Jacob Grandison’s Calm & “California Cool” Leads Illini To Victory
IOWA CITY, Iowa -- The “California cool” mentality that Jacob Grandison has mastered as a 23-year-old college basketball player was learned in his kindergarten gym class.
Following a 21-2 run in a first half where everything was going wrong for Illinois and the Carver-Hawkeye Arena crowd was alive for the first time Monday night, Grandison stood around unphased, unrattled and calm to lead the Illini to its first true road win of the 2021-22 season. Grandison, who finished with a team-high 21 points off the bench in the 87-83 win at Iowa, let his athletic ability do the talking - something he learned from his father James before a memorable sprint race among kindergarten-age athletes in the Oakland, Calif. area.
