Moderator: Good afternoon everyone. We moved the Wednesday basketball chat to today since Klee was in Waukegan yesterday with Illinois recruit Jereme Richmond.

Thanks for coming by, fire away.

Klee

Dan, Urbana, IL: Klee,

what do you think Jordan's role will be next season? think he has a chance to start or will just he come off the bench again?

Moderator: Dan- I don't see Jeff Jordan in the starting lineup, but he could earn valuable minutes. Much of that depends on the progress of the three guards expected to be on campus in June. Bruce Weber was complimentary of Jordan's progress over two seasons.

"He’s made a lot of strides," Weber said Tuesday. "I think with his leadership and his intelligence, I think that’s another thing we need. ... We’ll see how much progress he makes this offseason."

Klee

Chris Roberts, Mahomet, iL.:

Good Afternoon Paul, Well, the Final Four is getting closer

Do you like the chances for the Spartans to win it all? I've met Tom Izzo and he seems like a class act. I think the Michigan State fans will play a big role at Ford Field. Thanks

for your time and Happy Final Four!

Moderator: Chris- He is a class act. He’s the first guy outside the Illinois program I sought out at the Big Ten tournament to get an opinion on Chester Frazier's season-ending injury, because he had such a fondness for Chester's career.

And Weber can relate to Izzo’s close-to-campus Final Four. In regards to playing in St. Louis in ’05, Weber told Sporting News Today: "We had to bus underneath the hotels, we had to go up service elevators, we had to have guards on our floor all hours. It was crazy. Illini mania gave these kids almost rock-star status."

It's true about the security guards. I wasn't covering the Illini at the time, but I was working on a story the night before the title game, and I remember getting off an elevator on the eighth floor, where the coaches and players were staying, and there were two guards checking IDs. Luther Head even had his ID checked.

Klee

Trent, Urbana, IL: Paul,

are you going to be doing a season wrap up interview with Coach Weber again this year? If so, when will it be running?

Moderator: Trent- We published Weber's address to all of the media on Tuesday. The long Q&A was the coach answering questions from all of the media. The shorter Q&A was a segment he did with the News-Gazette. You can find both on HQ.

Klee

Phil, Clinton, Il.: Do you know days times and TV info for Findley Prep games this weekend? I'd read that all the games in that tournament were going to be on the various ESPN stations.

Moderator: Phil- D.J. Richardson's Findlay Prep squad is scheduled to be on ESPNU on Friday at 4 p.m. Double-check the time. It might be 5 p.m. They play Mountain State in a quarterfinal round. The tournament is called the ESPN RISE National High School Invitational. There are eight teams involved, and Findlay is the No. 2 seed. If I find some more game times, I'll pass them along via HQ.

D.J. Richardson said last week, "This is what we've been working for," speaking of the national tournament. Findlay Prep is 30-0 and hasn't played a game since February.

Klee

Al Ryle, Champaign, Il: Paul,

With the signing of Calipari, where do you see Billy Clyde landing? The carasel is spinning?

Moderator: Al- A few coaches have told me he'll be back in Texas. But as the surprising Tony Bennett-to-Virginia development shows, you never know until you know.

Klee

Tom, Urbana, Il: Paul,

with the coaching carousel in full swing now, have a question. Do AD's have to call prospecitve coaches AD's to get permission? Or is it just a courtesy call to let them now? Is it possible for the AD, in this case the Memphis AD to say no? I am guessing not unless thats in the contract?

Moderator: Tom- Good questions. One thing to remember is the amount of third-party communication that's involved in a high-level coaching search. An A.D. might have a person who's tied in to the coaching business who can make contact in regards to interest and be a pipeline of information. Sometimes it's a former coach or someone the AD knows from past contact somewhere.

For example, I wrote a story on the Keady coaching tree a few months ago, and Gene Keady said he was having lunch at Pebble Beach with former SIU A.D. Jim Hart. Keady told Hart, "I have a guy," and that guy was Bruce Weber. That's how the ball got rolling.

If you get to the point where an A.D. asks for permission, which is more of just a courtesy, the deal is pretty much done. All of this isn't the case all of time time, just some of the time.

Klee

Mike, Champaign, IL: Paul,

How much bigger of a threat is Calipari at UK to Illinois' revived recruiting efforts (notably in Chicago) than when he was at Memphis? Or with the way he operates, does it not make much of a difference?

Moderator: Mike- It's a bigger threat. It's a bigger threat to everyone. Three assistants have told me, in so many words, "They're gonna get it rolling."

Where I think it will hit Illinois is with the elite-level prospects out of Chicago. Calipari already nabbed Derrick Rose out of Chicago, and he'll do it again at some point. Those are the kinds of prospects he's targeted in the past, and now he has UK's reach to do it more often. Yes, I think it will make a difference.

As it stands right now, I don't see it affecting Illinois in 2009 or 2010 but after that, yes, I think it could affect them.

