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On this page, you can find all of my stories for TCR in one place, in chronological order. The most recent stories are at the top.

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The Champaign Room •

SOURCES: Date set for Illinois’ chance at revenge against UConn

A date looks to be set for Illinois’ seemingly annual big match at Madison Square Garden, this time against a familiar opponent.According to college basketball insider Jon Rothstein, the Illini are set to play UConn in New York on November 28, though there is no timetable for an official announcement.A matchup against the Huskies gives Underwood and his staff the chance to bounce back in two ways. With one stone, they can look to knock out two birds by brushing past the blowout Elite Eight loss...
The Champaign Room •

Brad Underwood agrees to contract extension with Illinois

Brad Underwood has agreed to a contract extension at Illinois, putting pen to paper on a deal that will keep him in Champaign through the end of the 2030-31 season. The deal is pending approval from a University of Illinois Board of Trustees meeting on May 22.“On behalf of my wife Susan and our entire family, a sincere thank you to all who make Illinois such a special place,” Underwood said via a press release. “We have tremendous alignment here, starting with our outstanding athletic director J...
The Champaign Room •

NBA-bound Illinois duo projected to land on same Western Conference team

With the NBA’s annual Draft Combine and Draft Lottery just around the corner, even more projections and predictions are coming out on who could go where and when.Two of the draft’s top experts are projecting Illinois’ star freshman duo of Kasparas Jakucionis and Will Riley to both be selected in the lottery — the first 14 picks — and by the same team.ESPN’s Jonathan Givony and Jeremy Woo project the pair to land with the San Antonio Spurs, who have the eighth-best and 14th-best odds ahead of the...
The Champaign Room •

Illinois’ Zakhari Franklin signs with the Las Vegas Raiders as an UDFA

After wrapping up one of the most illustrious wide receiver careers in recent history, Zakhari Franklin is going pro.While he did not hear his name called during the NFL Draft, he will be signing with the Las Vegas Raiders as an undrafted free agent.Franklin transferred to Illinois following three seasons at UTSA and one at Ole Miss, and in his one season with the Illini, he played a key role. He finished the year with 55 receptions for 652 yards and four touchdowns and was part of a receiving c...
The Champaign Room •

Former six-year Illini Ryan Meed invited to Philadelphia Eagles mini camp

Almost six years after starting his college football career at Illinois, linebacker Ryan Meed is going pro.On Sunday, he received an invitation to the Philadelphia Eagles’ mini-camp.Meed arrived on campus in 2019 and fully used a redshirt year and his COVID year to build up to a solid senior season in 2024. While he was primarily a special-teams player up until this past season, but played a key role in numerous performances this past year.He finished seventh on the team in tackles with 50 and h...
The Champaign Room •

Illinois Fighting Illini Basketball Scholarship Grid

With the transfer portal and international recruiting now foundational pieces of Illinois’ offseason recruiting, it can be hard to keep track of a scholarship count and an active roster. In an attempt to keep things as organized as possible, we’ve put together a chart to illustrate how Illinois’ roster will look in upcoming seasons.Note: Years for certain international recruits and players who spent time at non-NCAA schools may be inaccurate.The chart will be updated as news of outgoing and inco...
The Champaign Room •

Former Illinois guard Jayden Epps enters transfer portal

Former Illinois guard Jayden Epps has entered the transfer portal, leaving Georgetown after just two seasons. The news was first reported by On3’s Jamie Shaw.Epps was a part of Illinois’ 2022 recruiting class, joined by freshmen Sencire Harris, Ty Rodgers, and Skyy Clark. Then-assistant head coach Chester Frazier was the lead recruiter on him, according to 247 Sports. Frazier recently moved jobs this offseason, taking up the associate head coach role at Virginia Tech after one season at West Vir...
The Champaign Room •

Who is Dame Sarr? What Kasparas Jakucionis has to say about the Illinois target

After Illinois’s elimination in the NCAA Tournament last month at the hands of Kentucky, Kasparas Jakucionis spoke to members of the media for the last time as an Illinois player. He’s since declared for the NBA Draft, where he’s projected by most outlets to be a top-ten pick and by some to be a top-five pick.Jakucionis was named to the Big Ten’s Third Team and All-Freshman Team at the end of his lone year in Champaign, but his FC Barcelona-colored shoes will be filled by an ex-teammate of his o...
The Champaign Room •

