This season Illinois basketball finds itself somewhere it hasn’t been in quite a while – under the radar. The question: Is this a good thing or a bad thing?

I’ll tell you right now that it’s a good thing. Last year’s team ended a streak of nine consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances for Illinois. This year’s team is full of change. Goodbye, Shaun Pruitt and Brian Randle. Wait a second, what am I doing? Last year’s team was horrible.

Like I was saying, this year’s basketball team looks to restore some pride to the program. The motto for the Orange and Blue this season should be simple: make the NCAA Tournament.

A goal like that in the past would have merited laughter from anyone and everyone familiar with Illinois basketball. Unfortunately, the reality is this team will be lucky to finish above .500.

But in the Big Ten, that might be good enough for sixth or seventh place in the conference. We all know the tournament committee likes big conference teams, so it’s not a stretch to say some quality victories against Vanderbilt, Clemson and Missouri would bode well for Illinois come March.

So set the bar high, and don’t settle for anything less than scrapping your way to postseason play.

The Fighting Illini remind me of the Chicago Bulls right now – extremely top-heavy in the backcourt and lacking in any sort of down low authority.

Centers

It’s true. The Illini are going to have trouble with the conference’s big men this year. Michigan State’s Goran Suton and Ohio State’s B.J. Mullens will have field days with the Illini’s Mike Tisdale and Richard Semrau. The Illini’s frontcourt just doesn’t have the depth or experience to compete with other scoring threats in the paint yet.

In two preseason games, Tisdale and Semrau played Jekyll and Hyde-type ball. Sometimes Tisdale looks timid and lost under the basket. But the next trip down the court he’ll swat a block and finish on the other end with a hook shot. Overall, Semrau has been playing more physical and aggressive in the paint. But he too has had his ups and downs as he learns to play with this group.

Forwards

Look for sophomore Mike Davis to stand out from the bunch this season. I’m putting a lot of weight on his shoulders to carry the Illini’s thin frontcourt. Davis has been a pleasant surprise on the offensive side of the ball so far, scoring 11 and 18 points in Illinois’ two exhibition games.

Bill Cole, C.J. Jackson and Dominique Keller are still up in the air for the rest of Weber’s forwards. None has received adequate playing time, so expect Davis to be one of the dark horse stat leaders on this year’s team – he will have to be if the Illini want to earn any respect in the post.

Guards

The Illini have a ton of guards. Get over it. I fully expect Illinois’ backcourt to be their biggest strength this season. Sophomore Demetri McCamey needs to stay consistent this season. Some argue that McCamey tends to have big games against big teams. I am one of those people. The key for the Bellwood, Ill., native will be to stand out from the pack and become a force in the Big Ten … in every game.

Alex Legion won’t be on the active roster until mid-December, but expect the team’s scoring to increase when he is. As a matter of fact, I’ll just let one of the game’s greatest coaches tell you about Legion.

“He’s a heck of a player, you know, so he’s not going to have much problem adjusting to style,” said Minnesota head coach Tubby Smith at Big Ten Media Day. “He’s very talented. I don’t think he’ll have much of an adjustment because he was doing pretty well at Kentucky.”

Legion will give the Illini an offensive boost just in time for the Big Ten portion of the schedule.

X-Factor

If the Illini expect to get anywhere in the standings, they better get some leadership. I don’t care who wants to step up. It might be Chester Frazier and his coaching ways. It might even be fellow senior Trent Meacham.

After Illinois’ 62-56 win against Lewis on Sunday evening, McCamey said one good thing this year’s team is doing is standing together.

“Last year we were falling apart, arguing at each other, things like that. We’re just being more as a family and just playing hard and staying together,” McCamey said.

That’s a good sign because if you can play together, you can win together.

No, I didn’t forget about Calvin Brock. He might be the Illini’s best player this year. He knows how to score, rebound and hustle.

Brock is one of the more athletic guys on the team, and he shows it when he is on the court with his ability to provide second chances by keeping balls alive. He reminds me a little of Dennis Rodman in his ability to excite and motivate the crowd, something Illini fans need this year.

I’m not promising a Cinderella story come March, but I am promising this team will be better than last year’s.

Gulp.

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