Despite his mother publicly favoring Notre Dame, Alex Legion has opted to transfer to Illinois.Ex-Kentucky SG Legion to transfer to Illinois
"Coach (Bruce) Weber and his staff recruited me out of high school," the former Kentucky freshman told FOXSports.com on Friday night. "I went to both places to visit in the last week and liked both, but I felt more comfortable at Illinois."
...
"I liked both styles and both coaching staffs," he said. "They both fit my style, but at the end of the day, I always kind of wanted to go to Illinois. Coach Weber's system benefits guards. If he's got guards that can play, he lets you play your game."
Saturday, December 22, 2007
Ex-Kentucky SG Legion to transfer to Illinois
Tuesday, December 18, 2007
FutureGen chooses Mattoon!!!
Mattoon, Illinois was chosen by the FutureGen Alliance this morning as the site for the world's first coal-fueled, near-zero emissions power plant. Other finalists for the site included Tuscola, Illinois; Odessa, Texas; and Heart of Brazos, TX (near Jewett, TX).
FutureGen is a public-private partnership to design, build, and operate the power plant, at an estimated net project cost of US $1.5 billion. The commercial-scale plant will prove the technical and economic feasibility of producing low-cost electricity and hydrogen from coal while nearly eliminating emissions.
Congratulations to the city of Mattoon, the people of Coles County (and across the great state of Illinois) and all those who were involved in securing this very significant decision from the FutureGen Alliance.
Official announcement
FutureGen is a public-private partnership to design, build, and operate the power plant, at an estimated net project cost of US $1.5 billion. The commercial-scale plant will prove the technical and economic feasibility of producing low-cost electricity and hydrogen from coal while nearly eliminating emissions.
Congratulations to the city of Mattoon, the people of Coles County (and across the great state of Illinois) and all those who were involved in securing this very significant decision from the FutureGen Alliance.
Official announcement
Saturday, December 15, 2007
Y-Basketball: Bulls 30, Heat 14
The Bulls capped off another undefeated (7-0) league season this morning with a nice 30-14 victory from the Heat at the Champaign County YMCA.
Defense ruled the day again for the Bulls: The Bulls have made a living off their opponents' turnovers this season and this game was no exception. Quentin, Joe, Michael and Luke especially got their share of interceptions as they have all learned to anticipate their opponents' passes and find their way into passing lanes.
Quentin was the difference-maker today with his steals and fast-break layups as he totaled 14 points for the winners. Adam (Mr. Windex) had another solid game in the paint, collecting numerous rebounds and converting four short jumpers for 8 big points. Joe had a couple of nice midrange bank shots go down for 4 points, and both Jack and Michael chipped in with a basket apiece. (Micheal's swished basket again came from the left baseline, his favorite spot on the court.)
And so another great YMCA league season concludes for everyone - all the coaches and kids had a great time and we're already looking forward to the start of the next basketball season on January 19.
Defense ruled the day again for the Bulls: The Bulls have made a living off their opponents' turnovers this season and this game was no exception. Quentin, Joe, Michael and Luke especially got their share of interceptions as they have all learned to anticipate their opponents' passes and find their way into passing lanes.
Quentin was the difference-maker today with his steals and fast-break layups as he totaled 14 points for the winners. Adam (Mr. Windex) had another solid game in the paint, collecting numerous rebounds and converting four short jumpers for 8 big points. Joe had a couple of nice midrange bank shots go down for 4 points, and both Jack and Michael chipped in with a basket apiece. (Micheal's swished basket again came from the left baseline, his favorite spot on the court.)
And so another great YMCA league season concludes for everyone - all the coaches and kids had a great time and we're already looking forward to the start of the next basketball season on January 19.
Saturday, December 08, 2007
Y-Basketball: Bulls 34, Raptors 10
Quentin paced the Bulls with 10 points - most of which came via steals and fast break lay-ups - and the Bulls coasted to an easy 34-10 victory from the Raptors this morning in Champaign County YMCA Youth Basketball.
