# 2009–10 Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball team

The 2009–10 Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball team represented University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign in the 2009–10 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. This was head coach Bruce Weber's seventh season at the school. They are members of the Big Ten Conference and played their home games at Assembly Hall. The Illini finished the season 21–15, 10–8 in Big Ten play and lost in the semifinals of the 2010 Big Ten Conference men's basketball tournament. They were invited to the 2010 National Invitation Tournament where they advanced to the quarterfinals before falling to Dayton.

## Pre-season
### College GameDay

On Tuesday, August 18, ESPN announced that Illinois will serve as one of the host sites for the network’s popular basketball series, College GameDay, during the 2009–10 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. Two one-hour shows (10:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m. Central) will originate from the Assembly Hall on February 6, 2010 for the Illinois vs. Michigan State game. This is Illinois’s first appearance on ESPN College GameDay. The series, which is in its sixth season, will make four first-time stops in 2010. Other first-time hosts include Clemson, Kansas State and Washington. The Illinois/Michigan State game will be the only Big Ten game featured this season.

### Jeffrey Jordan

On October 6, 2009 it was reported that Jeffrey Jordan was talking to former teammates and coaches about a possible return to the Illinois basketball team. Jordan had left the team in June, after his second season, to focus on school. October 16, 2009, coach Bruce Weber said that Jordan planned to return to the team.

### Pre-season rankings

Various publications and news sources released their preseason rankings prior to the start of the 2009–10 season. Illinois has been ranked by the publications below. The Fighting Illini were ranked 23rd by the Associated Press in their pre-season poll released. The Illini received the 27th most votes in the Coaches poll and failed to make their Top 25.
| Associated Press | Coaches | Athlon | Lindy's | Sporting News | Fox Sports | CBS Sports | SI.com | Rivals.com |
| 23 | NR | NR | 25 | 21 | 18 | 23 | NR | 24 |

### Departures

Illinois lost a good portion of their backcourt with the departure of 2008-09 senior guards Chester Frazier, Trent Meacham, and Calvin Brock.
| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Notes |
| Trent Meacham | 1 | G | 6'2" | 195 | RS Senior | Champaign, IL | Graduated/Pro for WBC Raiffeisen Wels (Austria) |
| Chester Frazier | 3 | G | 6'2" | 195 | Senior | Baltimore, MD | Graduated/Hired by Illini as Graduate Assistant and Video Coordinator |
| Calvin Brock | 25 | G | 6'5" | 200 | RS Senior | Chicago, IL | Graduated |

### 2009 additions

Freshmen Joseph Bertrand, Brandon Paul and D.J. Richardson help fill the holes in the guard positions, while freshmen Stan Simpson and Tyler Griffey will add depth to the frontcourt.
US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Joseph Bertrand SG | Sterling, IL | Sterling High School | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) | 185 lb (84 kg) | Oct 12, 2008 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 88 ||||||
| Tyler Griffey PF | Ballwin, MO | Lafayette High School | 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) | 210 lb (95 kg) | Sep 6, 2008 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 91 ||||||
| Brandon Paul SG | Gurnee, IL | Warren Township HS | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) | 180 lb (82 kg) | Oct 11, 2007 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 91 ||||||
| D.J. Richardson SG | Peoria, IL | Findlay College Prep | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) | 180 lb (82 kg) | Oct 11, 2007 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 93 ||||||
| Overall recruiting rankings: Scout: 22 Rivals: 10 247Sports: 21 ||||||
| 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 2009". Rivals.com. Retrieved April 15, 2009. "Men's Basketball Recruiting". Scout.com. Retrieved April 15, 2009. "ESPN - Illinois Fighting Illini Basketball Recruiting 2009". ESPN.com. Retrieved April 15, 2009. "Scout.com Team Recruiting Rankings". Scout.com. Retrieved April 15, 2009. "2009 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved April 15, 2009. "2009–10 Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball team". 247sports.com. Retrieved April 15, 2009. ||||||

