Austin Illini Club     

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December 8, 2007

Ugh!

Illinois lost to Arizona, and we all get to wallow in it for nine days while they take their finals.  Illinois next plays two warm-up games--against West Carolina on December 17 and then Miami (Ohio) on December 20--before the border war against Missouri on December 22. 


We had a great crowd show up again at Third Base up for the Arizona game; Alida even showed up out of the blue from Chicago for a surprise visit (George missed her again!); and Illinois jumped out to a quick 12-0 lead, let Arizona tie the game briefly at 16, and then quickly rebuilt a 12-point lead.  Everything seemed perfect.  As Gary ranted about how awful we were, the team was disproving him right in front of his face.  They maintained a mostly double-digit lead for most of the game.

Then Gary went home in a huff and, as most of us saw, Illinois just panicked, went into their slow-down offense to kill the clock too early, let Arizona back in the game, and lost in overtime, 78-72.  (No kidding, Illinois fell apart just after Gary left!)  Arizona did what they needed to do to get back into the game and win; but Illinois lost this game much, much more than Arizona won it.

Up front, I'll say it.  Gary is right, at least in his factual observations.  His logic is weak, and I disagree with his hasty conclusions to fire Weber, but this team does have some serious issues, many of which trace either directly or indirectly to Bruce Weber. 

First and foremost, they cannot shoot free throws, which provided the difference in each of their losses, most especially against Maryland and Arizona.  Duke got back into the game against us through its free-throw shooting, while our free throw shooting and open field goal shooting both fell apart.  Against Maryland, Illinois shot 44%, whereas Maryland shot 75%: again, the difference in the game.

And against Arizona, same story: Illinois shot an awful 45% (10 of 22) from the line, and then only when Pruitt miraculously hit two in a row in overtime to push that percentage up... when the game was already lost.  Arizona shot 78% (25 of 32).  Switch those percentages, and Illinois would have won by 11 (79-68) instead of lose by 6 (78-72): a 17-point swing!  (Indeed, Illinois could have won by more than that because Arizona would not have had its 6-point overtime point spread).  Changing both free throw shooting percentages to the customary college average of 70% results in Illinois winning by two, 77-75, and that INCLUDES giving Arizona its 6-point-spread from overtime and its last-minute foul shots that Arizona would not have had if Illinois did not need to foul to stop the clock! 

Hitting just one or two more free throws (shooting only 50%) would have won us the game in regulation. 

Granted, free throw technique is somewhat inherited from a player's fundamental skills development in high school.  But the major programs ALL shoot free throws well, and not just because they recruit solely on free throw shooting ability: Duke shoots 71% this year, Michigan State 75%, Arizona 77%, North Carolina 72%.  It is not a coincidence.  Texas's meteoric rise this year to the #4 ranking "coincides" with a 75% free throw percentage.  How a major college coach cannot at least slightly improve free throw technique (as opposed to worsen that technique) is difficult to understand or forgive.

Second, the defense is decent, but the offense looks sloppy when the pressure is on.  The off-the-ball movement and the ball movement just is not nearly as crisp and effective as it needs to be.

Third, shifting to the slow-down/kill-the-clock offense when we are winning comfortably in the second half is the equivalent of playing "Prevent" Defense in football: it only "prevents" you from winning by shifting you away from what worked and built that lead, in the first place.  Instead of whimpering away a well-earned lead, dominant teams should step on the other teams throats (figuratively, of course) and surge even further ahead to close out the game.

Chester Frazier is also slipping backward, not progressing.  Last year, he improved his shooting and actually became somewhat of an offensive threat.  This year, he is back to being a HUGE liability offensively.  He is "trying too hard," panicking at the worst moments, making bad decisions, and shooting bad shots.  But Weber keeps sticking with him. Rodney Alexander is also a big offensive threat and gives our team much-needed energy and movement on offense, yet Weber benches him at the end of games when we need him most.  Finally, the fact that a walk-on (Trent Meacham) is out-playing most all of our scholarship players also does not bode well. 

However, there are reasons to keep our chins up. 

First, the only reason the Arizona loss was so disappointing is because we DID play well enough to maintain a double-digit lead for most of the game, then blew it.  Same thing with the Duke game; we jumped out of the gate and, for the first five to ten minutes, overwhelmed the team that most people think will contend for the National Championship this year.

Our defense might not provide the most spectacular, awe-inspiring athletic plays, but it keeps us in games that we otherwise should not be in.

