hudson will miss the rest of the season with an injury to his foot. Seton Hall is in the exact same boat, as Jeremy Hazell -- who may be out for the season with a wrist injury -- was shot in an attempted robbery over the holiday break.

All told, 18 teams from the BCS conferences lost to team from outside the BCS conferences. Eight of those upsets occurred on Wednesday night. Don't forget, this was a week when there were essentially no games played on Saturday and Sunday. Usually, there are upwards of 175 games played on the weekend. And those struggles? They don't even count games like UCLA beating UC Irvine by one, or Arizona State losing to North Carolina A&T by 11 in the second half, or Minnesota struggling to knock off South Dakota State.

Matchups of the Week:

• 12/27 - 8:30 pm: UConn @ Pitt
• 12/28 - 7:00 pm: Minnesota @ Wisconsin
• 12/29 - 7:00 pm: Georgetown @ Notre Dame
• 12/29 - 7:00 pm: George Mason @ Dayton
• 12/29 - 7:00 pm: Wofford @ VCU
• 12/29 - 9:00 pm: Marquette @ Vanderbilt
• 12/29 - 11:00 pm: Washington @ USC
• 12/29 - 11:00 pm: Washington State @ UCLA
• 12/30 - 7:00 pm: Temple @ Villanova
• 12/30 - 8:00 pm: Old Dominion @ Missouri
• 12/31 - 12:00 pm: Louisville @ Kentucky
• 12/31 - 12:00 pm: Northwestern @ Purdue
• 12/31 - 4:00 pm: Minnesota @ Michigan State
• 12/31 - 4:00 pm: Xavier @ Florida
• 12/31 - 10:00 pm: Oklahoma State @ Gonzaga
• 1/1 - 11:00 am: West Virginia @ Marquette
• 1/1 - 2:00 pm: New Mexico @ Dayton
• 1/2 - 6:00 pm: Wisconsin @ Illinois
  
• 1/1 - 3:30 pm: Notre Dame @ Syracuse
  

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Pass me the rock ... the slightly smaller rock

Sometimes I wonder who is running the college basketball world. I mean, Omar Samhan used to play in Sketchers shoes, Illinois and Wisconsin both wore their home jerseys for a game, no referees showed up for the Appalachian State-Tennessee Tech game, and now Illinois and Oakland played seven minutes of their game using a womens basketball.

I'll say it again.

Two division I basketball teams played eight minutes of a game before realizing they were using a WOMEN'S BASKETBALL.


With just under 12 minutes to play in the first half, with Oakland up 15-6, Illinois' Mike Tisdale realized something was wrong. He notified Bruce Weber who notified officials. With the women’s basketball, Oakland had outscored Illinois, 15-6, and had shot 7-for-16 from the field. Illinois only shot 3-for-13 with the women’s ball.

And in case you care about the actual outcome of the game, Illinois won 74-63

This isn't the result of a just one mental lapse that resulted in the equipment manager packing the wrong uniforms or the assistant AD not scheduling officials.

This is the result of two college basketball teams being completely and utterly stupid.

The official explanation for what happened, according to Paul Klee, is that after a women's game on Dec. 1st, a women's ball was left on the rack.

Still, I just don't understand how that happens when all ten guys on the court have hands the size of honeydew melons. You don't even have to look at the ball to tell the difference in size, even though the ball size is printed right ON THE FRONT of it. That's correct. Women's basketballs all say 28.5 on the front, not to mention the fact that their diameter is an inch less and more than two ounces lighter.

I could take one jump shot during open-gym, and I'd be able to tell the ball was too small. How do ten D-I athletes not notice they are playing with a women's ball?

This seriously boggles my mind.

Seriously, think about it. Two baseball teams wouldn't make it half way through a game before realizing they were using a softball.

I really want to write more about this, but I just realized I am using a women's keyboard.
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Illinois is the same team as last season, and that's not necessarily a good thing

This article can also be found at Beyond the Arc.

NEW YORK - Florida has as much talent on their roster as just about any team in the country.

What's more is that the Gators returned essentially every one from last season. The most basic formula for determining preseason projections is talent plus returners, so its no wonder that Florida was considered the favorite to win the SEC and made an appearance on quite a few preseason top tens.

But what Florida proved on Tuesday night during the Tip-Off Marathon -- a point that was made by more than one person during the game -- was that we, the media covering college hoops, neglected to look at the make-up of the team that was returning. Florida brought in uber-talented freshman forward Partic Young to help shore up their interior, but they did nothing to address their biggest weakness: the lack of a true point guard that can turn a jumbled mess of talented players into a team that can win games.

