Champaign Centennial’s Jeff Johnson, who played with Rayvonte Rice on the 2009 state championship team, is now a junior center at Eastern Kentucky. When the Illini-Colonels game tips off Sunday at 5pm, Jeff expects to have 50 to 100 friends and family in the stands.
It won’t be his first time playing on the Illini home court. Jeff and the Chargers played in the Shootout at the Hall every year of his varsity career. They won every game.
I talked with Jeff this afternoon, and he shared a few insights on what to expect from the game. First and foremost, he expects to win, and to make his family proud.
He says the Colonels run a variation on the Princeton Offense, similar to John Beilein’s system. That means Jeff will play the high post, and rain threes from the top of the key. If he draws the defense out, he’ll look to make a bounce pass to a backdoor cutter.
Jeff says the team watched the Illinois-Gonzaga game on their bus ride home last weekend. So they know what to expect from the Illini.
Here’s the interview: