I want to take time to address two issues unrelated to the Illini’s loss Sunday against Michigan State. First of all, I rescind my early criticisms about Illinois center Mike Tisdale.

Sunday’s game showed me a lot about his tenacity and abilities on the court. I definitely did not expect such an impressive performance out of the Illini’s 7-foot-1 center. Earlier in the season, I saw lulls in his confidence that manifested into a lack of hustle.

Sometimes he would go to his patented left-hook shot, miss it, and we wouldn’t hear from him for the rest of the game. He pulled a 180 Sunday afternoon against the Spartans.

Tisdale started off slower than slow, but in the second half, he was the primary reason for the Illini’s comeback. Forget that Illinois lost the game; that is not representative of the big man’s hard work.

Tisdale had 15 points – most of which came during the vital few minutes down the stretch to help the Orange and Blue tie the game – five boards and two blocks. The Illini center owned Michigan State’s Goran Suton in the paint. But there really wasn’t much Suton could do anyway, Tisdale was feeling the stroke. Didn’t it seem like Tisdale would catch and shoot without even looking at the basket? That’s a good sign for the Illini faithful.

What’s most encouraging is Tisdale’s learning curve since the previous meeting with Michigan State in East Lansing. Back on Jan. 17, Tisdale played only 16 minutes, collecting eight point and three rebounds. Sunday’s second half was a critical point in Tisdale’s career. Believe it or not, I’m actually feeling pretty confident about the Illini’s frontcourt heading into tournament play.

If Illinois has the new and improved Tisdale, they will encounter great success, not only this year but for the next two seasons as well.

It is very difficult to succeed in the NCAA Tournament without solid post threats. We’ve known since pretty early on that sophomore Mike Davis will be one of those players for the Illini, but Tisdale’s recent play has led me to believe Bruce Weber has another big that can do some damage offensively, as well as on the glass.

Changing gears, my second issue concerns the “intentional foul” calls referees make during a game. I don’t understand how referees can determine a player’s intent. This happened in Sunday’s game.

I’m not saying that if Trent Meacham wasn’t called for an intentional foul, Illinois would have won the game. I’m just calling out officiating, especially at critical times in collegiate basketball games. Former coach and current ESPN analyst, Bob Knight, was talking about this same issue in Saturday night’s UCLA/California game.

Officials tend to make intentional foul calls more when the infraction appears aggressive rather than if the player was going for the basketball. Every time someone commits a foul at the end of the game, and the sole purpose is to make them shoot free throws so you can get the ball back, that’s an intentional foul. But refs don’t call it … ever. Make any sense to you?

The rule is backward because there is no foundation on which to blow the whistle. It’s very difficult for a ref to decipher a player’s intent. Unless that referee is Charles Xavier of the X-men.

Lastly, thanks to all of the Illini seniors. You’ve given the fans a reason to cheer this season and you’ll be missed. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: Calvin Brock is the man.

Ryan Dixon is a senior in Media. He can be reached at [email protected]