Reunion rekindles memory of the season of a lifetime

Joyous welcome and celebration
for ’89 Flying Illini

Mayfield reminisces – Part 1

[JUNE 29, 2000]  When we collectively sent off our own Brian Cook to the University of Illinois, visions of Final Four trips danced in our heads. Right now many of us would settle for one trip, much less four. But in order to understand where we are and where we’re going, it’s equally important to remember and mark where we’ve been. That’s exactly what 7,000-plus fans did at the Assembly Hall Saturday afternoon. The fans welcomed back the reunion of our last Final Four team…the 1989 Flying Illini. It was a thrilling celebration probably catering more to our younger fans than to the purists, but it was fun nonetheless. Joining the basketball team were former Illini football players who are now currently in the National Football League. Also, Brian and all Illini fans were introduced to new head coach Bill Self. I attended the gathering, and this week the LDN attempts to reflect on the ’89 Illini and the excellent adventure that season afforded us all…

 
[Over 7,000 fans packed into University Assembly Hall Saturday afternoon.]

 

It might have been a good omen. The 2000-01 team may become a reflection of our returning stars on display. Because you see, on the court before us was one of the all-time great college basketball teams. You may have noticed that I didn’t just say one of the greatest Illini teams of all time. I was more inclusive than that. I grew up in Southern California and had a birdseye view of arguably the greatest basketball program in history…the UCLA program. The Bruins won a record 10 national championships in 12 years. I will go on record and say that no team will ever do that again. However, as exciting as those Bruin teams were in the ’60s and ’70s, they didn’t have much on the ’89 Illini. Illinois didn’t bring home the bacon that year, but they could have and should have. They were by far the most exciting and the best team in the country all year long. The pollsters recognized that, as the Illini pulled off a dazzling overtime victory over Georgia Tech on Super Bowl Sunday. After the game, the voters proclaimed Illinois No. 1 in all the land! They have remained that way in my heart ever since.

 

 

So, it was nostalgic for me Saturday to see one of my all-time sports heroes, Kendall Gill, gliding back up and down the Assembly Hall hardwood. Kenny Battle was back at the point of the press, and P.J Bowman was bombing the 3-balls. Stephen Bardo was back at the point guard position running the show and wearing down those NFLers with his punishing defense. Wish we could have seen Marcus Liberty, Lowell Hamilton and Larry Smith and a few other no-shows, but their absence did not dampen our euphoric spirit. It was also great to see more recent Illini grads like Brian Johnson, Jerry Hester and Chris Gandy.

 

 

And you should have seen the size of those NFL players…I mean Simeon Rice is HUMUNGOUS! They also pretty well held their own on the basketball court. Simeon had a few nice moves, and Kameno Bell was nailing the 3s. Brad Hopkins, Kevin Hardy, Howard Griffith and Dana Howard were moving people all over the place with their brute strength, and Shawn Wax looks like he stays in good shape, by the way he was getting up and down the court. To say the least, the fans loved it.

Oh, the game, you say…the Flying Illini won 72-65. Gill led the way with 16 points and Bardo added 14. Brad Hopkins was the leading scorer for the NFLers, tossing in 18 points to go along with 10 rebounds.

 

 

But the game isn’t why we were there. We were there to return and to relive the magic. As I reflect back on that ’88-’89 team, I remember the ingredients that made our team successful. Whether you liked Coach Lou Henson or not, you had to admit that he did one of his better coaching jobs with that unit. At times he appeared to give them the freedom to run and gun or slam and jam on their own. They were so dominant that they annihilated the eventual national champion Michigan Wolverines so embarrassingly both home and away that it cost Michigan’s coach his job BEFORE the season was even over. Had that one event never transpired, I am sure that the national championship banner would be hanging in the Hall where it belongs!

 

(To top of second column)

 

That Illinois team was deep and talented, not unlike the current edition. They could have even had more players, but Jens Kujava decided to return to his homeland before the season started. The Illini set the table by playing the most tenacious, intimidating defense that you could ever imagine. The only times in recent years that I have seen that intensity matched was by UNLV, Kentucky and Cincinnati. The starters were like starting an all-NBA all-star team…Bardo at the point, Gill and Anderson on the wings and a combination of Battle, Liberty and Hamilton in the paint. An oft-forgotten super-sub on that team was guard Larry Smith. At any other time or on any other team he would have been a starter. He gave great minutes off the bench, and when Gill went down with an ankle injury in that before-mentioned breakout win over Georgia Tech, it was Smith who came to the rescue and allowed us to at least minimize our losses. Bowman also picked us up from time to time.

 


[Illini fans introduced to new head coach Bill Self]

 

If I wrote down all the things that I remembered about that season, I don’t suppose the state of Illinois could contain all the volumes. The Illini set a school record for wins at 31 and might not have lost a game had Gill not broken his ankle! Along the way, there were many highlights. Who could ever forget Nick’s 35-foot miracle shot at Indiana that stuck like a dagger in Coach Knight’s heart and still gives him nightmares to this day! Or how about the night Kendall returned to the lineup in the middle of the Iowa game...I don't think I’ve ever seen the return of a player that was more welcomed by the fans. The Hall was raucous that night.

 

 

Really, a lot of that season was just the journey. The players and coaches had worked so hard you felt that the team was just due. The momentum started early, perhaps in the great 18-point come-from-behind victory over Missouri in the annual "braggin’ rights" game at the arena in St. Louis, and continued to build. Amazingly, the Illini did not win the Big Ten title that season (that piece of trivia could come in handy for you sometime, but as always, the LDN provides it for your use, free of charge), but again if Gill’s healthy, we waltz to the title. When he went down, so did our hopes. I think the initiated realized that if we even had a prayer of making it to Seattle, Kendall would have to rehab and get healthy in a hurry. Fortunately for all of us, that’s exactly what happened.

