Found January 12, 2012 on The Sports Bank: Yardbarker Blogger Network
What a loaded and deep sophomore class the Illini were to have this year! McDonald’s All-American Jereme Richmond, consensus top 90 recruit Crandall Head, 7-footer/future NBA big Meyers Leonard and overlooked Sterling, Illinois product Joseph Bertrand. Well, look at where we are today: Richmond caused as many headaches and issues as possible before leaving school after one year; a season in which he was a pedestrian sixth man. Head left the program a couple weeks ago having accomplished absolutely nothing in college basketball. Leonard has been dominant at times, but too often disappears for halves of games. Bertrand seems like the real solid soph now. Sure, his redshirt year put him into this 2014 class, he wasn’t part of the same recruiting group. However, he seems like the man in that Illini sophomore group right now. Bertrand carried the Illini on his back in the 59-54 win over Nebraska, scoring 25 points (including the game winner) on 11-12 shooting. He entered tha...
THE BACKYARD
BEST OF MAXIM
AROUND THE WEB
RELATED ARTICLES

Tracy Abrams Gaining Comfort In Starting Role

It is never easy to change positions. It is an especially difficult transition for freshmen basketball players being groomed for point guard. Fighting Illini rookie Tracy Abrams has received a crash course this fall and winter. He had played the position some before, but he is now providing major minutes as a freshman. It takes time, but he's learning.

Wheelwright Has Offer, Wants To Learn More

The Fighting Illini football team figures to hit the state of Ohio hard since new head coach Tim Beckman has many recruiting ties there. He has already offered several Ohio juniors, including Columbus receiver Rob Wheelwright. The talented youngster will be be heavily recruited.

Chicago Orr Sophomore Improving Rapidly

The Fighting Illini basketball coaching staff is wise to evaluate young players extensively before offering scholarships. Not all players develop at an early age, so saving scholarships for late bloomers has merit. For example, Chicago Orr sophomore Tyquone Greer is just beginning to show his true potential.

W. Volleyball. Illinois Volleyball Year in Review

2011 Final VB Match Notes | To judge the impact the 2011 Illinois volleyball squad had on Fighting Illini fans across the continent and beyond, one just had to look at the thousands of fans who met at a number of local establishments to root on their favorite team in their quest for a national championship. Fans who previously had just a casual interest in the sport were glued to...

Big Ten by the Numbers

I realize that doing anything related to logic and numbers in a league with 12 teams named the Big Ten seems counterintuitive, but I’m not going to let that stop me. Here are some interesting numbers I found for each of the league’s 12 squads. And unlike the contrast between the conference’s name and its number of members, these actually make sense. Illinois – 114.8 ...

Mikel Leshoure Excited About His Pro Future

A distinguished former Fighting Illini football player returned to campus Saturday. Running back Mikel Leshoure visited his hometown and attended the Illini basketball game with Nebraska. Forced to sit out his first pro football season due to injury, Leshoure still benefitted from his experiences.

W. Gymnastics. #15 Illinois Opens Season at Home vs. #22 Minnesota

The No. 15 Fighting Illini kick off the 2012 season against No. 22 Minnesota on Saturday, Jan. 14 at 4 p.m. CT at Huff Hall. Complete Meet Notes (PDF) | Live Stats | Watch ($) |

Lou Henson Celebrates Coaching Career At UI

The Fighting Illini basketball program honored its all-time winningest coach last night. Lou Henson and his wife Mary were on hand for the Ohio State game as a large banner with his name and photo was raised to the rafters to accompany the all-time best Illini players. It was fitting tribute to a much-beloved man who still bleeds Orange and Blue.

M. Gymnastics. 2012 Men's Gymnastics Season Preview

Illinois men's gymnastics head coach Justin Spring returns for his third season at the helm for the Fighting Illini men's gymnastics squad, which starts the season as the No. 2-ranked team in the nation and No. 1 in the Big Ten.

W. Swimming. Illini Return to Action in Two Meets this Weekend

After a nearly two-month break in its schedule, the Fighting Illini swimming and diving team will travel to Iowa City to take on the Hawkeyes Saturday morning before traveling to Carbondale, Ill., to face Southern Illinois Monday afternoon. The Illini boast a 14-9 all-time record against Iowa and are 14-6 all-time against Southern Illinois.

W. Tennis. 2012 Women's Tennis Season Outlook

The Fighting Illini women's tennis team returns all but two of its players from last season's squad, which cracked the top 25 early on and defeated four nationally ranked opponents.

W. Tennis. Illini Top Stephen F. Austin in Season Opener, 5-2

The Fighting Illini women's tennis team opened the dual season with a 5-2 victory over Stephen F. Austin (1-1) Friday afternoon in Fort Myers, Fla. Illinois (1-0) went 2-1 in doubles action and 4-2 in singles play.

M. Tennis. 2012 Men's Tennis Season Outlook

The Fighting Illini men's tennis team will open the season ranked 17th in the Campbell/ITA rankings after securing a trip to the NCAA round of 16 for the ninth time in 10 years last season.
Today's Best Stuff
For Bloggers

Join the Yardbarker Network (YBN) for more promotion, traffic, and money.

Company Info
Help
What is Yardbarker?

Yardbarker is the largest network of sports blogs and pro athlete blogs on the web. This site is the hub of the Yardbarker Network, where our editors and algorithms curate the best sports content from our network and beyond.