Aug. 13, 1999

ILLINOIS: 1999 Big Ten Tournament Runner-Up ... A perfect 7-0 in Australia in May 1999 ... Returning all five starters and eight of 10 letterwinners ... Adding three McDonald's High School All-Americans.

After a disappointing 14-18 season last year, there's plenty of reason for the Illini to be excited about the 1999-2000 season. The Fighting Illini grabbed the attention of the nation in March when the 11th-seeded team did the unthinkable ... beat three straight ranked teams and advance to the tournament championship game. Although Illinois fell shy of the Cinderella trip to the NCAA Tournament with the loss to Michigan State in the finals, the team saw its future. Finally, after losing close game after close game in January and February, everything fell into place the first week of March. Now, riding on that wave of success, Illinois enters the 1999-2000 season with an air of confidence not seen last season.

"Last year we had a very young club that gained valuable experience because the young players saw a lot of minutes on the floor," Illini Head Coach Lon Kruger said. " That, coupled with the opportunity to travel to Australia in the spring, has given this team a chance to really grow up.

"This group really handled last season very well. They came close in so many games and made progress throughout the season, and then that hard work paid off in the Big Ten Tournament."

In May, 10 Illinois players had the opportunity to travel to Australia for a seven-game foreign tour. The team swept through the continent with a perfect 7-0 record and a new-found scoring attack. The Illini averaged 96.4 points per game and six players averaged in double figures.

With all but two players returning from the 1999 season, the cupboard is looking well-stocked for the upcoming year. In addition, Lon Kruger adds four signees that make up one of the nation's highest ranked recruiting classes and a high school All-American in Frank Williams, who sat out the 1999 season as a partial qualifier.

Joining the Illini squad are Marcus Griffin, the 1999 National Junior College Division II Player of the Year, Brian Cook, the 1999 Illinois Mr. Basketball and a McDonald's All-American, Sean Harrington, a finalist for Mr. Basketball in the state of Illinois, who averaged 22.1 points as a Senior, and Jerrance Howard, a point guard who helped lead Peoria High School to a 23-4 record while dishing out 7.8 assists per game.

"This freshman class is loaded with potential, but potential is the operative word," Kruger said. "There are plenty of high school players who come to the college level with a lot of potential, but what matters is doing the necessary things to be successful at the college level."

These players will join a Fighting Illini squad which returns 86 percent of the team's scoring and 82 percent of the rebounding. The Illini leaders in points, rebounds, assists, and steals all return for the 1999-2000 season. As Illinois showed in Australia the team will push the ball up the floor and will pressure on the defensive end of the court. What the team lacked in depth last year it has recaptured on this year's roster.

"We have good balance inside, and outside and we will have strong competition for playing time," Kruger said. "That is very healthy because it will make all the players push each other to become better. "Our depth really allows and encourages us to push the ball up the floor offensively and play pressure defense. Our depth and level of athleticism will dictate what we are able to do."

Leading the backcourt attack are a freshman and sophomore guard combo in Bradford and Frank Williams, who sat out last season. Williams got his first playing action in Australia, where he averaged 14.4 ppg and 3.0 assists in seven games. Bradford was the team's leading scorer a year ago while playing the point, and now with Williams and Howard along with walk on Nate Mast handling the point guard duties, he can slide back to his natural two-guard position.

Harrington will back up Bradford. Walk-on Joe Cross, a transfer from Florida International and the younger brother of Dan Cross, who played for Kruger at Florida, is eligible after the first semester and will offer more depth at the guard spot.

Bradford added to his playing experience this summer while representing the U.S. at the World University Games. He averaged 6.3 ppg while helping the U.S. team win a gold medal.

The Illini have depth and size with the small forwards. Sergio McClain started 28 of 31 games and Lucas Johnson ended the season in the starting lineup and took opponents by surprise in the Big Ten Tournament by averaging 12.5 points in four games after going through the season as a 3.1 ppg scorer. McClain was the team's third highest scorer and he was second in the Big Ten in steals with 2.29 per game. He benefited greatly from the seven games in Australia where he really found what Kruger refers to as a, "comfort zone." He averaged 11.9 points and 3.5 rebounds and made big improvements at the free-throw line where he shot 77 percent, a big improvement from the 61 percent he shot during the season.

Cleotis Brown saw action in the starting lineup and was the team's second leading scorer last year. He is one of only two seniors on the squad. The Illini frontcourt has experience, depth and talent.

Victor Chukwudebe, at 6-7, found his comfort zone while playing down low last year and started the final 14 games of the year at center. Never really counted on as a scorer, Chukwudebe proved he can play on both ends of the court last season. He just needs to shoot the ball more. In 97 games he has taken 10 or more shots only six times, all in 1998-99. In those six games he averaged 11.0 ppg, and when he shot the ball he also rebounded, averaging 8.7 rebounds in those games. His offensive play in Australia also became more evident. He averaged 11.1 points while shooting 65.5 percent from the field (36-of-55).

Two sophomores who saw considerable action as freshman are Damir Krupalija, a 12-game starter, and Robert Archibald, an eight game starter. Krupalija, who began the season as a redshirt, was called into action in December and proved himself extremely valuable as the top rebounder on the team. He averaged 5.5 boards in 24 games. In three games against Indiana he averaged 12.7 rpg with a season high 16 against the Hoosiers in Bloomington to open the Big Ten schedule. Offensively he came into his own at the end of the year, improving his 2.4 ppg average to 8.7 ppg over the last seven games of the year, including a season-high 19 points against Indiana in the final regular season game. After ending the season on a high note, he led the Illini with a 67.4 shooting percentage in Australia. He averaged 10.9 points and led the team with 8.6 rebounds in seven games, including three double-figure efforts on the boards.

Archibald averaged 14.3 minutes and 3.1 points as a freshman, but the best is yet to come from this 6-foot-10-inch forward. In the time from March-May he hit the weight room hard and added about 10 pounds to his thin frame (now up to 222 pounds). He also spent time in the gym working on free throws and consistency in his jump shot. The dividends paid off in Australia where he averaged 11.7 ppg in six outings and shot 57 percent from the floor and a team-high 82 percent from the line. This summer the native of Scotland represented Great Britain in the World University Games. He averaged 13.7 points and 5.3 rebounds in seven contests in Spain.

Illinois will add two tremendous talents in Cook and Griffin to the frontcourt rotation.

In addition to the rotation of players Kruger will be able to put on the floor at any time, he finally has the classes balanced out following seasons with seven seniors one year (1998) then only one the next (1999). "This group of players is the start of a good foundation at Illinois. We have consistency in our classes, which is a change from the last couple of years where we lost seven seniors in 1998 and then only had one senior last year," Kruger said.

With the end-of-the-year success and then more winning in Australia the expectations are bound to skyrocket for this still young Illini squad. Kruger does not concern himself or the team with outside expectations. From day one it's all about getting better every day, the rest will take care of itself.

"We work in a way that provides the opportunity to make progress with each practice and each game so that we can become the best team possible," Kruger said.