Like most of the Big Ten, the Illinois men’s basketball team is led by its veteran talent. The senior trio of point guard Demetri McCamey, forward Mike Davis and center Mike Tisdale has accomplished plenty for the Fighting Illini.
But after missing the NCAA Tournament in their freshman and junior seasons, the three players have something left to prove to cement their legacies at Illinois. Michigan faces a tall task in trying to stymie them on Wednesday night, as McCamey has played like the best point guard in the conference in the past, and Davis and the 7-foot-1 Tisdale are physical forces in the post.
At Big Ten Media Day in October, the trio sat down with The Michigan Daily to discuss the upcoming season.
The Michigan Daily: What does your team have to do to get back to the tournament this year?
Demetri McCamey: We need to show more toughness down the stretch at the end of games. We need to not lose that mental focus and (not stop) having that killer instinct. That’s something we’ve talked about this summer — having that killer instinct, and putting teams away.
Mike Davis: (Play better) defense. Our defense has to dictate our offense. We need to get steals, get runouts, get stops. I think if we do that, we’ll be a very successful team, because we can score the ball, obviously.
Mike Tisdale: I think what we’ve been doing is really what we need to continue to do. Obviously, last year was tough, but this year we have a new focus, a new energy. The new guys came in, busted into competition in practice. Coach (Bruce Weber) is focusing on defense alone, and I think that’s going to help us win games.
TMD: It certainly helps in college basketball to have two big men of the caliber that you guys do. Mike, what have you seen out of Tisdale in the paint, and Demetri, as a guard, what does it add to your team to have that pair down low?
MD: (Tisdale’s) gotten bigger and stronger, so he’s a little harder and stronger (in practice) than last year … He’s been showing me little tricks on how to step in front of people, how to swim move around people.
DM: (Tisdale and Davis) have been playing with each other since freshman year and have that chemistry, that one-two punch in the post. And they have that high-low (game and) that mid-range jumpshot down pat. So that’ll help give us a lot of depth in the frontcourt.
TMD: No matter how good Michigan is expected to be, under coach John Beilein, the Wolverines have always had a style that opponents find difficult to prepare for. What makes it so tough to play Michigan, year-in and year-out?
DM: Their shooting ability. They’ll put up a lot of threes, and they have a lot of great 3-point shooters. Once they start hitting them and clicking, and getting that (1-3-1) zone going, they’re going to be that much tougher to score on. And you still have to stop the three … It’s just really tough.
MD: Shooting. Any given night, if they get hot, it’s going to be a long night. They’re a smaller team — they’re not really big. You know, I have to guard Novak. He’s a guard — he’s 6-foot-6, I’m 6-foot-9, trying to run around, chasing him off the screen. So it’s a little different, but they have great shooters. It’ll be a tough game again. It’s always a tough game with them.
TMD: What do you look forward to most about playing in the Big Ten every season?
MT: It’s exciting. It’s one of the best conferences in the country — maybe the best. Obviously, there are some of the best players, so it’s going to be fun to compete against them.
DM: I’m looking forward to everybody … This is the number-one conference in the country, so night-in, night-out, you’re going to play against a good player. But at the end of the day, I just want to be the best player in the league, so I’m looking forward to everybody.