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Yahoo
21-04-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Champaign announces road closures for race weekend, Ebertfest
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. (WCIA) — Champaign is gearing up for a busy weekend between the Christie Clinic Illinois Race Weekend and Ebertfest. Now, the city is letting residents know that if you're driving around this week, you may see some road closures. IL Race Weekend welcoming new faces from cancelled event The Michael Hogue Team Mile will kick off the events on Thursday. It'll start on First Street, north of Kirby at the Grange Grove gate. Participants will go north to Green Street, and west on Green to finish near Neil Street. One block of First, between Kirby and Peabody and one block of Green, from Neil and Locust will close at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday. The rest of the mile-long route will close at 7 p.m. Traffic will be able to exit the area along Kirby or roads north of Green. Christie Clinic Illinois Race Weekend offering free entries through donation On Friday, motorists will begin to see road closures beginning around 7 p.m. The Christie Clinic Illinois 5K starts on Oak Streetsouth of St. Mary's Rd. The route takes participants through campus using First, Green, Sixth, and Gregory before turning south on First Street and heading to the stadium. Traffic will be closed off completely between 7-8:15 p.m. for the area in blue, according to the race map. The first intersection to open will be First and Armory. Once that's open, traffic will be able to leave the area by going west on Armory to Oak Street and then south out of the area. Christie Clinic Illinois Race Weekend still asking for volunteers Several races will take place on Saturday. This includes the marathon, half marathon, the wheelchair marathon, the relay marathon, the 10K and the Busey Illinois Youth Run. IL_Marathon_FullDownload Closures will begin at 7 a.m. on First Street, south of Green, and Green Street, from First to Race Street. The wheelchair racers begin at 7:31 a.m., followed by the full/ half marathoners and the relay racers. The 10K racers will begin at 8 a.m. Stadium Drive, Kirby Avenue and St. Mary's Road will be closed to traffic east of Neil beginning at 7 a.m. Drivers attempting to enter State Farm Center parking should take Neil Street to Windsor Road, to Fourth Street. 2025 Christie Clinic Illinois Race Weekend medals unveiled The City of Urbana will likely be clear of participants by 11 a.m. Then, marathoners and relay participants will be heading south on Prospect in the east-most lane, between Armory Avenue and Curtis Road. South and northbound traffic will continue through the event. The Village of Savoy should be clear of participants by 1:30 p.m. To help drivers avoid road closures on race day, organizers provided a map, suggesting a route around town that isn't impacted by the race. You can find the map here: For more details about when certain streets are expected to close — and reopen — click here. You can also find more details about the races on the Illinois Marathon's website. Champaign County residents will also see temporary street closures from another event happening this weekend. Ebertfest announces more guests, final films for festival later this month Ebertfest, held at the Virginia Theatre, will run from April 23-26. During the festival, Park Avenue will be closed between Randolph Street and the entrance to Hickory Point Bank, beginning April 23. Traffic will not be allowed through in this area, but the city said residents will be able to reach businesses in the area through State Street to Park Avenue. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Chicago Tribune
15-03-2025
- Sport
- Chicago Tribune
George Richardson has been ‘dreaming of this.' Not only making impact, he leads Evanston to season-ending win.
CHAMPAIGN — George Richardson has experienced just about all that March Madness has to offer over the course of three seasons. Two years ago, Richardson didn't make the varsity team at DePaul Prep, which won the Class 2A state title without him. He could have gone to the State Farm Center as a fan, but he took a pass. 'It was tough to see my friends go to Champaign,' he said. 'That's where I got most of my passion to work. It made me want to work harder because I wanted to be there, too, with them.' A year later, Richardson was in Champaign celebrating with his DePaul teammates, as he had hoped, after they won the Class 3A state title. But he played only a minute in the semifinals and didn't get on the floor in the championship game. The end of this season was much different once again for Richardson, who had transferred to Evanston. The 6-foot-7 senior forward picked up a lot of floor time at the State Farm Center, where he helped the Wildkits beat Rich Township 73-70 in overtime in the Class 4A third-place game on Saturday. Richardson filled the stat sheet with 17 points, eight rebounds, six assists and five steals in 32 minutes for Evanston (31-6), which advanced to the state finals for the first time since losing in the championship game in 2019. A day earlier, Richardson scored 12 points in 27 minutes in the Wildkits' 56-47 loss to Benet in the semifinals. 'I've been dreaming of this moment since last year,' he said. 'I wanted to come back here. This was awesome.' Changing schools wasn't easy, though. 'It was for sure a tough decision,' Richardson said. 