Richard Semrau’s voice was barely audible through the wind on a blustery afternoon in Champaign, Ill. On his walk to class, Semrau was upbeat, talking about all the support and positive reinforcement he’s received from family and friends. But at times, Semrau also let his guard down, showing glimpses of a weariness that comes from a year of turmoil.
This has been the most difficult year of Semrau’s life. The Grafton product, who attended Lutheran West, is in his second season at the University of Illinois on a full-ride scholarship for basketball. After a series of physical ailments over the last 12 months — including a severe infection in his chest last Christmas — Semrau’s health is finally back in order. But everything else in his athletic life seems out of place.
Semrau attempted no shots, grabbed no rebounds and didn’t block a shot in his one minute of floor time in an 18-point blowout against the University of Michigan last Wednesday. His lone notation inside the box score was for a foul on the Wolverines’ Zach Gibson with 35 seconds left.
This is hardly the experience Semrau envisioned when he signed a national letter of intent with the Illini two years ago, when he was one of the nation’s most highly regarded post prospects.
Semrau’s one minute of play on Wednesday marked his first action in a game in January. He was held out of the previous five games and has played a total of 14 minutes on the season. On Saturday, he never touched the floor in Illinois’ 74-67 loss at Purdue.
Tonight, Semrau will return to his home state to face Ohio State in Columbus. But while he will have friends and family in attendance at Value City Arena, Semrau admits it comes at a time when his struggles to establish himself at Illinois have never been greater.
“It’s been difficult,” said Semrau. “You go to practice every day and you’ve got to stay motivated. But because you’re not playing, it’s not easy. I know I’m going to go through trials and hard times, so I can’t give up. I’m trying to accomplish what I came to school to do – to continue my basketball career.”
Semrau arrived in Champaign in the summer of 2006 teeming with confidence as a three-time All-Ohio selection with an unusual combination of speed and athleticism for his position. He played in each of the Illini’s first five games and averaged better than 15 minutes as a true freshman.
But that promising start unraveled when he received an errant elbow to the chest during practice in late November. Semrau was just coming off of a bout with the flu. His lungs were bruised by the hit and quickly became infected, requiring emergency surgery on Dec. 6. Tubes were stuck in his back to remove a substantial amount of pus that had coated his lungs.
Semrau was sent home for the next month, where he could barely move. His weight dropped from 235 to 190 pounds.
“It was a tragic situation,” said Illinois coach Bruce Weber. “He had to drop out of school. He lost a ton of weight. It was a life-threatening situation. He missed basketball and basically all activity for three to four months.”
It was particularly difficult to watch for his parents.
“It’s pretty tough to come back from an injury like that and go full-bore,” said his father, Mike Semrau. “What you have to learn is patience and I don’t think many kids that age are patient.”
During the spring, Semrau’s road back to health was detoured by surgery to remove pre-cancerous cells from his thyroid. While the procedure was relatively minor, it marked yet another obstacle.
By the time fall rolled around, Semrau’s place at Illinois had changed. He was competing with two freshmen big men for playing time, Mike Tisdale and Bill Cole, along with three upperclassmen receiving heavy minutes.
“You have to realize that at the level he’s playing on, the difference between the players isn’t that great,” said Lutheran West’s Phil Argento, his former coach. “When you fall behind and give someone else the opportunity that you had, it might be awhile before you get another chance. That’s what (Richard is) realizing. Injuries at the major college level can put you far behind.”
Semrau has had to rethink how he approaches the game. His performance on the court could always be measured through quality of play – framed by wins, losses, points, rebounds and shooting percentages. All those numbers are easily calculated. But when playing time is hard to come by, progress can get lost in the gray area.
“I really don’t have any statistics,” said Semrau. “My success has been limited or none. So the only thing I can do is work hard in practice and compete and stay consistent and wait for my next opportunity.”
Weber watches Semrau in practice and says the redshirt freshman is still trying to find his footing.
“It seems like he has the body, he has the jumping ability, he has the hands,” said Weber. “He just can’t connect it together. He comes up to me sometimes and says he’s not producing like he can – or like he should. It kills you because at times he gives you glimmers of hope that he can be successful.”
Semrau isn’t alone in this. His family and friends stay on him daily. Recently, he received a package of articles, all of them about various individuals who struggled in college initially only to discover success later.
“This is just a test for me,” said Semrau. “And depending on how I deal with it will determine my success in basketball.”
And that’s an attitude Weber says made Semrau such an intriguing prospect in the first place.
“We won’t give up on the kid,” he said. “He’s still just a freshman. He went through a tough situation and now he’s working his way back.”
Contact Pete Alpern at 329-7137 or at palpern@chroniclet.com.

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