As we pointed out previously, Jalen Coleman-Lands is giving Illini basketball fans a new reason to break out their Deron Williams sherseys. Like Rashard Mendenhall preceding Mikel Leshoure, you’re seeing a star player wearing #5 at the same position in an Illini revenue sport again.
JCL went 5-10 from three point land, leading the #12 seed Illini with 17 points in their upset over the #5 seed Iowa Hawkeyes in the Big Ten Tournament. Coleman-Lands broke the Illinois record for three point field goals by a freshman in the process.
In a very down season, Jalen Coleman-Lands has been a very big bright spot for Illinois.
Sorry @corybradford13. After hitting 5 treys today, @ColemanJalen is now your #Illini freshman 3 FG record holder! ? pic.twitter.com/k7EJAWTOeU
— Illinois Men's Basketball (@IlliniMBB) March 11, 2016
Of course, the jersey #5 has a lot to do with JCL’s rapid development, right? Coleman-Lands met Deron Williams in the summer and sought D. Will’s authorization to wear his old number.
“It made it an even better experience being I asked his permission and that was pretty exciting being that he allowed me to wear it,” Coleman-Lands told The Sports Bank.
Getting the blessing of perhaps the most famous and clearly the most successful NBA player in Illini basketball history can’t hurt.
Coleman-Lands has heated up lately as the season continues.
Yesterday marked the ninth time in the last 11 games that he has hit at least three three-pointers.
Coleman-Lands now has 87 three-pointers (202 3 FGA), fourth-best on the Illini single season list, behind Luther Head (116 in 2005), Dee Brown (99 in 2005) and Cory Bradford (96 in 2000). So, in addition to the blessing from Deron Williams, his development has got to be due to all the shooting work and diligent practice habits, right?
“I’ve been pretty smart in shooting with a purpose, make sure I shoot shots that resemble (what I’d do in game),” said JCL.
“I feel I’ve gotten more comfortable in my game and getting a better feel where I fit in the system.”
With 10 three-pointers yesterday, a B1G Tourney single game record 14 treys (of 26) against Minnesota Wednesday, Illinois is 24 of 49 (.490) from long distance at the 2016 Big Ten Tournament. The Illini only need five more threes today versus Purdue to break the standing Big Ten Tournament record of most threes made over the course of an entire tournament.
Maybe JCL can get that record all by himself today.
You know he’ll have a lot of fans on hand today to watch him in this his hometown.
When it comes to favorite NBA players and teams, Coleman-Lands likes Steph Curry and Damian Lillard, pointing out that both guys played the two in college. He’s also a big Golden State Warriors fan, the team that is America’s sweethearts right now.
“LaTulip, a senior on our team is a die-hard Warriors fan, he keeps us in the loop with the Warriors,” said Coleman-Lands.
Of course, this exclusive would have turned out much better if he would have said Deron Williams and the Dallas Mavericks were his favorites.
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net, partnered with FOX Sports Engage Network. and News Now. Banks, a former writer for the Washington Times, currently contributes regularly to the Chicago Tribune’s RedEye publication and Bold Global.
He also consistently appears on numerous talk shows all across the country. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram