Men's Basketball Preview Part 8: UIC

Nov. 16, 2004

This is the eighth in a nine-part series on the 2004-05 Horizon League men's basketball season. Each weekday leading up to the season opener on Nov. 16, www.horizonleague.org will profile a League men's basketball team, beginning with the team picked ninth in the preseason poll on Wednesday, Nov. 3, and ending with the preseason favorite on Tuesday, Nov. 16. The regular season will tip off on Nov. 16, when Wright State plays at Tulsa in the Preseason National Invitation Tournament. All stories are courtesy of their respective school's sports information office.

UIC Men's Basketball looks to overcome obstacles en route to a return trip to the NCAA Tournament

Coming off a school record 24 wins and a trip to the NCAA Tournament, UIC Head Coach Jimmy Collins knows that racking up the program's fourth straight 20-win season and postseason bid will not be easy.

Gone are veteran starters Martell Bailey and Joe Scott, as well as most of the Flames' bench depth, which allowed UIC to out-prepare and outlast many teams last season.

The Flames will have to go without senior power forward Armond Williams for the early part of the season while he finishes up requirements for his degree and senior center Josip Petrusic, who is out until January while recovering from an off-season knee injury.

Add to the mix one of the most aggressive, non-conference schedules in school history and a treacherous Horizon League slate and there seems to be several roadblocks in the path towards another championship season for the Flames.

So how does UIC overcome these obstacles?

"The first key is to develop a winning attitude that simply states `Against All Odds We Must Succeed'," Collins said. "Second, we must shoot well and cut down on turnovers. "Possession, playing smart and patience are extremely key," Collins continued. "We can not force feed our offense this year."

The Flames' offense will be anchored by the return of three-time All-Horizon League performer and Horizon League Preseason Player of the Year, Cedrick Banks.

The 6-foot-2 electrifying guard has averaged 16.9 points per game during his career and is on pace to finish as UIC's all-time leading scorer, needing 469 points this year to pass Kenny Williams (2,025) for the top spot. He has also averaged 4.3 rpg during his career and his 180 career three-pointers made is third-best in school history.

"Cedrick is our franchise player," Collins said. "The type of player that brings experience and knowledge of not just how we like to play, but how the game of basketball is supposed to be played.  He not only understands what I want on the basketball floor, but delivers for us out there as well," Collins continued. "He is not afraid to shoulder a heavy load for this team."

While it seems as though Banks has the full arsenal of offensive tricks, Collins would like to see a few new wrinkles added to his game this season.

"We are looking for Cedrick to penetrate a little more this year," Collins said. "He has greatly improved his jump shot, but we need him to get to the foul line more and better diversify his game."

A key to Banks' past success has been his willingness to constantly move without the basketball, running his opponent ragged to free himself for the best possible scoring opportunity.

Over the past three years he has been complimented by his former high school teammate, Bailey, but this season the Flames must call upon fresh faces to not only get Banks the ball, but run the overall offense as well.

Taking on that load at point guard will be Rocky Collum and Marcetteaus McGee, who both got their feet wet under Bailey last season.

Collum redshirted last year after transferring from Kankakee Community College, but practiced with the team daily and seems ready to assume a large role with the Flames once he returns from a knee injury suffered in the first weeks of practice.

McGee showed the ability to not only run the offense last year, but score as well, especially in the late moments of UIC's Horizon League Tournament title game victory at UW-Milwaukee last season.

While Banks will dominate the shooting guard spot, opponents can expect to see two other faces in the Flames backcourt this season in sophomore Mike Smith and freshman Karl White.

Smith saw spot duty as a freshman, averaging 1.0 ppg in nine appearances, and then redshirted last season. With the ability to play at both the one and two-guard spots, he should be a significant factor in the Flames' plans this season.

White comes to UIC from Omaha, Neb., and has the Flames' coaching staff buzzing about his ability.

"Karl brings a Cedrick Banks type quickness to the floor," Collins said. "He is actually probably the fastest player we have ever had going north and south. He shoots, passes and defends well and is extremely athletic," Collins continued. "He is a player who needs to hurry up and learn how to play. We are going to need him to shoulder some of the load and contribute."

