The No. 1 Fighting Illini

I've got to say that while I'm impressed by the U of I basketball team and how exciting it is for Illinois backers, I've never really been much of a fan. When I was a kid, DePaul basketball was the big draw, they had great (albeit disappointing) teams, with stars like Mark Aguirre, Terry Cummings, Clyde Bradshaw, Teddy Grubbs, and a host of others, they were the Big Boys in Chicago. When I got older, I was interested in Illinois hoops, but never could quite embrace them. Now, I'm still a bigger fan of the University of Dayton and the University of Tulane programs, since I went to both schools. However, I appreciate good basketball, and Illinois has been playing some outstanding ball to date, particularly their win against Wisconsin the other night. So while I'm not quite ready to say, "You're my boys!" the Illini are no longer the ugly stepchild for me either...