This page is a Daily Archive of entries for Wednesday, July 16, 2008 listed from newest to oldest.
For the last seven-plus years, Bill Simmons has been writing for ESPN.com on many sporting topics. Since the Sports Guy is taking a full-summer leave of absence, many of you may be going through a bit of withdrawal at this point. So, what could be a better tribute than to rip off one of his best shticks, the one where he tenuously matches quotes from a particular movie to their sports equivalent? Here's my favorite example. I'd like to link up this year's events in the American League Central with a bunch of quotes from one of my favorite movies, O Brother Where Art Thou. It's eminently quotable, and, as I hope you will see, surprisingly relevant to the task at hand.
I've made a list of all former Illini who are playing professional basketball. Most fans know about Deron Williams, and the other Illini in the NBA, so I wanted to focus on all the other Pros who are out there.
Of course Deron plays for the Jazz, while Luther Head is a Rocket, and Brian Cook and James Augustine are on the Orlando Magic. There was one other former Illini who was in the NBA this past season, none other than Awvee Storey. Storey only played one season for the Illini, in the Lon Kruger era before transferring to Arizona State. He's bounced around the NBA and has also had stints in Venezuela, South Korea, the USBL and the NBA development league.
In total there are 22 players who either played this past season for a pro team or are currently playing in the NBA summer leagues. You could call these guys the Illini Globetrotters, as it seems almost all points on the globe are covered.
Here's the breakdown — after the jump.
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