ILLINI
The University of Illinois is one of the best Universities in the Nation. Last year, the ILLINI won the NCAA Championship and tied with Michigan State for the Big Ten Championship. The Men's Basketball Team consists of 14 men. 10 of them are Illinois natives. 2 are from out of state and 2 are from out of country. Archibald is from Sweden, and Krupalija is from Sarajevo, Yugoslavia. All 14 men are of the best in state and nation. All have participated or been selected for some sort of All-Star team or Special Honors Team.
COREY BRADFORD HAS 88 CONSECUTIVE GAMES WITH A 3-POINTER! The Illini, as of now is ranked 1st in the BIG TEN and over all is ranked 4th:)
Congrats to the Illini on winning against Michigan State. Now we have a championship to win!
Pictures from Previous Games
Cory Bradford set the NCAA Illinois head coach
mark for consecutive games Bill Self yells directs
with a made three-pointer his team during the
Saturday in Illinois' win over first half of the
Arizona. annual "Braggin'
Rights" game against
Missouri Thursday
Illinois' Brian Cook, left, Illinois' Marcus Griffin (52) goes
and Illinois-Chicago's Jon-Pierre up for a basket as Minnesota's
Mitchom battle for the ball in John-Blair Bickerstaff (1) during
the second half at the Allstate the first half at Assembly Hall in
Arena in Rosemont, Ill., Friday. Champaign, Ill., on Wednesday.
Illinois' Marcus Griffin, left, Illinois' Sean Harrington, left,
defends against Ohio State's looks to pass around Iowa's
Ken Johnson in the first half of Sean Sonderleiter (53) during
Saturday's game. the first half, Thursday.
Illinois' Brian Cook, This might not be Basketball,
center, goes up for a shot between but it's the football team.
Northwestern's Aaron Head coach Ron Turner adds
Jennings, right and Collier Mike Mallory to staff
Drayton in the first half in
Evanston, Ill., Wednesday.
Robert Archibald registered a Illinois' Marcus Griffin
double-double against Penn battles with Michigan's
State, scoring 12 points and Gavin Groninger for a
grabbing 12 rebounds rebound during the
first half at Crisler Arena
in Ann Arbor, Mich., Thursday.
Last time out, against Purdue's Brett Buscher goes up to
Northwestern, Brian block the shot of Illinois
Cook's 16 points led guard Cory Bradford during the
six Illini in double figures. first half of Saturday's game.
**Braggin' Rights**
ST. LOUIS - Frank Williams got the last basket in regulation and scored six of his 18 points in overtime as No. 5 Illinois beat Missouri 86-81 Thursday night.
Brian Cook added a career-high 25 points and had 11 rebounds for Illinois (9-2), which has won five in a row. Illinois ended Missouri's three-game winning streak in the annual neutral-site game, played before a sellout crowd of 22,089.
Williams scored on a 10-foot baseline jumper with 38 seconds left to force the extra period and opened the overtime by scoring from the key. He added a three-point play and a free throw and also blocked Clarence Gilbert's 3-point attempt with 44 seconds to go.
Illinois put it away on two free throws by Cory Bradford with 40.8 seconds to go that made it 86-78.
Clarence Gilbert had 23 points for Missouri (7-3), which finished a run of three ranked Big Ten schools in a five-day span. The Tigers also lost at Iowa in double-overtime on Saturday and won at Indiana on Monday.
Missouri's Kareem Rush scored a season-low 11 points, played only 21 minutes due to foul trouble and fouled out with 4:20 left and Illinois leading 65-64. Rush leads the Big 12 with a 22-point average.
Illinois led 43-37 at the half and was ahead twice by eight points before Missouri rallied. Wesley Stokes had a 3-pointer and three-point play in a 26-second span to knot it at 56 with 13:19 to go. Then T.J. Soyoye hit two free throws with 12:47 left put the Tigers in front for the first time since midway through the first half.
Neither team led by more than four points the rest of the way.
Cook dominated with an inside-outside game in the first half and scored 23 points. Cook was 9-for-10 overall and 2-for-3 from 3-point range, and had 10 points in a 17-2 run that turned a 27-21 deficit into a 38-29 lead with 3:44 left in the half.
Illinois went 10-for-11 from the free throw line, while Missouri shot 7-for-13.
Gilbert had 10 points in the half for Missouri, which led by nine points, 22-13, with 12:25 remaining but made only five of its last 17 shots in the half.
