The talk this Illinois basketball offseason has been the recruiting tear John Groce has been on.
The Illinois basketball coach has been both grabbing commits from preps and taking in important transfers from other Universities. Leron Black, Quentin Snider, in the running for Cliff Alexander, Illinois basketball is looking up.
And the long offseason is about to come to an end; sort of. Fans will get their first look at the 2013-14 Illinois basketball teams in an outdoors event at Illini Street Jam Saturday night, Sept. 28th.
The Illini are coming off a pleasantly unexpected 23-win season and NCAA Tournament appearance. Coach Groce welcomes back five returnees and adds a top-25-ranked recruiting class among a total of nine newcomers this season. Here’s my Way Too Early season preview I wrote back in April.
Illini Street Jam, which is essentially the Illinois basketball Midnight Madness event, will be held at 7:30 p.m. at the intersection of Green St. and Wright St. in campus town. The area will be closed to traffic to house an Illini-themed flex court, baskets, bleachers and lights. Festivities will include player introductions, fan interactive games and competitions.
Illini Street Jam is free and bleacher seating will be available on a first-come, first-served basis. The experts aren’t very high on Illinois basketball this season; especially in a very competitive Big Ten. However, the next season, with all the blue chip recruits in tow, should be good times!
Paul M. Banks is the owner of The Sports Bank.net, an affiliate of Fox Sports. An analyst for 95.7 The Fan and 1620 The Zone, he also writes for Chicago Now. Follow him on Twitter (@paulmbanks) and Facebook