With a special guest in attendance, the Illinois men’s basketball team scrimmaged against one another Friday night at the Assembly Hall in its annual Orange and Blue Scrimmage.

Derrick Rose, the top-rated point guard in the country, and his brother, Reggie Rose, sat in floor bleacher seats next to Illini great Kenny Battle and were serenaded with chants of “We want Derrick” and “Stay in state.” Also in attendance were a number of Simeon High School coaches and former Illini and Simeon graduate Bryant Notree.

While Rose took in the Assembly Hall atmosphere and what was happening courtside, head coach Bruce Weber said he saw a number of positives and negatives.

“(There was) some good, some bad, some embarrassing,” he said about the scrimmage. “It’s part of getting all fired up, and coming out there, some of the nerves.”

The Illini scrimmaged for three 10-minute periods, with the score being reset after each period. The Blue team, made up of Trent Meacham, Shaun Pruitt, Richard Semrau, Marcus Arnold, Brian Randle, C.J. Jackson, Calvin Brock, Steve Holdren and Jeremiah Wise, had a total of 49 points, while the Orange team finished with 48 points. The blue squad took the first and third periods, 16-12 and 21-17, while the Orange team won the second period, 19-12.

Pruitt led the Blue team with 12 points and nine rebounds, while Randle added 11 points and Meacham contributed nine points and five rebounds. Sophomore guard Chester Frazier had a game-high 17 points, along with three assists, while sophomore guard Jamar Smith, who only found his shot late in the scrimmage, managed 10 points. Weber had high praise for the play of Meacham and Frazier.

“Trent Meacham was very solid. If Chester and him play that good, that was our big question mark, now the other guys have got to step up now,” he said.

A key problem for many of the Illini in the srimmage was intensity. After all, this was only the third time the team played in an organized scrimmage this season. The other two only lasted for 16 and 24 minutes, Weber said.

The Illini must figure the problem out in a hurry; the team takes on Austin Peay in its first exhibition game at the Assembly Hall.

“I’m trying to get guys to go hard all the time and now all of a sudden you get out here, you start getting tired, now maybe next time you’ll listen a little more and go a little harder in practice, so that it becomes a natural thing,” Weber said.

While the Orange team pulled down 32 rebounds to the Blue team’s 22, it turned the ball over 17 times. The Blue squad only committed 10 turnovers. Pruitt said that in the future, the Illini must take better care of the ball.

“I think it showed that we have a good rebounding team, but definitely shows that we are turnover prone,” Pruitt said. “If you don’t have the ball, you can’t rebound, you can’t win.”

But Frazier, who cramped up during the scrimmage, said the turnovers will be dealt with in time, after the team gets used to playing with one another.

“I think it’s just a lot of guys playing together, a bunch of new guys playing together,” Frazier said. “I don’t think it’s so much we’re not going to take care of the ball, but that’s definitely an issue.”

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All images credit: Beck Diefenbach, The Daily Illini

1. Shaun Pruitt attempts to dribble around Marcus Arnold (44) during the Orange and Blue Scrimmage at Assembly Hall, Friday October 27th, 2006.

2. Chester Frazier (3) has his knee attended to by a team trainer after injuring himself during the Orange and Blue Scrimmage at Assembly Hall, Friday October 27th, 2006.

3. Chester Frazier (3) drives the ball past Trent Meacham (1) during the Orange and Blue Scrimmage at Assembly Hall, Friday October 27th, 2006.

4. Warren Carter (41) shoots the ball over Brian Randle (42) during the Orange and Blue Scrimmage at Assembly Hall, Friday October 27th, 2006.

5. Calvin Brock (25) searches for a teammate to pass the ball during the Orange and Blue Scrimmage at Assembly Hall, Friday October 27th, 2006.

6. Marcus Arnold (44) gets in front of Trent Meacham (1) as he attempts to block a shot during the Orange and Blue Scrimmage at Assembly Hall, Friday October 27th, 2006.