Illinois' Trent Meacham has Surgery

[tornado]

Ankle surgery to repair "bone spurs".
Meacham is a junior and will return for his senior year next fall,
Meacham played the 2nd most minutes this past season for the Illini behind Chester Frazier who also plans to return next season.

http://www.news-gazette.com/blogs/basketblog/2008/04/07/meacham_undergoes_ankle_surgery

[mportsch]

Hopefully this will fix the issues that Trent played through all season. I think he'll still be a big part of the Illinois rotation next season, even with Legion and Smith joining the fray.

[BradleyBrave]

If Trent Meachem is a big part of the rotation again next year, it's going to be another long year for the Illini.

[mportsch]

Now you sound like an Illinois fan!

Meacham is a very solid player, and I'm not surprised that he's underrated by posters on this board - a lot of Illinois fans also don't give Meacham the credit he's due.

He shot 40% from downtown and had a 1.6-to-1 assist to turnover ratio against the 5th toughest defensive schedule in the nation (according to Pomeroy ratings). Consider the fact that he was the ONLY consistent outside threat on the team and that makes his numbers look that much better.

His defense has improved substantially - he's not exceptionally quick, but he's worked hard enough on the fundamentals that he's not a liability defensively.

I do expect that his minutes will be reduced when compared to this year. He's an excellent player to have as your sharpshooter off the bench for 15-20 minutes per game. With defenses unable to focus on him, I think his 3-point shooting percentage goes even higher. The simple fact that he and Frazier will be allowed to settle into roles that better suit them makes me feel a lot better about Illinois basketball next season.

[mportsch]

By the way (and this really surprised me), Meacham finished with a higher Offensive Rating than anyone on Bradley. Add the fact that he did it against a tougher defensive schedule (5th vs 60th) and it becomes clear that Meacham isn't a bad player to have on your team, especially when he can be your 4th or 5th option (as he will be next season).

Illinois is very fortunate that Meacham decided to give up a scholarship to come home. This season would have been even uglier without him.

[BradleyBrave]

I don't care what the numbers say. I know what I see, and I see a kid that wouldn't even start for half the teams in the MVC. If he's a vital cog for the Illini, it's going to be another bottom-feeding season.

[mportsch]

Ahh, the infamous eyeballs argument. Well, the numbers say your eyeballs are wrong in this case. Obviously you have your mind made up, so I won't try any harder to convince you.

[BradleyBrave]

Ahh, the infamous eyeballs argument. Well, the numbers say your eyeballs are wrong in this case. Obviously you have your mind made up, so I won't try any harder to convince you.

I'm not trying to argue here, but numbers don't always tell the story. Let's use Derrick Rose and Dan Ruffin for an example. Dan Ruffin might average more assists and shoot better from 3, but I know by watching them both play that Derrick Rose is a much, much better basketball player. Meachem had OK numbers on a terrible team. He was part of the reason they were awful - He isn't very good.

[mportsch]

The difference here is that the numbers I'm using are tempo-free, not per-game averages (which I agree are very flawed). I'm considering the competition level as well, which is why I listed the rating of the defensive schedule. Considering tempo and competition keeps everything in context.

I'm definitely not trying to argue that Meacham is better than everybody on Bradley (I think Ruffin, Crouch, Wilson, and Warren all had better seasons than Meacham, due to higher usage rates, rebounding, and/or defense). I'm simply saying that Meacham has enough offensive abilities to make him a contributor to an NCAA tourney team. Not as a go-to scorer or maybe not even as a starter, but as a part of the rotation. It's become a pet peeve of mine to see people writing off Meacham without looking at the facts.

By the way, your argument doesn't work here anyway - Ruffin's offensive rating is 108.0, while Rose's is 111.7, with a higher usage rate.

[Murph]

If Trent Meachem is a big part of the rotation again next year, it's going to be another long year for the Illini.

I wonder how many minutes Trent would get at BU, not many is my guess.

[Da Coach]

I don't know about that, Murph. He seems to fit Bradley's style of guard play pretty well. He was Illinois 2nd leading scorer and will be their leading returning scorer. Pretty good for a former walkon they weren't interested in out of high school. I think he'd do OK at Bradley.

[IlliBraves]

I don't care what the numbers say. I know what I see, and I see a kid that wouldn't even start for half the teams in the MVC. If he's a vital cog for the Illini, it's going to be another bottom-feeding season.

What games did you see him play in? He wasn't the best player on the team, but he'll be an important player last year, and he did make a difference this year for Illinois. I think you are judging him because he wears an Orange and Blue jersey. I'm not saying he's going to be the leading scorer, but he'll be pretty important off the bench. How can you possibly think Illinois will be bad next year? Come on, Jamar, Legion, McCamey in the back court? That's pretty solid. Plus, I think the bigs will improve, as guys like Mike Tisdale showed some progress this year.

[MacabreMob]

What games did you see him play in? He wasn't the best player on the team, but he'll be an important player last year, and he did make a difference this year for Illinois. I think you are judging him because he wears an Orange and Blue jersey. I'm not saying he's going to be the leading scorer, but he'll be pretty important off the bench. How can you possibly think Illinois will be bad next year? Come on, Jamar, Legion, McCamey in the back court? That's pretty solid. Plus, I think the bigs will improve, as guys like Mike Tisdale showed some progress this year.

BradleyBrave is not a "hater" of UIUC like me.

He is very objective in his analysis.

So let me throw this out there.... can Meacham be considered similar to someone like Emmeneker this year?

Very valuable but not a "world-beater" of a player?

[mportsch]

I'll agree with that categorization. Meacham is a valuable player but shouldn't be expected to be a star. As a guy that comes off the bench simply to catch and shoot (while taking care of the ball and playing decent defense), he can be a valuable part of a solid team. That's the role I expect him to fill next season.

I also agree that Meacham would fit Bradley's system very well - I don't understand the claims that he wouldn't be good enough to play at Bradley. The guy averaged double digit scoring against one of the tougher schedules in the country. I know he did that on a lackluster team, but Meacham isn't the type of player whose numbers benefit from playing on a bad team (i.e. he's not a guy that normally creates his own shot). If anything, I'd expect his per minute numbers to be way better when he's on a team with more scoring options, as he should be next year.

[MacabreMob]

I'll agree with that categorization. Meacham is a valuable player but shouldn't be expected to be a star. As a guy that comes off the bench simply to catch and shoot (while taking care of the ball and playing decent defense), he can be a valuable part of a solid team. That's the role I expect him to fill next season.

I also agree that Meacham would fit Bradley's system very well - I don't understand the claims that he wouldn't be good enough to play at Bradley. The guy averaged double digit scoring against one of the tougher schedules in the country. I know he did that on a lackluster team, but Meacham isn't the type of player whose numbers benefit from playing on a bad team (i.e. he's not a guy that normally creates his own shot). If anything, I'd expect his per minute numbers to be way better when he's on a team with more scoring options, as he should be next year.

That's all good and all I want to add is.... perception is not always reality.