Illinois
With so many moving parts, the Illinois basketball team hires a general manager
The Illinois basketball team is in the middle of a huge season for the program, as this squad is poised for great heights.
Despite dropping two out of the last four contests, the Illini find themselves back in the AP Top 25 at No. 24 in the nation. This ranking is impressive considering we are only 8-3 overall. The three losses aren’t bad, and Illinois has also beaten a good Missouri program and ranked Arkansas and Wisconsin squads.
While Brad Underwood is trying to develop talent and lead this team to the promised land, there is clearly a need for continuous program development on and off the court. On Friday night, the Illini “front office” got a little stronger.
According to NBA reporter Jake Fischer, Illinois is hiring Neel Ganta as the new general manager for the program. The Illini managed to snag him away from the Denver Nuggets front office.
Sources: Neel Ganta is departing the Denver Nuggets’ front office to become the new general manager of Illinois men’s basketball. Ganta returns to the Illini program after previously serving as a graduate assistant.
— Jake Fischer (@JakeLFischer) December 27, 2024
Neel Ganta should have an expansive role as the general manager of the Illinois basketball team
Ganta’s roots are actually with the Illini. He was a basketball analyst for the Illini from May 2019 to August 2020. After that, he moved into a graduate assistant role with the program from August 2020 to August 2021.
After his time with the Orange and Blue, Ganta then took a player development coordinator role with the Grand Rapids Gold, the G-League team of the Denver Nuggets. He then parlayed that position into multiple roles with the Nuggets, which ended with him being a pro scout.
Illinois is now bringing back Ganta, but what does the general manager title do for a college basketball team?
Well, this is the same situation that ESPN NBA insider Adrian Wojnarowski took with St. Bonaventure just months ago.
In the description of what Wojnarowski does for the Bonnies, it includes name, image, and likeness opportunities. This is huge in the college game today. It also sounds like Wojnarowski is the front face for the program when it comes to collectives.
This is what I imagine Ganta will do for the Orange and Blue. He will be out there wheeling and dealing. Ganta will likely be the one who brings in the money to help pay for the athletes to come to Illinois.
I like this addition to the Illinois basketball program. We needed someone out there bringing in the money so the coaching staff can focus on recruiting and on court issues.
CENTRALIA, Ill. – An investigation is underway after multiple people were shot Sunday in Centralia, Illinois, according to a report from WFCN News in southern Illinois.
FOX 2 has confirmed the Illinois State Police is investigating a shooting and taking over the investigation, but ISP could not confirm many further details as of 9 p.m. Sunday.
“The investigation is in its infancy and to protect the integrity of the investigation, no additional details will be released at this time,” ISP said in a statement to FOX 2.
According to WFCN News, the shooting happened around 5 p.m. near the 900 block of East Kell Street in Centralia. Multiple law enforcement agencies have since responded to scene and multiple victims are hospitalized, according to the report.
It’s unclear how many people may have been injured and what led up to the shooting.
Centralia, Illinois is about 70 miles, or just over an hour, east of St. Louis.
This is a developing story. FOX 2 will update as more information becomes available.
The National Weather Service has teams of storm surveryors in the field April 18 investigating several reports of severe storms and tornado touch downs across eastern Iowa, northwest Illinois and northeast Missouri.
According to the weather service’s website, windgusts of up to 60 to 70 mph along with teacup-sized hail and several tornadoes were reported April 17.
Many homes and outbuildings were damaged, trees were uprooted and power lines were downed in Lena, Illinois, where the most significant damage occurred, the site pointed out.
Very strong winds also were reported near Washington, Iowa, and Colmar, Illinois, where several outbuildings and grain bins were destroyed.
The weather service received reports of confirmed and possible tornadoes in the areas of Lena, Pecatonica, Shirland, Rockton, Roscoe and Capron.
The teams will be assessing damage this weekend into next week along with county emergency management teams to determine what types of storms occurred and their paths.
Dozens of power outages were reported, as well.
As of the afternoon of April 18, ComEd was reporting 85 active power outages across northern Illinois, down from 241 on April 17, and 6,751 customers affected, down from more than 18,000.
The bulk of those outages and the most customers impacted are concentrated in Jo Daviess and Stephenson counties.
Freeze Watch
from MON 12:00 AM CDT until MON 9:00 AM CDT, Lake County, Kankakee County, La Salle County, DuPage County, Northern Will County, DeKalb County, Southern Will County, Kendall County, Southern Cook County, Northern Cook County, Grundy County, Eastern Will County, Kane County, McHenry County, Lake County, Newton County, Jasper County, Porter County
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