Mike Davis

With the start of fall classes at the U Of I comes a big, and very much welcome suprise for the men's basketball team. This past friday night power forward, Mike Davis arrived on campus. He'll start classes this Wednesday. As a player, Davis is known for his unbelievable athleticism and ability to get to the hoop. He comes from T.C. Williams High School (yes, home of the Titans), and seems to be a good pickup for the Illini.

The Last Dance

Well, with the issue with Jamar Smith looming, and the Illini's NCAA hopes diminishing due to Michigan State's big win over number 1 Wisconsin, a decisive win over Michigan was just what the doctor ordered. It was Senior night and Marcus Arnold put in some quality minutes. Rich McBride struggled to start the game but led the Illini in a early second half run that the the Wolverines could never come back from. Warren Carter also played great in the second half scoring 18 points. It was great for him because his mother finally got a chance to come up from Texas to watch her son play one last time for the Illini in Champaign.

Since ESPN sat on the rights to the game (which I don't think was a coincidence due to the Chief situation), I had to watch the game at sports bar, which ended up being great. It was a great game to watch in the company of other Illini fans, and allowed the Illini nation to exhale after one of the worst weeks in the program's history.

Last night wasn't just the last dance for the seniors but also for Assembly Hall announcer Jim Sheppard and Chief Illinwek. It appears the athletic department has decided to replace reliable, loyal announcer Jim Sheppard with some loudmouth over the top sideshow announcer. All I have to say on the subject is that Jim did a great job, and the University made a huge mistake in throwing a loyal supporter to the University and supporter of the basketball program to the curb. As for the Chief I've made my opinion on him quite clear. The last dance was a sad affair but I have great respect for Dan Maloney, the current portrayer of the Chief, who after finishing his dance, returned to the floor stopping to face each direction of the Hall, and stomping his foot before leaving. I've converted the streaming video of the performance from www.fightingillini.com and uploaded to a downloading site if you'd like to save the performance to your computer.

http://rapidshare.com/files/17658341/_2_chief.wmv.html

Farewell....

I'm a huge college basketball fan, and watch every University of Illinois game with my dad. We've always gotten to the Assembly Hall to see as many games as we could since I was old enough to walk. I always looked forward to half-time and most importantly, The Chief. Because of the Chief, I always had a great respect for Native American history and culture, and sought out any knowledge relating to that history. I always equated the Universities reverence of the Chief as direct reverence of Native American Culture.
Today, the University announced that the Chief will dance for the last time when the Illini take on Michigan in a few weeks. A few liberal activists decided that Native Americans should be offended by the symbol, and as a result, everyone must be affected. I don't want to get into the politics of this, but it really is a shame. I'll always treasure my memories of watching the Chief. The activists can't take that.

Looking Up....

Well, things are looking up for the Illini basketball team. Last night they easily beat Northwestern on the road to climb into fourth place in the Big Ten. It appears that team is starting to get it. If they can go 3-2 in their next 5 and win one or two in the tourney they should be set as far as the post-season goes, but if they can steal one on the road at Iowa or Indiana, then they should be set. Their next game at Indiana should be tough. Indiana has been very tough at home, and so far the Illini haven't faired well on the road in the state of Indiana. The keys to the game will be the three point shot, and the big men. If the Illini shoot a little better from three and if Shaun Pruitt plays better than D.J. White, then they've got a legitimate shot at it. Nothing would be sweeter than put Kelvin Sampson in his place. Weber deserves it.

A Better Way To Start

Things haven't exactly been great in Illinois basketball lately, so rather than start off with negativity, I'm going to start my blog with a clip from better days.