2011–12 Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball team

2011–12 Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball
ConferenceBig Ten Conference
Record17–15 (6–12 Big Ten)
Head coach
Assistant coaches
  • Wayne McClain (11th season)
  • Jay Price (9th season)
  • Jerrance Howard (5th season)
MVPTracy Abrams
Captains
Home arenaAssembly Hall
Seasons
2011–12 Big Ten Conference men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
No. 5 Michigan State 13 5   .722 29 8   .784
No. 13 Michigan 13 5   .722 24 10   .706
No. 7 Ohio State 13 5   .722 31 8   .795
No. 14 Wisconsin 12 6   .667 26 10   .722
No. 16 Indiana 11 7   .611 27 9   .750
Purdue 10 8   .556 22 13   .629
Northwestern 8 10   .444 19 14   .576
Iowa 8 10   .444 18 17   .514
Illinois 6 12   .333 17 15   .531
Minnesota 6 12   .333 23 15   .605
Nebraska 4 14   .222 12 18   .400
Penn State 4 14   .222 12 20   .375
2012 Big Ten tournament winner
Rankings from AP poll

The 2011–12 Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball team represented the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign in the 2011–12 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. This was head coach Bruce Weber's ninth and final season at Illinois. The Illini played their home games at Assembly Hall and were members of the Big Ten Conference.

Pre-season

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Departures

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Name Number Pos. Height Weight Year Hometown Notes
Mike Davis 24 F 6'6" 225 Senior Alexandria, VA Graduated/Pro for BC Ferro-ZNTU (Ukraine)
Bill Cole 30 F 6'9" 215 Senior Peoria, IL Graduated/Pro for Cheshire Jets (England)
Demetri McCamey 32 G 6'3" 200 Senior Bellwood, IL Graduated/Pro for Mersin BB (Turkey)
Mike Tisdale 54 F 7'1" 235 Senior Riverton, IL Graduated/Pro for DJK Würzburg (Germany)

2011–12 incoming team members

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Prior to the 2011–12 season, Illinois welcomed seven new players into the program. The 2011 recruiting class was ranked No. 13 by Scout.com and No. 11 by both Rivals.com and ESPNU. The class was celebrated for its talent and depth, and is the second class in a row that has revived top-15 national rankings. Six true freshman; Tracy Abrams, Myke Henry, Devin Langford, Nnanna Egwu, Mike Shaw, and Ibby Djimde as well as one transfer senior, Sam Maniscalco joined the 2011–12 team. Maniscalso transferred from Bradley University after graduating in May 2011. Because Bradley did not offer the graduate program he enrolled in at Illinois, Maniscalco was eligible to play immediately.[1]

2011 Recruiting Class

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US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes
Name Hometown High school / college Height Weight Commit date
Tracy Abrams
PG
Chicago, IL Mount Carmel 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 175 lb (79 kg) Dec 18, 2008 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout:4/5 stars   Rivals:4/5 stars   247SportsN/A    ESPN grade: 92
Ibby Djimde
C
Huntington, WV Huntington Prep 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 220 lb (100 kg) May 8, 2011 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout:2/5 stars   Rivals:3/5 stars   247SportsN/A    ESPN grade: 87
Nnanna Egwu
C
Chicago, IL St. Ignatius 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Oct 9, 2009 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout:4/5 stars   Rivals:4/5 stars   247SportsN/A    ESPN grade: 94
Myke Henry
SF
Chicago, IL Orr Academy 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 220 lb (100 kg) May 10, 2010 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout:4/5 stars   Rivals:4/5 stars   247SportsN/A    ESPN grade: 92
Devin Langford
SF
Huntsville, AL Lee High School 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Dec 16, 2010 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout:3/5 stars   Rivals:3/5 stars   247SportsN/A    ESPN grade: 91
Sam Maniscalco
G
Chicago, IL St. Patrick / Bradley 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 175 lb (79 kg) Apr 13, 2011 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout:2/5 stars   Rivals:3/5 stars   247SportsN/A    ESPN grade: 78
Mike Shaw
PF
Chicago, IL De La Salle Institute 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 220 lb (100 kg) Oct 28, 2010 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout:4/5 stars   Rivals:4/5 stars   247SportsN/A    ESPN grade: 92
Overall recruiting rankings: Scout: 13   Rivals: 11  247Sports: 11  ESPN: 11
  • Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight.
  • In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale.

