The Illini hoopsters are back in town for summer school. On Thursday afternoon, everyone showed up at Mike Tisdale’s house — formerly known as the Ubben Practice Facility.
Freshmen Crandall Head and Meyers Leonard are enrolled, but their workouts with the team remain limited while they recover from injuries. (Jereme Richmond is in Texas with the U18 national team.)
Crandall Head says he’s about 90%.
The team is not shorthanded. Alums and alumish Illini Calvin Brock, Jamar Smith, Chester Frazier and C.J. Jackson are on campus, too.
Jackson returned to the Midwest to workout for the Indiana Pacers, according to Illini Mike Davis. Evidently playing time in Hawai’i worked out for him.
Frazier is on vacation from his job playing basketball in Germany. Recherching times past, he sprained his ankle immediately upon returning to Champaign.
Das Boot
Europe has rubbed off on Chester. He drilled his former teammates like the Marquis de Sade. Chet mercilessly marched Doon Richardson through a series of shooting drills. DJ visibly gasped for air. Few of his shots fell.
In ordinary circumstances, DJ is deadeye. Chester is evidently determined to transform him into a machine. DJ’s relief came only when strength coach Jimmy Price called the guards to weights training. Chet then went to work on Mike Tisdale.
Tisdale and Tyler Griffey worked on receiving inlet passes from the wing. “Get down,” yelled Frazier. “Get lower!”
Tyler practiced a left-handed hook. Tisdale honed a turnaround jumper. In the past, you’d expect it to be the other way around.
The media were invited Thursday because it’s the Freshmen’s debut as college student-athletes. Meyers kept everybody waiting for a while, riding an exercycle, and dribbling.
But it’s not because he hates the limelight.