Tomislav Ivisic returning to Illinois to join twin brother

On Saturday, Illinois center Tomislav Ivisic announced that he would be back in Champaign for the 2025-26 season — right as his twin brother Zvonimir announced he would be transferring from Arkansas.Ivisic was a core member of the squad this past season, averaging 13.0 points, 7.7 rebounds and 2.3 assists. The modern-day center also made 35.7 percent of his three-point attempts, giving Brad Underwood’s squad a floor-spreading weapon. He played in 32 games, starting 31 of them, dealing with illne...
The Champaign Room •

REPORT: Sophomore guard Dra Gibbs-Lawhorn enters transfer portal

On Tuesday, sophomore guard Dra Gibbs-Lawhorn has entered the transfer portal, first reported by Jamie Shaw of On3 Sports.Gibbs-Lawhorn was one of two first-team players on Brad Underwood’s squad to be recruited out of high school by the program, and the player to have been a part of the rotation in 2023 to remain with the squad in 2024.The 6-foot-1 guard played in all 35 games for the Illini this season, although his role was inconsistent playing 14.9 minutes per game on the whole year. He aver...
The Champaign Room •

Illinois’ Jakucionis: ‘I don’t know if it’s my last year’

MILWAUKEE — With his freshman season of basketball over following Illinois’ 84-75 loss in the second round of the NCAA Tournament to Kentucky, star freshman Kasparas Jakucionis has a big decision to make about his basketball future.In all likelihood, the Lithuanian will declare for the NBA Draft as the first one-and-done in the history of Illinois basketball.“I don’t know if it’s my last year or not,” Jakucionis told TCR’s Zeno Jo following the loss.NBA.com’s latest mock draft projects Jakucioni...
The Champaign Room •

Illinois’ season ends in Round of 32 loss to Kentucky

Will Riley was among the emotional Illini walking off the Fiserv Forum court Sunday afternoon after a 84-75 loss to No. 3 Kentucky in the second round of the NCAA Tournament in Milwaukee. No. 6 Illinois falls short of reaching the Sweet 16 for the second consecutive season and finishes head coach Brad Underwood’s eighth season in Champaign with 22 wins.“Just keep our heads up,” said junior guard Kylan Boswell on his message to the team after the game. “Today was tough. All we can do now is enjoy...
The Champaign Room •

‘They’re locked in’: A more physical, hungry Illinois has arrived in March

MILWAUKEE — By now, most of us have seen the picture of Bryant’s Earl Timberlake and his blood-drenched face (discretion advised). While not to that extent or level of gruesomeness, a few Illini shed blood in their win over Xavier on Friday, too.Center Tomislav Ivisic entered the Illinois locker room post-game for media interviews, with a tear in his jersey right above the ‘n’ of ‘Illinois’ and a cut on his shooting left hand, which left dried blood caked on his skin down to the wrist.“I don’t k...
The Champaign Room •

‘Like a big brother’: Illinois’ Ty Rodgers’ off-court influence having an on-court impact

MILWAUKEE — All season long, he’s been the first guy off the bench and the most animated once he’s off of it. In his redshirt sophomore year, Ty Rodgers has been a mentor, coach and — perhaps most importantly — an older brother to his Illinois teammates, helping Brad Underwood carry over the culture of last year’s success.In Illinois’ win on Friday over Xavier, that was even more apparent, whether it be whipping a towel around or gesturing toward the orange-leaning Milwaukee crowd.After deciding...
The Champaign Room •

Well-rounded Illinois shakes off Xavier in Round of 64 win

One week after a less-than-stellar showing in the Big Ten Tournament, No. 6 Illinois turned on the jets at Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee and topped No. 11 Xavier late Friday night to advance to the Round of 32 for the second consecutive season. The Fighting Illini will have just over a day to get their legs under them for a date with No. 3 Kentucky on Sunday and an appearance in the Sweet 16 on the line.The evening started with an opening few minutes that may have made Illini fans at Fiserv Forum an...
The Champaign Room •

‘We’ll be more hungry’: Energy the focus of Illinois’ bounce-back after Maryland loss

“Today’s the first time in a bit that we’ve gotten off to a tough start,” Underwood said. “We just didn’t handle it very well. Maybe it’s me. Maybe I’ve got to do something different, I’ve got to sub; I don’t know. But our energy today was awful. Awful.”Energy was what a lot of Underwood’s players pointed to as well. Junior Tre White said the key to chipping away at large, early deficits — something his team has done to opposing teams throughout the year — is to focus on the task at hand, not th...
The Champaign Room •

