And now the good news about this year’s Illinois basketball team:
Cory Bradford.
“Bradford’s a great player,” Wisconsin coach Dick Bennett said after the Illini upset his 11th-ranked Badgers 53-51 Saturday. “I really can’t think of anyone else for (Big Ten) Freshman of the Year.”
Northwestern coach Kevin O’Neill said that without center Evan Eschmeyer the Wildcats would be 0-10 in the Big Ten right now, but without Bradford the Illini (10-13, 2-9) might be 0-23.
Saturday’s 26-point performance was the latest of several outstanding games by the redshirt freshman from Memphis, who has matured into the poised, confident, go-to player Illinois has been seeking all season.
More Top Picks Best Soft Pastels For Artists
Bradford is 12th in the Big Ten in scoring (15 points per game) and third in three-point field-goal percentage (.421). He needs 40 points in his last five games to pass Efrem Winters (385 points in 1982-83) and become the third highest freshman scorer in school history behind Deon Thomas and Kiwane Garris.
It’s Bradford’s vastly improved ballhandling, though, that has made a real difference. He struggled early in the season with the move from shooting guard to point guard, committing eight turnovers against Bradley. Coach Lon Kruger first tried Sergio McClain at the point, then walk-on Nate Mast before going back to Bradford. Over the last nine games he is averaging just 1.3 turnovers and didn’t have any in 37 minutes against Wisconsin.
“What Cory is doing is outstanding,” Kruger said. “His challenge now is to go up another level and perform well with defenses stacked against him. His effort has been great, especially when he doesn’t have many offensive weapons to assist him.”
Time flies: With 43 seconds left Saturday and Wisconsin leading 51-49, Badger guard Mike Kelley was called for a 5-second violation while trying to inbound the ball. Illinois regained possession and went on to win 53-51.
“It definitely was 4 (seconds), without question,” Bennett told the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel after reviewing game films. “I looked at it a lot of times. It was 4 seconds and a fast 4 seconds at that.”
What race? Despite all the talk about how balanced the Big Ten is, the race itself is turning into a dud. There’s plenty of equality–if you ignore Michigan State (20-4, 9-1), which is closing in on its second straight title. With Iowa losing five of its last seven and Wisconsin losing back-to-back at Indiana and Illinois, only Ohio State is within striking distance of the Spartans, who play host to Illinois on Thursday. They have won nine straight and 16 of their last 17. Monday, they climbed to fifth in the AP poll, which is where they began the season.
“I didn’t think we’d move up that far (from No. 8),” coach Tom Izzo said. “To start out the season at 5 and work our way back up . . . it’s been something we’ve earned.”
Silent treatment: After Michigan was crushed 58-34 at Northwestern last Thursday, coach Brian Ellerbe didn’t tell the Wolverines how bad they looked. He showed them. Right after the game, Ellerbe gathered his players in a conference room at their hotel and made them watch the horror film of Michigan’s worst offensive output since a 43-32 loss to Michigan State in 1951.
Ellerbe sat back and didn’t say a word. Later he met with each player. “Misery loves company,” he said. “I wanted to make sure it didn’t have any.”
On Sunday the Wolverines upset No. 18 Minnesota 75-65 to break a five-game losing streak.