After a very rough weekend, can the Illinois basketball team put the drama behind them?
The Illini face the 24-8 Valparaiso Crusaders tonight at 6:10 PM in Champaign. This will be the Crusaders seventh trip to the University of Illinois in its history, and hopefully, its seventh loss as well.
Five-year Illini head coach, John Groce, was fired on Saturday by Athletic Director Josh Whitman. Whitman retained the rest of the staff, at least temporarily, and placed Assistant Coach Jamall Walker in the head coach position. This will be the first collegiate head coaching opportunity for Walker and I would love to see him succeed.
Valpo is led by first-year coach Matt Lottich. He was an assistant to Bryce Drew, who left after last year to go down to Vanderbilt. (Yes, they are dancing this year). Under Drew, the Crusaders had great success, including a trip last year to the NIT as the number one seed, losing to George Washington in the championship game.
The good news for Illinois is that this year’s Valpo team only brought back two starters. Even better, the Crusader’s best player (and likely pro), Alec Peters, is injured and will not be playing. Peters lead Valpo with 23 points and 10 rebounds per game. There is no team in the country that could replace those kinds of numbers.
That leaves Shane Hammink, a truly versatile 6-foot-7 forward, to take up the slack. Hammink averaged over 15 ppg. But if the Illini can isolate him, it’s hard to see where the offense will come from for Valpo with only one other player averaging double digits this season.
Valpo was tested this year, as they played an excellent non-conference schedule. They beat Alabama, BYU, and Rhode Island in November. They also played Kentucky and Oregon, which is just ballsy. But, again, this entire schedule is with Peters on the court.
The bottom line for me is that Malcolm Hill isn’t done yet. He didn’t show up against Michigan and he knows it. Look for him to go off tonight on both ends of the floor. I expect Tracy Abrams and Maverick Morgan would like to keep it rolling too.
The guys who are coming back, like Jalen Coleman-Lands, Tejon Lucas, Leron Black, Michael Finke and Kipper Nichols, are looking to show the Illini’s next head coach that they form the nucleus of an excellent team with a bright future. Obviously, they also want to play well for Walker, who was instrumental in recruiting them.
Next: A brief history of the Illini in the NIT
At the end of the day, the Illini are in a position to just go out and play a free and easy style of basketball. This is a team that wants to run and score. I hope Walker encourages that mentality. There is truly nothing to lose at this point.