Home About The Champaign Room IlliniGuys Illini Inquirer VLR.gg K League United Multimedia Contact

TCR Notebooks

IlliniGuys.com •

Behind the Preparation that Helped the Illini to a Winter Wonderland Win over Northwestern

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – The show must go on and go on it did. In the midst of a winter storm that dropped over six inches of snow, the Illini found their way through a snowy, slippery, and freezing four quarters of football to top the Northwestern Wildcats 20-13 and protect the Land of Lincoln Trophy.

It’s hard to prepare for the kind of snow that Champaign-Urbana saw on Saturday. The west side of Gies...
IlliniGuys.com •

Illinois Shakes Off Rust, Freshman Nerves as Return to Full Health Nears

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – It was, in head coach Shauna Green’s words, one of the harder basketball games to watch, but it was a game that helped prepare the Illinois women’s basketball team for a season in a multitude of ways.

If you weren’t able to catch Tuesday night’s game because it was on Big Ten Plus, or you just had other plans, you may be wondering why a 91-67 season-opening win over Southeast Mis...
IlliniGuys.com •

Berry Wallace’s Career Day a Sign of Freshman to Sophomore Growth

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – There was plenty to like from the Illinois women’s basketball team’s 91-67 season opener victory against Southeast Missouri State, but the undeniable star of the show was sophomore Berry Wallace.

After parting ways with a senior class that included four starters last offseason, head coach Shauna Green reloaded her roster with a recruiting class that ranked fourth in the nation, h...
IlliniGuys.com •

Looking up to Serbian Point Guard Greats, Mihailo Petrovic Confident His Game Translates to College Basketball

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – At this time, it seems as though one of the key cogs in the Illinois offense this season will be point guard Mihailo Petrovic. Head coach Brad Underwood has harped on the 6-foot-3 Serbian point guard’s pace, a key strength as the Illini are looking to play faster and more downhill than ever.

Petrovic made the flip to college basketball after a strong campaign in the Adriatic Leag...
IlliniGuys.com •

Three Takeaways from No. 17 Illinois' Exhibition Victory Over Illinois State

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – Illini fans got their first taste of 17th-ranked Illinois basketball in a 92-65 exhibition victory over Illinois State, albeit with some unavailable players, with the likes of Andrej Stojakovic, Tomislav Ivisic, and Mihailo Petrovic all sitting this one out for various reasons.

While the Redbirds were without All-Missouri Valley Conference First Team selection Chase Walker and Se...
IlliniGuys.com •

Geoff Alexander’s Eyes Trained On Europe as Illinois Basketball Goes Worldwide

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – Illinois has become a hotspot for international recruits in recent years, and one of the key figures at the center of that is assistant coach and recruiting coordinator Geoff Alexander.

In fact, in the days leading up to local media day earlier this month, Alexander was fresh off a trip to Europe. He said he was in five countries in seven days, visiting Berlin (Germany), V...
IlliniGuys.com •

‘I’m Exactly Where I Need To Be’: Hometown Hero Kylan Boswell Ready for Senior Year

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – Entering his second year in the Orange and Blue and his fourth overall as a college basketball player, Kylan Boswell has had a unique journey. An Urbana native with family ties to the University of Illinois, Boswell’s basketball career has taken some twists and turns, but staring down his senior year of college basketball, he says he wouldn’t have wanted it to play out any differe...
IlliniGuys.com •

‘More Balkan than American’: Andrej Stojakovic on How His Play Style, Personality Have Been Shaped By His Background and Upbringing

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – One of the first glimpses that the world caught of Andrej Stojakovic in Illinois colors was of him dressed in the team’s orange jersey with two flags draped over his shoulders – the Greek flag on his right shoulder and the Serbian flag on his left. He carries his identity with him everywhere he goes, and says that his upbringing, both as the son of an NBA great and as a foreign...
IlliniGuys.com •

Kurt Kittner, Illinois Hall of Fame Class of 2025 Reminisce on Time in Orange and Blue

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – On an energy-filled weekend in the 217, the University of Illinois Athletics Department welcomed its 2025 Hall of Fame class. The day before the 21st-ranked Fighting Illini football team welcomes the top team in the country in Ohio State, a class of eleven former coaches and athletes were inducted into the exclusive group and immortalized in Illinois athletics history.

