Preview - Fighting ILLINI Basketball

The Final 4 teams of 1989 and 2005 were without a doubt the best teams in school history. I have not been pleased with the recruiting class Bruce Weber has brought in until now. With senior players Demetri McCamey and Mike Davis leading the way along with a top ten recruiting class led by Jereme Richmond, this team has the makings of a Final Four sleeper. Sophomores Brandon Paul should improve after a rocky freshmen year but DJ Richardson has the makings an all Big Ten player in the future. DJ Richardson's hidden potential is similar when Deron Williams starred for ILLINI.

Crandall Head should be healthy after tearing his ACL last summer and should provide some offense for this group. Myles Head will be thrown into the starting lineup day one as he's a legit seven footer.

With Michigan State, Ohio State, and Purdue as the best teams in the conference, this Fighting ILLINI team should challenge the Buckeyes for the third best team in the conference.

Duke-Butler Championship Game Recap

This morning on Sportscenter & Mike & Mike, Coach K mentioned that if this game were to go into overtime his Blue Devils loose. After viewing the brackets for the tournament again it's clear to say that Duke had the easiest path to the championship. The committee made sure that Kansas State, Michigan State or any other powerhouse were not placed in their bracket. Other than West Virginia, Duke had a layup all the way to the Final 4.

Butler will be back next season as a top 5 team that's loaded with underclassmen and with Kyle Irving playing the point in Durham, NC Duke will be a top 25 team but I don't expect a repeat. My early top 5 predictions for next season are Butler, North Carolina, Michigan State, Washington, Purdue.