Illini Insider | 'I’d be lying if I said it doesn’t hit me differently'

To subscribe, click here Chris Gandy As someone who played at the University of Illinois from 1992 to 1997, Ive seen firsthand how powerful the game of basketball can be not just for the program, but for the lives it touches.

Back then, about 95 percent of our talent came from within Illinois or neighboring states.

We were local kids, many of us from humble beginnings, who saw basketball not just as a sport but as our shot a chance to earn a scholarship, change our lives and go back into our communities with a nationally respected education and the pride of representing our home state.

Today, the game has changed.

College basketball has gone global, and Illinois, like many other programs, is now filling scholarships with international talent.

I understand it completely.

Its not right or wrong; its what the university has to do to stay competitive on the national level, especially in this new age of NIL and the transfer portal.

In many ways, its beautiful to see Illinois expanding its horizons and building a program with global reach.

But Id be lying if I said it doesnt hit me differently.

Theres something sacred about watching a kid from Peoria, the south side of Chicago or East St.

Louis put on that orange and blue and play for the school they grew up dreaming about.

For many of us, that scholarship was everything.

It was our ticket.

We werent just playing basketball we were carrying our neighborhoods, our families and our hopes with us.

We grew up idolizing Kendall Gill, Steve Bardo, Kenny Battle, Marcus Liberty.

The box haircuts, the long shorts, Chief Illiniwek, Assembly Hall rocking we lived that.

Im not sure kids from overseas or even out-of-state fully grasp that nostalgia.

The Lou Doo .

So yes, I support what the university is doing.

I understand it.

But I still feel for the Illinois kids who may be missing out on the chance to live that dream.

To represent their home state, to transform their lives and to later pour that experience back into their communities.

To me, its just different.

Not better.

Not worse.

Just different.

The game has gone global but my heart will always be with the kid from Illinois who grew up believing that if you were the best in the state, you were expected to be at and stay at Illinois..

This article has been shared from the original article on newsgazette, here is the link to the original article.