Ohio State exposed them. The Buckeyes torched the Gators in the second half, making many question whether Florida's lack of roster turnover was, in fact, an achilles heel in disguise.

After watching Illinois suffer a disappointing, 90-84 overtime loss to Texas in the night cap of the Coaches vs. Cancer semifinals at Madison Square Garden, I can't help but ask those same questions of Illinois.


The Illini are a talented team. There is no questioning that. Demetri McCamey is a scoring guard that became the nation's leader in assists last season. Brandon Paul and DJ Richardson, known last year as a promising but inconsistent freshmen duo, are back for their sophomore seasons and McCamey's sidekicks. Mike Tisdale, Mike Davis, and Meyers Leonard provide a long and versatile front court, while Bill Cole and Jereme Richmond are combo-forwards that give Bruce Weber the option of playing really big or really small.

On paper, this is a team that is good enough to contend for the Final Four.

But projected success on paper is far from a sure thing once the teams take the court.

And that was evident tonight for Illinois.

Look, I understand that the better team can take a loss on any given night in this sport. And I understand that, regardless of your opinion on Texas and Illinois, when the Illini get 9-31 shooting from Richardson and Paul and Texas has two kids play as well as Jordan Hamilton and Tristan Thompson did, its tough for Illinois to be victorious.

But I also know what I saw. I saw McCamey disappear in crunch time despite how well he was playing all game. I saw him make some of the same mistakes that he made last season -- questionable shot selection, poor decision making. And he did all of this despite wowing everyone in attendance, including myself, with an NBA level handle, court vision, and offensive repertoire.

Illinois will get better; they didn't play well tonight. Richardson and Paul will shoot better than this the majority of the time. The Illini will become better defensively as the season progresses. They always do. There is no doubt in my mind that this team will compete for a spot in the top ten nationally and in the top three in the Big East.

But the difference between being competitive in a championship race and being a champion comes down to execution in the clutch. The teams that can gets the bucket, or the stop, when they have to have it are the teams that win the close games. The teams that win the close games are the teams that hang banners.

And tonight's performance only strenghened my concern that Illinois is not a team that can perform down the stretch.

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Tuesday's Shootaround: Exhibition losses overshadow the start of the season?

As exciting as it was for us college hoopheads to finally be watching meaningful basketball, by the end of the night my twitter feed was dominated not by talk of Brad Wanamaker's performance or Maryland's point guard struggles, but by the D-II schools that knocked off two SEC teams last night.

• Tennessee, who we ranked at 18th in the preseason, not only lost, they lost by 15 to Indianapolis University. The Vols allowed a decisive 26-3 run to open the second half. I wonder if Bruce Pearl admitted to recognizing the box score after the game. Indianapolis plays in the Great Lakes Valley Conference, which is also home to Lewis, who knocked off DePaul over the weekend, and Bellarmine, who handled Xavier.
  


• Auburn isn't expected to be nearly as good as Tennessee this season, but the Tigers still struggled to a 54-52 loss to Columbus State last night.


• Alabama very nearly joined Tennessee and Auburn in the loss column. UA-Huntsville took the Crimson Tide to double overtime before losing.
  


• And then there is Indiana, who needed to come back from 13 down in the last seven minutes and from nine down in in the final 2:22 of regulation just to be able to have a buzzer beater from Ferris State get waved off to force overtime. The Hoosiers ended up winning 78-65.
  

But enough about the games that don't matter, because last night they actually played games that do, in fact, count!

Pitt 83, Rhode Island 75: The Rams threw a scare into the Panthers thanks to the hot shooting of Delroy James, Akeem Richmond, and Nikola Malesevic, but in the end Rhody just did not play enough transition defense. URI likes to get up and pressure in the full court, and they did have some success in forcing turnovers. But once Pitt broke that press they were able to get layups on seemingly every possession. And while I loved what I saw from Nasir Robinson's replacements -- particularly redshirt freshman Talib Zanna, who finished with 9 points, 11 boards, and 2 blocks -- it should be noted that if Pitt had made their layups, this would have been a 20 point game.


One more note about this game. Everyone talks about Ashton Gibbs when they talk about Pitt, and rightfully so. Gibbs is a tremendous player. But the best player on the floor last night was Brad Wanamaker. Gibbs may be listed as the point guard on the roster, but Wanamaker is the facilitator of this offense. He finished last night with 24 points, 8 assists, and just 2 turnovers.