'I grew up with all of those kids from DePaul. I love them like brothers. It was hard to leave them, for sure. But there were bigger things on my horizon, and that's what I got here. 'I feel really blessed that I had the opportunity to come here.' Evanston coach Mike Ellis is happy to have Richardson on the team too. 'He gave us a great deal of balance,' Ellis said. 'We needed something inside and a presence around the basket. There are so many times George made the plays for us down the stretch around the paint. 'We have a good shooting team, and George gives us that balance inside, and it helps the defense keep 10 eyes on our perimeter scoring when you have people battle inside like he does.' Evanston senior guard Theo Rocca, a Washington University commit who scored a team-high 18 points against Rich Township (26-10), is also glad to have Richardson as a teammate. 'He's one of the hardest workers on the team,' Rocca said. 'He's a great example for everyone on the team to work as hard as he does. 'On the court, he's a guy who does everything. He's one of our best rebounders, he is a big body in the paint and people don't realize what a great shooter he is. I wish he shot the ball more.' The ending of the third-place game wasn't perfect for Richardson, who suffered an ankle injury with 47 seconds left in overtime. He went to the sideline and tried to walk it off. During a timeout, while the song 'Chelsea Dagger' played, he bopped up and down to the beat to try to get the ankle to cooperate. He returned to the court with 0:42 left, but he was out there for only one play before he exited again. Richardson watched the end of the game while standing in a corner near the bench. 'I was going for a block, and I usually don't jump that high,' he said. 'I think Theo pushed me up a little bit, and I landed on someone's ankle.' Richardson, who has an offer from Trine, wants to continue playing basketball next season. 'I'll be ready by then,' he said with a smile. The Wildkits are bringing home their seventh state trophy. The program's highlights include a state title in 1968, when the Illinois High School Association had a one-class system. Ellis guided them to third place in 2018 and second place in 2019, both times in 4A. Ellis is excited that Evanston is one of the few teams to finish the season with a win. 'This team here is going to be legendary in our high school for what they have done for the high school, the program and the community,' he said. 'It was good to see them close it out with a win because that's what they are — winners. 'I've been impressed with this group from day one. We talked before the game about being one of two Class 4A teams to end the season with a win. We didn't want to be one of the 602 high school teams who lose their last game.' Connecting from beyond the arc certainly helped Evanston, which entered the state semifinals with 307 3-pointers made in 35 games. The Wildkits went 1 for 13 on 3-point attempts in the first three quarters of the semifinal loss to Benet, a team they had beaten 59-55 on Feb. 1. But they returned to form against Rich Township, hitting 10 3-pointers. Richardson, who hit a 3-pointer in the first quarter to help set the tone, said he learned the sport at an early age and hasn't lost his love for it. 'Basketball kind of found me, and it's been special,' he said. 'I tried football, but I love basketball. I love the team aspect of it. You are building a brotherhood on and off the court, and you meet people you will be friends with the rest of your life.'
Chicago Tribune
05-03-2025
- Sport
- Chicago Tribune
How Illinois' Kendall Bostic changed her mindset — and helped turn around the program in 4 record-setting years
When Purdue guard Sophie Swanson's 3-point attempt bounced around the rim, up to the backboard and out, Illinois forward Kendall Bostic grabbed the basketball and held it for just a few beats longer than usual. Bostic had been building toward the moment at the State Farm Center for four years. With that third-quarter rebound in a Jan. 27 win over the Boilermakers, Bostic became Illinois' all-time leading rebounder with 1,218. The buzz she felt from the crowd didn't disappoint. 'You've got the Orange Krush behind me, and they've got signs and whiteboards,' Bostic said. 'Sue, one of our Courtsiders, has number cards that she's throwing around, and then to have that whole arena chanting — they chanted my name for like a minute — that gave me goosebumps. 'That's how you know you left a program better than you found it.' When the Illini open Big Ten Tournament play Thursday in Indianapolis against the winner of Wednesday's Nebraska-Rutgers game, Bostic will enter the final stretch of a career that coach Shauna Green believes is worthy of putting her No. 44 jersey in the State Farm Center rafters. The 6-foot-2 forward has become not only Illinois' leader but one of the most prolific rebounders of all time in the Big Ten. In the weeks since she set the school record, Bostic has climbed to 1,321 boards in her four years in Champaign and 1,385 overall during her college career, which includes one season at Michigan State. That ranks third all time in the conference. Bostic, who was named to the All-Big Ten first team Tuesday, also has made an increasing impact on offense for the Illini. And as one of five seniors, she's a key component to a revived program that should receive its second NCAA Tournament berth in three seasons under Green on Selection Sunday. 