Bradford Nets NCAA Three-Point Record
Illinois junior guard Cory Bradford became sole owner of the NCAA record for consecutive games with a three-pointer with his first trey against Arizona Dec. 16. The previous record of 73 games was set by Wally Lancaster of Virginia Tech from 1986-89. Bradford tied the record with two treys in overtime of the victory over Seton Hall Dec. 9. Bradford has made a three pointer in every game of his collegiate career. He also enters the Missouri game with a streak of 74 consecutive starts for the Illini.
Meet The Men's ILLINI Basketball Team
#13 Cory Bradford
Class: Junior Position: Guard
HIGH SCHOOL
Averaged 24 points, seven rebounds and six assists as a senior at Raleigh Egypt...Played for Jimmy Adams...An all-state, all-conference selection in basketball...Led Raleigh Egypt to the 1997 District 2A Championship...Played in a number of all-star games including the First Annual Memphis Nike All-Star game, and the Indiana Coca-Cola All-Star game...In 1996, he played at the summer Nike All-American camp and played in the Top 20 All-Star game at the Nike camp...Listed as the 72nd best high school prospect by Van Coleman Scouting Services...Averaged 22 points and 7.6 rebounds as a junior...Chose Illinois over Ole Miss, Colorado, Memphis and Tennessee.
#40 Sergio McClain
Class: Senior Position: Guard/Forward
HIGH SCHOOL
Played for his father Wayne McClain on one of the most heralded high school teams in the nation in 1997...Led Peoria Manual to four-consecutive state titles, a mark that stands alone in the high school state record book...A three time all-state selection... Four-time all-conference selection ... Conference Player of the Year in 1997...Illinois Mr. Basketball in 1997...Averaged 18.5 points, 5.8 rebounds, and 3.3 assists in 1996-97...Led Manual in scoring in 15 games as a senior...Averaged 17.3 points in the high school state tournament with a high of 22 points against Aurora West in the championship game...Four-year letterwinner in basketball and track...Played in the Magic Johnson All-Star game and was the MVP of the IBCA All-Star game.
#52 Marcus Griffin
Class: Senior Position: Center/Forward
AT LINCOLN COLLEGE
1997-99: Dick Vitale's Junior College Player of the Year (1998-99 preseason)...Averaged 20.8 ppg and 9.6 rpg as a sophomore at Lincoln College in 1998-99...Shot 64 percent from the field in 1998-99...Averaged 23.0 ppg and 13.0 rpg as a freshman at Lincoln in 1997-98...1998 & 1999 all-conference player...1998 & 1999 Region 24 Division II all-region, all-region tournament and regional Player of the Year...1998 & 1999 NJCAA Division II All-American...1999 National Junior College Division II Player of the Year.
HIGH SCHOOL
Helped lead Peoria Manual to four consecutive state high school championships along with teammate Sergio McClain...Averaged 14.8 points and 8.4 rebounds in 32 games as a senior while helping Manual record a 31-1 mark...Averaged 7.3 points and 5.0 rebounds in the 1997 state tournament games...Led Manual in rebounding 18 times with a high of 18 against Dolton-Thornridge on Jan. 11, 1998...Led the team in scoring seven times with a high of 36 points in a 77-40 win against Charleston (Mo.) on Dec. 7, 1996.
***Griffin was named Big Ten Player-of-the-Week o After coming back from knee surgery, Griffin came off the bench and scored in double figures five times, with 10 against Iowa, 12 vs. Minnesota, 11 vs. Northwestern, 10 against Penn State in the Big Ten Tournament semifinals and 17 vs. Penn in the NCAA Tournament.
#22 Lucas Johnson
Class: Junior Position: Forward
HIGH SCHOOL
An all-state selection (IBCA, News Gazette, Chicago Sun-Times) after averaging 17 points, seven rebounds and four assists for Maine West...In the state quarterfinals against Fenwick, Johnson tallied eight points, five rebounds, and four assists despite getting a head injury that required 13 stitches...In the semifinal loss to Galesburg Johnson had seven points, eight rebounds, and two assists; in the consolation game he led the team with 19 points and six rebounds ...Averaged 11.3 points, 6.3 rebounds and 2.3 assists in the state tournament games...MVP of the Wheeling Hardwood Classic in 1996 and 1997...Led Maine West to a 28-5 record, the Wheeling Hardwood Holiday Classic title and fourth place in the Class AA state tournament...Had eight points, one rebound and two assists in the IBCA All-Star game in June.
