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PJ Star article on Bill Cole

I like Bill Cole, but his history at Illinois so far is eerily like Brian Randle's.
First...we all remember how we were told that Bill Cole wasn't done growing, and that based on some doctor's prediction, he would grow to 7 ft tall and be huge.

Instead he is listed as 6-9 (and may be just 6-8 ) but he looks taller for all the wrong reasons, because he is so skinny.
They list him at 214 lbs, but he's already had two (and maybe more) significant injuries (shoulder, knee) that have sidelined him.
Does anyone else see the similarities already to Randle?

Just as some people said that Randle's build just wasn't solid enough for the kind of physical Big Ten play, and in the end those people were clearly proven right,
now it appears Bill Cole is in the same boat.
Big kids with large solid bodies like Stan Simpson and Tyler Griffey will quite possibly pass Cole in playing time simply by staying healthier.
Bill Cole may well be another of the kids who should have gone mid-major.
 
I like Bill Cole, but his history at Illinois so far is like Brian Randle's.
First...we all remember how we were told that Bill Cole wasn't done growing, and that based on some doctor's prediction, he would grow to 7 ft tall and be huge.

Instead he is listed as 6-9 (and may be just 6-8 ) but he looks taller for all the wrong reasons, because he is so skinny.
They list him at 214 lbs, but he's already had two (and maybe more) significant injuries (shoulder, knee) that have sidelined him.
I hope his career doesn't go like Randles.

Just as some people said that Randle's build just wasn't solid enough for the kind of physical Big Ten play, and in the end those people appear to be proven right,
now it appears Bill Cole is in the same boat.
Big kids with large solid bodies like Stan Simpson and Tyler Griffey may possibly pass Cole in playing time by staying healthier.
Bill Cole may well be another of the kids who should have gone mid-major.
 
A similar article, also written by John Supinie appeared in the Springfield Journal-Register.
But the SJ-R article is different, but only slightly so...
It contains several lines that do not appear in the PJ Star version...anyone know why??

Here are some of the extra lines.

"Cole showed promise early, finishing with 11 points and eight rebounds in the exhibition opener ...

Limited to light shooting drills on the court because of the injury, Cole already has gained six pounds

A crack in the bone hadn??™t yet formed in his right leg,... Had he suffered a fracture, he would have undergone surgery and likely been out into the summer. He apparently is a game or two past the cutoff for a medical redshirt, Weber said, but the school will investigate the appeal process this spring.

Cole also suffered a dislocated shoulder last September.

Not even a slow start can harm Cole??™s confidence after the slow start. It just goes to show like father, like son."

and more...

But the comment about the redshirt really shows a lack of being informed.

First, two requirements for redshirting are that he cannot play in more than 20% of his team's scheduled games,
and he cannot redshirt if he plays past the midpoint of the season.

Well.......Bill has played in 12 games, almost 40% of their scheduled games,
and he has played well after the mid-point of the season.

http://bradleyfans.com/vb/showthread.php?p=62465#post62465
 
I wish nothing but success for Bill Cole, but he will have a tough time getting playing time for Illinois the next 3 years with all the small forwards they have (Rodney Alexander, Mike Davis, Richard Semrau, Mike Tisdale, Stan Simpson, and eventually Tyler Griffey). And according to a recruiting site, the top recruiting target for the Illini for another player to sign next month is another junior college small forward that Jerrance Howard was in Texas watching.

I have also heard the rumors about a possible transfer, and I believe Cole would be a great player at the level of the MVC. I think he is a little like former Illini and MVC transfer Kyle Wilson. Wilson was a very good player for Wichita State, but was mostly a perimeter forward until his body matured and he bulked up by his senior year. His forte still was his outside shooting, and that will be Cole's strongest part of his game, too.
 
Da Coach said:
I have also heard the rumors about a possible transfer, and I believe Cole would be a great player at the level of the MVC. I think he is a little like former Illini and MVC transfer Kyle Wilson. Wilson was a very good player for Wichita State, but was mostly a perimeter forward until his body matured and he bulked up by his senior year. His forte still was his outside shooting, and that will be Cole's strongest part of his game, too.
Click to expand...

Does anyone still have the link to the letter that Kyle Wilson's Dad posted on the WSU board? I believe he posted it at the very end of Kyle's senior year. It was one of the most moving posts I have ever read. The BradleyFans board should repost it at the start of each year to remind our posters of the impact of what they say about players.
 
I couldn't find it since all posts from that far back are cleared from their board.

...but I did find this letter to the board from father of one of the other players- David King--
http://www.shockernet.net/sn/viewtopic.php?t=7800

The letter you are referring to was posted on February 19, 2007 on Shockernet by Kyle Wilson's dad Steve, but I don't know if seeing that page is still possible.
 
At one time thee were some thoughts/suggestions that Brandon Heemskerk's return home and message board banter were related. I don't know if that was the case but BH sure recovered well and is an all time BU favorite for a multitude of reasons.
 
