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CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- The Illinois team that takes the court in early November will look a lot different than the one that limped to a 15-19 record last season.Illini fans accustomed to no real point guard and few options at center will see a change at both positions, thanks in part to the return of sixth-year guard Tracy Abrams and center Mike Thorne Jr.In fact, assuming nothing changes by the Nov. 11 opener against Southeast Missouri, Illinois will have every player on its roster healthy for the first time in two years.None is more welcome than Abrams.The 6-2 point guard from Chicago turned 24 in February, is closing in on his third degree and believes he can be both the leader his team needs and a contributor at a position where last season Illinois sometimes lacked even one legitimate option.Abrams says now he never doubted he would make it back, and does not want to talk about what happened last season, including the arrests of teammates Leron Black, Jaylon Tate and Kendrick Nunn. Charges against Tate were dropped while Black pleaded guilty to misdemeanor aggravated assault and Nunn to misdemeanor domestic battery. Nunn was kicked off the team while Black and Tate are back.Thats important because we cant go back into time and try to change those things, he said. Its a different team. Its a different year.Beyond what Abrams can do at point guard, Illini coach John Groce sees him as a steadying presence.Where hes come from ... hes like having an old man out there, Groce said.Some of the key things to look for as Illinois starts its season:AT THE POINTIn his junior season, Abrams started all 35 games and scored 10.7 points a game and averaged 3.2 assists . Illinois will also have Tate, a senior who started 15 times last season but isnt a scorer, and freshman TeJon Lucas, who scored 20.5 points a game and averaged 7.8 assists as a high school senior in Milwaukee.BIG MENThornes return from a knee injury that cost him most of last season gives Illinois two legitimate centers, along with improving senior Maverick Morgan . Groce is counting on both for a team that last season lived on outside shooting and was near the back of the Big Ten in rebounding. Illinois will also hope the 6-7, 220-pound Black can contribute here, too.We better see a difference rebounding, Groce said. We should be a little more potent inside scoring.HILLS FINALEHaving those big men will also let Malcolm Hill spend more time on the wing his senior season. The 6-6 Hill led Illinois last season with 18.1 points a game, but he played everything from point guard to post. Hill insists that wasnt a problem.I was doing a lot, but not too much for me to handle, he said.TOURNEY TALKWhile his players mostly stick to a dont look too far ahead line when asked about the possibility of a return to the NCAA Tournament after three straight seasons away, Groce isnt shy about calling a trip back a goal.We want it to be an expectation, that thats what we do every year, he said.BOTTOM LINEGroce may need his team to get back to the tournament.After last season, he found himself sitting at a news conference listening to his new boss, athletic director Josh Whitman, tell reporters that the coach would keep his job in spite of the series of arrests. But Whitman has made a lot of the slogan We will win since he took over at his alma mater in February, and Groce, in his fifth season, has just the one trip to the NCAA Tournament so far.---Follow David Mercer on Twitter: (at)davidmercerAP Adidas Superstar γυναικεια μαυρα . Despite dominating possession, Schalke needed an own goal from Nicolas Hoefler for the breakthrough a minute before the interval. The Freiburg midfielder misjudged Jefferson Farfans corner and bundled the ball into his own net. Adidas NMD R2 γυναικεια . "I was fortunate to play many years at this level with a great organization and unbelievable teammates," said Hejduk in a statement. http://www.nmdgreece.com/adidas-gazelle-greece.html . Aaron Harrison scored a 22 points for Kentucky (6-1), which has won four in a row following a Nov. 12 loss to current No. 1 Michigan State. Julius Randle overcame a scoreless first half and added his sixth double-double in as many games with 14 points and 10 rebounds. Adidas NMD προσφορες . - The Oakland Raiders re-signed offensive lineman Khalif Barnes on Friday. Adidas pharrell williams ελλαδα . -- PGA TOUR Canada member Steve Saunders took a three-stroke lead Saturday in the Web. MAYNOOTH, Ireland -- Saying hes "feeling a bit lost" in a difficult year, Rory McIlroy shot a 2-over 74 on Thursday in the Irish Open to fall eight strokes behind first-round leader Oscar Floren. The second-ranked McIlroy, from Northern Ireland, had four bogeys and two birdies in wet and overcast conditions at Carton House on the outskirts of Dublin. McIlroy hit only five of 14 fairways and took 34 putts. "At the moment, no aspects of my game are strong and Im just feeling a bit lost at the moment," he said. "It feels good on the range and I can hit all the shots, but when I get out on the course it really does not seem to be there. "Off the tee, I am missing one right and then missing one left and its just not going where I want it. It gets you in two minds every time you are playing a tee shot. The game is just not coming easy to me at the moment and while I was struggling at this point last year, I was able to turn the corner in the middle of the summer and have a great end to my season. I dont know whether its a matter of trying to play my way out of it or just keeep grinding away on the range or whatever.dddddddddddd" Floren, from Sweden, had a 6-under 66. He drove the green on the par-4 13th and holed a 20-foot eagle putt. "I just came out and hit everything really, really pure," Floren said. American Peter Uihlein was a stroke back along with Dutchman Joost Luiten, , Frances Jean-Baptiste Gonnet, Northern Irelands Michael Hoey and Irelands Shane Lowry. Uihlein, the Madeira Islands Open winner last month, is making his 10th European Tour start of the year. The former Oklahoma State star won the 2010 U.S. Amateur. Lowry, the 2009 winner at County Louth as an amateur, had six birdies and a bogey played alongside McIlroy. "I was just chomping at the bit to get out there this morning and I was just trying to play me way into the tournament nicely so Im really pleased with a 67," he said. Hoey said wife Barbara had their first child induced last week so he could compete in the event. "Its great being a father and already its added a new perspective to my life," said Hoey, a four-time European Tour winner. ' ' '
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