Given how Duke and Arizona have played this year, and given their immense advantage in athleticism and recruited talent, we were supposed to lose by 10 or more to both teams.  (That was the Vegas line).  Instead, we made it a game, and so we got our hopes up. 

Given our non-conference schedule this year, three non-conference losses was not beyond belief.  Indeed, most expected it.  It is only frustrating because they came so close to exceeding expectations, but did not: not because they fell short of pre-season expectations.  To Weber's credit, they at least are competitive in their losses.

Second, Weber has proven his ability to turn teams around.  He did so in 2003-04, when we started the Big Ten season 1-2 (losing to Purdue at home and then to lowly Northwestern!) but then closed the season with a 10-game winning streak to win our first outright Big Ten title since the 1950s.  He also did so last year, when most of us realistically feared we were headed to the NIT (if that) given our non-conference and early Big Ten season performance last year. 

I am not so full of hubris to think that I am the only one who notices the poor free throw shooting, the sloppy offense execution, the ineffective whimper of the late-game, slow-down offense, and the panic of Chester Frazier.  Weber sees it, and I believe he will adjust because it is in his best interest to do so much more than it is in my best interest.

Third, this year's lull is not so much the product of this year's shortcomings, but the product of Weber's recruiting misadventures in 2005 and 2006, about which we already knew.  This team's struggles thus should not come as such a huge surprise or a huge letdown.  Setting aside a decent but young 2007 class, the incoming recruits for 2005 and 2006 (who should have served as the core of our team this year) were the following:

2005: Frazier, Smith, CJ Jackson
2006: Carlwell, Semrau

Smith is redshirting this year, Jackson is now on the football team, and Carlwell and Semrau both suffered major injuries last year that still affect them.  That leaves Chester Frazier--perhaps the least talented of the bunch--as the key 2005-2006 recruit that should be making an impact. 

Why then the big surprise that this team falls short of top-tier expectations?

Finally, there is the impact of losing IDKWTI ("I Don't Know Who That Is" - Deron Williams sarcastically commenting about Eric Gordon), which, again, we already knew would be devastating to this year's team.  Weber detrimentally relied on IDKWTI's verbal commitment and passed up several great guards because he thought that he already had that need filled. 

With him, this team would be playing MUCH better: not just due to his direct impact, but by shifting the balance of pressures off of complimentary players for whom he was recruited.  Randle was supposed to be the Pippen to IDKWTI, not the team leader.  Pruitt was supposed to be his Cartwright.  Weber envisioned a backcourt of Smith and IDKWTI (dare I say it: better raw individual talent than even Dee and Deron brought us as freshmen), with Frazier off the bench as a defensive stopper.  The whole plan fell apart when Sampscum lured Gordon away to Indiana under rather questionable circumstances, and Smith made a huge mistake last year in that crash.

But we already knew that.

Yes, it is partly Weber's fault that he lost IDKWTI, but it would be our mistake to presume that he did not learn from his mistake.  Weber has proved that he was and is ready to coach a big-time program; he just was not ready to recruit for one.  But now that has changed.

This year, all four freshmen (McCamey, Tisdale, Davis, and Cole) look like they will develop into solid players: much better incoming talent than the previous two years.  The fact that they are not instant miracle cures cannot be held against them or Weber.  Weber also brought in the top Junior-College prospect in Alexander, who merely needs to get into the rhythm. 

For next year (2008), Weber has brought in the first top-tier Chicago Public League recruit (Simpson) since Lou Henson left and Jimmy Collins was passed up: reviving the same recruiting pipeline that brought us Nick Anderson, Kenny Battle, Deon Thomas, and other CPL stars "back in the day."  Jamar Smith will also be back next year, and many reports indicate that he is their best player in practice this year. 

For the year thereafter (2009), Weber has the three best players from Illinois all committed to going to Illinois: Peoria Central's D.J. Richardson, Sterling's Joseph Bertrand and Warren's Brandon Paul.  All are guards, who will join a forest of talented big men from the 2007 and 2008 classes.  So things will turn around rather quickly.


As for watching this year, it becomes not only a matter of still enjoying each other's company, and not just a matter of not being fair-weather fans, but also a matter of watching the revival begin. 