The Bulls got out to another sluggish start in this game, trailing 6-4 to the Raptors after the first quarter. Slow starts have not been uncommon for this Bulls team. But after turning up the defensive pressure in the second quarter, they held the Raptors scoreless in the period and took a comfortable 14-6 lead into the short halftime break.
The Bulls owned the second half of this one, outscoring the Raptors 20-4 to close out their sixth consecutive victory without a loss this fall. Week after week, this Bulls team creates offense with its tough defense.
Joe had 8 points, Jack added 6, George and Luke each had 4, and Adam added a basket for 2 points to round out a balanced scoring attack for the Bulls.
Quentin, Joe, Luke, Michael, George, Jack and Adam all had steals in this game. Many of these steals came from anticipating passes and intercepting those passes before they reached their intended targets. Quentin showcased his fast break skills nicely in this game. The Bulls' large number of steals limited the number of shot attempts for the Raptors.
The Bulls improve to 6-0 this season with one game remaining next Saturday at 10:00 AM against the Heat.
GO BULLS!
The Bulls got out to another sluggish start in this game, trailing 6-4 to the Raptors after the first quarter. Slow starts have not been uncommon for this Bulls team. But after turning up the defensive pressure in the second quarter, they held the Raptors scoreless in the period and took a comfortable 14-6 lead into the short halftime break.
The Bulls owned the second half of this one, outscoring the Raptors 20-4 to close out their sixth consecutive victory without a loss this fall. Week after week, this Bulls team creates offense with its tough defense.
Joe had 8 points, Jack added 6, George and Luke each had 4, and Adam added a basket for 2 points to round out a balanced scoring attack for the Bulls.
Quentin, Joe, Luke, Michael, George, Jack and Adam all had steals in this game. Many of these steals came from anticipating passes and intercepting those passes before they reached their intended targets. Quentin showcased his fast break skills nicely in this game. The Bulls' large number of steals limited the number of shot attempts for the Raptors.
The Bulls improve to 6-0 this season with one game remaining next Saturday at 10:00 AM against the Heat.
GO BULLS!
Tuesday, December 04, 2007
Y-Basketball: Bulls 28, Mavericks 18
Just when you thought that the Bulls had played their best game of the season (as I mentioned in last week's Blog entry for the 26-16 victory against the Spurs), the Bulls found a way to top that performance last Saturday morning with a dramatic 28-18 victory from the talented Mavericks in Champaign County YMCA Basketball.
The older, more mature Mavs jumped all over the Bulls after the opening whistle and they easily built an 8-2 advantage by the end of the first period (Quentin scored our only basket in the quarter). We coaches were even questioning our decision to introduce some 2-3 Zone-attacking offense to the kids in the practice session prior to the game. Our starting five just looked shellshocked in that first quarter - standing around, not hustling, not playing fundamentally solid defense, not rebounding. We were, basically, one-and-done each time at the offensive end of the court and we weren't hitting our shots.
So we went back to a more simple approach on offense, starting with the second quarter. And the Bulls started clicking. And, as it typically happens, our increasing success on offense fueled a much stronger effort at the defensive end of the court. The Bulls started to get defensive stops, pass interceptions, and rebounds. The momentum that the Mavs enjoyed in the first quarter had all but disappeared while the Bulls were clearly back in the game and starting to do some good things on the floor. The second half pretty much belonged to the Bulls and we coasted to a nice 10-point win from a solid (previously unbeaten?) team.
The Bulls were very balanced on offense: Joe paced the team with 8 points, and George, Jack and Quentin all added 6 points apiece. Luke made a nice mid-range jumper for the remaining 2 Bulls points. Rebounds were plentiful for the Bulls. Unfortunately, I don't usually have a chance to keep good rebounding stats so I cannot report who grabbed them. Just know that George, Jack, Johnny, Joe, Quentin, Michael and Luke all shared in the strong rebounding effort. There was another multi-offensive rebounding possession for the Bulls in this game: As I recall, we grabbed three - and possibly four - boards following missed shots, only to finish the possession with a basket. Coaches love to see offensive rebounds like this!