Sources:

  • "Illinois Commit List for 2011". Rivals.com. Retrieved December 27, 2011.
  • "Men's Basketball Recruiting". Scout.com. Retrieved December 27, 2011.
  • "ESPN - Illinois Fighting Illini Basketball Recruiting 2011". ESPN.com. Retrieved December 27, 2011.
  • "Scout.com Team Recruiting Rankings". Scout.com. Retrieved December 27, 2011.
  • "2011 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved December 27, 2011.
  • "2011–12 Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball team". 247sports.com. Retrieved December 27, 2011.

Italy Trip

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Prior to the start of fall semester classes, the team embarked on a 10-day international tour of Italy in August, 2011. With stops in Rome, Florence, Venice, and Como the trip was a combination of basketball, sightseeing, and team-building. The team played four full games, which included wins over Roma Select, Castellanza Select, and Fulgor Omegna as well as an overtime loss to the New Zealand National team[2] Also, the Illini traveled to Aviano Air Base, where Illinois played West Virginia in a 20-minute scrimmage and the Aviano varsity team in a 10-minute scrimmage.

Roster

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The 2011–12 Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball team at Welsh-Ryan Arena in Evanston, Illinois on January 4, 2012.
2011–12 Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball team
Players Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Previous school Hometown
G 0 Sam Maniscalco (C) 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 180 lb (82 kg) GS St. Patrick High School/Bradley Chicago, IL
G 1 D.J. Richardson (C) 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Jr Central High School Peoria, IL
G 2 Joseph Bertrand 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 195 lb (88 kg) RS So Sterling High School Sterling, IL
G 3 Brandon Paul 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Jr Warren Township High School Gurnee, IL
G 4 Crandall Head[note 1] 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 190 lb (86 kg) So Rich South High School Matteson, IL
C 12 Meyers Leonard 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 245 lb (111 kg) So Robinson High School Robinson, IL
G 13 Tracy Abrams 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Fr Mount Carmel High School Chicago, IL
F 15 Mike Shaw 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 230 lb (104 kg) Fr De La Salle Institute Chicago, IL
G/F 20 Myke Henry 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 230 lb (104 kg) Fr Orr Academy High School Chicago, IL
G/F 21 Devin Langford 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Fr Lee High School Huntsville, AL
F/C 23 Ibby Djimde 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 250 lb (113 kg) Fr Huntington Prep School Mali, Africa
G 25 Jean Selus (W) 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Sr West Orange High School Montreal, Quebec
F/C 32 Nnanna Egwu 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 245 lb (111 kg) Fr St. Ignatius College Prep Chicago, IL
F 42 Tyler Griffey 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 235 lb (107 kg) Jr Lafayette High School Wildwood, MO
G 44 Kervin Berardini 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 175 lb (79 kg) RS So Lake Forest High School/Loyola Marymount Lake Forest, IL
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)

Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • (W) Walk-on

Roster
Last update: 2010-10-22

Schedule

[edit]

[3]