A large part of the thrill of watching the 2004-05 Final Four team was watching it develop in 2002-03 (when Deron Williams, in particular, was awful) and 2003-04.  (Remember, it took Bruce Weber to develop that team of second-tier recruits into a Final Four team.)  Likewise, a large part of the thrill of watching our football team this year stemmed from going through the blowout misery of 2005, to the moral victories of 2006, then to the Rose Bowl in 2007.

But just as I predicted that the 2004-05 team would be the reward for all the "wait till next years," and just as I predicted the sudden emergence of the football team this year seemingly out of nowhere, I am predicting that this team will grow out of its issues and return to the elite of college basketball: sooner rather than later.  With the 2009 recruiting class and Weber's coaching, we could have two consecutive Final Fours and a National Championship on the horizon.

Yes, we have issues.  We might not even make the NCAA Tournament this year.  But despite Gary's pre-season optimism ("We're going to win the Big Ten this year"), we already knew this would be a lean year, and the sky is not falling... yet.

Lawrence Page
THE Austin Illini Club

November 12, 2007

Last year, and again at the start of this season, I said “Football is back at Illinois,” but even I did not expect this much so soon.

As if you don’t already know, Illinois upset #1 Ohio State in Columbus to advance to 8-3 and most likely secure third place in the conference and a New Years Day bowl bid. With quality-wins over Penn State, Wisconsin, and Ohio State, Illinois just needs to beat Northwestern in Champaign next weekend to finish the regular season an amazing 9-3, with more wins than the past FOUR YEARS combined.

Third Base worked out perfectly as a venue for us. We had about 50 people show up: the best Illini crowd I have ever seen show up in Austin for a football game, and second only to the Final Four crowds we drew at Ringers in 2005. Thanks to everyone who showed up; and for those who did not, we have two football games left, and then the rest of Basketball season to keep it going.

Even the Third Base management got into the celebration, buying us a round of orange and blue jello-shots to celebrate the victory!

Game Recap

This game was phenomenal; and the best part was that it was not a fluke and that Illinois truly deserved to win.

It started as an intimidating slugfest: like two big punchers just standing in the middle of the ring slugging each other in the jaw and taking each other’s best shots without falling down. Ohio State scored a quick touchdown on two plays, including a 65-yard pass play due to blown coverage by our safeties. Just as we thought they had thrown a knockout punch to set the tone of a hapless home blow-out, backup Illini running back Daniel Dufrene broke free on our second play from scrimmage for a 70-yard run before being pushed down at the 3 yard line. He lost the ball as he went down, but it somewhat looked like the ground caused the fumble and Illinois got the next play off just as replays showed that the ball actually had come out well before he hit the ground. Juice bobbled the ensuing snap but quickly found Tight End Michael Hookmanawanui (I am NOT making that name up) on a fade route in the corner of the endzone for a touchdown. Five plays, two touchdowns. 7-7.

Ohio State then quickly sliced through our defense and drove for another touchdown, and just as I started shouting for no punts, Ohio State’s defense stopped our next drive on three plays. They swarmed our option, and sacked Juice for a loss. 14-7 bad guys.

After the punt, Illinois flirted with two consecutive takeaways, only to succeed on the next play when DeRae Hicks made a phenomenal, perfectly-timed, leap-up interception of a 15 yard-pass. Illinois drove down the field—including a key 14-yard pass to Kyle Hudson on 3rd and 12 to avoid going three-and-out—and Juice faked a handoff and hit Jacob Willis on for a 33-yard play-action, touchdown pass.

The two teams scored 28 first quarter points, 12 more than Illinois and Iowa scored in their entire game four weeks ago—and four minutes still remained in the first quarter.

The teams exchanged a few 3-and-outs. Then the dreaded special teams bug hit us, and a shanked punt gave Ohio State the ball at midfield. Ohio State got a first down and looked to be driving for another touchdown.

However, as if to demonstrate just how far this team has progressed, the Defense came to the rescue. Instead of falling into a field position hole due to a special teams gaff, Illinois stood up and took field-position back to their advantage through the next few series. First, the Defense pushed Ohio State back to a 4th-and 24, forcing them to punt. Taking the ball at the 20 yard-line, Illinois did not score, but drove far enough to pin the Buckeyes back on their 13 yard-line, shifting field position back to Illinois’ advantage. Illinois held Ohio State and got the ball back at midfield.

Ohio State’s defense held Illinois to nine yards on the next three downs. Illinois then showed how much they have progressed yet again. Instead of punting to potentially give the ball back to Ohio State at their 20 yard line, Zook chose to go for the first down. Mendenhall not only got it but ran for over 20 yards to keep alive and set up the go-ahead touchdown a few plays later: a beautiful nine-yard touch-pass to Kevin Gamble.

