College GameDay crew’s thoughts on visit to Champaign

Rece Davis, host of ESPN College GameDay, speaks during a live broadcast from the Assembly Hall on Saturday morning. The GameDay crew discussed the game, the students and the future of the Illinois basketball team. They also spoke on the Illini’s future in the Big Ten, as well as the upcoming NCAA tournament.
Ned Mulka The Daily Illini

ESPN’s college basketball crew of Rece Davis, Jay Bilas, Hubert Davis and Digger Phelps was at the Assembly Hall on Saturday for its weekly taping of College GameDay. The Daily Illini had the chance to catch up with some of them before the primetime game.

Jay Bilas

On the Orange Krush ...

“In the years I’ve been coming to the Assembly Hall, there’s not been a fan base that’s impressed me more than the Orange Krush. The charitable work they do, and then what they do away from here, too. What those kids did at Iowa (on a road trip) last week, and what they did at Michigan a couple of years ago, when they find a way to get tickets at an opposing arena, that’s the good-natured stuff that makes college basketball great. There wasn’t anything wrong with what they did, it was just good, clean fun, and it was intelligent and inventive. I’m still laughing about that last week at Iowa.”

On junior guard Demetri McCamey ...

“He’s their engine. If he doesn’t play well, then they’re not going to beat any good teams. I think Illinois is a good basketball team and an NCAA-caliber team, and they can beat a lot of people. But if he doesn’t play well, if he’s not scoring, assisting, leading, they’re not as good of a team. That’s true of a lot of teams. It’s not like Illinois is in their own boat, there’s a whole bunch of people in that boat.”

On whether Illinois will make the NCAA Tournament ...

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“It’s too early for the ‘in or out’ stuff because there’s so much that’s going to happen, but I think they’re an NCAA Tournament team. They’ve got three wins against the Top 25 already. I don’t think there are 34 other (potential at-large bid) teams that can necessarily say that. I think the problem they have is that there’s some time left and they’ve got a tough slate. They’ve got opportunities to win, but with that they’ve got opportunities to get beat.”

On Big Ten basketball this season...

“I was hyping it early. I thought it would be better, but it hasn’t been.”

On talk of expanding the NCAA Tournament field ...

“I think it would be better if they made it 32 (instead of the current 64). Remember, it’s the national championship. We’re not talking about Little League where everybody gets to play three innings and everybody gets a trophy. Every time we’ve expanded the tournament in the past, it’s been to allow in the best teams.

When we expanded it in the ’70s it’s because only the best team in each conference went, and we were leaving out the best teams ... It’s not like Major League Baseball adding the wild card to get a couple more really good teams in there. This is like college football adding the Poulan Weed Eater Bowl. Who cares?”

Rece Davis

On bringing GameDay back to the Assembly Hall in the future ...

“(The students) certainly didn’t hurt themselves in their effort to have us come back next year as they were chanting at the end. We would love to come back here any time.”

His take on this season’s Illini ...

“I think they’re talented. They don’t have as much room for error, maybe, as some other teams do. But I think in (Demetri) McCamey, they’ve got a terrific leader and a versatile guy, one of the more versatile guys in the country. I think that Richardson and Paul are, you know, dynamic young players. I think (Mike) Tisdale is a very effective scorer, so I think they’re a tournament team.”

On Illinois’ chances of making it into the NCAA Tournament ...

“Now do they have the résumé at this point in time where they’re a tournament lock? I don’t think so, not right now. But a win over Michigan State would help that. And I think that certainly from an ability standpoint, coaching standpoint, and all the things you look for in what makes a good basketball team and a good program, they have all of those things and I think that they have a great shot of making the tournament this year.”

On what he thought about the Orange Krush and student section ...

“In a week when you have, you know, not an entire student section, but you’ve had a couple of incidents where people within the student section did some things that were less than exemplary, we’ll put it that way, you take a group like this and they’re not only loud and boisterous and intimidating and all of that, but they also do a lot of good things in the community. And they’ve raised over 1.5 million bucks since 1998 for charity. It’s college students. Look, you won’t find two more generous guys than coach Izzo and coach Weber, but these guys (Krush) aren’t rolling with that kind of bank. So they’re coming in and they’re sacrificing and doing things for the community. And I think it really sets them apart and makes them special.”

Hubert Davis

Thoughts on the live taping Saturday morning ...

“It’s my first time here in Champaign, so it’s just a great opportunity to see the fans, the campus. It’s great to have GameDay here, great matchup in the Big Ten, Michigan State and Illinois. And (Saturday) morning was fantastic. The kids were terrific, brought so much energy. This is why we like to come here. It’s about watching the game, but just interaction with the kids, the University, and just seeing different types of traditions — it doesn’t get any better than this.”

On the student turnout for the morning show ...

“I am surprised that these kids would wake this early, in the cold, to come to a show. I mean it’s very humbling to see all of these fans coming here, support their team, support GameDay, college basketball. It’s just a lot of fun to be able to celebrate with them college basketball, being here in a great college atmosphere.”

On seeing Illinois junior guard Jeff Jordan again ...

“I played with Michael (Jordan) with Washington Wizards, and I used to see Jeffrey as a little kid running around the locker room. And now he’s in college, so I am old. I drive a minivan, I got three kids, I’m over the hill. But it makes me feel young to still be on a college campus and watch these kids go up and down the floor.”

About dancing with the students ...

“It was fun. I was telling Rece (Davis), ‘you know, I love where I am at in my life — beautiful wife, three kids. But it would be nice to be a kid for an afternoon — no worries, no responsibility — just jumping around.’ It was fun to see them (Saturday) morning.”

On the Orange Krush ...

“The last time I saw a lot of Illinois fans was the 2005 championship. My wife and I were at that game. There was a little sprinkle of Carolina fans there and all the orange, and you could see the passion they have for basketball. And it’s my first time here in Champaign, and this place is a lot bigger than it looks on television ... It was terrific to hang out with the students for the show.”

On the atmosphere at the live taping ...

“It’s great. I mean, it’s terrific. I am amazed and surprised every time we do GameDay, these kids are out here early in the morning to be here just to cheer. There’s no game, they’re just here to listen to us talk. For them, the passion for their school, for their basketball team, amazes me every week. It’s fantastic.”