Date
time, TV
Rank# Opponent# Result Record High points High rebounds High assists Site (attendance)
city, state
Italy Trip[4]
August 13, 2011*
12:30 a.m.
at Roma Selezione W 78-68  1-0
 14  Bertrand   8  Griffey   5  Bertrand  - (100)
Rome, Italy
August 16, 2011*
11:00 a.m.
vs. New Zealand National Team L 84-85 OT 1-1
 18  Paul   5  Tied   3  Paul  - (250)
Forli, Italy
August 17, 2011*
12:00 p.m.
vs. West Virginia W 47-26  2-1
 11  Richardson   3  Bertrand   4  Maniscalco  Aviano Air Base (500)
Aviano, Italy
August 18, 2011*
2:00 p.m.
at Castellanza Select W 131-65  3-1
 18  Bertrand   8  Shaw   6  Paul  - (400)
Castellanza, Italy
August 19, 2011*
11:00 a.m.
vs. Fulgor Omegna W 89-85 OT 4-1
 19  Paul   10  Griffey   3  Ricardson  - (500)
Verbania, Italy
Exhibition
November 1*
7:30pm
Wayne State (NE) W 79–52 
 18  Leonard   8  Shaw   5  Abrams  Assembly Hall (13,164)
Champaign, IL
November 7*
7:30pm
Quincy W 73–45 
 17  Richardson   9  Shaw   3  Paul, Bertrand  Assembly Hall (13,077)
Champaign, IL
Non-Conference regular season
November 11*
8:00pm
Loyola Chicago W 67–49  1–0
 15  Leonard   7  Abrams   3  Maniscalco, Paul  Assembly Hall (15,937)
Champaign, IL
November 14*
7:30pm
SIU Edwardsville
Cancún Challenge
W 66–46  2–0
 20  Richardson   14  Griffey   4  Paul  Assembly Hall (13,404)
Champaign, IL
November 17*
8:00pm, BTN
Lipscomb
Cancun Challenge
W 79–64  3–0
 17  Richardson   8  Bertrand   3  Maniscalco, Paul  Assembly Hall (13,503)
Champaign, IL
November 22*
8:30pm, CBSSN
vs. Richmond
Cancun Challenge
W 70–61  4–0
 22  Leonard   12  Leonard   3  Maniscalco  Moon Palace Resort (980)
Cancún, Mexico
November 23*
8:30pm, CBSSN
vs. Illinois State
Cancun Challenge
W 63–59  5–0
 14  Maniscalco   8  Leonard   6  Paul  Moon Palace Resort (952)
Cancún, Mexico
November 27*
12:00pm, BTN
Chicago State W 90–43  6–0
 14  Henry   6  Shaw   5  Abrams, Richardson  Assembly Hall (14,065)
Champaign, IL
November 29*
6:30pm, ESPN
at Maryland
ACC – Big Ten Challenge
W 71–62  7–0
 24  Maniscalco   7  Paul   4  Abrams  Comcast Center (13,187)
College Park, MD
December 3*
2:15pm, ESPN2
No. 19 Gonzaga W 82–75  8–0
 21  Leonard   5  Maniscalco, Leonard   5  Maniscalco, Paul  Assembly Hall (15,879)
Champaign, IL
December 7*
8:00pm, ESPN2
No. 24 St. Bonaventure W 48–43  9–0
 17  Paul   8  Leonard   5  Paul  Assembly Hall (14,711)
Champaign, IL
December 11*
7:00pm, ESPNU
No. 24 Coppin State W 80–63  10–0
 20  Richardson   11  Leonard   5  Maniscalco  Assembly Hall (14,811)
Champaign, IL
December 17*
4:00pm, BTN
No. 19 vs. UNLV L 48–64  10–1
 19  Richardson   8  Richardson   3  Leonard  United Center (15,144)
Chicago, IL
December 19*
7:00pm, ESPN3
No. 25 Cornell W 64–60  11–1
 19  Leonard   16  Leonard   6  Maniscalco  Assembly Hall (13,578)
Champaign, IL
December 22*
8:00pm, ESPN2
No. 25 vs. No. 10 Missouri
Braggin' Rights
L 74–78  11–2
 19  Paul   13  Leonard   5  Leonard  Scottrade Center (22,087)
St. Louis, MO
Big Ten regular season
December 27
6:30pm, BTN
Minnesota W 81–72 2OT 12–2
(1–0)
 21  Paul   11  Leonard   6  Paul  Assembly Hall (15,549)
Champaign, IL
December 31
3:00pm, ESPN2
at Purdue L 60–75  12–3
(1–1)
 17  Paul   6  Leonard,
Richardson
 