Maryland 105, Seattle 76: This was a pretty ugly game to watch, as both clubs were pressing and trying to kick up the tempo. Sean Mosley (21 points, 4 boards, 4 assists) and Jordan Williams (17 points, 15 boards) both had good games, but it was clear that the Terps success this season is going to be determined at the point. Senior Adrian Bowie struggled handling the ball, finishing with seven turnovers. The answer may end up being one of the two talented Terps freshmen. Pe'Shon Howard really looked good last night, showing some defensive ability, athleticism, and making a number of nice passes and finishing with 8 assists.

Terrell Stoglin had more of an up and down game, and while he had a few "freshman" turnovers, he did do some things I really liked. One example that stands out -- midway through the first half, Stoglin had an ugly turnover that led to an uncontested layup for Seattle. He tried to chase the player down, couldn't catch up, but then took the in bounds and went coast to coast for an and-one layup. He finished with 15 points and 5 assists, but also had 4 turnovers. Maryland, as a team, had 29.

Texas 83, Navy 52: Texas is a talented team, there is no question about that. In the first half, however, they really struggled with Navy's 1-2-2 matchup zone, which isn't necessarily unexpected considering their relative inexperience. In the second half, Jordan Hamilton really turned it on, finishing with 26 points and 10 boards. In the first half, he settled for too many threes as did the Longhorns team as a whole, but after Barnes made some halftime adjustments (and, most likely, ripped Hamilton and co. about taking those threes) the Horns' offense was much smoother. The Texas freshman -- Tristan Thompson (12 points, 7 boards, 4-10 FT's) and Cory Joseph (5 points, 3 assists) -- weren't overwhelmingly impressive.

Illinois 79, UC Irvine 65: The Illini jumped out to a 38-10 lead in the first half thanks, in large part, to five threes from sophomore Brandon Paul. The Anteaters made a run in the second half, and the Illini seemed to get a bit lackadaisical down the stretch. Its difficult to take much out of this game. Tisdale looked very solid in the paint, although UC Irvine was undersized big time. Bruce Weber's freshmen all played solid minutes. McCamey was typical McCamey (13 points, 8 assists, 5 turnovers). There is a lot to like about this Illinois team when they put it all together.




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Jereme Richmond knocked out Brandon Paul ... in the Illinois State Tournament

Illinois wings Brandon Paul and Jereme Richmond have a history.

Both hail from Illinois. Paul was a Warren Blue Devil while Richmond was a Waukegan Bulldog. In 2009, Warren advanced to face Waukegan in a Class 4A Sectional Final. Paul was a senior on that Warren team, while Richmond was a star junior who turned 17 that night.

It was a close game, and with 4.7 seconds left, Paul knocked down three straight free throws to give Warren a 69-68 lead.

Then this happened:



The guy hitting that 45 footer at the buzzer?

That was Richmond.

The good news for Illinois is that the two players have been able to move past that night.

"Me and Brandon haven't really talked about [that game]," Richmond told the Lake County Journal. "We're trying to keep focused on the upcoming season, but we kind of laugh about it if it comes up. There’s no hard feelings there."

"I think it's more the kids [at Warren and Waukegan] out there [in Lake County] and the fans that talk about that game more than anything," Paul said. "But yeah, that was an amazing game."

It certainly was.

This post can also be found at Beyond the Arc.
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No. 7 Illinois Fighting Illini

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Last Season: 21-15, 10-8 (5th Big Ten), lost to Dayton in the NIT Quarterfinals

Head Coach: Bruce Weber

Key Losses: Dominique Keller, Jeff Jordan, Alex Legion

Newcomers: Meyers Leonard, Crandall Head, Jereme Richmond

Projected Lineup:

• G: Demetri McCamey, Sr.
  
• G: DJ Richardson, So.
  
• F: Jereme Richmond, Fr.
  
• F: Mike Davis, Sr.
  
• C: Mike Tisdale, Sr.
• Bench: Bill Cole, Sr.; Brandon Paul, So.; Crandall Head, Fr.; Meyers Leonard, Fr.
  

Outlook: Illinois was a bit of a conundrum last season. They had the talent on their roster, but they never were quite able to get all the pieces to fit together. Their two stars -- Mike Davis and Demetri McCamey -- both were benched during Big Ten play. They lost to teams they absolutely should not have lost to. And as a result, the Illini ended up being one of the first teams left out of the Big Dance. But this year's squad has as much talent on it as any team Bruce Weber has fielded since the 2005 group that made the national title game.

