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LOCATION: Chicago, IL
CONFERENCE: Midwestern Collegiate
LAST SEASON: 7-21 (.250)
CONFERENCE RECORD: 2-12 (8th)
STARTERS LOST/RETURNING: 2/3
NICKNAME: Flames
COLORS: Navy Blue & Fire Engine Red
HOMECOURT: UIC Pavilion (8,000)
COACH: Jimmy Collins (New Mexico State '70)
record at school 44-31 (3 years)
career record 44-31 (3 years)
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ASSISTANTS: Dick Nagy (Hardin-Simmons '67)
Mark Coomes (Western Illinois '74)
Gene Cross (Illinois '94)
TEAM WINS: (last 5 years) 18-10-15-22-7
RPI (last 5 years) 114-183-157-34-241
1998-99 FINISH: Lost in conference quarterfinal.
ESPN.com Clubhouse
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After struggling through major growing pains last season and dropping 207 spots in the RPI rankings in one calendar year, Illinois-Chicago coach Jimmy Collins is excited about this season. Last year was a struggle, with 11 freshmen and sophomores on the roster. That list was pared down a bit eight lettermen return and will be supplemented by yet another recruiting class. That class is one reason Collins is excited. Figure on the Flames not being as bad as they were in 1998-99, but still nowhere near how successful they were in 1997-98 when they tied a school record with 22 wins and earned their first-ever NCAA Tournament bid. Gone is the heart and soul of last year's 7-21 squad in second-team All-MCC performer Bryant Notree. With Notree gone, Collins is hoping that UIC will feature a more-balanced attack this season. We'll see. In the backcourt, 6-2 Jordan Kardos, a dependable redshirt sophomore, is the team's top returning scorer (7.6 ppg). He'll challenge for the starting two-guard spot after playing in 27 of the team's 28 games a year ago, including 12 starts. Kardos needs to work on his ability to create his own shot. Driving to the bucket more will result in more free-throw attempts, which are nearly automatic points for this sweet shooter. Kardos made 83 percent of his free-throws last year, eighth-best in school history.
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Blue Ribbon Analysis |
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BACKCOURT D BENCH/DEPTH D
FRONTCOURT C INTANGIBLES C
Illinois-Chicago coach Jimmy Collins hopes that last year's growing pains that'll happen on a roster with 10 freshman or sophomores are a thing of the past. "I think our players learned that when you bicker and gripe, you accomplish nothing," said Collins of last year's 7-21 team. "The guys coming back are all positive and are all thinking "hey, we were much better than 7-21.' " The power of positive thinking will be put to the test, as the Flames return three starters, but will miss do-it-all performer Bryant Notree (15.9 ppg). With Notree gone, this team could collapse like a mud hut in a flash flood unless sophomores Jordan Kardos (7.6 ppg) and Ian Hanavan (5.7 ppg) step up on the perimeter and 6-11 junior Thor Solverson (4 ppg) and 6-7 frosh Maurice Brown carry the load inside. Add it up and looks like better than 7-21, but still a bottom or near-the-bottom finish for the Flames. |
While Kardos should be pretty solid at the two-guard, the biggest problem spot remains the point-guard position just like it was last season. Collins hopes that with the return of part-time starter Joel Bullock and the addition of three newcomers that his problems will be solved. Bullock, a 6-2 junior guard, directed the Flames in 11 of the 20 games in which he played a year ago. He was sidelined at times last year by asthma difficulties, as well as with an irregular heart beat. But said Collins, Bullock's health problems are a thing of the past. Bullock (5.4 ppg, 1.7 rpg, 42 assists, 16 steals) struggled mightily with his shooting aim last year (.309 FG), but he did average 8.4 points in games he started. Perhaps fearing that Bullock might continue to experience either health or shooting difficulties, Collins signed a pair of point guards. These two newcomers, Jonathan Schneiderman and Jared Sherman, will challenge for playing time at the point. Schneiderman enjoyed a terrific career at Forreston High School in southern Illinois. He finished his prep career with 1,765 points, 425 assists and 187 three-pointers made (all school records). As a senior, Schneiderman averaged 23.9 points, 5.5 assists, and 2.1 steals and also set a school record with nine three-pointers in a game. Sherman, who played at Harper Junior College in nearby Palantine, Illinois, averaged 17.0 points and handed out nearly eight assists per game. Sherman can shoot, as evidenced by the fact that he shot 49 percent from the floor and 85 percent from the