Junior guard Tim Geers said Tuesday that he`ll return to the Illinois basketball team for Wednesday`s home game with Wisconsin. He had walked off the squad last Thursday, missing pratice after being upset over his lack of playing time.
Geers had a talk with coach Lou Henson after missing Saturday`s game with Michigan, and Henson gave him a chance to reconsider his decision.
”He told me it`s up to me,” said Geers. ”He said I can come back when I`m ready. I like it here. I always wanted to get the opportunity to play at Illinois.”
Henson was out of town Wednesday and unavailable for comment but had said Geers was welcome to return and could retain his scholarship either way. Geers has played only 19 minutes in five games. The De La Salle alum entered the year with a .362 field-goal percentage and had hit only 1 of 9 shots this season. He played behind freshmen Robert Bennett and Marc Davidson among Illini forwards after averaging slightly more than five minutes a game his first two years.
”It wasn`t just that I was not playing games,” he said of his walkout. ”I wasn`t playing in practice either. The reason for it? I don`t know myself. I hope to stay and help the team. It hurts not to be out there.”
Field trip: Henson saw his first Chicago Public League basketball game in over a year Tuesday. He was in the crowd at Orr to see Westinghouse junior guard Kiwane Garris and Orr`s 6-foot-6-inch senior forward Dwayne Funches go head to head. ”It feels good to get to see a game again,” Henson said.
NCAA sanctions kept Henson and his assistants from traveling and evaluating high school talent. He plans on being at Dunbar High School Friday to see King`s 7-foot twin towers, Rashard Griffith and Thomas Hamilton.