68 teams in the NCAA tournament. 13 division 1A schools in Illinois. 0 number of Illinois schools in the Big Dance. That’s pretty bad.
It’s pretty bad considering how much basketball talent comes out of this state… out of this city. All around the country you see all this local talent doing well… at other, out of state schools. It’s great to see local boys do well, but it would also be great to see some of them stay home, and build up their home state schools. I guess there are a lot of reasons why not.
The Illinois schools don’t really have the reputation of the big name schools across the country, at least not lately. Yeah, Illinois has had some good teams: the Flying lllini back in the late 80s and the 3 headed monster of Deron, Dee, and Luther in the 2000s. Those were some great squads; they were both worthy of being NCAA champions, but a Sean Higgins putback and a UNC favored officiated title game helped end those dreams. We have a 2nd Big 10 school in state too, yes, we do. Northwestern is a beautiful campus and is known for its education, yet, not so much for sports. They are on that short list of schools to NEVER make the Big Dance. I have a feeling that will change with Chris Collins, another local boy, at the helm now. What about DePaul? My how the mighty have fallen. They were a powerhouse back when I was a toddler, but haven’t done much since then. Part of the problem there is the location of the stadium, and lack of stadium on campus, or at least close to campus. That will change when their new stadium is ready…. on the other side of the city, but hey, at least it’s closer to Lincoln Park then Rosemont. Then you have those mid major schools downstate that usually make some noise… this year, nothing. So it’s a big fat 0-13 this year.
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It’s not an easy thing. Cleaning up the violence on the streets would be good for many reasons, including this specific topic. That’s an uphill battle, and one many of us don’t even want to deal with. How about paying these kids to stay local? Just kidding, although I’m sure there’s something in it for them at these big time schools… just saying. I heard a good idea on the radio today… starting an all Illinois/Chicago tournament between these schools. Drumming up some excitement, building back up some rivalries… maybe that will help spark some interest. Invite all 13 teams to this tourney, and have the UC host it; that sounds like fun. I may even attend that one.
It’s disappointing to say the least, that Illinois schools are NOT represented; Indiana has 5 schools in the tourney. Yet, we will hear about those Chicago kids, those kids from the suburbs, those home grown Illinois kids, as we watch the tournament unfold; that is a certainty. How we get the Illinois schools to keep this homegrown talent, and to get back on the map… that’s not so certain.
MK
Illinois basketball is a joke. So many top notch kids who go elsewhere to play college ball. Have some pride in your city and state. Put one of the Illinois teams back on the map. An in-state tourney would be sweet and might drum up so much needed attention to these teams. If one or two big names stay in Illinois for school, Im sure others would follow.
I think having collins at NW is a good thing, but they need more talent…stay local boys!
LD#19
NW has always been good, but you have to go to class and keep a decent GPA there. and unfortunately most big recruits aren’t that interested. Northwestern has to recruit differently than most schools. Chicago Public Schools???DePaul lost its edge once Ray Meyer was done and Illinois has always been way overrated is this town. People talk about the Illini like they won 3 national titles. Maybe one day!