Klee

SJ, Champaign, Il: Paul,

In college basketball and football there are a handful of elite teams that are in the championship hunt every year. They don't seem to have to recruit their players, they choose them if you know what I mean. I don't know about you but, I am sick of watching the same teams year after year. Would it make sense to cut back scholarships so the top talent could go to other schools and even the playing field? Your thoughts.

Moderator: Mr. Presiden.. I mean, SJ-

It's rare that rules are changed to help the little guys. Or more specifically, to hurt the big guys. It makes sense to you and me, but probably not to the NCAA and CBS.

Klee

Wayne Jacob, Freeport, Fl.: Paul, I'm comcerned. Since the Kentucky hiring....making Calipari the highest paid coach, where is this $$$$$ amount going? Is it going to continue to make the strong (Kansas, Duke, NC etc.) stronger? I was thinking that there was beginning to be more parity in college sports and then this happens especially in our tough economic times. Thanks, I enjoy your thoughts.

Moderator: Wayne- Loren Tate addressed the issue of otherworldly contracts on IlliniHQ today. He's thinking what you're thinking.

Klee

Moderator: Note: Bruce Weber said he's looking into foreign tours for some of the Illinois players in the offseason. Stan Simpson is one guy that could benefit from such a trip, the coach said.

“We’ve got some calls in the past week," Weber said. "Some of it’s (a matter of) who wants to go. If you want to play overseas some day, you get a feel for it. It also helps guys that don’t get a lot of minutes (to) get some minutes in. It doesn’t guarantee anything. I’ll encourage it. But right now we don’t have anything solidified.”

Klee

Slim Slimmy, Slimmersonville, Tennesse: I think John Calipari is about the most two faced college/wannabe NBA coach there is. Anyway Paul thanks for the great chats and even better artice on John Calipari. Do you having Calipari at Kentucky will hurt Illinois in Chicago. Also will Coach Millions bring any of his beloved assistants with him to Lexington. I think the Josh Pastner Jerrance Howards battle for recruits will be one for the ages!

Moderator: Marshall Mathers- One assistant told me Calipari probably will take Memphis assistants Josh Pastner and Orlando Antigua to Kentucky with him. Yes, I think their presence at UK could have an affect on Illinois' efforts, but probably not until 2011 at the earliest.

And if you think about it, it's not like Illinois wasn't going to clash with a Calipari-led program in Chicago. They already did, at least once.

Jerrance Howard and the new guys at Kentucky have a mutual friend. His name is William Wesley. So when there are head-to-head recruiting battles, I suspect they will be civil.

Klee

Dave, Pullman, WA: Joe Bertrand seems to be the most unheralded of the new recruits. In some ways, he reminds me a bit of Bardo--who was also a long and unheralded point guard. Does the comparison extend beyond these two points?

Moderator: Dave- No idea. You'd have to ask Tate.

But your Cougars need a new coach. Still surprised Tony Bennett didn't take any of his assistants to Virginia with him. That was as surprising as the move itself.

Klee

Steve, Springfield, Illinois: What is the fascination with playing SIU-C? I have a lot of friends and family who are SIU fans and it seems they bring it up every year. I can see why an SIU fan would like it but I don't see why it would be good for Illinois. Two and three years ago it would have hurt Illinois to play them because if we'd have lost it would have solidified SIU as the top team in the state recruiting wise. Now with SIU struggling it would hurt us because it would be a bad loss. In both cases it wouldn't help us that much on a national stage. I could see playing them in Chicago but a game in Carbondale would be a terrible idea somewhere on the level of only playing 6 home games in football.

Hank, Bloomington, Illinois: I'm having a hard time seeing how Coach Weber scheduling SIU because he has friends there is different from public official A hiring contractor A whom he used to work for because he has friends there even though contractor B will do a better job for less money. Playing a series with SIU makes no more sense than playing a series with ISU or Bradley and playing them doesn't make any sense either. Those two have been better teams with better RPI's the last two years, you know. Moreover, playing a yearly series with in-state mid-majors is suicide because the players and fans are so keyed up for their shot at Big State U.

George, Chicago, Illinois: The idea of Coach Weber scheduling Illinois to play SIU because of a promise to his friends in Carbondale is a little irritating to me. Shouldn't he be thinking first about the good of the Illinois basketball program?

I could maybe see playing SIU in Chicago but if we go to Carbondale even in a 3 for 1 series that would be insane.

I realize you have a connection to SIU but I think if you step away from that you'd see that an Illinois-SIU series makes no more sense than an Illinois-Bradley, Illinois- ISU, or even Illinois- EIU series. What's more is that if Illinois were to schedule that series state legislators from those other areas would probably force some sort of series with the other mid major local schools and kill our tourney chances every year.

Moderator: Hank, Steve, George and everyone else that doesn't want to play SIU-

I didn't write it was good for one side and bad for the other. I just told you the two coaching staffs are talking about it again. The SIU guys said this morning they're cool with a one-game deal in Chicago. Bruce Weber said Tuesday that's the most likely scenario, if it happens, but he said it won't happen next season.