 4  Abrams  Mackey Arena (14,041)
West Lafayette, IN
January 4
6:00pm, BTN
at Northwestern
Rivalry
W 57–56  13–3
(2–1)
 12  Leonard   8  Leonard, Bertrand   4  Paul, Richardson  Welsh-Ryan Arena (8,117)
Evanston, IL
January 7
12:00pm, BTN
Nebraska W 59–54  14–3
(3–1)
 25  Bertrand   6  Paul   3  Paul  Assembly Hall (14,909)
Champaign, IL
January 10
8:00pm, ESPN
No. 5 Ohio State W 79–74  15–3
(4–1)
 43  Paul   8  Paul   4  Richardson  Assembly Hall (14,636)
Champaign, IL
January 19
8:00pm, ESPN2
No. 22 at Penn State L 52–54  15–4
(4–2)
 20  Paul   6  Bertrand, Paul   5  Richardson  Bryce Jordan Center (6,945)
University Pak, PA
January 22
1:00pm, BTN
No. 22 Wisconsin L 63–67  15–5
(4–3)
 16  Leonard   11  Leonard   5  Bertrand  Assembly Hall (16,618)
Champaign, IL
January 28
7:00pm, BTN
at Minnesota L 72–77 OT 15–6
(4–4)
 28  Paul   13  Leonard   4  Abrams  Williams Arena (14,625)
Minneapolis, MN
January 31
6:00pm, ESPN
No. 10 Michigan State W 42–41  16–6
(5–4)
 18  Paul   9  Paul   5  Paul  Assembly Hall (15,629)
Champaign, IL
February 5
2:00pm, BTN
Northwestern
Rivalry
L 70–74  16–7
(5–5)
 22  Paul   9  Leonard   8  Abrams  Assembly Hall (15,461)
Champaign, IL
February 9
7:00pm, BTN
at No. 23 Indiana
Rivalry
L 71–84  16–8
(5–6)
 19  Richardson   3  Leonard, Paul, Richardson, Bertrand   5  Paul  Assembly Hall (17,389)
Bloomington, IN
February 12
12:00pm, CBS
at No. 22 Michigan L 61–70  16–9
(5–7)
 21  Paul   12  Leonard   3  Paul, Abrams  Crisler Arena (12,721)
Ann Arbor, MI
February 15
7:30pm, BTN
Purdue L 62–67  16–10
(5–8)
 22  Abrams   12  Leonard   5  Bertrand  Assembly Hall (14,339)
Champaign, IL
February 18
4:00pm, BTN
at Nebraska L 57–80  16–11
(5–9)
 15  Richardson   5  Leonard, Richardson, Egwu   5  Bertrand  Bob Devaney Sports Center (10,558)
Lincoln, NE
February 21
6:00pm, ESPN
at No. 8 Ohio State L 67–83  16–12
(5–10)
 21  Leonard   6  Richardson   3  Paul  Value City Arena (18,481)
Columbus, OH
February 26
5:00pm, BTN
Iowa
Rivalry
W 65–54  17–12
(6–10)
 22  Leonard   14  Leonard   4  Maniscalco  Assembly Hall (16,322)
Champaign, IL
March 1
6:00pm, ESPN
No. 13 Michigan L 61–72  17–13
(6–11)
 18  Leonard   9  Leonard   3  Bertrand  Assembly Hall (15,244)
Champaign, IL
March 4
12:00pm, BTN
at No. 14 Wisconsin L 56–70  17–14
(6–12)
 22  Paul   12  Leonard   2  Paul  Kohl Center (17,230)
Madison, WI
Big Ten tournament
March 8
10:30am, BTN
(9) vs. (8) Iowa
First Round
L 61–64  17–15
 18  Leonard   6  Leonard, Richardson, Griffey   4  Paul, Abrams  Bankers Life Fieldhouse (–)
Indianapolis, IN
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
All times are in Central Time.

National rankings

[edit]
Regular Season Polls
Poll Pre-
Season
Week
1
Week
2
Week
3
Week
4
Week
5
Week
6
Week
7
Week
8
Week
9
Week
10
Week
11
Week
12
Week
13
Week
14
Week
15
Week
16
Week
17
Week
18
Final
AP (RV) (RV) (RV) (RV) 24 19 25 (RV) (RV) 22 (RV) (RV)
Coaches (RV) (RV) T-22 19 24 (RV) (RV) (RV) 25 (RV)
Record when polls released 0–0 1–0 3–0 6–0 8–0 10–0 10–1 11–2 12–3 14–3 15–3 15–5 15–6 16–7 16–9 16–11 17–12 17–14 17–15 17–15
Legend
  Increase in ranking
  Decrease in ranking
  No Change
(RV)   Received Votes
T   Tied

