About Us

We are, well, Illini guys. Just five regular guys in the middle of their professional careers who are diehard Illini fans.

Larry the Voice grew up near Champaign, and eventually became a lead sports anchor at one of the biggest cable news channels and the NBA TV and then a network news anchor in large media markets. His smooth voice is second to none, and, in addition to his anchor duty, he is a highly sought-after basketball and football commentator. Larry has never forgotten the thrill of watching the fourth-ranked Illini beat Magic Johnson and the No. 1 Michigan State team in the final seconds. He has remained a diehard Illini fan ever since even as his jobs have taken him all over the United States.

Mike the Dealmaker grew up in Mahomet cheering for Derek Harper, Efrem Winters and Champaign Tony Eason. His jobs have taken him all over the country and, as a well-traveled AAU basketball coach, he has worked with many high school and college coaches. But, his passion, just like when he was a little kid watching Illini games on WCIA Channel 3, has remained the Illinois basketball program. He makes deals for his company with the frequency and passion of Doug Altenberger diving for loose balls and taking charges for Lou Henson.

Brad the Guru, too, grew up watching Illinois basketball games on WCIA Channel 3. Even as a little kid, he analyzed zone defense, pick-and-roll, high-post offense and the like. He still remembers vividly the moment Eddie Johnson made the game winning basket with two seconds left in the game to lead the Illini to a dramatic win over the top-ranked Michigan State Spartans on January 11, 1979. He is the busiest man we know – an educator, a HOF coach, a school administrator, a basketball analyst, a recruiting guru and a father to fabulous daughters.

Chris the Counselor played catch with Tony Eason in the Armory when he went to visit the campus in high school. About a year later, he stood in awe watching the then-unranked Illini led by Jack Trudeau, David Williams and Thomas Rooks destroy the fourth-ranked Iowa 33-0 in early October in the magical 1983 season. Having foolishly said “no” to tickets to the 1984 Rose Bowl and the 1989 Final Four (because there would be “many more of these soon”), he now has his priority straight even with his courtroom duties, family obligations and passion for all things golf.

Karl the Doc grew up in Mahomet, and spent much of his youth on the Illinois campus: Summers attending Illinois sports camps and the academic year cheering on the Illini with his father and Mike the Dealmaker. Although his loyalty has been tested both by ineptitude (the 0-0 tie with Northwestern in 1978) and the elements (the Christmas Eve game against Kentucky in 1983), he has remained true. He is a father of 5 who in his spare time plays a real-life pediatric heart surgeon.

Coming from different backgrounds, professions and hometowns, we somehow met and, connected by our love for Illini sports, became fast friends over the years. We decided that we wanted to start an independent multi-media portal that would focus on the contents and news that truly matter to Illini fans. And, we wanted to bring the content in ways that had not been used much for Illini sports.

We could have done this the easy way by becoming a local site for a multi-national corporation. However, we didn't want to be bound by limitations of these national chains. So, we decided to build the whole darn thing from the ground up so that it would be built just the way that diehard Illini fans would want to see.

We are fortunate to have a talented and growing team of sports journalists, recruiting analysts and student interns. Our coverage will grow beyond basketball and football as our website grows. We hope that you will join us on this special journey with this website that truly is by and for Illini fans. We will have our growing pains as we grow our website, but are excited to present to you a site that Illini fans everywhere deserve.

Please note that our company LMBC Sports, LLC, including our Illini Guys website, is an independent media organization, and is not affiliated with the University of Illinois.

Oskee Wow Wow!

Larry, Mike, Brad, Chris and Karl