## Schedule

Source
* All times are Central
| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Exhibition ||||||
| Fri, Oct 30* 7:00pm, BTN.com | No. 23 | Missouri Southern | W 95–67 | | Assembly Hall (14,454) Champaign, IL |
| Sun, Nov 8* 4:00pm, BTN.com | No. 23 | Quincy | W 84–63 | | Assembly Hall (14,451) Champaign, IL |
| Non-Conference regular season ||||||
| Fri, Nov 13* 7:00pm, ESPN360 | No. 23 | SIU Edwardsville | W 96–69 | 1–0 | Assembly Hall (16,012) Champaign, IL |
| Tue, Nov 17* 7:00pm, ESPN360 | No. 23 | Northern Illinois | W 80–61 | 2–0 | Assembly Hall (14,979) Champaign, IL |
| Sat, Nov 21* 7:00pm, BTN | No. 23 | Presbyterian Las Vegas Invitational | W 94–48 | 3–0 | Assembly Hall (13,121) Champaign, IL |
| Tue, Nov 24* 8:30pm, ESPNU | No. 21 | Wofford Las Vegas Invitational | W 78–64 | 4–0 | Assembly Hall (12,982) Champaign, IL |
| Fri, Nov 27* 9:30pm, HoopsTV | No. 21 | vs. Utah Las Vegas Invitational | L 58–60 | 4–1 | Orleans Arena (N/A) Las Vegas, NV |
| Sat, Nov 28* 7:00pm, HoopsTV | No. 21 | vs. Bradley Las Vegas Invitational | L 68–72 | 4–2 | Orleans Arena (N/A) Las Vegas, NV |
| Wed, Dec 2* 6:15pm, ESPN | | at No. 18 Clemson ACC – Big Ten Challenge | W 76–74 | 5–2 | Littlejohn Coliseum (10,000) Clemson, SC |
| Sat, Dec 5* 6:30pm, BTN | | Boise St | W 84–77 | 6–2 | Assembly Hall (15,903) Champaign, IL |
| Tue, Dec 8* 7:30pm, BTN | | Vanderbilt | W 79–68 | 7–2 | Assembly Hall (15,594) Champaign, IL |
| Sun, Dec 13* 1:30pm, BTN | | Western Michigan | W 88–53 | 8–2 | Assembly Hall (14,886) Champaign, IL |
| Sat, Dec 19* 6:00pm, ESPNU | | at Georgia | L 67–70 | 8–3 | Arena at Gwinnett Center (4,008) Duluth, GA |
| Wed, Dec 23* 8:30pm, ESPN2 | | vs. Missouri Braggin' Rights | L 68–81 | 8–4 | Scottrade Center (20,497) St. Louis, MO |
| Big Ten regular season ||||||
| Wed, Dec 30 8:00pm, BTN | | No. 25 Northwestern Rivalry | W 89–83 $^{OT}$ | 9–4 (1–0) | Assembly Hall (16,618) Champaign, IL |
| Sat, Jan 2* 12:00pm, CBS | | vs. Gonzaga | L 83–85 $^{OT}$ | 9–5 | United Center (20,917) Chicago, IL |
| Tue, Jan 5 8:00pm, BTN | | Iowa Rivalry | W 59-42 | 10–5 (2–0) | Assembly Hall (14,806) Champaign, IL |
| Sat, Jan 9 7:00pm, BTN | | at Indiana Rivalry | W 66–60 | 11–5 (3–0) | Assembly Hall (16,634) Bloomington, IN |
| Tue, Jan 12 8:00pm, BTN | | Penn State | W 54–53 | 12–5 (4–0) | Assembly Hall (14,469) Champaign, IL |
| Sat, Jan 16 2:30pm, CBS | | at No. 7 Michigan State | L 63–73 | 12–6 (4–1) | Breslin Center (14,759) East Lansing, MI |