When you talk about Illinois, the first guy you need to mention is Demetri McCamey. When he wants to be, McCamey is the kind of point guard that can control a game. He changed positions as a junior, moving from playing off the ball to being the floor general, and it resulted in a breakout season where he averaged 15.1 ppg and led the nation by averaging over seven assists per contest. His build will remind some of former Illini point guard Deron Williams, but they have different games. McCamey is no where near as quick as Williams is. Instead, he's a guy that really has a feel for how to get his defender off balance by changing speeds. His game is still centered around his jump shot, but he picks his spots well when attacking the basket. One marked improvement in his game was that he really cut down on the number of ill-advised, quick jump shots he took, although he still has a tendency to take some bad shots. He's also very good in the pick and roll and has great vision, able to find cutters and shooters spotting up off the dribble. His ability to orchestrate the offense and get his teammates quality shots is of the utmost importance for this team to succeed.

While McCamey is the star, there is plenty of perimeter talent surrounding him. DJ Richardson and Brandon Paul both had promising freshmen seasons. Richardson is probably the better of the two right now. He started all but one game last year, and proved to be an excellent spot-up shooter (39% on 177 threes), which is an excellent sign as he was known more for his ability to slash and score in the mid-range coming out of high school. Brandon Paul was a part-time starter, and while he didn't have as good of a year as Richardson, he still showed some promise, like the back-to-back 20 point games he had to start the season. He's a gifted scorer that needs to take advantage of those skills by being more aggressive.

Three freshmen will also see time on the perimeter. Crandall Head, Luther head's brother, was a top 100 recruit coming out of high school. He's athletic and long and should be able to provide a contribution on the defensive end immediately. Joseph Betrand is a talented redshirt freshman that sat out last season after undergoing knee surgery in September. Perhaps the most intriguing player on Illinois' roster this year is Jereme Richmond. Richmond is a super-athletic 6'8" wing. He's a slasher, but he's an excellent passer that can also finish above the rim. Some have even said that Richmond may be the best player on the Illinois roster. While that may be a bit of an overstatement, the fact of the matter is that this is a supremely talented and versatile young man. He's the kind of player that can average 10 ppg, 6 rpg, and 4 apg.


There is a lot to like in the front court as well. The Mike's, Davis and Tisdale, both return for their senior seasons. Davis was the Big Ten's leading rebounder as a junior, but he regressed a bit on the offensive end. He's not as strong as one would like him to be, and while he does have a very nice touch and some quality post moves, it seemed as if he had trouble establishing position inside. As a face-up four he still impressed, showing an ability to knock down 17 footers and above average perimeter skills for a player his size. Tisdale is a legit seven footer with range out to the three point line, which forces centers to guard him, opening up the paint. Hopefully, those two put on some strength in the offseason. Freshman Meyers Leonard and senior Bill Cole will also see time up front. Both Leonard and Cole are forwards with advanced perimeter skills.

I really like the makeup of this Illinois roster. They have a lot of length and athleticism at every position. Last season, the Illini were not as good defensively as you expect out of a Bruce Weber coached team, something I expect Weber to change this year. I also think this team will try and push the ball more. McCamey is an excellent passer, and with guys like Richardson and Richmond running on the wings, the Illini fast break could be exciting to watch.

There are two question marks I have with this team. The first is on the interior. They don't really have a bruiser. I like Davis and Tisdale, but I worry about them going up against a big, physical front line like that of Ohio State or Michigan State. I also think that in order for this team to live up to its potential, Davis is going to have to become more consistent scoring in the low post. The second question mark simply revolves around this group being a team. Its not a good sign when your two best players have to get benched during conference play to prove a point. There is enough talent on this team for Illinois to make a Final Four, but will they be able to turn that talent into W's. Keep in mind, while the Illini return all five starters, those five starters only mustered an NIT appearance last season.
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Wednesday Where Are They Now?: Dee Brown, Illinois

Ever wonder what happened to those college stars that couldn't catch on in the NBA? The guys that put up the great numbers or the guys that left early, and were never heard from again? Every Wednesday, we at BIAH will take a look at a former college star that never made it in the NBA, and we will update you on where he is playing or what he is doing. We're guessing the results will surprise you. To request a player, hit us up on twitter @ballinisahabit or via email at contactbiah@gmail.com.

