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1 week ago | 
si.com | Jason Langendorf
Talking head Stephen A. Smith and ESPN's primary morning sports-talk vehicle "First Take" typically reserve their breath and air time for the biggest topics: LeBron James, Luka Doncic and the Lakers. Pat Mahomes, Travis Kelce and the Kansas City Chiefs – and, of course, Taylor Swift. You gotta play the hits.
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1 week ago | 
si.com | Jason Langendorf
Today marks another entry in our ongoing Illinois on SI "Best of the Century" series featuring the top 10 Illini players over the past 25 years. In our selection process, we considered individual production, career length (must have played at least two seasons since 2000), team accomplishments and intangibles.
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1 week ago | 
si.com | Jason Langendorf
Terrence Shannon Jr. has had one of the more difficult paths to earning minutes as a rookie this NBA season, dueling with fellow first-year players for the scraps left behind a veteran-laden, guard-driven Minnesota Timberwolves squad.
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2 weeks ago | 
si.com | Jason Langendorf
Illinois football and coach Bret Bielema have made in-state recruiting a heightened priority, and in recent weeks they have been locking down top-tier Chicago-area talent with astonishing frequency. Maybe it's time for the state's other major metro area to get in on the act.
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2 weeks ago | 
si.com | Jason Langendorf
Illinois football has had sparingly few days on the field worth chest-beating over in recent years, and it's safe to say the program hasn't had a day off the field like the one it enjoyed Wednesday ... maybe ever. It wasn't just the commitment of four-star recruit Nasir Rankin. It wasn't only that three-star defensive lineman King Liggins pledged himself to the Illini an hour before Rankin.
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2 weeks ago | 
si.com | Jason Langendorf
If a few years from now Illinois football has evolved into a national contender, Wednesday may well be the day that is viewed as perhaps the most pivotal of the Bret Bielema era. An hour after the Illini landed lauded three-star defensive lineman King Liggins (Brother Rice), Bielema was greeted with the news that Morgan Park's Nasir Rankin – a four-star athlete and another in-state star – was committing to Illinois.
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2 weeks ago | 
si.com | Jason Langendorf
Step by step, Illinois football is making the sort of recruiting inroads that should allow seasons like last year's 10-win campaign to become the rule rather than the every-25-years exception. On Wednesday, three-star defensive lineman King Liggins, from Brother Rice in Chicago, announced his commitment to the Illini over fellow finalist Wisconsin – not to mention at least seven other Big Ten rivals who had offered the senior-to-be.
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3 weeks ago | 
si.com | Jason Langendorf
Before Thursday, you may not have been aware that Illinois basketball was in the market for another assistant coach. And if you're an Illini fan, or even just a typical Midwestern college basketball follower, you may be even less likely to know the name of Camryn Crocker. Oon the surface, though, Illinois' hiring of Crocker – which the program announced Thursday through a press release – appears to be a net positive for the Illini.
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3 weeks ago | 
si.com | Jason Langendorf
The University of Illinois made a bold move in doubling down on the Brad Underwood Experience. On Tuesday, Illinois athletic director Josh Whitman announced that the school and Underwood had come to an agreement on a new six-year contract through the end of the 2030-31 season, pending the approval of the board of trustees at a May 22 meeting. The news dropped on the same day Illinois gave football coach Bret Bielema a similar extension.
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3 weeks ago | 
yardbarker.com | Jason Langendorf
Hope springs eternal in May – even a full six months before Illinois basketball will play a meaningful minute of hoops.To be fair, Illini coach Brad Underwood and his staff appear to have done well for themselves in the transfer portal, and they arguably made a bigger splash on the international scene. But it sometimes helps to hear from an insider – or the closest thing to one who isn't on the payroll – for analysis and opinion on the state of the program. Enter Mike LaTulip.
