Random article Roundup
With the Illini #1 in the nation, it is becoming more difficult to keep up with the press coverage. Since Illini Wonk doesn't want to offer excuses, this is a way to hit the highlights.
Chicago Sun-Times columnist Greg Couch today wrote about the
Weber approach to playing with the #1 ranking. To Couch, Weber has the Illini playing loose while handling his first 15 minutes of fame perfectly. Yesterday's column from Couch on
Orange fever chronicles the fans that the Illini attract on the road and the difficulty faced by fans who don't have tickets yet.
Stewart Mandell of SI.com says Kansas-Kentucky was nice, but
UNC-Illinois is what I'd rather see. He wonders if the Illini will be able to go come tourney time so he must not have seen their games against Wake Forest and Gonzaga. (Thanks to
College Basketball for drawing this one to our attention).
Frank Burlison's list of
candidates for the Wooden Award (submissions are due on Jan. 31) on FoxSports.com includes all three starting Illini guards.
Deron Williams makes the finalist list for the Cousy Award, which is given to the most outstanding point guard in college basketball. (Also on the list is University of South Dakota point guard Josh Mueller, which is why you can read about it on my local CBS affiliate
here).
The Chicago Daily Herald's Lindsey Willhite has uncovered the press report of Illinois' first basketball game played in 1906, which was a
71-4 victory.