Clearly, it's better for SIU than Illinois. Of course it is. But it's good for fans, and I'm all about the fans. I wish both sides would put aside their egos and personal interests and image and schedule a game at the United Center. It would be wild, a party with 20,000 attendees. Beats the heck out of playing Georgia in a half-empty arena.

Klee

John Johnson, Tucson, AZ: Don't know yet if you saw my e-mail, but although they were "garbage" minutes, I was impressed with Bill Cole's speed and footwork. Is he a defensive improvement over Tisdale?

Moderator: John- Thanks for the question and the email. They would have to defend different positions. Neither is a good defender, at least by Weber's ultra-high defensive standards, but Cole's a better defender. I think he was left out of the playing rotation prematurely last season. But he has two seasons to get back in it.

Klee

Joe, Mahomet, IL: In reading your blog and seeing u think the UTEP coach will be going to Memphis, I am wondering with the CBI that UTEP is in and the whatever the tournament name is this year that Bradley lost to ODU in the finals in, are those tournaments profitable in a recession? Obviously the NCAA is rolling in $ and I assume the NIT is doing fairly well as well

Thanks

Moderator: Joe- The people that run the CBI, the Gazelle Group, told me it all depends on the TV contract. They signed a deal with Mark Cuban's HDNet this season. I don't know if it will be profitable. Too early to tell. If it sticks around - this is the CBI's second season - you'll know it was profitable.

An Oregon State assistant said this morning the 12,000 in attendance at UTEP last night made for a difficult road environment. It was the first sellout at Don Haskins Center since 2006. Of course, they pulled an Indiana and dropped the cost to $10 a ticket, so that helps.

Klee

Timmy, Bloomington, IL: Not sure if I missed it in your blog or not, but what are your thoughts on putting the bball floor in the middle of Ford Field for the Final 4 instead of to the side how they normally do it? Do you think it will have any greater effect on outside shooting in a dome?

Thanx

Moderator: Timmy- Really haven't given it much thought. Suppose we'll see, with the shooting percentages. Michigan State struggled in every facet the last time it played a Ford Field, a 98-63 wipeout to North Carolina in December.

Klee

Allen, West Orange, Nj: Why would Tim Floyd go to Arizona from USC, other than money?

Moderator: Allen- Not sure anyone knows. Some possible answers: he's not in the shadow of USC football, the prestige factor, the 25-straight trips to the NCAA tournament, the money. Plenty of reasons, I would think.

Klee

Jeff, Evanston, Il: Are the Illini in as good a position with the 2011 studs like Shaw, Henley and Blackshear as the fan base is inclined to believe?

Moderator: Jeff- The Illini have spent plenty of time on those guys, and they will continue to do so, especially since Jereme Richmond will play alongside many of them on the AAU circuit.

"Mike Shaw, Crandall, myself, Reggie Smith, Tim Hardaway Jr., Wayne Blackshear, Phillip Jackson," Richmond said yesterday, citing a few of his teammates with Mac Irvin Fire. "We have the pieces to compete nationally.”

Richmond and Mac Irvin Fire will compete in a tournament in Milwaukee this weekend. After that, it's off to the Boo Williams Invitational in Hampton, Va. from April 10-12.

Now, as for your question, I'm still waiting for the day a recruit - or recruiting analyst - says, "I (or he) have no interest in going to Illinois (for example)." So it usually appears a school is in good shape.

Klee

Mike, Washington, DC: Klee, Tisdale obviously left a lot to be desired in rebounding, shot-blocking and even defending, but he could hit shots on a team that struggled to score. If the Illini are a more skilled offensive team next year, and we are not as dependent on Tisdale's scoring, does that open up Tisdale's minutes to another post player who can rebound and defend better (Simpson, Griffey, even Semrau)? Or do you see Tisdale as locked in to the exact same role next season?

Moderator: Mike- Mike Tisdale is a step ahead in the battle for minutes because he's the incumbent starter. Weber said the other day he might be more inclined to look down the bench, saying he laments not doing it more often this season. So maybe that opens it up. But Mike Tisdale is your starting center. He should be, after leading the team in scoring on 11 occasions.

"You always look at yourself and question yourself and second-guess: 'Could I have done something different?' And then I look at Michigan State," Weber said. "Their big guys just accept what they are. They don't try to do anything else. Goran (Suton) is a little better than the others, and that's what we've got to find, a couple workhorse guys. ....

"I heard somebody, Coach (Rick) Pitino, talk about how good they were on their interior defense. So that's just a credit to all those guys. They did it as a mass. I think we've got to find that, whether it's Richard Semrau or Stan Simpson or Dominique (Keller) or Tyler (Griffey). When you look at the Final Four, it seems like each of them has pretty good depth."

Klee

Moderator: Going to wrap this up, thanks for all the questions. We'll be back next week on Wednesday. As always, feel free to shoot an email, and we'll have plenty of hoops coverage coming in Sunday's N-G.

Klee