2008–09 Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball team

2008–09 Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball
2008–09 Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball
NCAA men's Division I tournament, Round of 64
Conference	Big Ten Conference
Record	24–10 (11–7 Big Ten)
Head coach	Bruce Weber (6th season);
Assistant coaches	Wayne McClain (8th season); Jay Price (6th season); Jerrance Howard (2nd season);
MVP	Chester Frazier
Captains	Chester Frazier; Trent Meacham;
Home arena	Assembly Hall
	Seasons ← 2007–08 2009–10 →

2008–09 Big Ten Conference men's basketball standings
v t e	Conf				Overall
Team	W		L	PCT	W		L	PCT
No. 8 Michigan State	15	–	3	.833	31	–	7	.816
No. 17 Purdue†	11	–	7	.611	27	–	10	.730
Illinois	11	–	7	.611	24	–	10	.706
Penn State	10	–	8	.556	27	–	11	.711
Ohio State	10	–	8	.556	22	–	11	.667
Wisconsin	10	–	8	.556	20	–	13	.606
Minnesota	9	–	9	.500	22	–	11	.667
Michigan	9	–	9	.500	21	–	14	.600
Northwestern	8	–	10	.444	17	–	14	.548
Iowa	5	–	13	.278	15	–	17	.469
Indiana	1	–	17	.056	6	–	25	.194

† 2009 Big Ten tournament winner Rankings from AP poll

The 2008–09 Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball team represented University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign in the 2008–09 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. This was head coach Bruce Weber's sixth season at Illinois.

2008 recruiting class

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes
Name	Hometown	High school / college	Height	Weight	Commit date
Stan Simpson C	Chicago, IL	Simeon Career Academy	6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)	220 lb (100 kg)	Oct 15, 2007
Stan Simpson C	Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 89
Dominique Keller PF	Port Arthur, TX	Lee College	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	220 lb (100 kg)	Mar 10, 2008
Dominique Keller PF	Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: N/A
Overall recruiting rankings: Scout: Not Ranked Rivals: Not Ranked
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 2008". Rivals.com. Retrieved March 21, 2009. "Men's Basketball Recruiting". Scout.com. Retrieved March 21, 2009. "ESPN – Illinois Fighting Illini Basketball Recruiting 2008". ESPN.com. Retrieved March 21, 2009. "Scout.com Team Recruiting Rankings". Scout.com. Retrieved March 21, 2009. "2008 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved March 21, 2009.

Roster

2008–09 Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball team

Players

Coaches

Pos.	#	Name	Height	Weight	Year	Previous school	Hometown
G	1	Trent Meacham (C)	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	195 lb (88 kg)	RS Sr	Centennial High School	Champaign, IL
G	3	Chester Frazier (C)	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	195 lb (88 kg)	Sr	Lake Clifton Eastern High School	Baltimore, MD
G	13	Jeffrey Jordan	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	So	Loyola Academy	Highland Park, IL
G	15	Bubba Chisholm	5 ft 11 in (1.8 m)	180 lb (82 kg)	Jr	Central High School	Champaign, IL
C	21	Stan Simpson	6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)	220 lb (100 kg)	Fr	Simeon High School	Chicago, IL
F	23	Dominique Keller	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	230 lb (104 kg)	Jr	Memorial High School	Port Arthur, TX
F	24	Mike Davis	6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)	210 lb (95 kg)	So	T. C. Williams High School	Alexandria, VA
G	25	Calvin Brock	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	200 lb (91 kg)	RS Sr	Simeon High School	Chicago, IL
F	30	Bill Cole	6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)	215 lb (98 kg)	So	Richwoods High School	Peoria, IL
G	32	Demetri McCamey	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	205 lb (93 kg)	So	St. Joseph High School	Bellwood, IL
G	33	Alex Legion	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	200 lb (91 kg)	So	Oak Hill Academy/University of Kentucky	Detroit, MI
F	34	C. J. Jackson	6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)	265 lb (120 kg)	RS Jr	Tri-County High School	Buena Vista, GA
C	50	Richard Semrau	6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)	240 lb (109 kg)	RS So	Lutheran West High School	Grafton, OH
C	54	Mike Tisdale	7 ft 1 in (2.16 m)	235 lb (107 kg)	So	Riverton High School	Riverton, IL

Head coach

Bruce Weber (Wisconsin-Milwaukee)

Assistant coach(es)

Jerrance Howard (Illinois) (interim)
Wayne McClain (Illinois State)
Jay Price (Kansas)

