The Next Luther Head? Just Might Be.

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jamarsmith, originally uploaded by cmf04d.

Hello Jamar Smith. Illinois’ freshman who dropped 23 points last night in an absolute thrashing of Arkansas-Little Rock. Smith hit six three-pointers, and is quickly becoming known for his three point shot. This is great news for the 8-0 Illini. With Dee Brown and James Augustine leading the team, along with Rich McBride who is actually playing basketball this year, this team is scary. Right now they have two problems. Chemistry and free throw shooting. The first will most certainly come with time. After all, last years team was in their third year together. They did OK. The second better improve or I will be making a lot of “er” sounds this year. (Seriously, how do you miss 40 percent of the time from 10 feet with no one guarding you?)

The best thing about this young kid, Jamar Smith, is he could be the next Luther Head. Luther Head was such a great story. From underachiever to overachiever. One of the greatest to ever don the Illini uniform. He almost filled the void left by Sergio McClain. Now I am just hoping Jamar Smith will, at least somewhat (because he can never completely) fill Luther Head’s shoes.

Time will tell. Regardless, I am psyched about this years team. They have speed, size, three left-handers on the front court, and depth. Oh yeah, they also have a decent mix of youth and experience. As usual, they are flying under the radar.