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Let's continue with my countdown of my 30 favorite Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball players of my fandom, spanning from the 1996-97 season until present day. Here were numbers 30 and 29:
Another long school year was coming to an end as I entered Memorial Day Weekend back in may of 2022. It was a Friday night, and I had passed out after another exhausting week of school, a drained teacher ready for the upcoming summer break.
As I came to from my slumber, I checked my phone to be pleasantly surprised by some great news. Baylor's Matthew Mayer had announced earlier that night he was transferring to Illinois. I couldn't believe it. Mayer, whom I absolutely loved at Baylor, had chosen the Illini instead of North Carolina.
I ended up finding an interview on YouTube of Mayer describing his decision to choose Illinois, I believe, with a local reporter in Waco, Texas. Mayer basically said that he chose Illinois because he thought the Illini could shock teams the coming season. He even mentioned the addition of a freshman named Skyy Clark as a reason why he chose Illinois.
With Mayer now in the fold, Illinois was suddenly looking like a potential dark horse heading into the 2022-23 season. The Illini had already added Texas Tech transfer Terrence Shannon Jr. via the transfer portal. The Illini were bringing in four freshman, Clark, Jayden Epps, Ty Rodgers and Sincere Harris, as well as returning players Coleman Hawkins, Luke Goode and R.J. Melendez. Illinois also had mid-season Baylor transfer Dain Dainja entering the fold.
On paper, the Illini looked dangerous.
Could this be Brad Underwood's first Illinois team to get out of the opening weekend?
No player excited me more than Mayer, who had been an awesome sixth/seventh-man with the Baylor team that won the national championship during the 2021 NCAA Tournament. I absolutely loved that Baylor team with Jared Butler, Davion Mitchell, MaCio Teague, Mark Vital, Flo Thamba, Adam Flagler, Mayer and others. In many ways that Bears team reminded me of the 2004-05 Illini, specifically in terms of both outfits' perimeter attacks, with Baylor boasting Mitchell, Butler and Teague and Illinois dominating with Dee Brown, Deron Williams and Luther Head.
An absolute wildcard of a player, Mayer was someone without a conscious, a guy who could get hot in stretches and go off from three when hot. With his mullet and goatee, Mayer was a bit of a wild man, in a good way, someone who figured to be a fan favorite in the Orange and Blue, though he would trim his hair a bit in the day and age of NIL.
Of course, the 2022-23 season with Mayer was an up-and-down campaign of drama and unfulfilled potential. According to rumor, Mayer and Clark did not mesh, with the freshman transferring after 17 games with Illinois. Mayer also called out Head Coach Brad Underwood for being too rough on the team in practice and had a famous episode drinking too many Monster Energy Drinks, leading to what he called caffeine poisoning. By the end of the season, a first-round loss to #8 seed Arkansas, the #9 seed Illini seemed ready to turn the page on this season.
I'll never forget a moment during the first half of that tourney game, when Mayer lost his shoe, and Illinois played 4-on-5 defensively for the ensuing possession only to get the ball back with Mayer still putting his shoe on. I wondered, "Why isn't anyone calling a timeout?" It was clear Head Coach Brad Underwood was done with this team and this season, learning a valuable lesson about the importance of chemistry.
While the 2022-23 team did not meet expectations, it was sure an interesting ride. While Mayer is viewed unfavorably by some Illinois fans and unfairly seen as the culprit of that team's issues, he did have more positive moments on the court than people realize. For whatever reason, the 22-23 team just did not click, though Mayer was better than people remember, averaging 12.5 points for the season, second only to Shannon's 17.2 points per game.
The Matthew Mayer experience was certainly a roller coaster, though there were more ups than Illini fans realize during what was an exhausting and frustrating season. Some of my personal favorite moments of Mayer included him:
While Mayer may not have been for everyone, I immensely enjoyed his streaky game, independent spirit and scoring outbursts. When on, Mayer was a very fun player to watch; when off, not as much. Still, I enjoyed seeing Mayer play one season for the Illini.
As disappointing as that season was, it sure was interesting and memorable, not always for the best reasons, with Mayer a major reason why.
Another long school year was coming to an end as I entered Memorial Day Weekend back in may of 2022. It was a Friday night, and I had passed out after another exhausting week of school, a drained teacher ready for the upcoming summer break.