By the way, the 28 points were a new game-high offensive total for the Bulls. And the ten-point victory is our second straight such margin of victory. One other interesting statistic: The Bulls have increased their offensive output in each successive game this season, having scored 14, 16, 18, 26 and 28 points in their five games this season.
Michael continues to play solid defense - his hands are very active and he is good at stealing errant passes and grabbing loose balls. He does a lot of the dirty work that needs to be done when he's on the floor. He also added at least 2 (and possibly 3) rebounds for the Bulls. Even though MJ did not score a basket in this game, he scored with his hustle, defense, rebounding and toughness. He continues to make me very proud as I watch him grow on the court week after week.
Unofficially, but accurately, these Bulls are now 5-0 this season. (I know we're not supposed to focus on the scores of our Y games, but I can't help it!) And several of our current nine-man roster were involved in winning all 7 games last spring and our 2 final games in the Fall of 2006 season. So, we've been winners of 14 straight games dating back to a year ago. That's a nice accomplishment and it's been a blast to be a part of this!
Next up for the Bulls: a game with the Raptors at 9:00 AM this Saturday at the Champaign County YMCA.
LET'S GO BULLS!!!
The older, more mature Mavs jumped all over the Bulls after the opening whistle and they easily built an 8-2 advantage by the end of the first period (Quentin scored our only basket in the quarter). We coaches were even questioning our decision to introduce some 2-3 Zone-attacking offense to the kids in the practice session prior to the game. Our starting five just looked shellshocked in that first quarter - standing around, not hustling, not playing fundamentally solid defense, not rebounding. We were, basically, one-and-done each time at the offensive end of the court and we weren't hitting our shots.
So we went back to a more simple approach on offense, starting with the second quarter. And the Bulls started clicking. And, as it typically happens, our increasing success on offense fueled a much stronger effort at the defensive end of the court. The Bulls started to get defensive stops, pass interceptions, and rebounds. The momentum that the Mavs enjoyed in the first quarter had all but disappeared while the Bulls were clearly back in the game and starting to do some good things on the floor. The second half pretty much belonged to the Bulls and we coasted to a nice 10-point win from a solid (previously unbeaten?) team.
The Bulls were very balanced on offense: Joe paced the team with 8 points, and George, Jack and Quentin all added 6 points apiece. Luke made a nice mid-range jumper for the remaining 2 Bulls points. Rebounds were plentiful for the Bulls. Unfortunately, I don't usually have a chance to keep good rebounding stats so I cannot report who grabbed them. Just know that George, Jack, Johnny, Joe, Quentin, Michael and Luke all shared in the strong rebounding effort. There was another multi-offensive rebounding possession for the Bulls in this game: As I recall, we grabbed three - and possibly four - boards following missed shots, only to finish the possession with a basket. Coaches love to see offensive rebounds like this!
By the way, the 28 points were a new game-high offensive total for the Bulls. And the ten-point victory is our second straight such margin of victory. One other interesting statistic: The Bulls have increased their offensive output in each successive game this season, having scored 14, 16, 18, 26 and 28 points in their five games this season.
Michael continues to play solid defense - his hands are very active and he is good at stealing errant passes and grabbing loose balls. He does a lot of the dirty work that needs to be done when he's on the floor. He also added at least 2 (and possibly 3) rebounds for the Bulls. Even though MJ did not score a basket in this game, he scored with his hustle, defense, rebounding and toughness. He continues to make me very proud as I watch him grow on the court week after week.
Unofficially, but accurately, these Bulls are now 5-0 this season. (I know we're not supposed to focus on the scores of our Y games, but I can't help it!) And several of our current nine-man roster were involved in winning all 7 games last spring and our 2 final games in the Fall of 2006 season. So, we've been winners of 14 straight games dating back to a year ago. That's a nice accomplishment and it's been a blast to be a part of this!
Next up for the Bulls: a game with the Raptors at 9:00 AM this Saturday at the Champaign County YMCA.
LET'S GO BULLS!!!
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