ICC's Shang Ping is yet another guy who should have gone mid-major....
after getting a few garbage minutes early in the season, now Ping is buried deep on the bench and doesn't even get in the game any more.
He has played in only one of the past seven games.
 
tornado said:
ICC's Shang Ping is yet another guy who should have gone mid-major....
after getting a few garbage minutes early in the season, now Ping is buried deep on the bench and doesn't even get in the game any more.
He has played in only one of the past seven games.
Click to expand...


Remeber how some railed JL for taking a pass on him......
 
dogsrus said:
Remeber how some railed JL for taking a pass on him......
Click to expand...

I was never sold on Ping being that good, but after what I have seen from David Collins this year, I think Ping would be quite an upgrade and would probably have seen some real minutes for BU.
 
I worry that the illini staff will keep recruiting over BC......and he will have a hard time getting on the court for major minutes! Not sure he is or will ever be physical enough for their brand of ball...JMO!
 
Da Coach said:
I wish nothing but success for Bill Cole, but he will have a tough time getting playing time for Illinois the next 3 years with all the small forwards they have (Rodney Alexander, Mike Davis, Richard Semrau, Mike Tisdale, Stan Simpson, and eventually Tyler Griffey). And according to a recruiting site, the top recruiting target for the Illini for another player to sign next month is another junior college small forward that Jerrance Howard was in Texas watching.
Click to expand...

Here is more about the Illini recruiting a Texas juco forward. This could put Bill Cole even farther down the bench.

http://www.herald-review.com/blogs/marktupper/?p=470

http://www.lufkindailynews.com/sports/content/sports/stories/2008/03/05/AC.html
 
I do agree that Cole will have to work hard to earn minutes at Illinois, but he showed enough flashes this season to convince me that he'll be a part of the rotation before he graduates. Honestly, if he works hard this summer, he might be playing major minutes next year - the 4 and 5 spots are wide open for Illinois, with the following players competing for minutes:

Rodney Alexander
Mike Tisdale
Mike Davis
Bill Cole
Richard Semrau
JUCO big man (potentially Dominique Keller)
Stan Simpson (although there's talk of a redshirt)

If Cole works hard this summer, I could see him either starting at the 4 or playing significant backup minutes. He's probably the best shooter on that list, the best or 2nd best shotblocker, and the 2nd or 3rd best rebounder.

As far as recruits in upcoming years, the only guy from the class of 2009 that will play the 4 is Tyler Griffey, and he'll be a freshman when Cole is a junior. The opportunity is there for Bill Cole to play major minutes, so it's just a matter of taking advantage of it. Hitting the weight room this summer would go a long way.

I don't really see how Cole's season would have gone better at a mid-major, other than possibly playing a few more minutes. His leg injury didn't sound like something that would have been different had he been playing in a different conference. I know you guys always like to post cautionary tales that show why kids should have chosen mid-majors, but I think this one is a reach.
 
Now there are also reports that Carlwell, who had notified Bruce Weber that he planned to transfer from Illinois after the season, may instead want to return to the Illini next year. Weber seems about ready to give his scholarship away, and apparently doesn't want Carlwell back.--

http://www.sj-r.com/Sports/stories/26376.asp
 
The guy Illinois is red hot after is Dominique Keller from Port Arthur Lee CC in TX.
Keller is averaging 25 ppg, 9 rpg, and an article a couple days agop in the Pantagraph goes so far as to say Keller is Carlwell's replacement.
"Weber goes to Texas to review Carlwell's possible replacement"
http://www.pantagraph.com/articles/2008/03/04/usports/doc47ce31362222d639030443.txt
http://illinois.scout.com/2/735174.html


But Keller really isn't a center, and at 6-7, 235lb simply won't be able to defend the Brian Butch and DJ White's of the Big Ten.
He actually sounds more like a Brian Randle-type player (6-8, 225lb).....and maybe even a Rodney Alexander-type player (who is 6-7, 230lb).....so time will tell.
 
The only reason they are saying Keller would be "Carlwell's replacement" is because he'd be using the scholarship left behind by Carlwell. Nobody would expect Keller to play center for Illinois next year - that will be Tisdale, Davis, or Semrau. From what I've seen, Keller is more of an athletic PF than anything else - a Roger Powell type, although probably not as good as Powell.
Also, DJ White and Brian Butch won't be around next year. The Big Ten is actually losing most of their true post scorers to graduation.
 
Da Coach said:
Now there are also reports that Carlwell, who had notified Bruce Weber that he planned to transfer from Illinois after the season, may instead want to return to the Illini next year. Weber seems about ready to give his scholarship away, and apparently doesn't want Carlwell back.--

http://www.sj-r.com/Sports/stories/26376.asp
Click to expand...

I haven't seen anything where Brian himself said that he wanted to return to Illinois. All I've seen is references to Brian's dad talking to Weber about the possibility of returning, which could very well be part of Brian's dad's attempt to talk his son into reconsidering. Weber has said through all of this that Carlwell didn't want to put in the work to meet Weber's weight goals and eventually decided that he stood a better chance of playing elsewhere.

Weber now has a scholarship to fill for the next two seasons and can't afford to wait for Carlwell to change his mind (if he ever actually does). I wish Brian well in his basketball career and wish it could have worked out better for him at Illinois, but Weber has to move on.
 
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