Mike Cagley, Co-Host Sports Spectacular

June 2, 2025

No shortage of things to talk about this week. The Illini have rosters nearly set for football and basketball and expectations are high.

Season tickets for football are sold out and the head coach is trolling SEC supporters for their CFP ruminations.

Hail Mary #1 – For the First Time in My Life, the Illini Have a Head Coach that Both Iowa and Wisconsin Wish They Had

It’s a new world out there for B1G fans. The Fighting Illini have a strong and well-rounded head football coach at the helm of the program for only the 3^rd time since I was born in 1967.

And for the first time in my life, two of the Illini’s closest competitors – both Iowa and Wisconsin would love to have the Illini head coach running their program. Let’s look at the coaches of the three schools since 1967.

From 1967 to 1979, I don’t see any of the three schools having a coach with the talent to elevate themselves above the other two coaches. Fairly or unfairly, the 70s were tough on all three school and none of the coaches would be what anyone would call “keepers”.

In 1979, Hayden Fry showed up and turned the Hawkeyes around. Next year, in 1980, Mike White hit the B1G scene and worked his magic for the Illini, turning the program around as Fry did for Iowa. White was followed by John Mackovic who was a strong coach. Despite the Illini duo of competent coaches, one must give the edge to Fry for his longevity and winning ways.

Barry Alvarez arrived in Madison in 1990 and turned the Badgers around and arguably passed up the Hawkeyes to become the premier non-Ohio State and Michigan team in the B1G. Even Penn State had to deal with the Badgers ascension.

After Alvarez, Ferentz ruled the roost, though Bielema might’ve passed him up had he stayed in Madison as opposed to going to Arkansas.

Now, as Ferentz nears retirement and seems cursed with teams that have no offense and Wisconsin deals with a killer schedule in Fickell’s 3^rd year, Bret Bielema’s name comes up again having resurrected the Illini football program from the dead and taking the team to an extremely rare 10-win season in 2024.

I think it’s fair to say that if given the choice, either AD from Iowa or Wisconsin would love to have Bret Bielema as their head coach.

Thus, for the first time in my lifetime, the Illini have the clear-cut coaching advantage over both Iowa and Wisconsin in football. It feels good.

Illini fans are expecting to have a great run over the next few years. It’s yet another example of the critical need to have the right guy as the head coach of a college football team. The Illini have not accomplished that often in their over 100 years of football competition.

Josh Whitman has accomplished that in hiring Bret Bielema.

Thank goodness!

Heat Check #1 – The Curious Case of Terrence Shannon Jr.’s Playing Time in Minnesota

Terrence Shannon Jr was drafted 27^th in the first round of the 2024 NBA Draft. He came to the Timberwolves after spending 3 years at Texas Tech and 2 years with Illinois.

Terrence led the Illini to an Elite Eight appearance and if not for accusations against him that were proven wrong with a not guilty verdict in court, Shannon would’ve probably been the runner up for the National Player of the Year award. Shannon was forced to play as the target of students and opposing fan taunts during this season and handled the situation much better than most would.

While excelling both on and off the court during the lengthy legal ordeal, and despite missing six games, Shannon set numerous Illini season records such as most points scored, most free throws made and attempted and others.

Shannon was known for his dedication to physical training and work ethic. He came to Minnesota armed with the knowledge learned from Adam Fletcher, one of the premier strength and conditioning coaches in the country. Armed with incredible athletic ability, Shannon Jr. was well equipped to compete from day one in the NBA.

Shannon Jr with his experience, maturity and physical capabilities, didn’t get a lot of playing time under Coach Chris Finch in his first year. Despite successful teams like Oklahoma City and Indiana going deep into their roster for players and minutes, the Timberwolves had a high number of games where bench players didn’t play due to coach’s decision.

With a solid performance in the conference finals, let’s hope it dawns on Coach Finch that he has a player who throws himself fully into the defensive end of the floor, is physically capable of playing with anyone and can maturely deal with and process his way through stressful situations and do so gracefully. The stress on a basketball court is a cakewalk for Shannon to deal with well.

And with Shannon being a year older than Anthony Edwards, there might be some value into getting him on to the floor – or trading him to a team that will use his skills for their own success.