Illinois not only survived punch-for-punch with top-ranked Ohio State, they punched harder and went into halftime up 21-14. And the rowdy OSU fans in “the horseshoe” were rather… quiet.

Coming out of halftime, Ohio State held us to three-and-out on our first possession, and ran the punt back to our 42 yard-line. Ohio State quickly drove to the nine yard line, and a tying touchdown looked imminent. However, Illinois’ line pressured OSU’s quarterback to scramble and force a pass into the endzone. Illinois’ Marcus Thomas broke in front of the receiver to cut off the touchdown pass, but missed. Instead, the ball ricocheted off him to Antonio Steele deep in the end zone for the interception.

Illinois drove right into action. Although Ohio State had covered Illinois’ unique multiple-option set well in the first half, Juice started making better decisions without telegraphing them. Realizing that Ohio State had keyed on Mendenhall, Juice used the fake to Mendenhall and kept the ball more. Then on another play-action pass (fake handoff) Juice hit Wilkins for a 31-yard touchdown pass, and the crowd goes… silent. 28-14, Illinois.

Ohio State did not give up. Highlighted by upon a 35-yard run by their quarterback and a fourth-and-one conversion for a first down, Ohio State immediately drove down and scored on a 17 yard touchdown run with 30 seconds left in the 3rd quarter to cut the Illini lead to 28-21.

The OSU crowd went wild. They were happy… but for the last time in the game. The fourth quarter belonged to the Illini. Ohio State ran only three offensive plays in the fourth quarter. Our offense kept them off the field, and our defense made sure they didn’t stay on that long.

Illinois drove slowly, using its rushing attack to grind the clock down. 5-yards. 4-yards. 3-yards; first down. 4 yards. 6 yards; first down. Even when they were hit, they would still fall forward for positive yardage. Illinois drove to midfield, took 6 minutes off the clock, and punted deep into Ohio state territory to the OSU 17.

Ohio State drove out to the 36 on another run by Boeckman. But then, pressured into another scramble, Boeckman threw a 40-yard bomb deep into Illinois territory. But then Marcus Thomas made an adjustment, stepped inside the receiver, and intercepted the pass on the Illini 24 yard line. Eight minutes and nine seconds left.

Chip away again. 3 yards. 6 yard pass. ½ yard.

With 4th and inches from Illinois’ own 34, Illinois started to set up a run to keep the drive alive, but then changed and lined up for a punt. However, the shift caught Ohio State off guard with their run defense and some special teams kick coverage on the field. They needed to call timeout to avoid a penalty for too many men on the field that would have given Illinois the first down.

During the timeout, in a “Hoosiers”-like moment (the movie, not the school), Juice went to Zook and assured him, “I can get the first down.” Zook looked at him and responded, “You better.”

Illinois came out of the OSU timeout with its offense, went for the first down, and got it. Six minutes left.

2 yards. 1 yard. Juice up the middle for 12 yards; first down. 4:30 left.

1 yard. Lose a yard. Juice up the middle for 11 yards; first down. 3:30 left.

5 yards. 2 yards. Ohio State called its final timeout. On 3rd and 3, with Ohio State out of timeouts, and just over two minutes left in the game, Illinois only needed one more first down to ice the game. Juice then ran up the middle for four yards and got that first down. 2:00 left.

No gain. No gain. Take a knee. Game over. 28-21.

Illinois started celebrating at mid-field, and the Ohio State thugs took it personally and started swinging, causing a mild frucas on the field. They claimed Illinois “disrespected” their midfield logo.

Illinois had lost 40-2 at Columbus two years ago. And Ohio State essentially conceded the safety. Last year, Illinois played Ohio State closer than anyone but Florida in the National Championship game. This year, Illinois pulls of the upset.

Key Stats

Ohio State’s defense only allowed 7 touchdowns in its first ten games. Illinois scored 4 on them in one game. Ohio State had held other opponents to an average of 9.7 points per game; Illinois scored 28, the most all season against Ohio State’s statistically #1 defense in the country. Illinois did not turn the ball over, and took the ball away three times. Illinois had 400 yards of offense to Ohio State’s 336. Ohio State had held other teams to an average of only 222 offensive yards. Ohio State had also held teams to an average of only 65 rushing yards; Illinois put up 260 against them.