| Tue, Jan 19 8:00pm, ESPN | | No. 13 Purdue | L 78–84 | 12–7 (4–2) | Assembly Hall (16,618) Champaign, IL |
| Sat, Jan 23 7:00pm, BTN | | at Northwestern Rivalry | L 68–73 | 12–8 (4–3) | Welsh-Ryan Arena (8,117) Evanston, IL |
| Wed, Jan 27 5:30pm, BTN | | at Penn State | W 77–67 | 13–8 (5–3) | Bryce Jordan Center (8,085) University Park, PA |
| Sat, Jan 30 1:00pm, ESPN2 | | Indiana Rivalry | W 72–70 | 14–8 (6–3) | Assembly Hall (16,618) Champaign, IL |
| Wed, Feb 3 7:30pm, BTN | | at Iowa Rivalry | W 57–49 | 15–8 (7–3) | Carver-Hawkeye Arena (11,441) Iowa City, IA |
| Sat, Feb 6 8:00pm, ESPN | | No. 5 Michigan State ESPN College GameDay | W 78–73 | 16–8 (8–3) | Assembly Hall (16,618) Champaign, IL |
| Tue, Feb 9 6:00pm, BTN | | at No. 11 Wisconsin | W 63–56 | 17–8 (9–3) | Kohl Center (17,230) Madison, WI |
| Sun, Feb 14 12:00pm, CBS | | No. 13 Ohio State | L 53–72 | 17–9 (9–4) | Assembly Hall (16,616) Champaign, IL |
| Sat, Feb. 20 3:00pm, ESPN | | at No. 4 Purdue | L 65–75 | 17–10 (9–5) | Mackey Arena (14,123) West Lafayette, IN |
| Tue, Feb 23 6:00pm, ESPN | | at Michigan | W 51–44 | 18–10 (10–5) | Crisler Arena (11,357) Ann Arbor, MI |
| Sat, Feb 27 3:00pm, BTN | | Minnesota | L 60–62 | 18–11 (10–6) | Assembly Hall (16,618) Champaign, IL |
| Tue, March 2 8:00pm, ESPN | | at No. 6 Ohio State | L 57–73 | 18–12 (10–7) | Schottenstein Center (16,177) Columbus, OH |
| Sun, March 8 1:00pm, ESPN | | No. 15 Wisconsin | L 57–72 | 18–13 (10–8) | Assembly Hall (16,618) Champaign, IL |
| Big Ten tournament ||||||
| Fri, Mar 12 1:30pm, ESPN | (5) | vs. (4) No. 13 Wisconsin Quarterfinals | W 58–54 | 19–13 | Conseco Fieldhouse (16,207) Indianapolis, IN |
| Sat, Mar 13 12:40pm, CBS | (5) | vs. (1) No. 5 Ohio State Semifinals | L 81–88 $^{2OT}$ | 19–14 | Conseco Fieldhouse (N/A) Indianapolis, IN |
| National Invitation Tournament ||||||
| Wed, Mar 17* 8:00pm, ESPNU | (1) | at (8) Stony Brook First Round | W 76–66 | 20–14 | Stony Brook Arena (4,423) Stony Brook, NY |
| Mon, Mar 22* 7:00pm, ESPNU | (1) | (4) Kent State Second Round | W 75–58 | 21–14 | Assembly Hall (10,032) Champaign, IL |
| Wed, Mar 24* 9:00pm, ESPN2 | (1) | (3) Dayton Quarterfinals | L 71–77 | 21–15 | Assembly Hall (8,548) Champaign, IL |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. ||||||
The March 17, 2010 NIT first-round game was hosted by Stony Brook due to a previously-scheduled performance by Cirque du Soleil at Assembly Hall.

