Illinois made it back to the NCAA basketball tournament last spring after a two-year absence.
But this season Lou Henson’s Fighting Illini, picked in the nation’s Top 20 by many preseason prognosticators, have grander dreams. The road to March Madness begins with Illini Madness on Monday at Assembly Hall.
Henson earned his first Big 10 Coach of the Year award by leading a surprising Illini team to third place in the Big 10 last season. Illinois won’t sneak up on anyone this time.
The biggest question mark is at point guard, where Illinois lost starter Rennie Clemons, who was declared academically ineligible. His expected successor is freshman Kiwane Garris, a top recruit from Westinghouse High School.
The Illini were among the league’s smaller teams last season, but they’ve added height for 1993-94. Highly regarded 6-foot-9-inch forward Chris Gandy will join his teammates after a redshirt season. Shelley Clark, a 6-9 junior-college transfer, and Jerry Hester, a 6-6 freshman from Peoria, also will suit up.
They’ll provide help for workhorse Deon Thomas, who enters his final season needing only 112 points to surpass Eddie Johnson’s school career scoring record of 1,692.
Illini Madness begins at 7 p.m. Monday, with players available for autographs until 7:30 p.m. The women’s team will be introduced at 8:15 p.m., the men immediately after that.
A 45-minute men’s scrimmage begins at 8:45 p.m.
The Illini’s first full workout will be next Saturday, but that session is closed to the public.
Illinois will play Assembly Hall exhibitions Nov. 24 against Athletes in Action and Nov. 27 against a team from Russia.
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The Illini open the regular season with home games Dec. 1 against La Salle and Dec. 4 against Illinois-Chicago.