Other “Editorial Observations”

Instead of watching our players haplessly fall victim to faster, tougher opponents, our players hustled more, hit harder, showed more finesse, and made the big plays typical of a big-game program. Instead of watching the other team’s players make the extra effort to make big plays, our guys were the ones who slashed and grunted to make big plays on both offense and defense. Vontae Davis drilled Maurice Wells for a loss on a first-quarter screen pass, making even the broadcasters go “OOOW-OHHHH!!” Davis actually knocked himself senseless for a few scary moments as the training staff checked him as he laid motionless for a neck injury. Then he got up quickly and actually head-butted J Lehman on his way off the field.

Our interceptions also all required great adjustments and quick reactions by our defense, particularly the third quarter interception in the end zone that prevented Ohio State from tying the game.

As most have pointed out (including the announcers several times), the win was Illinois first victory over a #1 team since 1956, and the first time Illinois had EVER defeated the #1 team on the road.

Every play is important, but that interception was one of two crucial turning points in the game. The other was the Ohio state timeout in the fourth quarter, during which Zook decided to go for the first down on 4th and inches from our own 34 yard line. Had Ohio State stopped us, they would have had a short field to score the tying touchdown. But we still had time left on the clock to respond, and Zook trusted Juice to squeeze out the inches needed for the first down.

The victory was clearly a team win, with many different defensive and offensive players making key plays. Nonetheless, Juice was clearly the player of the game. He looked sharp again, passed the ball well, and made quick decisions in the option to completely confound Ohio State’s defense in the second half. Despite struggling with his passing for most of this season and last season, Juice showed great touch on his passes, and we scored all four of our touchdowns on mid-range passes on which Juice put the perfect touch.

I doubt even more now that Juice really had fully recovered from the concussion he suffered in the season opener against Missouri until the Ball State game two weeks ago. He made poor decisions his first few weeks back from that hit, and his passes were nothing but bullets with too much zip on them. Against Ohio State, he passed the ball well and looked like (dare I say it) Vince Young in his sophomore year, repeatedly running through the defense up the middle for critical first downs in the fourth quarter.

Ohio State obviously planned to focus on stopping Rashard Mendenhall, and Mendenhall did not have his customary dominating game, breaking free only a few times for big gains. However, he still ran for 88 yards, and in so doing became the single-season rushing record holder for Illinois: better than Red Grange in the days when the forward pass was considered a novelty.

J Lehman also played his best game of the year at linebacker, regaining his uncanny ability to not only shift with the play while keeping his feet under him, but weave through blockers to make the tackle. He recognized what the plays were and was often the first defender to contact the ball carrier. And after almost every play on defense, you could hear someone say, “There he is again!” He led Illinois with "only" 12 tackles.

Illinois closes the regular season against Northwestern next week in Champaign. Because it is the final game of the season, it would be shocking if Northwestern caught the Illini in a trap. With a New Years Day bowl bid likely against an unknown opponent, Illinois does not have much to distract them from preparing. And it did not sound like either Zook or Juice considered this season over, both of them focusing in their post-game comments on what they need to do to continue to improve.

Best yet, J Lehman is the only impact player we will lose to graduation. Virtually everyone else returns next year.

Football is back!!!

Lawrence Page

THE Austin Illini Club

Big Ten Night at the Ballpark 2007

Each year, the Big Ten Council of all Austin-area Big Ten alumni clubs organizes a gathering of all Big Ten clubs at a Round Rock Express game at the Dell Diamond.  This year's Big Ten Night at the Ballpark will take place on Saturday, July 21, 2007, at 7:00.  Legends will provide us with free food (burgers and hot dogs) and non-alcoholic beverages for a tailgate party before the game on the grassy knoll near the West entrance to the parking lot.  

For more details or tickets, please contact Dan Mowery (the Ohio State rep organizing this year's event) at mowreyconsulting@yahoo.com or call him at (512) 281-4601.

Professor Bill Gaines: Deep Throat Uncovered

About once a year, the University of Illinois Alumni Association brings down a Professor to speak with us and keep us in touch with the scholarly side of our alma mater.  (After all, we shouldn't spend ALL our time watching television.)  On Friday, May 19, 2006, at Mangia Pizza (Mesa location) the Austin Illini hosted a discussion with University of Illinois Professor Bill Gaines, a two-time Pulitzer Prize winner during his more than 25 years with the Chicago Tribune.  Professor Gaines spoke with us about his nationally-acclaimed investigative journalism course at the University of Illinois where he and his students spent four years investigating who was Deep Throat: the stealth, chain-smoking anonymous source of Bob Woodward who broke open the Watergate scandal that unseated President Nixon and many of his top advisors.

