The Illinois team that took the court Friday and Saturday at the Emerald Coast Classic was a much different outfit than the one that struggled through the first five games of the season.
Mainly, it was getting key players back from the injury list. Jaylon Tate, Leron Black and Kendrick Nunn all returned to the Illinois lineup during the event, and Nunn in particular returned with a bang. He averaged 18.5 points in two games to earn a spot alongside teammate Malcolm Hill on the all-tournament team.
Count Iowa State coach Steve Prohm among those impressed with the new-look Illini.
“They’re a totally different team than they were two weeks ago,” Prohm said after his No. 4 Cyclones claimed an 84-73 win against the Illini in the tournament’s championship game. “They got guys back; Nunn’s an All-Big Ten player, and Malcolm Hill. They got the rotation back, and they’re going to be a really good team in that league when healthy.”
Iowa State features some stars of its own, namely first-team All-American Georges Niang, who scored 23 points and grabbed eight rebounds in the contest. He, too, came away impressed with Illinois’ perimeter duo.
“Ah, yeah, they’re two good players; they’re really good,” Niang said. “Those are their top two guys, and they really milked them throughout the game, and those guys played a tremendous game.”
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In his first action since injuring his left thumb in late October, Nunn said he came away from the tournament pain free, not feeling any discomfort in the hand, even after a rim-rattling dunk Friday night in a win against UAB.
“Not really, it felt pretty good,” Nunn said. “It still felt pretty good.”
Nunn provided a big lift for Illinois the last two games, and the key now, he says, is to build off his performances against the Blazers and Cyclones.
“I feel like I played pretty well,” he said. “I could still clean some things up. It was my first two games, so I’m still trying to get in a rhythm and the flow of the game.”
Hill, who has been tasked with playing just about every position on the court as the Illini have dealt with a wealth of injuries, is glad to have his running mate back.
“It’s great,” Hill said. “What’s better about it is they’re playing like they haven’t even sat out. They look good out there.
“The only thing that probably needs to get better as a collective group is just getting a feel for one another. I have a good feel for Jaylon and Kendrick’s games. The new guys, I’ve never played with them and I’ve still got to get adjusted to that. Other than that, I think we’ve been playing well.”
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Most athletic trainers don’t get a shoutout from a coach as often as Paul Schmidt does, but the Illinois trainer has been busier than most in the last few months.
Schmidt has spent plenty of time with Illinois players since the offseason as injuries continued to mount.
Jalen Coleman-Lands, Nunn, Tracy Abrams, Black and Tate have all spent extended time in Schmidt’s training room. And after Nunn, Tate and Black all returned to the Illinois lineup in Friday’s win against Alabama-Birmingham, Groce made it a point to mention Schmidt’s efforts in helping get his team back to full strength.
“Certainly I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention our trainer. He’s had obviously more than his fair share of guys to deal with with injuries for some period of time and he’s worked with a lot of the guys — Ken’s obviously one of them — to help those guys come back and help them get healthy,” Groce said. “In most cases they’ve come back earlier than was predicted, and a lot of that is because of these guys working really hard at their rehab and because of his efforts, so I’m very thankful for him.”
Abrams, who is out for the season with a torn Achilles tendon, is the lone injured Illinois player not back in action.
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Alex Austin is honest: Defense hasn’t always been at the top of his priority list when it comes to basketball. But through the first five games of the season, the transfer from Eastern Illinois had been Illinois’ most consistent perimeter defender, at one point starting five straight games primarily because of his efforts at that end of the floor.
“When I was younger, I always thought the main thing was to get points,” Austin said. “When I got here, it clicked that they really emphasized defense, and my sit-out year I found that out and I just kind of took pride in it and tried to lock up when I could.”
Even when he was starting at EIU, Austin didn’t place too much focus on defense.
“I think at Eastern, I wasn’t really known for my defense, so when I got here, they stressed it a lot, so I took it (seriously),” he said.
The Chicago Mount Carmel product has been a staple in Illinois’ rotation, primarily because of the injuries to Nunn and Tate in the backcourt.
“I certainly didn’t envision a lot of guys taking hits, but I was always prepared to make an impact,” he said. “If not, I was always going to work hard in practice and give it my all.”
ORIGINAL ARTICLE:
http://www.news-gazette.com/sports/illini-sports/mens-basketball/2015-11-28/mbb-notebook-groce-thankful-head-athletic-trainer.ht