The end of the Cedrick Banks era is over at UIC, and with it comes a slew of questions about the Flames prospects for the 2005-06 season. Gone with Banks is all-league forward Armond Williams. The departure of those two means the loss of 41% of their scoring, 32% of their rebounding and 30% of their assists. Who will fill in the void left by the departure of those two may be cause for concern or hope. The Flames will probably be deeper than they were a season ago, a year in which just seven players saw significant minutes by the end of the season. However, recent news has the Flames without the services of incumbent point guard Rocky Collum due to injury.

Collum’s injury most likely means that point guard duties will go to junior college transfer D.J. Smedley. Smedley was a highly rated junior college player which should make the transition easier than handing over the team to a less experienced player. Last season at Saddleback junior college Smedley led the conference in assists. Freshman Josh Mayo will also see some time in the depleted backcourt. Karl White is expected to take over the shooting guard duties. At 6’2” and 170 pounds White is ultra fast. He scored better than five points a game and notched nearly 30 steals in just over 16 minutes a game. Samford transfer Greg Zimny will most likely serve as a role playing three-point specialist.

The frontcourt will be the strength of the Flames this season. Though the loss of Williams may sting, it gives several Flames who’ve languished in the shadows the opportunity for a more prominent role. Perhaps the most expectation lies on the shoulders of Jovan Stefanov. At 6’9” and 210 pounds Stefanov can go inside and outside. Look for his numbers to increase from the nearly nine points and five rebounds he posted a season ago.

Much will also be expected of senior forward Elliot Poole. He’s been excellent at times throughout his career and now has the opportunity to play the most minutes of his career. Fellow senior Justin Bowen is the second leading returning rebounder, he averaged nearly eight points a contest to go with better than five rebounds. Newcomers Othyus Jeffers and Daniel Zoric will also figure in the mix. Jeffers is the cousin of legendary Flames guard Mark Miller and is a bit undersized as a 6’5” forward, but is very versatile. Zoric is a load at 6’9” 230 pounds and will add even more depth up front. Freshman Jovan Ignjatovic from Serbia is a promising prospect.

The Flames were a disappointment last season, finishing just 15-14 and ending the careers of Banks and Williams on kind of a sour note. It’s relatively common knowledge that there was some in-fighting amongst some members of the squad who thought perhaps they should be playing more prominent roles. Without naming names though head coach Jimmy Collins has told the media that the attitude problems are gone and that the he and the players are looking forward to a promising season.

It seems like a tough sell to claim that the Flames will be improved with the loss of perhaps two of the best players to ever don a Flames uniform. However, it may not be that far off. There is a lot of experience on the Flames roster that is finally getting their chance to assume the spotlight. Whether they are capable of stepping up and bringing the Flames to the top half of the conference remains to be seen. The thin backcourt is a huge concern. There is not a minute of Division I experience at the point guard spot and White will have to be consistently perform in the starter’s role. The strength lies in the Flames frontcourt where a couple of players have the opportunity to earn all-conference honors. With no clearly defined go-to guys, though, it’ll be tough to see the Flames improve on last year’s mark.

--article reprinted with permission of the author

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