In conjunction with the evening program about Watergate, we also arranged for a special afternoon viewing of Woodward and Bernstein’s personal, handwritten Watergate notes that are archived at the Harry Ransom Center on the University of Texas campus from 3:30-5:00 on May 19.  Not many people know that Woodward and Bernstein chose to archive their notes here in Austin at the University of Texas several years ago, and some Austin Illini were actually involved in getting them here.  (Professor Gaines was actually one of the first to view the notes when UT received them.)  The notes were on public display for a short while, but have since been placed in archive, so this was a rare chance to see them.

Austin Illini Dues & T-Shirts

We finally have our own offical "Austin Illini" t-shirts!!!  They are of course orange, and feature the tag-line on the bottom "This is What REAL ORANG E Looks Like!"  The final design is below.  The shirts were designed here by us and produced by Tee Shurt in Champaign and have been shipped here.

The shirts are free when you pay club dues of $20, which will help fund our scholarship program and other Austin Illini events.  ($20 also happens to be the same price as Tee Shurt's "Final Four" T-shirts, but who's counting?)  We are making a second printing of the t-shirts in time for Professor Gaines' lecture, so please let Lawrence Page know what size you would like.  Sizes small through XXL.  

You, of course, may pay your $20 dues (to contribute to our club and such) and opt to not get a t-shirt.  Send dues to the following address:

Lawrence Page

Austin Illini

500 East  Riverside , # 124

Austin,  Texas    78704

Road Trip!     Rockets v. Jazz     (Luther v. Deron)

On Saturday, February 11, at 7:30 p.m., the Austin Illini went to Houston to watch the Utah Jazz play the Houston Rockets in Utah.  For those who paid attention in class, that will be the first professional meeting between Luther Head (Rockets) and Deron Williams (Jazz).  Click on the photo for some pictures of the game and our post-game meeting with Luther and Deron in a special Austin Illini media room session at the stadium, including the full-sized version of the picture below.

PAINT THE PUB ORANGE!!

The Austin Illini usually gather at Texadelphia (owned by fellow Austin Illini Mark Turner) to watch all Illini basketball games, with the exception of games broadcasted in High Definition and games not available on Time Warner, in which case we gather at Ringers.  Check our Basketball page for more details.

Austin Illini, Texas Barbecue, and Caribbean Music

On Thursday, Dec. 1 at 6:30, the Austin Illini gathered for a night of Steel Band music and barbecue featuring the University of Texas Steel Pan Ensemble.  Thanks to George Frock for organizing it and to Carol Belmont for hosting it.

Illini Basketball in Texas!!

Over Thanksgiving weekend in 2005, the Illini played in and won the South Padre Invitational Tournament, and the Austin Illini were there.  The weekend was amazing!!!  Click on the photo below for pictures.

On Saturday, July 30, 2005, the Austin Area Big Ten Council gathered at the Dell Diamond for a night of tailgating and baseball.  The Illini Flag waved prouder than any other.  Thanks to Derek Byrne for helping organize the event.  

On Monday, March 21, Professor Tom Ulen from the U of I College of Law came to visit us.  The dinner and talk was a huge success, with over 40 local alumni attending.  Thanks to Tony Tangora of the U of I Alumni Association for helping arrange this visit, to Professor Ulen for a fine talk, and to all who attended and helped make the event a success.

Lawrence Page, President of the Austin Illini Club, drafted periodic summaries of 2004-2005 Illini Basketball team's amazing March to the Arch last season.  Please visit the Basketball page for an index.

Free (and Legal) Marching Illini Music Downloads!!

The Marching Illini website has all but their two most recent CDs/albums available as free MP3 downloads.  1994 and 1997 seem to be the best for sound quality, but there are also lots of albums from the 1960s-the 1980s, as well.  (The 1964 Oskee-Wow-Wow has a great, traditional, "college football gameday" feel to it.)  They also have the earliest known recording of "Oskee-Wow Wow" from the 1920s on the site.  http://www.bands.uiuc.edu/MI/media.asp.  The drumline also has some amazing recordings available at http://www.bands.uiuc.edu/MI/media.asp  Just right-click on the song title, and hit "save target as."  

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