The likes...
IlliniGuys.com •

Illini Returnee Jake Davis Talks Cult Following, Leadership Role Ahead of Junior Campaign

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – It’s been almost exactly a year and a half since Jake Davis chose to transfer to Illinois. Transferring after a freshman year at Mercer, the McCordsville, Indiana native arrived at Illinois holding a reputation as an elite three-point shooter. Since then, a lot has changed about him, his team, and his role in it.

Davis is one of the many beneficiaries of strength and conditioning...
IlliniGuys.com •

Underwood Provides Injury Updates and Praises Newcomers at Local Media Day

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – Local media day wrapped up on Thursday afternoon at Illinois’ Ubben Basketball Complex, giving members of the media exclusive access to the team. IlliniGuys was on-site and will provide coverage from players and coaches from within the program in the coming days.

Before speaking to the media, head coach Brad Underwood held a press conference in the Ubben lobby, fielding questions from reporters. He first shared that newcom...
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 •

‘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 •

‘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...
247Sports •

Golf notebook: Small looking for consistency behind Herendeen, Buchanan; PGA success 'inspiring' to Illini

CHAMPAIGN — Max Herendeen and Jackson Buchanan have emerged as Illinois golf coach Mike Small's dynamic duo at the top of his rotation, with the pair both named to the Ben Hogan Award watch list, the prize given to the best college golfer in the nation.

Herendeen, the 2024 Big Ten Freshman of the Year, finished fifth at the team's first spring event last week at the John A. Burns Intercollegiate in Lihu'e, Kaua'i (Hawaii), while Buchanan, a 2024 Third Team All-American and the 2024 Big Ten Golf...
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...
247Sports •

2025 Illini baseball preview: Illini face a lot of roster turnover as it begins Big Ten title defense

This weekend, Illinois baseball starts the quest to follow up its 2024 Big Ten regular season championship and NCAA Tournament appearance with a three-game series at Abilene Christian. But the Illini face a lot of roster turnover as head coach Dan Hartleb, entering his 20th season at the helm of the program, welcomes 18 new faces this spring.

After losing several key players, Illinois is projected by D1Baseball.com to finish eighth in the 18-team Big Ten with newcomer Oregon projected to win th...
The Champaign Room •

‘That’s life’: Illinois won without the three. Can they continue to do that?

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Though injuries have forced the Illini to tinker their lineup with new looks in recent weeks, they were at full strength for the first time in a long time on Sunday against Ohio State. However, a new starting five was announced before tipoff, to the surprise of many.Underwood debuted a new starting lineup against the Buckeyes that saw Dra Gibbs-Lawhorn get the nod to start after a series of impressive outings. While Underwood didn’t reveal whether or not they’d go back to that...
The Champaign Room •

‘Tomi’s tough’: Underwood on Ivisic’s return helping Illinois to victory over Ohio State

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Fans at home may have grown frustrated with Illinois’ end-game lineup after their loss at Nebraska, but head coach Brad Underwood seems to be learning from his mistakes.“The last ten minutes was the first time that we had a group out there that they were in a good rhythm on both sides of the court,” Underwood said. “We were getting stops, we were scoring, weren’t turning the ball over. And that’s something that we have been lacking. We have been missing.”A lineup built around K...
The Champaign Room •

‘His confidence is growing’: Underwood on Riley’s steady rise through Illinois injury bug

Riley, who made his collegiate debut with a 31-point explosion over Eastern Illinois, is yet to hit those heights again for the Orange and Blue. The Kitchener, Ontario native earned his first start when point guard Kasparas Jakucionis went down with a left forearm injury, and is now looking to build some momentum with center Tomislav Ivisic set to miss at least another game while out with mononucleosis.“Will’s a really, really good hard shot maker,” Underwood said. “He’s very gifted at getting t...
The Champaign Room •

‘We’re worried about winning’: Humrichous, Illinois looking to win, not avoid two straight losses

If you had a time machine and went back to Sunday, what would you change? Brad Underwood pointed to his team’s troubles from the free-throw line as a reason for why his team lost to now-No. 8 Michigan State but also said he would’ve had a conversation with his star point guard Kasparas Jakucionis, who fouled out in just over eight minutes of play.Underwood wasn’t quite in the Valentine’s Day spirit — that’s still a good three weeks away, for those participating — he was of course speaking on how...
Load More

Let's get social