 |  |  |
Let's continue with the countdown of my 30 favorite Illinois men's basketball players of my Fighting Illini fandom, which began almost 30 years ago. As a recap, my 30th favorite Illini of my fandom was the controversial Morez Johnson Jr. As Head Coach Brad Underwood said after Illinois lost to Michigan at State Farm Center this season, "I still love Morez." So do I, as is the case for my 29th favorite Illini player of my fandom.
The great thing about a list of all-time favorites is the subjectivity. Whom you may consider a favorite, I may have a total different opinion about, and vice versa. Sometimes favorite players go beyond performance on the court and are more about personal experiences and memories. For example, maybe your favorite baseball player of all time was actually not that great of a performer; however, he gave you an autograph when you were an impressionable kid. Or maybe a certain player stands out in a memory of a special game. For my 29th favorite Illinois men's basketball player of all time, Marcus Arnold, I have an appreciation beyond what he did during two seasons as an Illini but rather for an interview he granted me when transferring from Illinois State prior to the 2004-05 basketball season.
Flash back to January of 2004. I am a junior at the U-of-I, back home in Chicago for Christmas break. It is a boring Saturday afternoon when I turn on what figures to be an easy Illinois victory against the Redbirds of Illinois State during Head Coach Bruce Weber's first season as Illini Head Coach. I am so not worried about this game that I even tune in and hit record on my VCR a few minutes late.
I quickly realize the game is not going to plan as Illinois State, coached by Porter Moser, is giving the Illini fits. One player in particular, the Redbirds' Arnold, is having a big game against Illinois, which has just gotten sophomore point guard Deron Williams back from a broken jaw. With no Orange Crush in attendance as it is winter break, and the Assembly Hall feeling a bit sleepy, Illinois seems on the verge of losing when Nick Smith hits a three late in the second half to force overtime. The Illini eventually win 80-73 in overtime, escaping Illinois State and Arnold, who finishes with 23 points on 11-for-17 from the field. Williams leads the Illini with 20 points while Dee Brown, Luther Head and Smith add 16, 15 and 14 points respectively.
The Illini struggle a bit to find chemistry during Weber's first year, though the team comes together during March and advances to the Sweet Sixteen, where it loses to Duke. Still, the future looks bright as Illinois is set to return all five starters heading into the 2004-05 season. I am even pleased to learn that Arnold will be transferring to Illinois, though he will have to sit out Illinois' magical run to the title game.
It is now October of 2004. I am finishing my last class for my broadcast journalism major, looking to do a preseason story about Arnold transferring to Illinois. I contact legendary Illinois Sports Information Director Kent Brown, who sets me up with an interview with Arnold prior to a practice.
I show up at Ubben Basketball Complex and meet Brown.
"Hey Chris," Kent says, "Marcus is running a little late as he is finishing up a class. He should be here in about 20 minutes."
Brown takes me to the running track above the Ubben Basketball Complex. I wait for a while as Illinois players begin taking the court and warming up before practice. I watch in amazement as Williams and Heads can three after three in warmups.
"Chris, meet Marcus Arnold," Brown says as I turn around to see the 6'8'' forward standing there with a smile on his face.
"Sorry, I'm late," Arnold apologizes.
"No worries," I respond. "Thanks for doing this with me."
For the next 20 minutes or so, Marcus and I have a great conversation, talking about his experiences at Illinois State, his aspirations for transferring to Illinois, his feelings about having to sit out the season, etc. Arnold proves to be a thoughtful, reflective and respectful kid.
The conversation transitions to his time at Morgan Park High School, specifically the school being featured on the legendary show "Preps." I ask Marcus about his high school teammate Quinnel Brown, who is actually playing at Auburn at the time.
"Man, my buddy Rich and I loved that guy," I tell Marcus, who laughs. "He was a beast."
"Yeah, Quinnel was an awesome player," Marcus adds.
The interview ends as I shake Arnold's hand, thank him for his time and wish him good luck.
"That was a really good kid," I think to myself. Normally not someone who gets awestruck interviewing athletes, I leave with an appreciation of Arnold's approachable, laid-back nature.
From that day on, I am a big fan of Arnold, who eventually ends up wearing #44 as an Illini instead of the #21 he donned with the Redbirds. As Illinois gets run over by UNC's Sean May during the title game the following April, I wonder if a big like Arnold could have helped the Illini stay afloat.
Arnold eventually suits up for the Illini during the 2005-06 and 2006-07 seasons, playing as a reserve and not having the impact that I was expecting after watching him at Illinois State. Still, he proves to be a valuable part of the rotation, a big who plays hard and gives good minutes backing up Shaun Pruitt and Brian Randle.
Ultimately, Arnold's career at Illinois ends with the Illini starting to tail off a bit, losing in the second round in the 2006 NCAA Tournament and barely making the 2007 NCAA Tournament, where we blow a lead and lose to Virginia Tech in the first round.
While his time in Champaign went quickly, Arnold still holds a special place in my Illini fandom all these years later for that interview he likely forgot quickly about but I will always remember fondly.