Legend

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

Injured
Current redshirt

Roster

Schedule

Date time, TV	Rank^#	Opponent^#	Result	Record	Site (attendance) city, state
Exhibition
10/31/08* 5:30 pm		Florida Southern	W 82–61		Assembly Hall (13,370) Champaign, IL
11/6/08* 7:00 pm		Lewis	W 62–56		Assembly Hall (13,814) Champaign, IL
Non-conference regular season
11/14/08* 8:30pm, Big Ten Network.com		Eastern Washington	W 66–50	1–0	Assembly Hall (14,442) Champaign, IL
11/16/08* 4:30pm, Big Ten Network.com		Texas A&M–Corpus Christi	W 72–53	2–0	Assembly Hall (14,394) Champaign, IL
11/20/08* 7:00pm, FSN		at Vanderbilt	W 69–63	3–0	Memorial Gymnasium (12,630) Nashville, TN
11/23/08* 3:00pm, BTN		Jackson State	W 78–64	4–0	Assembly Hall (13,865) Champaign, IL
11/28/08* 5:00pm, Fox College Sports		vs. Kent State South Padre Island Invitational	W 69–63 ^OT	5–0	South Padre Island, TX (1,423)
11/29/08* 7:30pm, Fox College Sports		vs. Tulsa South Padre Island Invitational	W 48–44	6–0	South Padre Island, TX (1,712)
12/02/08* 6:30pm, ESPN2		Clemson ACC–Big Ten Challenge	L 74–76	6–1	Assembly Hall (14,741) Champaign, IL
12/06/08* 11:00am, ESPNU		vs. Georgia	W 76–42	7–1	United Center (12,139) Chicago, IL
12/08/08* 7:00pm, BTN		Hawaii	W 68–58	8–1	Assembly Hall (14,303) Champaign, IL
12/10/08* 7:00pm, BTN		Chicago State	W 89–50	9–1	Assembly Hall (14,101) Champaign, IL
12/20/08* 7:00pm, BTN		Detroit	W 82–51	10–1	Assembly Hall (14,594) Champaign, IL
12/23/08* 6:30pm, ESPN2		vs. No. 25 Missouri Braggin' Rights	W 75–59	11–1	Scottrade Center (19,586) St. Louis, MO
12/28/08* 1:00pm, BTN		Eastern Michigan	W 62–53	12–1	Assembly Hall (16,288) Champaign, IL
Conference Regular Season
12/30/08 6:00pm, ESPN2		at No. 9 Purdue	W 71–67 ^OT	13–1 (1–0)	Mackey Arena (14,036) West Lafayette, IN
01/04/09 11:00am, BTN		at No. 23 Michigan	L 64–74	13–2 (1–1)	Crisler Arena (12,912) Ann Arbor, MI
01/10/09 2:00pm, BTN		Indiana Rivalry	W 76–45	14–2 (2–1)	Assembly Hall (16,618) Champaign, IL
01/14/09 7:30pm, BTN		No. 25 Michigan	W 66–51	15–2 (3–1)	Assembly Hall (15,535) Champaign, IL
01/17/09 3:00pm, ESPN		at No. 7 Michigan State	L 57–63	15–3 (3–2)	Breslin Center (14,759) East Lansing, MI
01/20/09 6:00pm, ESPN	No. 25	Ohio State	W 67–49	16–3 (4–2))	Assembly Hall (15,549) Champaign, IL
01/24/09 3:00pm, ESPN	No. 25	Wisconsin	W 64–57	17–3 (5–2)	Assembly Hall (16,618) Champaign, IL
01/29/09 8:00pm, BTN	No. 19	at Minnesota	L 36–59	17–4 (5–3)	Williams Arena (14,625) Minneapolis, MN
02/01/09 1:00pm, BTN	No. 19	Iowa Rivalry	W 62–54	18–4 (6–3)	Assembly Hall (16,618) Champaign, IL
02/05/09 8:00pm, ESPN	No. 23	at Wisconsin	L 50–63	18–5 (6–4)	Kohl Center (17,230) Madison, WI
02/08/09 12:00pm, CBS	No. 23	No. 12 Purdue	W 66–48	19–5 (7–4)	Assembly Hall (16,618) Champaign, IL
02/12/09 8:00pm, ESPN2	No. 22	at Northwestern Rivalry	W 60–59	20–5 (8–4)	Welsh-Ryan Arena (8,117) Evanston, IL
02/15/09 12:00pm, CBS	No. 22	at Indiana Rivalry	W 65–52	21–5 (9–4)	Assembly Hall (17,346) Bloomington, IN
02/18/09 6:00pm, BTN	No. 18	Penn State	L 33–38	21–6 (9–5)	Assembly Hall (16,200) Champaign, IL
02/22/09 12:00 pm, CBS	No. 18	at Ohio State	W 70–68	22–6 (10–5)	Value City Arena (19,049) Columbus, OH
02/26/09 6:00pm, BTN	No. 20	Minnesota	W 52–41	23–6 (11–5)	Assembly Hall (16,395) Champaign, IL
03/01/09 4:00pm, CBS	No. 20	No. 9 Michigan State	L 66–74	23–7 (11–6)	Assembly Hall (16,618) Champaign, IL
03/05/09 9:00pm, ESPN/ESPN2	No. 23	at Penn State	L 63–64	23–8 (11–7)	Bryce Jordan Center (13,091) University Park, PA
Big Ten tournament
03/13/09 6:30pm, BTN	(2)	vs. (7) Michigan Quarterfinals	W 60–50	24–8	Conseco Fieldhouse (14,647) Indianapolis, IN
03/14/09 4:30pm, CBS	(2)	vs. (3) No. 24 Purdue Semifinals	L 56–66	24–9	Conseco Fieldhouse (15,728) Indianapolis, IN
NCAA Tournament
03/19/09 9:30pm, CBS	(5 S)	vs. (12 S) Western Kentucky First Round	L 72–76	24–10	Rose Garden (17,169) Portland, OR
*Non-conference game. ^#Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.

Rankings

Ranking movements
**Legend:** ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
— = Not ranked т = Tied with team above or below
	Week
Poll	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	Final
AP											25	19	23	22	18	20	23	—		Not released
Coaches											25 т	20	21	20	16	20	23	25	—

Season statistics

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^[1]
			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
McCamey, Demetri	34	32	1040	30.6	391	11.5	140	341	.411	56	179	.313	55	72	.764	11	79	90	2.6	156	83	7	32
Davis, Mike	34	34	1045	30.7	383	11.3	171	321	.533	0	0	.000	41	60	.683	60	215	275	8.1	67	51	22	23
Tisdale, Mike	34	34	841	24.7	346	10.2	147	277	.531	1	5	.200	51	64	.797	44	91	135	4.0	19	47	48	11
Meacham, Trent	34	34	1046	30.8	346	10.2	114	270	.422	69	164	.421	49	58	.845	8	76	84	2.5	92	36	4	31
Keller, Dominique	34	0	428	12.6	202	5.9	86	165	.521	9	22	.409	21	32	.656	29	50	79	2.3	7	30	18	10
Frazier, Chester	31	31	1029	33.2	178	5.7	60	134	.448	26	68	.382	32	48	.667	41	107	148	4.8	164	68	9	43
Brock, Calvin	34	5	593	17.4	180	5.3	73	164	.445	7	23	.304	27	43	.628	43	66	109	3.2	31	37	6	24
Legion, Alex	22	0	244	11.1	77	3.5	28	97	.289	12	50	.240	9	12	.750	9	23	32	1.5	11	18	1	8
Cole, Bill	17	0	76	4.5	27	1.6	9	25	.360	6	16	.375	3	9	.333	5	8	13	0.8	4	2	3	1
Semrau, Richard	21	0	190	9.0	29	1.4	13	28	.464	0	0	.000	3	7	.429	10	22	32	1.5	6	15	2	5
Jordan, Jeff	33	0	278	8.4	32	1.0	14	32	.438	1	3	.333	3	8	.375	3	9	12	0.4	33	13	1	6
Jackson, C.J.	13	0	22	1.7	9	0.7	3	3	1.000	0	0	.000	3	4	.750	4	2	6	0.5	1	5	1	2
Chisholm, Bubba	14	0	18	1.3	4	0.3	1	8	.125	1	7	.143	1	2	.500	0	1	1	0.1	4	1	0	3
Team																53	58	111			14
Total	34		6850		2204	64.8	859	1865	.461	188	537	.350	298	419	.711	320	807	1127	33.1	595	420	122	199
Opponents	34		6851		1944	57.2	730	1847	.395	173	584	.296	311	493	.631	392	739	1131	33.3	396	467	80	196

References

^ 2008-09 Illinois Season Statistics Archived 2013-06-25 at the Wayback Machine, FightingIllini.com

[1] 2008-09 Illinois Season Statistics Archived 2013-06-25 at the Wayback Machine, FightingIllini.com

[1]

v t e Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball
Venues	Kenney Gym (1906–1925) Huff Hall (1926–1963) State Farm Center (1963–present) Prairie Capital Convention Center (2015)
Rivalries	Indiana Iowa Missouri Northwestern
Culture & lore	Whiz Kids Flyin' Illini Orange Krush Fighting Illini Sports Network Oskee Wow-Wow Illinois Loyalty Chief Illiniwek 1960s slush fund scandal
People	Head coaches NBA draftees Statistical leaders
Seasons	1905–06 1906–07 1907–08 1908–09 1909–10 1910–11 1911–12 1912–13 1913–14 1914–15 1915–16 1916–17 1917–18 1918–19 1919–20 1920–21 1921–22 1922–23 1923–24 1924–25 1925–26 1926–27 1927–28 1928–29 1929–30 1930–31 1931–32 1932–33 1933–34 1934–35 1935–36 1936–37 1937–38 1938–39 1939–40 1940–41 1941–42 1942–43 1943–44 1944–45 1945–46 1946–47 1947–48 1948–49 1949–50 1950–51 1951–52 1952–53 1953–54 1954–55 1955–56 1956–57 1957–58 1958–59 1959–60 1960–61 1961–62 1962–63 1963–64 1964–65 1965–66 1966–67 1967–68 1968–69 1969–70 1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22 2022–23 2023–24 2024–25
Helms and Premo-Porretta national championships in bold; NCAA Final Four appearances in italics