When the 2009-10 Illinois men’s basketball team lost to Ohio State in the semifinal round of the Big Ten Tournament and eventually was passed over for an NCAA Tournament bid, then-freshman Tyler Griffey decided things needed to be different next season.

After Duke and Butler battled it out for the championship, Griffey turned to Twitter to tell the world his goal was Houston and the Final Four in 2011.

“Hangin in my locker, you already know. #houston2011,” the sophomore forward posted on Twitter next to a photo of the Houston 2011 poster hanging in his locker.

But Griffey wasn’t the only Illini to take the disappointing 2009-10 season to heart and plan a comeback for this year’s campaign.

Senior Mike Tisdale has taken the summer to step up his game and improve his body.

The 7-foot-1-inch center spent part of July training with the U.S. Select Team in Las Vegas. But his work didn’t end there, as Tisdale was one of 10 college basketball players named to the USA Basketball Select Team that trained in New York from Aug. 9-13 and competed against the USA World Championship Team finalists Aug. 10-13.

Even before all the offseason work, Tisdale was already the most consistent Illini. The Riverton, Ill., native was the only member of the 2009-10 squad to start every contest, averaging 12.4 points and 6.4 rebounds in conference play to finish second on the team in scoring.

Before the Illini headed to the Big Ten Tournament, Tisdale credited his consistency on the court to his relationship with head coach Bruce Weber.

“I think that just keeping the right attitude, keeping positive has been helpful for me,” Tisdale said.

“Coach is trying to help you,” the big man added. “He’s not going to do anything that’s not in your best interest, so I realize that. Every time I get yelled at I’m thinking, ‘OK, he just wants me to do something better.’”

Tisdale’s body has seen improvement this offseason, too. The center has hit the weight room to bulk up his lanky frame.

If the rest of the team has taken the challenge to heart as much as Tisdale, Weber’s words in March just might have had the effect he wanted.

“How you finish is what people remember,” Weber told his team heading into the Big Ten Tournament.

Despite the loss to Ohio State, Weber liked what he saw from his Fighting Illini in Indianapolis.

“In a week, I think they grew up, they matured, they competed,” Weber said.

For Tisdale, the competition has continued over the summer. That may be just the example the senior needs to set for this season’s freshman class.