Jul. 27—Illinois basketball might be my primary focus, but I’ve always maintained a well-read, well-informed writer is the best writer. So I read — a lot. Sometimes for pleasure (with what I think is an impressive home library full of offerings from my favorite authors) and often just to keep up on all things college basketball.
So here’s a sampling of what I read this week …
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(Matt Norlander, CBS Sports)
I read basically everything Norlander writes on college basketball. This one was interesting given the sentiment shared, anonymously, by college coaches that even with new rules for NIL via the House settlement that nothing was going to change. Turns out they’re probably right. This story published before the College Sports Commission agreed to let up on collectives. Dubious NIL deals will seemingly still be a thing.
(Jeremy Woo, ESPN)
While I follow the draft every year, this one was notable given two now former Illinois guards wound up as first-round picks. There was only a brief mention of Kasparas Jakucionis in this piece as the third-most likely rookie that might be the 2025 draft’s biggest steal.
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(Gary Parrish, CBS Sports)
Parrish is probably known more now for podcasting and his radio show, but he’s always worth a read when he harkens back to his days primarily as a college basketball writer. High school recruiting has changed, and this story helps paint a picture as to why.
(Dan Wetzel, ESPN)
Another offering from CBS Sports (on the ) led me to Wetzel’s piece from June I hadn’t read, which came from the premise that so few people knew former Baylor guard Carlton Dotson had been paroled after serving just more than half of his 35-year sentence for murdering his teammate Patrick Dennehy in 2003. An interesting read.
