When you think of Canada, you often think hockey next. And conversely, when you first hear the word hockey, you might think of Canada next, when it comes to word association. Things could be changing though, at least according to Kitchener, Ontario native Will Riley.
The #1 ranked basketball recruit from Canada, Riley has really developed as the season has gone along.
Basketball is slowly moving towards replacing hockey as the #Canada national game, #Illini star Will Riley believes.
..#MarchMadness #NCAATournament pic.twitter.com/pTy8p1FxTn— Paul M. Banks (@PaulMBanks) March 22, 2025
And Will Riley believes basketball might slowly be on its way to replacing hockey as the main national sport of our neighbors to the north.
Hear his reasons why in the video embedded above.
Links: Illini Tournament History Illini First Weekend News & Notes Illini First Weekend Nuggets & Tidbits
How Kasparas Jakucioinis and Tomislav Ivisic First Got Into Basketball
Morez Johnson Exclusive Major Historical Significance of Last Tourney Meeting Between These Two Teams
The Toronto Raptors won their first NBA championship in 2019, and that was just massive for the growth of basketball in the Great White North.
And who knows, maybe the Raptors will be the team that drafts Riley, come June, if/when the Illini combo guard declares for the draft.
Will Riley has really seen his NBA Draft stock increase in value over the past few weeks. He’s looking like a mid-to-late first rounder.
Last night, in the 86-73 NCAA Tournament first round win over Xavier, Riley had 20 points, and finished 7-10 from the floor. Two of those three misses were easy lay-ups, so imagine what those numbers would have looked like had he converted those.
When the Illini met media on dais after the game, they had one player from the hometown of the program (Kylan Boswell), one Croatian (Tomislav Ivisic), (obviously a Canadian in Will Riley) and a Lithuanian in Kasparas Jakucionis.
We asked Illini basketball coach Brad Underwood about his team’s diversity of culture, how that keeps the locker room together and fosters team chemistry.
“It’s been much easier,” Underwood responded. “Other than probably those guys cussing at me in their foreign language and I don’t know what they’re saying, which I’m sure that’s happened a good amount (smiling). Especially from Tommy.”
“But this group loves basketball. They love to compete. This group rivals our group last year in terms of liking and caring for each other in the locker room.
“It’s genuinely a group that’s happy when somebody else does something great.
“That’s really hard to find.
“So keeping ’em all on that page has been fun to be a part of. Even through all the adversity we went through. They’re great human beings.
“They’re great kids, they’re smart.”
“They love the game. They love to compete.”
Paul M. Banks is the Founding Editor of The Sports Bank. He’s also the author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” and “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”
He currently contributes to USA Today’s NFL Wires Network, the Internet Baseball Writers Association of America and RG. His past bylines include the New York Daily News, Sports Illustrated and the Chicago Tribune. His work has been featured in numerous outlets, including the Wall Street Journal, Forbes, the Washington Post and ESPN. You can follow him on Linked In and Twitter.