FLAMES NOTEBOOK: Banks named Horizon’s top player

(as published in Whoosh! magazine Nov. 4, 2003)

The accolades keep coming for Flames’ guard Cedrick Banks.

The Horizon League announced that the 6-foot-2-inch guard was named as the conference’s Preseason Player of the Year.

Banks (pictured) led the Flames with 19.0 points per game and was fourth in the league in scoring as a junior. He was First-Team All-Horizon last season, while leading UIC to a 21-9 record and its first-ever National Invitation Tournament berth.

Six national college basketball publications also projected Banks to be the league’s Player of the Year. He also received recognition from CollegeInsider.com as a Mid-Major All-American.

Banks is just 33 points shy of entering UIC’s 1,000 point club-he will probably reach that plateau in the second game of the season.

Banks had a terrific sophomore season-his first in a Flames uniform after sitting out a year to improve his academics. He was the 2002 Horizon League tournament MVP after sinking the game-winning basket in overtime to beat Loyola and push UIC into its second NCAA tournament. He also was named Second-Team All-Horizon and to the Horizon All-Newcomer Team.

Banks’ teammate, senior forward Armond Williams, says watching Banks is like watch a master dart-thrower.

“He’s a guy that’s always hitting the bull’s-eye,” Williams said. “Cedrick is an awesome player. I catch myself watching him during a game, going ‘how did he make that move.’ ”

Flames coach Jimmy Collins said that Banks has improved his outside shooting and his ball-handling and expects Banks to play a little point guard in a pinch.

Senior Martell Bailey, the national assists champion last season with 8.1 per game, was also named to the preseason First-Team All-Horizon. Bailey has become the Horizon’s top point guard in his two seasons with the Flames.

Senior forward Armond Williams was a preseason Second-Team All-Horizon selection. Williams was fourth nationally in field-goal percentage, shooting at a 63.9 percent clip. Williams, who was unheralded in some circles coming out of Austin High School, made significant improvements to his game last year.

NO ORDINARY JOE: Senior Joe Scott still has something to prove in what will be his fifth season at UIC. The 6-foot-9 center was slowed as he continued to recover after his serious knee injury two years ago. Scott averaged just 4.8 points and 3.0 rebounds per game last year after averaging 9.3 points and 4.4 rebounds per contest in his first two seasons before the injury.

He suffered a torn right ACL as he leaped to make an attempted dunk in the 2001-02 season opener against Indiana State. He sat out that season as a redshirt and played just two minutes in a year where the Flames went to their second NCAA tournament.

“My knee feels great,” Scott said. “I feel just about as good as I did before it happened. The say rehabilitation takes 6-8 months, but it wasn’t until earlier this summer when it was back to normal. It just took me a while to get back to where I was physically.”

Scott was once touted by Collins as having “NBA ability.” If Scott can show a glimpse of that ability, then the Flames could be hard to handle.

ADMIRALS’ SHIP COMES IN: Collins welcomes a second set of high school teammates to the Flames’ roster this season in Farragut graduates Elliott Poole and Marcetteaus McGee.

Poole, a 6-foot-7-inch 255-pound power forward was a First-Team All-State selection by the Chicago Tribune in 2001 and had powerhouse Connecticut recruiting him. He sat out last season as a Proposition 48 casualty and used the year off to focus on academics and to bulk up for the upcoming season.

“Elliott has been playing with a vengeance [in practice],” Collins said. “He’s such a beast; he’s strong. He’s a guy who goes and gets the ball. He’s a guy that can finish.”

Freshman point guard Marcetteaus McGee is officially on the roster for the 2003-04 season after transferring from Wisconsin last winter.

Despite being just 6-foot-1, McGee has a dynamite vertical leap and explosive quickness. He will likely serve as a reserve at both guard spots. Poole and McGee led the Admirals to a 22-10 record two seasons ago under coach William “Wolf” Nelson.

ON THE TUBE: At least seven UIC regular-season games will be televised, including a special prime-time telecast of the Flames’ contest with Illinois at the United Center on Dec. 30, which will air on WBBM-Ch. 2—Chicago’s CBS affiliate.

Six other games will air on Fox Sports Net, with the first coming against Illinois State on Dec. 13. UIC’s home tilt with Northwestern will be on FSN on Dec. 20. Four Horizon League games will be broadcast, including Jan. 3 against Detroit, Jan. 8 against Loyola, Jan. 31 at Butler and Feb. 28 against Butler.

The Flames have a good shot of getting an ESPN2 or ESPN Plus broadcast of their home Bracket Buster game on Feb. 22. That information will be released on Feb. 1.

If the Flames make the Horizon League tournament semifinals and finals, those games would also be on television. FSN would air the semifinal and ESPN the championship game.

ON THE RADIO: The athletic department has extended its contract with ESPN Radio 1000 through the 2006-07. UIC men’s basketball has aired on the station since the historic 1997-98 season when the Flames made their first appearance in the NCAA tournament.

Seventeen games will air live this season, starting with the regular-season opener against Cal-Irvine at the Black Coaches Association Classic in Cincinnati. In a new twist, up to 10 more Flames’ games will air on a tape-delayed basis, generally after Bulls’ broadcasts.

Play-by-play man Dave Wills and color analyst Dick Nagy will once again provide the description of the Flames’ contests.

“It’s exciting to continue our relationship with Chicago’s premier sports radio station,” UIC athletic director Jim Schmidt said. “Their combination of ESPN-brand and local programming has significantly enhanced our exposure over the years.”

In other radio news, UIC announced an agreement with Columbia College’s radio station to broadcast three games, including Jan. 8 against Loyola, Feb. 5 against Wisconsin-Milwaukee, and Feb. 26 against Wright State. Columbia’s station is WCRX-FM 88.1 and can be found at www.wcrx.net.

FORMER FLAMES: Several former Flames are making headlines around the sports world.

Former guard Jeff Bzdelik, who played at UIC in the mid-1970s, is entering his second year as head coach of the NBA’s Denver Nuggets. The Nuggets struggled last year under his leadership with a 17-65 record, but should improve with the arrival of former Syracuse star Carmelo Anthony to the roster.

Former walk-on forward Steve Farmer, who played a year of basketball with the Flames in 1998-99, is now a tight end on the Minnesota Vikings’ roster. He is on injured reserve and out for the season with a torn ACL. Farmer left UIC for Joliet Junior College and then Tennessee State for football. He was signed by the Vikings as an undrafted free agent.

Former Flames forward Cory Little, who attended some Flames games last year, volunteered his time with the Driscoll basketball team last season.

Former UIC coach Bob Hallberg is entering his fourth season as head coach of the St. Xavier women’s basketball team. The Cougars were 28-6 and made the NAIA Division I tournament last year.

Also, old Flames such as Jordan Kardos, Bryant Lowe, Joel Bullock, Darryl Rice, Dick Knar, Jimmy Sexton and Robert Johnson also made appearances at the Pavilion last season.

FLAMES ON THE ‘NET: For more UIC Flames news and features, check out Whoosh! on the web at www.geocities.com/uicflamesbasketball. Also, official news, notes and statistics are available on www.uicflames.com.