Bush offer makes things interesting

BIG 3 CONTINUE TO WORK IN CLASSROOM

(6/15/04)

Whoosh! has learned from multiple sources within the UIC athletic department that the Flames’ Big Three of Cedrick Banks, Martell Bailey and Armond Williams have not yet graduated.

All are taking summer courses in order to attempt to finish degree requirements in four years, in hopes of earning a fourth year of eligibility that they lost as Prop 48 casualties in the 2000-01 season.

The summer sessions ends July 23, so the team will know specifically shortly thereafter if any or all will return next season. The possibility also remains none will return if things turn sour.

UIC assistant coach Mark Coomes said recently that the task of all three coming back is “certainly doable.”

However, a recent report from the Times of Northwest Indiana said that the Flames have offered Thornton guard Robert Bush a scholarship.

Bush, a 6-foot-3 shooting guard led a balanced Wildcats squad to the Class AA supersectionals. He averaged 13 points per game as a senior. ChicagoHoops.com ranked Bush as the No. 30 senior in Illinois, while Highschoolelite.com ranked him at No. 32.

Bush’s arrival brings up the possibility that one of the three may not make it back next season.

Whoosh! also heard that all three returning “would be a bonus,” according to one source.

Although it is also possible, if the all three return, that Bush or another player could redshirt and pay his way through before accepting a scholarship for the next season.

Banks, Bailey and Williams have mentioned their intentions on returning to the Flames in past interviews during and after the past season, in which the Flames went 24-8 and won their second Horizon League tournament championship in three years.

All three have significant basketball goals to shoot for if they return. Banks could become the school’s all-time leading scorer, surpassing Kenny Williams. Bailey could become the most prolific assists-man in school history and Horizon League history, while Williams will have a chance to improve his game for professional opportunities.

Collectively, they could be the first class in team history to win 90 games, if they can pull off a 25-victory season.

STEFANOV HONORED: UIC redshirt freshman forward Jovan Stefanov was named to the Horizon League men’s basketball All-Academic Team back in May.

Stefanov (pictured with UW-Milwaukee's Mark Pancratz) averaged 2.7 points and 1.7 rebounds per game, while playing in 19 contests after recovering from effects of Guillain-Barre Syndrome, an uncommon nervous system disorder. He shot 41 percent from the field and 73 percent from the free-throw line.

Stefanov joins Loyola senior guard Jason Telford, Wisconsin-Green Bay senior forward Kevin Hughes, Green Bay junior guard Matt Rohde, and Youngstown State center Adam Baumann on the team.

The Horizon League All-Academic Teams are selected by league sports information directors and faculty athletic representatives. Nominees must meet the following criteria: 1) a cumulative GPA of 3.25 or higher on a 4.0 scale; 2) have completed at least three semesters at the same institution; and 3) be a starter or significant reserve in a league-sponsored sport. The team is comprised of the same number of First Team All-League student-athletes in each sport.

WHITE UPDATE: Recruit Karl White scored a game-high 20 points, including two crowd-inciting dunks, in the Lyle Buell-Tom Brosnihan Memorial All-Star Game June 5 in Omaha, Neb.

In addition, White closed his track season with a third-place finish in the 110 high hurdles in the Nebraska state meet. He ran it in 14.62 seconds.

FARMER ARRESTED: Three Minnesota Vikings players were arrested after a fight outside a downtown Minneapolis bar last week. The Associated Press reported that tight end Steve Farmer, who was a walk-on forward with the Flames in 1998-99, was arrested along with linebackers E.J. Henderson and Mike Nattiel.

The three players, and a fourth man who was arrested in connection with the scuffle, were released from the Hennepin County Jail later the same evening. The arrest could put Farmer’s Vikings’ career in jeopardy. He was signed by the team last year, but did not play due to a knee injury suffered in training camp.

LOYOLA STEALS ONE: The Ramblers announced the signing of Brother Rice shooting guard Dave Telander recently. UIC was in hot pursuit of Telander. In fact, according to Illinois Prep Bulls-eye, the Flames offered a scholarship earlier this year.

The 6-foot-1 Telander is the nephew of Chicago Sun-Times sports columnist Rick Telander.