As I came to from my slumber, I checked my phone to be pleasantly surprised by some great news. Baylor's Matthew Mayer had announced earlier that night he was transferring to Illinois. I couldn't believe it. Mayer, whom I absolutely loved at Baylor, had chosen the Illini instead of North Carolina.
I ended up finding an interview on YouTube of Mayer describing his decision to choose Illinois, I believe, with a local reporter in Waco, Texas. Mayer basically said that he chose Illinois because he thought the Illini could shock teams the coming season. He even mentioned the addition of a freshman named Skyy Clark as a reason why he chose Illinois.
With Mayer now in the fold, Illinois was suddenly looking like a potential dark horse heading into the 2022-23 season. The Illini had already added Texas Tech transfer Terrence Shannon Jr. via the transfer portal. The Illini were bringing in four freshman, Clark, Jayden Epps, Ty Rodgers and Sincere Harris, as well as returning players Coleman Hawkins, Luke Goode and R.J. Melendez. Illinois also had mid-season Baylor transfer Dain Dainja entering the fold.
On paper, the Illini looked dangerous.
Could this be Brad Underwood's first Illinois team to get out of the opening weekend?
No player excited me more than Mayer, who had been an awesome sixth/seventh-man with the Baylor team that won the national championship during the 2021 NCAA Tournament. I absolutely loved that Baylor team with Jared Butler, Davion Mitchell, MaCio Teague, Mark Vital, Flo Thamba, Adam Flagler, Mayer and others. In many ways that Bears team reminded me of the 2004-05 Illini, specifically in terms of both outfits' perimeter attacks, with Baylor boasting Mitchell, Butler and Teague and Illinois dominating with Dee Brown, Deron Williams and Luther Head.
An absolute wildcard of a player, Mayer was someone without a conscious, a guy who could get hot in stretches and go off from three when hot. With his mullet and goatee, Mayer was a bit of a wild man, in a good way, someone who figured to be a fan favorite in the Orange and Blue, though he would trim his hair a bit in the day and age of NIL.
Of course, the 2022-23 season with Mayer was an up-and-down campaign of drama and unfulfilled potential. According to rumor, Mayer and Clark did not mesh, with the freshman transferring after 17 games with Illinois. Mayer also called out Head Coach Brad Underwood for being too rough on the team in practice and had a famous episode drinking too many Monster Energy Drinks, leading to what he called caffeine poisoning. By the end of the season, a first-round loss to #8 seed Arkansas, the #9 seed Illini seemed ready to turn the page on this season.
I'll never forget a moment during the first half of that tourney game, when Mayer lost his shoe, and Illinois played 4-on-5 defensively for the ensuing possession only to get the ball back with Mayer still putting his shoe on. I wondered, "Why isn't anyone calling a timeout?" It was clear Head Coach Brad Underwood was done with this team and this season, learning a valuable lesson about the importance of chemistry.
While the 2022-23 team did not meet expectations, it was sure an interesting ride. While Mayer is viewed unfavorably by some Illinois fans and unfairly seen as the culprit of that team's issues, he did have more positive moments on the court than people realize. For whatever reason, the 22-23 team just did not click, though Mayer was better than people remember, averaging 12.5 points for the season, second only to Shannon's 17.2 points per game.
The Matthew Mayer experience was certainly a roller coaster, though there were more ups than Illini fans realize during what was an exhausting and frustrating season. Some of my personal favorite moments of Mayer included him:
- Going off against #2 Texas at Madison Square Garden, hitting 8-of-10 field goals and 5-or-5 from three, for 21 points.
- Getting on a heater during a Friday night home victory against Michigan State, finishing with 19 points and 6 blocks.
- Notching a career-high 26 points during a huge road win at Wisconsin.
- Leading the Illini with 24 points and 7 rebounds during a double overtime victory against Michigan.
While Mayer may not have been for everyone, I immensely enjoyed his streaky game, independent spirit and scoring outbursts. When on, Mayer was a very fun player to watch; when off, not as much. Still, I enjoyed seeing Mayer play one season for the Illini.
As disappointing as that season was, it sure was interesting and memorable, not always for the best reasons, with Mayer a major reason why.
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