Season Statistics

[edit]
Legend
  GP  Games played   GS  Games started  Avg  Average per game
  FG  Field-goals made  FGA  Field-goal attempts  Off  Offensive rebounds
 Def  Defensive rebounds   A  Assists   TO Turnovers
 Blk  Blocks  Stl  Steals  High  Team high
Individual player statistics[5]
Minutes Scoring Total FGs 3-point FGs Free-throws Rebounds
Player GP GS Tot Avg Pts Avg FG FGA Pct 3FG 3FA Pct FT FTA Pct Off Def Tot Avg A TO Blk Stl
Paul, Brandon 32 30 1070 33.4 469 14.7 145 370 .392 54 162 .333 125 172 .727 30 121 151 4.7 94 109 27 46
Leonard, Meyers 32 30 1018 31.8 434 13.6 170 291 .584 1 11 .091 93 127 .732 73 189 262 8.2 43 68 60 15
Richardson, D.J. 32 31 1106 34.6 372 11.6 130 336 .387 71 204 .348 41 53 .774 28 68 96 3 55 44 5 27
Bertrand, Joseph 32 14 644 20.1 209 6.5 92 171 .538 3 10 .300 22 30 .733 23 63 86 2.7 43 37 5 11
Maniscalco, Sam 28 13 677 24.2 171 6.1 56 151 .371 27 96 .281 32 39 .821 7 46 53 1.9 64 27 0 15
Griffey, Tyler 30 20 496 16.5 146 4.9 59 137 .431 16 56 .286 12 16 .750 44 56 100 3.3 18 26 11 13
Abrams, Tracy 32 19 674 21.1 136 4.3 49 120 .408 9 35 .257 29 46 .630 22 50 72 2.3 60 50 0 14
Henry, Myke 22 0 179 8.1 70 3.2 28 62 .452 4 25 .160 10 15 .667 11 14 25 1.1 2 9 3 7
Egwu, Nnanna 32 3 313 9.8 60 1.9 27 57 .474 0 0 .000 6 13 .462 21 27 48 1.5 6 22 20 6
Head, Crandall 9 0 83 9.2 9 1 4 17 .235 0 5 .000 1 1 1.000 1 4 5 0.6 9 9 0 5
Shaw, Mike 20 0 139 7 17 0.9 6 21 .286 1 6 .167 4 10 .400 11 26 37 1.9 5 13 1 2
Djimde, Ibby 17 0 61 3.6 5 0.3 1 6 .167 0 0 .000 3 7 .429 2 12 14 0.8 0 6 0 1
Selus, Jean 9 0 9 1 0 0 0 2 .000 0 1 .000 0 0 .000 0 1 1 0.1 1 0 0 0
Berardini, Kevin 7 0 6 0.9 0 0 0 0 .000 0 0 .000 0 0 .000 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Team 47 48 95 10
Total 32 6475 2098 65.6 767 1741 .441 186 611 .304 378 529 .715 320 725 1045 32.7 400 430 132 162
Opponents 32 6476 2055 64.2 712 1659 .429 208 549 .379 423 601 .704 298 704 1002 31.3 379 425 78 200

Notes

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  1. ^ Head left the team in December with plans to transfer to another school.

References

[edit]
  1. ^ University of Illinois (October 14, 2011). "2011-12 Illinois Basketball Record Book" (PDF). University of Illinois. Archived from the original (PDF) on December 16, 2011. Retrieved December 28, 2011.
  2. ^ Paul Klee (August 20, 2011). "Italy: Learning experience and a great trip to boot". News-Gazette. Archived from the original on April 21, 2012. Retrieved December 28, 2011.
  3. ^ "2011-12 Men's Basketball Schedule".
  4. ^ "The 2011 Illinois Basketball Italy Trip". August 21, 2011.
  5. ^ "Illinois Season Statistics". FightingIllini.com. Archived from the original on February 28, 2013. Retrieved December 30, 2011.