Illini’s defensive efforts step in right direction

While the rest of campus is celebrating reading day and getting a little extra sleep Thursday, the Illinois men’s basketball team will be back on the hardwood for its first practice since defeating Vanderbilt, 79-68, on Tuesday.

The Illini took a day off Wednesday after a stretch of three games in less than a week — all resulting in victories.

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Defense becoming a priority for Illini men's hoops 

After defeating the Commodores on Tuesday, junior guard Demetri McCamey put the team’s priorities in order.

“First we got to get rest. We’re some tired guys, been playing NBA style with the games every other day and things like that,” McCamey said. “So first get rest and then come back and get going.”

And we still got to work on defense, that’s going to help us and carry us a long way.”

Following Saturday’s win against Boise State, defense and energy were the two things the Fighting Illini knew needed improvement.

For head coach Bruce Weber, Tuesday’s defensive progress was also related to his squad’s heightened energy level.

“I think there was more awareness,” Weber said. “Part of the thing (against Boise State) probably was more not (being) ready to play. And when you’re not ready to play, you don’t jump to the ball. You’re not in position. You’re a little late. We gave up way too many layups, we didn’t get back in transition.”

We have struggled with teams with quickness. And (Vanderbilt) didn’t have quite the quickness, they were probably better matchups for us,” Weber added.

Junior center Mike Tisdale played a major role in the defensive effort Tuesday, holding one of the Commodores’ leading scorers, A.J. Ogilvy, to eight points on the night. A junior center, Ogilvy is averaging 13.3 points this season.

The 7-foot-1 Tisdale attributed his own defense to the fact that he’s “more comfortable” against guys his own size, as Ogilvy checks in at 6-foot-11.

“My high post moves are a little better against him and I can get open short jumpers,” Tisdale said. “I’ve said all along that I feel like I play better against similar players.”

But Tisdale wasn’t the only playing defense with more energy Tuesday.

“(We) came out fired up this time, ready to play some defense, and it showed,” Tisdale said. “We got some stops when we needed them and it was important.”

Guard D.J. Richardson also drew a tough defensive assignment on the night in Vanderbilt guards senior Jermaine Beal and sophomore Brad Tinsley.

“Brandon (Paul) probably didn’t play quite as well as he has, so D.J.’s a better defender and was pretty solid,” Weber said.

“(Richardson is) still a little tentative with some ball-handling. But he had to guard a veteran player, he had to guard Beal, he had to guard Tinsley,” Weber added.

It wasn’t just Richardson’s defense that shined on the night, as he added 16 points.

“He shot the ball so well, way better than I ever anticipated,” Weber said.

But not everyone performed better than expected. After a posting a double-double against Boise State and a 20-point performance against Clemson, junior forward Mike Davis had just four points in 34 minutes against Vanderbilt.

Davis’s lack of scoring didn’t upset Weber too much, though.

“I thought he did a nice job” Weber said. “He had to come and post trap sometimes on Ogilvy. He had to be in the right position, and he didn’t get down.”

Despite the improved defensive performance and increased energy against the Commodores, Weber wants more on the defensive end if the Illini want to be effective against Big Ten foes such as No. 12 Michigan State and No. 13 Ohio State.

“We don’t really have a defensive stopper, even though maybe Tisdale gave us a little bit of that tonight with Ogilvy,” Weber said. “But we got to be a good team defense and do our habits consistently — be in the right spots, make them make mistakes.”

For Tisdale, the goal seems attainable.

“We just got to step it up. It’s all correctable things,” Tisdale said. “It’s staying in a stance, it’s jumping for the ball, little things like that that will make the defense 10 times better for just a little effort.

“And I think once some guys buy in and once we all get it together, I think it’s going to be a big-time defense.”