Robert Bush, a 6-foot-2 freshman who averaged 12 points and five rebounds per game last season at suburban Thornton High School, will also vie for time in the UIC backcourt.

Out on the wing, the Flames have arguably their most depth and experience with two battle-tested veterans at the position in Justin Bowen and Jovan Stefanov, as well as redshirt freshman Kevin Bond.

Bowen, a long-armed, 6-foot-7 junior, started 15 games for UIC last year, averaging 4.2 points and 2.9 rebounds per game while shooting an even 50% from the field. Bowen played solely the small forward position in 2003-04, but this year might also slide down to aid in the power forward spot.

"Justin will have to play both the three and the four for us this season," Collins said. "He has improved his shot and his overall game this summer, but he still has a way to go."

Stefanov overcame a serious illness in 2003-04, which forced him to miss the first 11 games. He came back strong and proved to be a true X-factor for the Flames off the bench, tallying 2.7 points and 1.7 rebounds in 10 minutes of action per game.

With a healthy and productive summer behind him, Collins and his staff have high hopes for this 6-foot-9 multi-purpose player.

"Jovan can help us a lot because he can play four positions for us," Collins said. "Because of our depth this season, he will be called upon to do a little bit of everything."

Both Bowen and Stefanov will assist 6-foot-7 junior Elliott Poole and 6-foot-8 junior college transfer Luther Boyd in the post for the Flames, before the return of Williams and Petrusic after the first month of the season.

Poole averaged 5.1 points and 4.4 rebound per game in his first year with the Flames, blossoming late in the year as UIC made its run to the NCAA Tournament. One of his best efforts came in the Horizon League Tournament title game versus UW-Milwaukee, when he dropped in 10 points, including the game-winner, while collecting three boards in UIC's victory over the Panthers.

Boyd, a Chicago native, comes to UIC from Iowa Western Community College where he helped lead the Reivers to back-to-back 25-win campaigns, averaging over nine points and four rebounds per game.

When Williams returns, the Flames will welcome back their leading rebounder from the last two seasons as well as the squad's second-leading scorer in each of those years. He was named to the All-Horizon League Defensive Team last year and was the Horizon League Tournament MVP after averaging a double-double at the event.

"Obviously getting a player like Armond back with his experience, helping us win over 60 games the last three years will be a great help," Collins said.

Eyeing a return in early January, Petrusic will give the Flames a true post presence at 6-foot-10. As a reserve last season, he averaged just under two points and two rebounds an outing in under nine minutes per game off the bench.

With a lack of size, especially in the early going of the season, Collins knows he'll have to make some adjustments.

"We'll have to change our approach this year," Collins said. "We have guys this year that are more athletic and can step back and shoot. I don't like to compare teams, but this squad is similar size wise to the team I had back at Illinois the year we went to the Final Four where are tallest player was Stephen Bardo (6-foot-6), who was our point guard."

"Everyone on this team is going to have to take on a role as a rebounder," Collins continued. "Everyone's rebounds per game must go up from last year.  Everyone is going to have to help out on the glass."

UIC's new approach will be tested this season against some of the top competition in the country. The Flames schedule boasts a pair of 2004 Final Four participants in Georgia Tech and Duke, as well as non-conference contests against DePaul and perennial Ivy League power, Penn.

"I've always wanted to play the type of teams that we have on our schedule this year," Collins said. "It speaks volumes about our kids and what they have accomplished as a team. We will be a younger team than I had hoped to tackle a schedule like this, but our young guys will be thrown right into the fire and we will see how they survive."

Things do not get any easier for UIC when Horizon League play arrives as each team has their eye on the Horizon League title this season.

"I think with the way we finished last year a lot of people will still have us ranked as one of the teams to beat in the Horizon League, and I too believe we will be one of the teams to beat," Collins said. "But you have to look at a team like UW-Milwaukee, which returns four starters, and a team like Detroit, which always has great athletes and size. "

"Butler has Avery Sheets back, UW-Green Bay returns its nucleus and Wright State really made a statement to the league last year with the play of its young guys who are all back this season," Collins continued. "The Horizon League is going to be as tough as it has ever been, but I think the team to really watch out for will be Milwaukee."