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Odds and Ends

Posted by: Tony Bleill

Thursday, October 15, 2009 5:16 PM

Random thoughts and notes as practice gets set to begin on Friday ...

--Props to the folks at SportsPageMagazine.com, who published their preseason Top 25 recently. The Web site has recognized the potential of this Illinois team, listing the Illini among "15 others" who could crack the Top 25 at some point. I think that's a fair assessment. Now, as for the rest of the poll ... Ohio State at No. 3? Little high. Preseason magazines Lindy's and Athlon also have the Buckeyes at No. 3. We'll see. I'm picking them to win the Big Ten, but their edge over Michigan State is narrow. Very narrow.

--Here's hoping the Illini like coffee -- the caffeinated kind. Through the rest of this semester, most Illini practices will begin at 6:30 a.m. at Ubben. They're scheduled to finish about 9:30. Many of the players have classes throughout the afternoon, which ostensibly is the main reason for the unique practice time. Of course, it also frees up the coaching staff for recruiting trips (during allowable periods) in the afternoon and evening.

--Story in the Washington Post yesterday about Lori Bjork and her role at Maryland this season. She's one of the few veterans on a team that has been hit hard by graduation and transfers.

--I'm working on a centerpiece for Sunday's News-Gazette and HQ about the UI's vaunted "Super Six" freshman class. One note: Don't look for quotes from the freshmen themselves. They've been placed off-limits again by coach Jolette Law. Don't know yet how long that policy will last. A year ago, it was pretty much the entire season. In any event, we've talked to other folks about the freshmen, and some of the recruiting experts have some interesting things to say about the impact they might have (or won't have) at Illinois.