DEE BROWN

Dee Brown was one of the best high school athletes ever produced by the state of Illinois. As a quarterback, he started in the 2000 and 2001 seasons, leading Proviso East with 1,800 yards and 16 TDs as a senior. He was good enough to earn offers from Florida State and Nebraska, who were both good back then.


But basketball is where Brown excelled. He left Proviso East, a school just west of Chicago that has produced basketball talents like Shannon Brown, Michael Finley, Doc Rivers, Sherrel Ford, and Steven Hunter, as the all-time leader in points, assists, and steals. As a senior, he averaged 25.6 ppg, 5.8 apg, and 2.9 spg while being named Illinois' Mr. Basketball, a consensus top 20 recruit, and participating in both the McDonald's all-american game and the Jordan Brand Classic.

Brown ended up at Illinois, where he and fellow freshman Deron Williams made an immediate impact for the Illini. Brown was named second team all Big Ten in his first season as he averaged 12.0 ppg and 5.0 apg (which led the conference) to lead the Illini to a second place finish in the Big Ten regular season and a conference tournament title. As a sophomore it was more of the same, as Brown averaged 13.3 ppg and 4.5 apg while once again being named second team all Big Ten. The Illini made it to the Sweet Sixteen of the 2004 NCAA Tournament, a game farther than they did in Brown's freshman season.

In his junior season, the Illini were absolutely loaded. Playing in one of the best backcourts in recent history, Brown averaged 13.3 ppg, 4.5 apg, and 1.8 spg while being named the Big Ten player of the year. The award is all the more impressive when you consider that both Williams and Luther Head, his back court mates, were first team all Big Ten selections. Illinois would stay undefeated until the final game of the regular season, when they lost to Ohio State at the buzzer. After winning another Big Ten tournament title, Brown helped lead Illinois to the national title game, where they lost to Roy Williams and the UNC Tar Heels.

After the season, Brown entered his name into the NBA Draft. But after breaking his foot in the Chicago pre-draft camp, he was forced to take his name out of consideration. He was a fringe first round pick, at best, before the injury. It may have been a blessing in disguise, as Brown was able to exclusively run the point his senior season (he shared duties with Williams his first three years). As expected, Brown was once again brilliant, finishing the year with career high averages of 14.2 ppg and 5.8 apg while being named a second team all-american and winning the Cousy Award. But with Head and Williams both in the NBA, he just didn't have the same talent around him. As a result, Illinois lost in the second round of the NCAA Tournament to Washington.

Brown was selected by the Utah Jazz with the 46th pick of the 2006 NBA Draft. Brown made Utah's roster, where he was reunited with Williams. He played in 49 games as a rookie, but after the season, he elected to go to Turkey, where he spent the 2007-2008 season with Galatasaray Café Crown. Brown averaged right around 13 points and 5 assists in '07-'08, which was enough to catch the attention of the Washington Wizards, who signed Brown to a partially guaranteed two-year deal as insurance for the injury-plagued Gilbert Arenas and Antonio Daniels.

As luck would have it, both Arenas and Daniels got banged up early in the season, which pushed Brown into the starting role. He started the last 11 of the 17 games he played with the Wizards, but after Washington traded for Mike James and Javaris Crittendon, Brown was released. He was picked up by the Suns a few weeks later, but was let go once again after playing in just two games. Brown signed with Israeli powerhouse Maccabi Tel-Aviv for the remainder of the 2008-2009 season.

Brown signed on with Air Avellino of the Italian League for the 2009-2010. Playing alongside former college hoopers DeMarcus Nelson (Duke) and Chevon Troutman (Pitt), Brown has averaged 15.0 ppg and 5.3 apg for a team competing for a playoff spot in the highest division of Italian basketball.

Last week, Brown made some headlines for an off-the-court incident. After getting into a car accident with Troutman, Brown was arrested for resisting arrest (sic). He took to his blog to defend himself:

First off I want to thank GOD for keeping both parties healthy and safe. But I would never put my hands on the police, I would never do anything to disrespect them. I feel so bad about the situation I think the language barrier is another thing in this story that people don't understand, they don't understand me and I didn't understand them. With that said, a lot of the story just don't seem believable and thats not my character a lot of things went on that night. I don't want to talk about the beating I took during the situation thats why they are saying I attacked them to cover themselves from the situation. Yes they put their hands on me, but again thats a side of the story you will not hear about...

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