By John Bohnenkamp His team, with an almost entirely new roster, never got an offseason education. Rob Jeter’s first season as Western Illinois’ men’s basketball coach came during the COVID-19 pandemic, which meant a team full of new players had … Continue reading Leathernecks Head Into Offseason Looking For An Edge

By John Bohnenkamp Roman Penn and ShanQuan Hemphill are hurt, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t still a presence for the Drake basketball team. Joseph Yesufu hears them. Penn is out for the rest of the season with a left … Continue reading Yesufu’s Basket Keeps Drake Going

By John Bohnenkamp There is an artistry, and certainly annoyance for opposing teams, at the way Grace Gilmore draws offensive fouls. It is not an official NCAA statistic, but Western Illinois coach JD Gravina figures Gilmore, a senior guard, leads … Continue reading WIU’s Gilmore Has The Appetite For Taking Charges

By John Bohnenkamp Iowa carries a four-game winning streak into Thursday’s game at Michigan, a run that has been led by a marked improvement in the Hawkeyes’ defense. But coach Fran McCaffery said there is more to what the Hawkeyes … Continue reading Iowa’s Defense And Rebounding Have Sparked Winning Streak

By John Bohnenkamp The window to reschedule games this season was already built into the final weeks of the Big Ten men’s and women’s basketball schedules, so Iowa’s Fran McCaffery and Lisa Bluder knew what was coming. Both of their … Continue reading THE MONDAY TIPOFF: McCaffery, Bluder Deal With The Moving Parts Of The Schedule

By John Bohnenkamp He has said so many words over his career, but one sentence on Thursday night captured Luka Garza’s career at Iowa. Garza had just finished a 30-point night in the Hawkeyes’ 77-62 win at Wisconsin, just another … Continue reading The Road To A Record Was Built On Garza’s Consistency

By John Bohnenkamp Rob Jeter said he wanted his team to be “planted, not buried.” It’s been a challenging season for Jeter in his first year as Western Illinois’ men’s basketball coach. He had to reconstruct a roster in the … Continue reading THE MONDAY TIPOFF: Instead Of Being ‘Buried’, Leathernecks Are Growing

By John Bohnenkamp Grace Gilmore’s family made it to Macomb for Senior Night. Except while Gilmore, a senior guard for Western Illinois, was playing at Western Hall in Saturday’s game against Denver, Gilmore’s family was downtown at The Sports Corner, … Continue reading An Emotional Goodbye For WIU’s Gilmore

By John Bohnenkamp CJ Fredrick didn’t score in Iowa’s 79-66 win over Rutgers on Wednesday night, but he was OK with that. Fredrick was playing again — he played 17 minutes — and to him, that’s what matters. Fredrick had … Continue reading Fredrick Happy With Chance To Play

By John Bohnenkamp Luka Garza looked at the big picture and the small picture after Iowa’s 67-65 loss at Indiana on Sunday. It was the Hawkeyes’ fourth loss in the last five games, and Garza was willing to shoulder the … Continue reading THE MONDAY TIPOFF: Hawkeyes’ Inability To Close Out Games Leads To Current Struggles