free-throw line. "The point-guard job is Joel's until somebody takes it," Collins said. "In the two point guards we've got coming in, they go from point A to point B they don't deviate from that. They take the ball down the floor quickly and their heads are always up they are point guards. "When it's time to penetrate, they penetrate. When it's time to pass, they pass. They don't over-handle the ball, they get it to where it needs to be." Others who could contend for backcourt minutes are sophomores Jon-Pierre Mitchom and T.J. Mixsom. Mitchom, a skinny 6-2, averaged just more than 12 minutes per game as a freshman and contributed 3.0 points and 1.0 rebounds. The 6-foot Mixsom played some point guard last year, appearing in 18 games and averaging a modest 0.8 points, and 0.4 rebounds. His opportunities to play should be lessened with Bullock healthy and Schneiderman and Sherman in the fold. Six-foot-11 junior center Thor Solverson, 6-6 sophomore Ian Hanavan and 6-7 frosh Maurice Brown should form UIC's starting frontcourt for the next two years. Solverson (4.0 ppg, 2.8 rpg), a once-timid pivot, is gaining confidence every day and could become a serviceable center over the course of the next two seasons, if he continues to work hard. Solverson finished the 1998-99 season on a bit of a roll, averaging 8.0 points over the last five games. "Thor is my starting center," Collins said. "He's gotten so much better in the two years that he's been here. This summer, we put him in the James Jordan League (a Chicago-area pro-am summer league) and it toughened him up a bit and I think that's what he had to have. He also has to have the confidence to know that he can do many things that most big men can't do. "If he starts doing those things with consistency, Thor is going to have the opportunity to make a career at this level, because he's a fantastic shooter." Hanavan is the team's top returning rebounder (4.9 rpg) and also scored a respectable 5.7 points per game. Hanavan will be asked to continue to play his aggressive brand of basketball and also to pick up scoring and defense now that he has a year behind him. "Right now, in my mind, Ian is my captain," Collins said. "He has really, really worked hard. And I think in order to be a leader, you have to show it not only verbally because Ian will talk out, but also by example and he's impressed me tremendously in that regard this summer." The biggest addition to the UIC lineup is burly 6-7 freshman forward Maurice Brown, whom Collins refers to as the "Monster of the Midway." The 220-pound Brown originally committed to Rutgers, but then transferred to Illinois-Chicago and has four years of eligibility remaining. He was a sensational prep player, averaging 22.5 points and 15.0 rebounds as an all-state player at Henninger High in Syracuse, N.Y. "Maurice gives us a force inside," Collins said. "He's going to give us rebounding and he's going to give us intimidation. Last year, we were intimidated quite a bit by inside players. When the game was on the line, teams just went inside and we wilted. "This year, I don't think we'll do that with the addition of Maurice and I think Thor will be a big help in that area, too." Two juniors, 6-4 Leonard Walker and 6-5 Cory Little, are back to provide frontcourt depth, along with three incoming freshmen. Walker averaged 5.4 ppg and 3.5 rpg in the 11 games he played last year before being sidelined with a torn ACL and a stress fractures in his foot. He's supposedly ready to go. Little, who like Bullock suffered through some asthma problems, is also back. He averaged 3.2 points and 3.0 rebounds, but Collins thinks that he has the skills to be something truly special. "I think Cory is going to have a really good year," Collins said. "He's certainly one of the most talented players I've had the privilege of recruiting. If he gets it in his mind that he needs to shed the childhood cloak and put on a man's cape, I think he could be a tremendous player." Three freshmen Jason Guiden, Jabari Harris and Joe Scott will also vie for time at the forward spots. Guiden, a lanky 6-8, spent last season as a redshirt, trying to bulk up and adjust to the college game. He played his high school ball at nearby St. Ignatius High School and averaged 16.1 points and 8.1 rebounds as a senior. Harris, a 6-9 forward out of Fenwick Hgh School, averaged 12.0 points and 10.0 rebounds as a senior. Scott, also a 6-9 forward, is expected to contribute immediately. A two-time conference player of the year who owns 12 school records at Stagg (Ill.) High School, Scott averaged 19.7 points and 7.9 boards while shooting 57 percent from the field.
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