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[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)
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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]
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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)
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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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[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.