Apparently, lanky Illini center Mike Tisdale has put on 17 pounds since the end of last season, now weighing in at 245 pounds, according to an early afternoon blog post from the Herald-Review’s Mark Tupper.
Thanks to daily intakes of 250 grams of protein and 7,000 calories, and more intense weight training, the 7’1’’ Tisdale has made this impressive jump with the end goal of weighing more than 250 pounds by the start of his senior season.
Of course, it remains to be seen whether a bulkier Tisdale (is that an oxymoron?) will translate into a tougher player in his final campaign in Champaign.
While Tisdale made some strides in the toughness department last season, he was still a player who floated too often around the perimeter, especially when the Illini fell head-over-heels in love with the Demetri McCamey-Tisdale pick-and-pop game late in the season (making it appear as if they were going 2-on-5).
It also didn’t help that a team like Northwestern could effectively guard (i.e. body and push) Tisdale down low with the generously-listed 5′10” Michael “Juice” Thompson.
Never to be confused for a banger, Tisdale does have a nice assortment of low-post moves that could be used more to his advantage.
Of course, Tisdale’s fundamentals and finesse game can be his worst enemies at time, causing him to overthink when he is actually down low (see the second half of the Dayton game) and try to be too cute rather than just going up and slamming the ball (see parts of the second half of the Missouri game).
With fellow thin senior Mike Davis “anchoring” the front line, it’s imperative that Illinois makes a more concerted effort getting the ball into the post next season, not only to force the defense to guard the lane but to make up for disparities at the foul line.
With more traditional low post player Meyers Leonard arriving on campus and power forward Tyler Griffey ready for more time in his sophomore season, the days of the Illini being described as a European-style (read: skilled but soft) team will hopefully be in the rear-view mirror by 2011-2012.
Still, a physically and mentally tougher Tisdale (and Davis) could go a long ways towards eliminating this view next season.
In other news:
● Tupper notes that McCamey continues to cut down his baby fat, apparently looking to be in the best shape of his Illini career, in the opinion of Wayne McClain. For a player whose commitment to the game was questionable during his first two years on campus, McCamey should be commended for his improved dedication as an upperclassmen. Having already lost a lot of weight between his sophomore and junior season, McCamey went from a guy who frequently got his layups blocked from behind during his sophomore season (remembering the Purdue win in West Lafayette and the Western Kentucky loss in the NCAA tournament) to a guy who could get above the rim and throw it down on the break last year.
● In his weekly chat on Illini hoops, the News Gazette’s Paul Klee provides some insight that Jeff Jordan’s academics left some things to be desired (contrary to my perception of Jordan the student-athlete — looks like I bought into that hype) and answers a wide range of fan questions. Included in the discussion are thoughts on Joseph Bertrand developing some point guard skills in Poland, the Jordan Twitter wars, Leonard, and class of 2011 targets Mike Shaw and Chasson Randle.
Original Story:
http://writingillini.com/2010/05/26/m...
