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By Kedric Prince - IlliniGuys Director of Recruiting

October 27, 2024

(Cover photo courtesy Illinois Athletics)

Oxford, MS — One of the most iconic westerns of all time, The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly (1966), starred Clint Eastwood and Lee Van Cleef. Today, the Illinois men’s basketball team found itself in a fitting comparison as it traveled to Oxford, Mississippi, to take on the 24th-ranked Ole Miss Rebels in an exhibition game.

After Illinois’ impressive March run and a revamped roster, fans were excited to see the ten new players on the 2024-25 roster. However, the Illini faced a veteran Ole Miss team — the second-oldest in Division I basketball. Today’s game showed the importance of experience, as the Rebels beat Illinois 91-74 in front of 7,023 fans at the Pavilion.

By IlliniGuys Staff October 27, 2024 OXFORD, Miss. - […]

Oregon’s ability to avoid first open-field tackle leads to forgettable first 30 minutes from Illinois defense in blowout loss in Pacific Northwest. 

Matt Stevens, IlliniGuys Staff Writer

October 27, 2024

EUGENE, Ore. — Oregon’s offense needed just one missed tackle to showcase its track-level tempo and Illinois certainly allowed that speed to showcase itself. 

Brad Sturdy, Illini Insider & IlliniGuys Sports Spectacular & Big Sports Radio Host

October 27, 2024

No, that isn’t a typo, the Illini are set to face an old and physical Mississippi basketball squad on Sunday in a game that Brad Underwood loves. Under Chris Beard the Rebels will be physical and he has added an older and more talented squad, leading to their first ever preseason ranking in the coaches poll.

Illinois wide receiver Pat Bryant left the game Saturday in the second half under the watch of Illini training staff after a hit to the heck area and went straight to the locker room after the hit.

By Matt Stevens - IlliniGuys Football Writer/Analyst

October 26, 2024

(Photos courtesy Illinois Athletics)

EUGENE, Ore. — Illinois could be without its leading receiver for the start of the final month of the season.

After receiving a hit to the head and/or neck area following a pass breakup in the fourth quarter of the 38-9 loss at No. 1 Oregon, Pat Bryant was immediately taken off the field by Illinois training staff and taken straight to the visiting locker room. The fourth-year receiver, who came into Saturday leading the Illini with 31 receptions for 484 yards and seven touchdowns, did not return to the game.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0jJWVEezI2E    

Oregon’s nationwide recruiting brand has allowed Dan Lanning’s meteoric rise and the Ducks showed Illinois Saturday what a No. 1 ranked program should, could and does look like.

By Matt Stevens - IlliniGuys Football Writer/Analyst

October 26, 2024

(Cover photo courtesy Illinois Athletics)

EUGENE, Ore. — Well, it’s official. That, ladies and gentlemen, is what a number one ranked team looks like.

And in so many different ways, it’s critical that Bret Bielema’s Illini saw what that kind of creature looks, acts and behaves like. Identification is, of course, the first step toward possible elimination in the future.

By IlliniGuys Staff October 26, 2024 (Cover photo courtesy […]

Kedric Prince, IlliniGuys Director of Recruiting

October 26, 2024

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – Illinois guard Kylan Boswell grew up in Urbana-Champaign until his eighth-grade year before moving to California for high school. He ended his prep career at AZ Compass Prep in Phoenix, where he averaged 14 points per game as a junior. In the summer of 2022, Boswell reclassified to join the Arizona Wildcats, beginning with the 2022-23 season.

As somebody who 16 years ago intentionally manipulated the […]

October 26, 2024 The Illini repeated the events of […]

After seven years and a coaching staff change, Illinois defensive line coach Terrance Jamison finally got seventh-year player Ezekiel Holmes to thrive in his positional group.

By Matt Stevens - IlliniGuys Football Writer/Analyst

October 25, 2024

(Cover photo courtesy Illinois Athletics)

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Terrance Jamison is one of the few people inside Illinois’ Smith Family Football Complex that remembers what Ezekiel Holmes looked like as a 17-year-old in 2017.

Seven years later, Holmes has been through one head coaching change, four defensive coordinator changes, six positional coach changes and two undergraduate degrees (graduated from the University of Illinois with degrees in sociology in Aug. 2022) and communication in Dec. 2023).

Amongst all this change, Jamison, the current Illinois defensive line coach since Jan. 2021, finally got his chance to coach the young man he met as a high school junior at Hirschi High School in Wichita Falls, Texas.

Kedric Prince, IlliniGuys Director of Recruiting

October 25, 2024

Champaign, IL – In recent weeks, the Fighting Illini football program has hosted some of the nation's top recruits on campus, and the recent Michigan game was the perfect opportunity to bring in top prospects. Illinois secured a 21-7 victory over the Wolverines in a statement game all across Illini Nation.

By Brad Sturdy - IlliniGuys Insider/Analyst & Co-host, IlliniGuys Sports Spectacular

October 24, 2024

The fall is always a time when the hype train is ratcheted up for college basketball teams, but this year it is on steroids for the Fighting Illini. Despite the fact that the Illini are unranked, it only takes one look at a practice session to see that this team has the tools to be very good. 

Thus the hype train. 

Is the hype real? Let’s look at the hype we have heard and break it down. 

1. Kasparas Jakucionis is a lottery pick.

From Illinois Sports Information Office October 24, 2024   […]