Note: Here is the Illinois State game when Arnold killed the Illini. I uploaded this game onto YouTube specifically for this post. Also, I have posted the first time I saw Arnold play in an Illinois uniform, a revenge game against North Carolina at the Dean Smith Center at the start of the 2005-06 season. I also have posted a nice performance off the bench from Arnold during a loss at Indiana from the 2006-07 season, right after Eric Gordon had spurned Illinois for the Hoosiers and the rivarly was quite intense. At one point in this game I though Pruitt and Indiana's D.J. White were going to get into a fight. :-)
Flash back to January of 2004. I am a junior at the U-of-I, back home in Chicago for Christmas break. It is a boring Saturday afternoon when I turn on what figures to be an easy Illinois victory against the Redbirds of Illinois State during Head Coach Bruce Weber's first season as Illini Head Coach. I am so not worried about this game that I even tune in and hit record on my VCR a few minutes late.
I quickly realize the game is not going to plan as Illinois State, coached by Porter Moser, is giving the Illini fits. One player in particular, the Redbirds' Arnold, is having a big game against Illinois, which has just gotten sophomore point guard Deron Williams back from a broken jaw. With no Orange Crush in attendance as it is winter break, and the Assembly Hall feeling a bit sleepy, Illinois seems on the verge of losing when Nick Smith hits a three late in the second half to force overtime. The Illini eventually win 80-73 in overtime, escaping Illinois State and Arnold, who finishes with 23 points on 11-for-17 from the field. Williams leads the Illini with 20 points while Dee Brown, Luther Head and Smith add 16, 15 and 14 points respectively.
The Illini struggle a bit to find chemistry during Weber's first year, though the team comes together during March and advances to the Sweet Sixteen, where it loses to Duke. Still, the future looks bright as Illinois is set to return all five starters heading into the 2004-05 season. I am even pleased to learn that Arnold will be transferring to Illinois, though he will have to sit out Illinois' magical run to the title game.
It is now October of 2004. I am finishing my last class for my broadcast journalism major, looking to do a preseason story about Arnold transferring to Illinois. I contact legendary Illinois Sports Information Director Kent Brown, who sets me up with an interview with Arnold prior to a practice.
I show up at Ubben Basketball Complex and meet Brown.
"Hey Chris," Kent says, "Marcus is running a little late as he is finishing up a class. He should be here in about 20 minutes."
Brown takes me to the running track above the Ubben Basketball Complex. I wait for a while as Illinois players begin taking the court and warming up before practice. I watch in amazement as Williams and Heads can three after three in warmups.
"Chris, meet Marcus Arnold," Brown says as I turn around to see the 6'8'' forward standing there with a smile on his face.
"Sorry, I'm late," Arnold apologizes.
"No worries," I respond. "Thanks for doing this with me."
For the next 20 minutes or so, Marcus and I have a great conversation, talking about his experiences at Illinois State, his aspirations for transferring to Illinois, his feelings about having to sit out the season, etc. Arnold proves to be a thoughtful, reflective and respectful kid.
The conversation transitions to his time at Morgan Park High School, specifically the school being featured on the legendary show "Preps." I ask Marcus about his high school teammate Quinnel Brown, who is actually playing at Auburn at the time.
"Man, my buddy Rich and I loved that guy," I tell Marcus, who laughs. "He was a beast."
"Yeah, Quinnel was an awesome player," Marcus adds.
The interview ends as I shake Arnold's hand, thank him for his time and wish him good luck.
"That was a really good kid," I think to myself. Normally not someone who gets awestruck interviewing athletes, I leave with an appreciation of Arnold's approachable, laid-back nature.
From that day on, I am a big fan of Arnold, who eventually ends up wearing #44 as an Illini instead of the #21 he donned with the Redbirds. As Illinois gets run over by UNC's Sean May during the title game the following April, I wonder if a big like Arnold could have helped the Illini stay afloat.
Arnold eventually suits up for the Illini during the 2005-06 and 2006-07 seasons, playing as a reserve and not having the impact that I was expecting after watching him at Illinois State. Still, he proves to be a valuable part of the rotation, a big who plays hard and gives good minutes backing up Shaun Pruitt and Brian Randle.
Ultimately, Arnold's career at Illinois ends with the Illini starting to tail off a bit, losing in the second round in the 2006 NCAA Tournament and barely making the 2007 NCAA Tournament, where we blow a lead and lose to Virginia Tech in the first round.
While his time in Champaign went quickly, Arnold still holds a special place in my Illini fandom all these years later for that interview he likely forgot quickly about but I will always remember fondly.
Note: Here is the Illinois State game when Arnold killed the Illini. I uploaded this game onto YouTube specifically for this post. Also, I have posted the first time I saw Arnold play in an Illinois uniform, a revenge game against North Carolina at the Dean Smith Center at the start of the 2005-06 season. I also have posted a nice performance off the bench from Arnold during a loss at Indiana from the 2006-07 season, right after Eric Gordon had spurned Illinois for the Hoosiers and the rivarly was quite intense. At one point in this game I though Pruitt and Indiana's D.J. White were going to get into a fight. :-)
RSS Feed