‘They’ve changed the whole dynamic’: Boswell, White the leaders on a young Illinois team

There are factors behind it. Brad Underwood will tell you that his team is hitting the three-ball at an elite rate (37.7 percent in the last four games), and his team is as close to being fully healthy since November.Tre White and Kylan Boswell, who between the two of them have the most Division I experience from their stops at USC/Louisville and Arizona, have become the leaders of the squad that has no fewer than eight players in their first or second year of college basketball.“They’ve changed...
The Champaign Room •

106-point outburst sends Illinois to Big Ten Tournament quarterfinals

It’s the fourth time this year that Illinois has hit the 100-point mark and first since a 109-77 win at Oregon in January. The Illini fell just short of the record for most points scored in a Big Ten Tournament. The record was 112 points, set by the Hawkeyes in 2022.The Illini drove the ball against the Hawkeyes, who all season long have been one of the shakier teams when defending inside the arc. Early drives from the likes of Kasparas Jakucionis got the Lithuanian started in the points column...
The Champaign Room •

Three Illinois stars named in Big Ten postseason honors

A year after earning two mentions on the All-Big Ten First Team, three Illinois basketball players were praised when Tuesday’s All-Big Ten postseason honors were announced.He led the Illini in scoring and assists this season, averaging 15.2 points and 4.8 assists, and was third on the team with 5.66 rebounds per game. He became the fifth Illini player of the Brad Underwood era to be named to the All-Freshman team, joining a prestigious group of players including Trent Frazier in 2018, Ayo Dosonm...
The Champaign Room •

Meet college basketball’s air raid offense: Brad Underwood’s Illinois Fighting Illini

Brad Underwood’s offense is the closest thing to a spread, air raid offense that you could put on 94 feet of hardwood. When it works, Illinois can blow teams out of the water with a barrage of three-pointers that exemplify a 400-plus yard afternoon for your gunslinging quarterback. Three different receivers — hell, maybe even a running back — might finish with over 100 receiving yards.On the bad days, if it’s too windy or rainy, or you’re going up against the nation’s best secondary, your quarte...
The Champaign Room •

Illinois comes back from the dead to topple No. 18 Purdue on Senior Night

It isn’t Illinois basketball if it doesn’t push you to the brink and then pull you back in, right? Midway through the second half, it seemed like the Illini were properly down and out. The Boilermaker advantage was ten, the largest advantage of the game by either team. It was then that the Illini went off for a 10-0 run out of seemingly nowhere to tie things up and then take the lead, a la Ben Humrichous from deep. 67-66 Illinois.It stayed tight the rest of the way through, with the dagger being...
The Champaign Room •

‘They’ve got a big job’: The scout team, Illinois’ behind-the-scenes everyday guys

That’s the job that the squad’s scout team is tasked with. A scout team, in simple terms, is the group of players that looks to deploy the tactics and replicate the playstyles of upcoming opponents to help prepare starters.“They’ve got a big job, from out-of-bounds plays to opponents’ highest frequency actions,” head coach Brad Underwood said of the scout team. “So we get a very, very good hands-on simulation of what teams do. Is it to the level of what we’re gonna see in a game? No, but it’s a...
The Champaign Room •

What’s at stake for Illinois men’s and women’s basketball Sunday against Michigan

While it certainly hasn’t been the January and February of Illini fans’ dreams, postseason basketball is a lock for both squads of Illinois basketball. With entry into the NCAA Tournament a shoo-in, the focus shifts to securing good seeding for the Big Ten Tournament, which is set to kick off in just a few weeks.We’re looong past the stage of asking you to show love for the women’s team. It’s time to show respect. Shauna Green’s squad is 21-7 overall and 11-6 in Big Ten play, and sits at fifth i...
The Champaign Room •

‘I’m done talking about sickness’: Underwood, Illinois gearing up for final regular season stretch

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — It appears as though lessons were learned after suffering an embarrassing 43-point loss on national television against Duke on Saturday. A decision to field an all-new starting five and implement a new defensive structure against the Big Ten’s highest-scoring offense is a risky gamble, but one that paid off.The Illini, who were once the best rebounding team in the nation, were out-rebounded for the fourth consecutive game, but still found a way to win thanks to irritating defen...
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