Well, this is probably all we’ll hear from Daily Illini writer Jason Grodsky. With the Maui Invite completed, I’m sure Jason will be on the beach sucking down (virgin) pena coladas and getting caught in the sun rays. Here’s a few observations from our corespondent. Aloha!

MAUI, Hawaii – It’s all over here in Maui.

No surprise Duke has won its fourth Maui Invitational title and has still never lost when playing in the tournament. Heck, Duke even won the charity free throw shooting contest and the EA Sports March Madness 2008 video game tournament before the actual tournament began.

With Thanksgiving tomorrow I can gladly be thankful for being able to spend my break on the beach and watching great college basketball at the best in-season tournament.

Here are my final thoughts and observations from the tournament and my stay here in Maui.

Brock earns All-Tournament Team honors

            Junior guard Calvin Brock stepped up big for the Illini during their four game stay in Hawaii and was selected to the 2007 Maui Invitational All-Tournament team, joining former Illini Marcus Griffin and Frank Williams as the only Illini earn the honor. Williams and Griffin were selected for the All-Tournament team in 2000 when the Illini finished second.

            Brock hit the game winning shot with five seconds left to allow Illinois to escape its first game against Hawaii on Friday night, and finished the trip averaging a team high 10.5 points and 6.5 rebounds per game.

            Weber rewarded the Chicago native by giving him his first start of the season in Illinois’ final game against Oklahoma State. Brock then thanked his coach by scoring 12 points and grabbing eight rebounds in the Illini’s 65-49 win.

I spoke too soon about Randle’s health

            I may have jinxed Illini senior forward Brian Randle when I talked about him being fully healthy and taking full advantage of it.

Randle entered the Illini’s final game playing the best and most consistent basketball of all the Illinois players, averaging 15 points and 5.7 rebounds per game on the trip.

But Randle left the Illini’s game against the Cowboys with a left leg contusion seven minutes into the first half and did not return. He pulled up lame after fighting for a rebound on the defensive end and had taken to the team’s locker room. Weber said he should be OK.

Defense and rebounding: That’s the Illini way.

            The most impressive stats of the tournament the Illini put up were on the defensive end.

            Illinois held its four opponents to shooting a combined 42 percent from the field and less than 39 percent from the three-point line. The Illini forced an average of 12.75 turnovers per game and had 22 steals in their four games.

            The more impressive stat was Illinois’ rebounding.

            The Illini out rebounded their opponents 159 to 109 and 93-to-30 on the offensive boards.

            Illinois’ best offensive weapon in its four games was a missed shot, which often times created a good scoring opportunity for the Illini with the help of an offensive rebound. In the Illini’s loss to Duke, they outscored the Blue Devils an amazing 31-6 on second chance points.

LSU-ASU best game of the tournament

            Most the games in Maui weren’t very close. Not until the final day was a game really decided in the final minutes.

            The best game came in the morning on Wednesday in front of a sparse crowd at the Lahaina Civic Center in the fifth- and sixth- place game between LSU and Arizona State.

            The Tigers trailed by three points with less than six seconds remaining, but sent the game to overtime when Marcus Thornton hit a three-pointer from the right corner with 2.5 seconds left in the game.

            Arizona State was able to prevail 87-84 in a seesaw overtime and send the Tigers home with a tough luck loss.

Congrats to the Silverswords

Host school Chaminade got its first win in the tournament since 2001 on Wednesday. The Silverswords defeated the Princeton Tigers 74-70 in the seventh- and eighth-place game, ending its 13-game losing streak in the tournament.

Chaminade had come close to pulling off a couple of upsets earlier in the tournament, playing the No. 13 ranked Marquette Golden Eagles tough before falling 74-63 in round one and just coming up short against LSU on Tuesday in a 78-72 loss.

The win over Princeton was only the fifth win in the Maui Inviational in the school’s 24 years of hosting the tournament.

            If you’re wondering what a Silversword is, it’s a plant that is only found on the island of Maui at the Haleakalā National Park at an elevation of 2,100 to 3,000 meters above sea level.

It’s a small world

            When I first sat down at the media table for Illinois’ first game of the tournament I was greeted by an elderly man who worked for a local publication on the island.

            We started talking and after awhile I learned the man was actually a graduate from the U of I. Even more amazing was that he is a former Daily Illini reporter.

            After spending my time in Maui I’ve decided that he made the right choice. Who wouldn’t want to spend their time getting paid to watch sports and scribble a few words down while being in paradise?

            The only set back I can see is having to wake up at the crack of dawn to watch the Illini play football for those 11 a.m. CT kickoffs which would be almost before sunrise on the islands.