Kasparas Jakucionis- you may not know how to correctly spell or pronounce his name, but he is the real deal. An Illini basketball player dominating at point guard and wearing #32? It's a bit reminiscent of Demetri McCamey, who was also among the top players in not only the Big Ten, but also the nation. Jakucionis was dominant in the 86-80 win over #20 Wisconsin last night, … [Read more...] about Illini Basketball Game Preview: vs #1 Tennessee Volunteers
Demetri McCamey
Tre Demps Makes Chicago Bulls Summer League Roster
The Chicago Bulls announced their team which will participate in the 2016 Las Vegas Summer League. This year's #1 draft pick, #14 overall, Denzel Valentine out of Michigan State (the last pick in the lottery) headlines the roster, which includes fellow Spartan alumni Raymar Morgan. Yes, the same Raymar Morgan who is balling with the Spartan Heroes (Michigan State Alumni) in … [Read more...] about Tre Demps Makes Chicago Bulls Summer League Roster
Illinois Fighting Illini Demetri McCamey: His True NBA Draft Stock
Ah yes, Demetri McCamey! Much has been written and said about the now former Illinois Fighting Illini point guard, who was essentially the face of that particular college basketball program for three years, and a starter for close to four. He slowly but surely developed and matured during his time at Illinois, but never became a loud, vocal leader. He brought the ball up, … [Read more...] about Illinois Fighting Illini Demetri McCamey: His True NBA Draft Stock
Illinois Fighting Illini 2010-2011 Recap, Early look Ahead to 2012
Inconsistency, lack of effort, and disappointing: those three words are as good as any when it comes to summing up the University of Illinois Men’s Basketball 2010-2011 season. For a team that was supposed to do great things this year, they had a very up and down campaign. After starting the season 10-1 (only loss coming in OT to Texas at Madison Square Garden), the Illini … [Read more...] about Illinois Fighting Illini 2010-2011 Recap, Early look Ahead to 2012
Blame for Disappointing Illini Season Goes Well Beyond Senior Class
In the bracket of non-existent, 2009-2011 Illini basketball leadership has got to be a #1 seed. And I’m not singling out Coach Bruce Weber, or point guard/star player Demetri McCamey. I’m talking about the total team's overall tendency to just NOT get things done together as a team. If Notre Dame is Gestalt, and a cohesive unit playing well beyond the sum of their parts, … [Read more...] about Blame for Disappointing Illini Season Goes Well Beyond Senior Class
TSB’s Big Ten Basketball Postseason Awards
You can have an endless debate about some of the candidates for the Big Ten basketball post-season awards. JaJuan Johnson, Jared Sullinger, and Jordan Taylor are all worthy of being named Player of the Year. A solid case could be made for Ohio State's Thad Matta, Purdue's Matt Painter, and Wisconsin's Bo Ryan winning Coach of the Year honors. The Sports Bank panel of five … [Read more...] about TSB’s Big Ten Basketball Postseason Awards
Casting My USA Basketball Writers Association Awards Ballot
A secret ballot? Nah, when it comes to college basketball, I'll shout my opinions and evaluations from the mountain top. I've covered a lot of teams both in the Big Ten and the Big East this past season: Illinois, Northwestern, Notre Dame and DePaul, so let's begin. We start by choosing my District: V. of course, covering Ohio, Illinois, Wisconsin, Michigan, Minnesota and … [Read more...] about Casting My USA Basketball Writers Association Awards Ballot
Illini Stayin’ Alive for NCAA Tournament Berth
Well you can tell by the way they use their walk that...well, they haven't played themselves out of NCAA tournament contention yet. Was that all just an excuse to lead in with that smarmy photo of Disco John Travolta? Yes. Yes it was. But it still needs to be said that, after 29 games, the Illinois Fighting Illini men's college basketball team still is hanging around the … [Read more...] about Illini Stayin’ Alive for NCAA Tournament Berth
Illinois 81, Iowa 68: Rapid Reaction
It was a college basketball game that highlighted one of the main reoccurring themes of the Illinois Fighting Illini season. Every time they had a big lead, they just couldn't find a way to step on their opponents' throat. The "killer instinct," or "closing speed" just was not there. It seemed like every time they went up 15, the margin was back to five or less before you … [Read more...] about Illinois 81, Iowa 68: Rapid Reaction
Five Worst Moments of the 2010-11 Illini Hoops Season
The Illinois Fighting Illini came into this year with across-the-board top 15 preseason national rankings. Yet here they are receiving no votes at all (deservedly so) in either poll for the past few weeks, under .500 in conference, and squarely on the NCAA bubble. In other words, grossly underachieving and not even remotely close to meeting expectations. And it’s not just … [Read more...] about Five Worst Moments of the 2010-11 Illini Hoops Season