#21 Robert Archibald
Class: Junior Position: Center/Forward
HIGH SCHOOL
Robert moved from Scotland to the United States with his family prior to his senior year...Played one season at Lafayette High School...Averaged 10 points, 6.4 rebounds and two blocks in 32 games in 1998...Shot 57 percent from the floor and 69 percent from the free-throw line...MVP of the 1997 Nike European Camp for the top 65 European players...First team all-conference, first team all-district and honorable mention all-metro...Helped lead Lafayette to a 30-2 record and runner-up in the Class 3A state tournament...Played in the Missouri Hall of Fame all-state game ...Played at Queen Anne High School in Dunfermline Scotland from 1993-97...Named the under-18 national player of the year in 1997 and started on the under-23 national team at age 17...Helped lead Queen Anne High School to the high school national championship in 1997...Played on the national club league championship team at under-18 and under-23 in 1997.
#30 Frank Williams
Class: Sophomore Position: Guard
HIGH SCHOOL
Frank was named Mr. Basketball for the state of Illinois in 1998 after averaging 24 points, eight rebounds and six assists per game...He was a McDonald's All-American and scored five points and had two assists in helping the East team defeat the West team 128-112...Played in the Magic Johnson Roundball Classic...Nicknamed "Nitty" by high school coach Wayne McClain ...He teamed with current Illini Sergio McClain on the 1995, 1996 and 1997 state champion teams...Hit a career-high 11 three pointers against Farragut...Named the most outstanding player of the Pontiac Holiday Tournament after scoring 33 points in Manual's 88-67 victory over Joliet in the championship game...Consensus all-state selection...Hit the game-winning three-pointer in Manual's 52-51 upset victory over Milwaukee Vincent, the nation's ninth-ranked team, at the Rockford Showdown in January...Scored 40 points against Farragut, 42 vs. East St. Louis and 38 vs. Proviso West in a one-week span...High School coach Wayne McClain said, "Nobody in America had to do more for his team than Frank. I've never put so much on one player."
#33 Damir Krupalija
Class: Junior Position: Forward
HIGH SCHOOL
An all-state selection in 1998 by the Champaign-Urbana News-Gazette, Chicago Tribune and Associated Press...Averaged 19 points, 12 rebounds and 4.5 assists per game in 1998...Played for Steve Goers at Rockford Boylan and led the Titans to conference championships in 1996-98...Led Rockford Boylan to a 31-4 record and fourth place finish at the state tournament in 1997...Led the Titans to the super-sectionals in 1996 and 1998...Led all players in the IBCA all-star game with 11 rebounds, also had four points, four assists and two steals in helping lead the North team to a 111-79 victory over the South all-stars...Averaged 17 points, and 10 rebounds as a junior...In the 1997 state tournament Damir averaged 11.3 points and six rebounds...Posted a double-double with 21 points and 14 rebounds in Boylan's 60-55 semi-final loss to Aurora West in 1997.
#34 Brian Cook
Class: Sophomore Position: Forward
HIGH SCHOOL
A McDonald's All-America selection, he played 21 minutes in the all-star game and had 14 points, 10 rebounds, three blocks, two assists and one steal...As a senior he averaged 21.7 points, 10.1 rebounds, 3.2 blocks, two steals and 1.8 assists in leading Lincoln to its first Elite Eight berth in 19 years...In the Railsplitters' 59-43 loss to Warren High School in the Elite Eight, Cook led the team with 19 points, eight rebounds and six blocked shots...He was a 74 percent free-throw shooter and made 52 percent of his shots from the field, including 30 percent from three-point range...He led the team in scoring 21 times and scored a season-high 34 points against Southeast (Springfield) on Feb. 19...He had 18 double-figure rebounding games with a high of 15 on two occasions...Other honors include: first team all-state by the News-Gazette, Chicago Tribune, Illinois Basketball Coaches Association, Decatur Herald & Review 1999 Area Player of the Year and Parade All-American...He played in the Illinois Basketball Coaches Association all-star game and the Wendy's All-Star Classic as well as the all-star tournament between Illinois, Indiana, Michigan and Ohio.
#25 Jerrance Howard
Class: Freshman Position: Guard
HIGH SCHOOL
Averaged 10.0 points, 7.8 assists and 4.0 rebounds as a senior at Peoria High School...A four-year basketball letterman ...Helped lead Peoria to a 23-4 record...Shot 47.5 percent from the field (85-of-179), and 31 percent from three-point range (9-of-29)...A 70 percent free throw shooter (37-of-53)...Second team all-state selection (Illinois Basketball Coaches Association, News-Gazette)...Third team all-state selection (Associated Press)...First team all-conference...Chosen for the Peoria Area Top 5 list...Played for Coach Chuck Buescher ...Verbally committed to Illinois as a junior, signed with the Illini in the fall signing period.
#00 Brett Melton
Class: Freshman Position: Guard
HIGH SCHOOL:
Averaged 18 points, 4.5 rebounds and 3 assists per game for his high school career ... As a senior, averaged 24.9 points, 5.0 rebounds and 4.0 assists per game ... Averaged 22.9 points while shooting 50.3 percent from the floor and 44.2 percent from three-point range as a junior ... Was a Top 100 recruit by Bob Gibbons ... Champaign-Urbana News-Gazette 1999 and 2000 All-Area Player of the Year ... Second-team all-state pick in 2000 ... Second-team All-America selection from his AAU team ... First-team All-Cornbelt Conference pick in 1999 and 2000, and conference MVP in 2000 ... Joined with fellow Illini guard Jerrance Howard in helping their Illinois Warrior AAU squad win national championship in 1999 ... Played in the Wendy's Classic and Illinois Basketball Coaches Association All-Star Games ... Also a member of the honor roll while in high school ... As a junior, set the News-Gazette Holiday Classic Tournament record with 112 points in three games, while making 22 of 35 three pointers.
#5 Nate Mast
Class: Senior Position: Guard
HIGH SCHOOL
A three-year letter winner in basketball and a two-year letter winner in baseball and golf for Central High School...Named all-conference and all-area in basketball in 1997 and all-conference in baseball in 1997...Nate hit a 50-foot game winning shot against cross-town rival Champaign Centennial on Jan. 10, 1997...Averaged 16 points per game as a senior.
#12 Joe Cross
Class: Senior Position: Guard
HIGH SCHOOL
Carbondale Community's Athlete of the Year in 1996 after averaging 25 points and 10 rebounds per game as a senior...Sank 90 three-point field goals in 1996...Selected Mr. Basketball in Southern Illinois and the Player of the year by The Southern Illinoisan ...Helped lead Carbondale to a runner-up state finish and regional championship in 1995-96...Honor roll student all four years.
#24 Sean Harrington
Class: Sophomore Position: Guard
HIGH SCHOOL
As a senior, Harrington led Elgin High School where he played for his father head coach Jim Harrington, to a 20-10 record and the sectional finals...In his final high school game, Harrington poured in 29 points to lead the team in a 71-55 loss to Schaumburg in the sectional finals...In regional semifinal action, he went 13-for-15 from the line and score a team-high 22 points in a 52-39 victory over Larkin...The following game, his 24 points helped lead Elgin to a fifth-straight regional title with a 65-33 win over Hersey...Harrington finished his career as Elgin High School's all-time leading scorer with 2,119 points...He holds 62 school records including most career points, career three-point goals (264), three-pointers made in a season (86 in 1998), career free throws made (627), and career free throw percentage (.840)...He averaged 24.0 points, 6.1 assists and 4.1 rebounds as a senior after averaging 22.1 points, 4.4 rebounds and 6.3 assists as a junior...He averaged 17.5 points as a sophomore in 1997 and 8.3 as a freshman in 1996...He hit the 20-point mark 52 times in his career, including 20 times in 1998-99...He scored a career-high 42 points against Larkin as a sophomore (2/25/97), and almost matched that total his senior year with a season-high of 41 against Maine West on 11/24/98.
#45 Nick Smith
Class: Freshman Position: Center
AT ILLINOIS...
The tallest player in University of Illinois basketball history ... Is just the fourth 7-footer to play for Illinois following Bill Rucks (7-0, lettered 1973-76), Olaf Blab (7-0, never lettered) and Jens Kujawa (7-0, lettered 1986-88).
HIGH SCHOOL
Florida Gatorade Player of the Year in 2000 ... Second-team all-state selection as a senior after being named honorable-mention all-state as a junior ... First-team all-conference and All-Hillsborough County performer as a senior ... Averaged 25 points, 14 rebounds and five blocks as a senior ... Averaged 17 points, 15 rebounds and eight blocks as a junior ... High school coach was Jack Sutter ... Lettered four years in basketball.
