CHAMPAIGN - Losing Shaun Pruitt will cost the Illini basketball team its No. 1 scorer and No. 1 rebounder.

Losing Brian Randle takes away their No. 3 scorer and No. 2 rebounder.

And losing Jamar Smith will cost the team a remarkable shooter who nearly everyone agreed was ticketed to become Illinois' best player.

So when coaches and players repeatedly talked about the vastly improved team chemistry Tuesday at Illinois' basketball media day, only part of what they were pointing to is how well the current players get along. The mostly unspoken portion of the equation is that across the board, there's a feeling Illinois will benefit from addition by subtraction.

Citing the welcome absence of cliques and an apparently flawed communication system that failed to connect seniors with underclassmen, players sounded almost relieved to be unburdened of the presence of players who graduated or left under trying circumstances.

Combine that with the bonding that naturally occurs when a group of people mutually experience difficult times, and the upcoming Illini basketball team clearly senses a greater degree of togetherness.

"It's definitely better," sophomore center Mike Tisdale said. "Any time you have another year with someone, it will make you closer. We've been together more, eating dinner at Coach Weber's house when recruits are in, just hanging out and having a good time. We enjoy it."

But even Tisdale, who might be described as the team diplomat, agreed some of the improved team chemistry can be traced to the absence of some former teammates.

"Last year, I didn't think people were focused," he said. "I really don't think people had the right attitude, but this year everyone is ready to win and really hungry.

"I won't say there was a great distance between the seniors and the freshmen, but the whole attitude was a little different."

Attitude is a word used by Chester Frazier, who unveiled a new haircut that has eliminated his braids and made him look like a young man beginning his search for a coaching job, which is his goal.

"We got rid of the attitudes," Frazier said matter-of-factly. "Everyone is just here to win games."

Pruitt was known as a brooding, moody guy who seemed fixated on honing his personal game to fit a professional playing career. Randle was an intelligent student-athlete whose career turned into an endless fight to overcome a succession of injuries. And while that wasn't always his fault, it proved to be a non-stop distraction.

And Smith because a storm cloud of controversy after his alcohol-related car wreck in February of 2007. He spent a brief time in jail, was withheld from play for all of last season, and his fate remained uncertain as he tried to live by terms of his court-imposed probation. Alas, he violated those terms this summer and has left the team and the campus.

Maybe it's simply a relief for the current players to have all of these matters resolved.

"They went through some tough times together," Weber said. "When you do that you bond a little better. They all get along and seem to do things together. Last year you had a real division of so many freshmen and these older guys. There didn't seem to be much of a bridge.

"We've always had the players come over to the house. The whole thing is, when they come to the house how long do they stay? I can't make them stay. A lot of times some groups would just eat and go.

"A couple of weeks ago they were there for three or three-and-a-half hours and some where there after that time. They care and want to be together."

Even if Weber has a dinner catered, the players are so at home they dive into his pool and play ping-pong and pillage his refrigerator. "They are not bashful about that," the coach laughed.

And they now observe a new team rule: During dinner, whether it's at a restaurant or at Weber's house, cell phones may not be used at the dinner table.

"Yeah, I did that," Weber said. "We have done some things to make them talk to each other. It's hard for the coaches. We all have families and recruits calling. I just tell them, `You'd better get your butt out of the restaurant if you're going to answer that phone."'

Assistant coach Jerrance Howard, who remembers close-knit teams when he was an Illini guard from 2001-2004 said he sees similar chemistry developing this season.

"These guys started doing a lot of things together this summer," Howard said. "They have been bowling, going to movies, going to dinner, going to Demetri McCamey's house to play cards. They have been through a lot together.

"I don't think it could have gotten any worse than what we went through last year," he said of the 16-19 season, Illinois' first losing campaign since 1998-99. "No one wants to go through that again, from the coaches to the players. So the sense of urgency is very high."

The obvious question is this: Improved team chemistry is nice, but does it translate into better shooting, tougher play and more victories?

The truth is that no one can say. But a month before the season's first game, it was the first real sign that this team is intent on putting some of the demons from last season behind it.

mtupper@herald-review.com|421-7983