 

 

Then came our invitation to the Big Dance.

We’ll have that part of the story for you next week.

 

[Jeff Mayfield]

 

 


Interview by Sarah Marten

Bowers a Cinderella story in Quincy

[JUNE 28, 2000]  Heads were turned last week at the Illinois Women Amateur Golf Tournament in Quincy when Jan Bowers, of Lincoln, surprised everyone by finishing second in the state. Most of Lincoln remembers the Lincoln High School graduate as a leading scorer on the basketball team, but this time it is golf that is turning heads. The LDN tracked down this busy golfer and found out about the tournament and her future as a golfer.

Q: First of all, congratulations on being the No. 2 amateur female golfer in the state of Illinois. Do you have any emotions to reflect on – disappointment, excitement?

A: I was very excited after the first day on being a medalist, which is something that I didn’t expect but that I had strived for. Out of the field, 25 of the golfers had a handicap of 10 or less, which would put me somewhere in the middle. Being the lowest score was a huge surprise and very exciting. It was starting to build into a fairy tale. Being in the championship match was unexpected, but I was not nervous. It was simply adrenaline pumping by that time. It wasn’t disappointing losing, except for that it was over so fast. She (Pam Holcombe) simply played incredible. Everything she hit was just golden.

 

Q: What was your finish in this tournament last year?

A: I won the second flight

Q: How did this year’s field of competitors size up to last year’s?

A: There were eight to 10 golfers that were very, very good. A lot of golfers were at a national amateur tournament that happened to be the same week, so that took away some. At the same time, there were plenty of top-notch golfers at the tournament.

Q: In central Illinois the weather conditions were quite wet. Was that the case in Quincy? If so, how did that affect your game?

A: Monday the weather was fine. Tuesday it rained, and so the day was a washout. What that did in the championship flight was it made us play two rounds on Wednesday and two rounds on Thursday and the championship flight on Friday. Ninety holes in three days took its toll. I walked all 90 holes, and by the last day it was all adrenaline. The wet conditions sped up the greens and affected the roll of the ball. But, it was the same for every golfer, so it wasn’t an advantage or disadvantage.

 

 

Q: Pam Holcombe was the tournament’s winner. Had you ever played her before?

A: I had not, but I do know her and of her capabilities. She was the runner-up of this tournament twice. She is a very respected golfer in the state of Illinois. Everyone knows who she is and knows that she is very hard to beat.

Q: Quincy was Holcombe’s home course. Was that a disadvantage for you?

A: Well, her home course isn’t Quincy Country Club, it is Spring Lake, so that wasn’t a disadvantage. Her advantage was that she had about 30 people following her. That is just like having a packed gym of LCHS fans and you. It makes you feel alone. Throughout the week there were about 10 to 12 other golfers that picked up on me. I was the Cinderella player, so after every round I won, more people started following me. Coach Wallace (Loren Wallace, previous LCHS boys basketball coach) and his wife came, and that really pumped me up. Coach even came out on Friday for the championship and that meant a lot.

 

 

(To top of second column in this article)

 

Q: Most of Lincoln remembers you as a great basketball player at LCHS. When did you take up golf?

A: I played golf a little bit on par-3 courses when I was younger – nothing serious, just for recreation. When I went to Illinois State University, students could play for $1.25 all day. So I took advantage of that and would play all day, every day. My biggest development was when I moved back to Lincoln and joined the Lincoln Elks, and I played every day; then when I met some ladies who would invite me to play and go to tournaments. Playing in tournaments, my game has to get better.

Q: On average, how many tournaments do you compete in yearly?

A: I would say at least 15 tournaments, starting at the end of May and going through September. That includes individual, two-person, and four-person.

Q: What are you golf plans for the summer? Any more big tournaments?

A: There aren’t that many individual tournaments in Illinois. I will probably play in the Lake of the Woods tournament, and I am going to try and play in the Peoria City Open.

Q: Yesterday you were in Peoria at a tournament. How did that go?

A: It was a cancer tournament. It was a lot like the Oldsmobile Scramble. It was all ladies, and the winner goes to Galena, and the winner from that goes to Pebble Beach in California. It was a regional round. We lost in a playoff.

 

 

Q: Your Oldsmobile Scramble team won the tournament this weekend. How do you think they will do at Pekin for sectionals?

A: It can be a very difficult course if you are not straight, but at the same time you can do well. With Adam (Walsh, Elks pro) included, we have a real good team. With me teeing off from the ladies tees, that will be a help. We have good enough golfers to drop the putts. Sunday we had a hot putter. Bottom line: we need to make our putts.

Q: The Oldsmobile Scramble was a four-person format. Which do you like better, individual or team?

A: I like both. Some people like the scramble format, because it comes with little pressure. The pressure doesn’t bother me. The course will beat you. I like individual because of the personal edge. Basketball was a team sport. This is something that I am responsible for… success or failure.

 

 

Q: What are some of your goals that you have as a golfer?

A: One was to get in the championship flight and win two matches. That is something that I have accomplished. I do have a chance to win with a little luck and a good swing. I now feel that I can compete with any amateur in Illinois. I would like to try and compete in a national tournament. That is my next step.

The LDN would like to wish Jan the best of luck during the rest of the summer and congratulates the No. 2 amateur female golfer in Illinois.

[Sarah Marten]

 

 

 

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