## Season statistics

Individual player statistics :
| | | | Minutes | Minutes | Scoring | Scoring | Total FGs | Total FGs | Total FGs | 3-point FGs | 3-point FGs | 3-point FGs | Free-throws | Free-throws | Free-throws | Rebounds | Rebounds | Rebounds | 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 | 36 | 34 | 1241 | 34.5 | 542 | 15.1 | 191 | 421 | .454 | 56 | 164 | .341 | 104 | 147 | .707 | 17 | 112 | 129 | 3.6 | 254 | 123 | 5 | 53 |
| Tisdale, Mike | 36 | 36 | 1006 | 27.9 | 429 | 11.9 | 165 | 282 | .585 | 5 | 6 | .833 | 94 | 112 | .839 | 77 | 139 | 216 | 6.0 | 28 | 50 | 59 | 12 |
| Davis, Mike | 36 | 32 | 1161 | 32.2 | 385 | 10.7 | 172 | 364 | .473 | 0 | 0 | .000 | 41 | 65 | .631 | 81 | 249 | 330 | 9.2 | 34 | 53 | 23 | 18 |
| Richardson, D.J. | 36 | 35 | 1112 | 30.9 | 379 | 10.5 | 124 | 311 | .399 | 69 | 177 | .390 | 62 | 80 | .775 | 18 | 79 | 97 | 2.7 | 75 | 60 | 6 | 24 |
| Paul, Brandon | 36 | 14 | 682 | 18.9 | 280 | 7.8 | 93 | 279 | .333 | 36 | 129 | .279 | 58 | 90 | .644 | 42 | 68 | 110 | 3.1 | 46 | 46 | 5 | 29 |
| Keller, Dominique | 35 | 0 | 399 | 11.4 | 156 | 4.5 | 66 | 145 | .455 | 10 | 35 | .286 | 14 | 27 | .519 | 24 | 54 | 78 | 2.2 | 20 | 26 | 12 | 15 |
| Cole, Bill | 36 | 22 | 766 | 21.3 | 157 | 4.4 | 57 | 124 | .460 | 29 | 77 | .377 | 14 | 23 | .609 | 38 | 78 | 116 | 3.2 | 36 | 24 | 22 | 24 |
| Griffey, Tyler | 32 | 4 | 270 | 8.4 | 105 | 3.3 | 42 | 80 | .525 | 7 | 20 | .350 | 14 | 16 | .875 | 22 | 34 | 56 | 1.8 | 11 | 13 | 4 | 10 |
| Legion, Alex | 11 | 1 | 109 | 9.9 | 30 | 2.7 | 11 | 37 | .297 | 4 | 19 | .211 | 4 | 6 | .667 | 0 | 10 | 10 | 0.9 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 3 |
| Jordan, Jeff | 33 | 2 | 454 | 13.8 | 52 | 1.6 | 22 | 50 | .440 | 2 | 8 | .250 | 6 | 10 | .600 | 16 | 28 | 44 | 1.3 | 56 | 26 | 3 | 13 |
| Semrau, Richard | 15 | 0 | 67 | 4.5 | 21 | 1.4 | 9 | 13 | .692 | 0 | 0 | .000 | 3 | 5 | .600 | 8 | 14 | 22 | 1.5 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 0 |
| Chisholm, Bubba | 12 | 0 | 16 | 1.3 | 7 | 0.6 | 3 | 12 | .250 | 1 | 10 | .100 | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0.2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Simpson, Stan | 8 | 0 | 17 | 2.1 | 4 | 0.5 | 2 | 9 | .222 | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 | .000 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0.4 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Team | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 50 | 74 | 124 | 3.4 | | 13 | | |
| Total | 36 | | 7300 | | 2547 | 70.8 | 957 | 2127 | .450 | 219 | 645 | .340 | 414 | 581 | .713 | 396 | 941 | 1337 | 37.1 | 570 | 443 | 144 | 202 |
| Opponents | 36 | | 7300 | | 2406 | 66.8 | 838 | 2094 | .400 | 267 | 831 | .321 | 463 | 665 | .696 | 407 | 833 | 1240 | 34.4 | 461 | 433 | 61 | 221 |

## Rankings

| 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 | 23 | 23 | 20 | (RV) | (RV) | (RV) | (RV) | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | (RV) | (RV) | (RV) | (RV) | -- | -- | |
| Coaches | (RV) | 25 | 21 | (RV) | (RV) | (RV) | (RV) | (RV) | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | (RV) | -- | -- | -- | -- | |
Legend :
| | Increase in ranking |
| | Decrease in ranking |
| | No Change |
| (RV) | Received Votes |