'You get a college offer and you commit somewhere to go to college, and you just never think you'll have the impact that you do,' Bostic said. 'I didn't go to college and think I was going to break all these records. I'm an undersized post player. I didn't have that high of goals. I wanted to be a starter, play on a decent team, help change this program around. Those were my goals.' 'Part of who I am' The rebounds used to add up at Northwestern High School in Kokomo, Ind., simply because Bostic was tall. A lot of her 1,040 rebounds during her all-state career were the 'easy ones,' she said. Bostic's arrival in college as a 6-2 post player, however, meant the skill had to be approached differently. When she first got to Illinois after transferring from Michigan State in 2021, the former Illini coaching staff tracked offensive rebounds in practice, offering a prize to whoever emerged the winner at the end of a week. Bostic, whose mother played basketball at Indiana and whose father played at Division III Manchester (Ind.), became determined to win every week, and that started to carry over into games. It became, she said, 'part of who I am.' 'It's just part of my game,' she said. 'And there's not a lot of people that do it as hard and work for it as much as I do. I wasn't as big of a scorer early in my career, so that was a way I felt I could stay on the court and get my minutes but also have an impact on the team.' She has been near her best this season, averaging a Big Ten-high 11.3 rebounds. That ranks eighth in the country. Bostic said it starts with knowing her shooters and adjusting her positioning accordingly. An Adalia McKenzie pull-up jumper probably will be short if it doesn't go in. Makira Cook's misses probably will be long. Genesis Bryant's misses tend to be short. 'A lot of people are just like, 'Oh, you're a center, you're going to get boards,'' Bostic said. 'But again, I'm not the tallest, so I have to know my shooters. I know who shoots long, who shoots short. 'And then also just finding the open spot on the floor and always moving. I always hate when I have to box someone out and they don't stop moving because it's so hard to box them out. My goal each time I crash is to move and try and find the open space.' Green said the Illini staff can't take credit for Bostic's rebounding prowess. She believes Bostic simply has a knack for it. She displays the proper mindset and passion for the art. And she has the ability to read shots and angles. 'It's like Dennis Rodman,' Green said. 'He wasn't the biggest, tallest. It's just what he does, and that's kind of like KB. It's just what she does. She's mastered it. 'I'm on her a lot of times about boxing out more from a technique perspective because I think she could even get a few more rebounds if she boxed out more. But she's 6-1 on a good day and she's the leading rebounder in the Big Ten and has a million double-doubles. It's just absolutely amazing what she's done with her size.' Double-double expectation Green jokes that after two failures to recruit Bostic, she finally just followed Bostic to Illinois. Green was the coach at Dayton when she first tried to bring Bostic to her program, knowing it was probably a long shot that Bostic would go to a mid-major. Green tried again to make Bostic a Flyer when she entered the transfer portal after one year at Michigan State, but Bostic went to Illinois under former coach Nancy Fahey. When Green took the Illini helm in March 2022, she finally got to coach the player who had intrigued her. In her first few meetings with Bostic, she relayed her vision that Bostic should be a 'double-double kid,' that she should be scoring far more than the 6.7 points she averaged in her first year at Illinois. 'Just kind of changing her mindset and pouring into her to be confident as a scorer,' Green said. 'She was a great rebounder already, but being able to capitalize on those rebounds for put-backs and being able to score with her back to the basket. 'And then obviously her game has expanded each and every year with her range. Now she shoots a 15- to 17-foot jump shot like it's a layup, and she's also hitting 3s.' Bostic said she worked a lot with assistant coach DeAntoine 'Cat' Beasley to gain that confidence in her outside game, including shooting on the move or with a defender in her face. Her scoring average has climbed from 10.2 in 2022-23 to 12.1 to a team-leading 15.8 this season. She has 19 double-doubles this season and 53 for her career at Illinois, tying the Illini record set in 2010 by Jenna Smith, who also previously owned the career rebounding record. Bostic is doing it in a Big Ten-high 35 minutes per game. She credits her strength and conditioning — including long-distance running in the offseason — for allowing her to put in so much time. She also understands how to balance her pace and when to grab a breather within the course of a game. Bostic's continued growth — along with the play of fellow seniors such as Bryant, a guard and a second-team All-Big Ten selection — has helped Illinois turn around its program under Green after nine straight losing seasons before the coach's arrival. The Illini appeared in the NCAA Tournament's First Four in 2023, won the inaugural WBIT championship in 2024 and are currently projected by ESPN as a No. 8 seed in this year's NCAA Tournament. The veteran Illini finished the regular season with a 21-8 record (11-7 in the conference) and are seeded seventh in the Big Ten Tournament, overcoming season-ending illness and injury to Cook and Gretchen Dolan. 'We've completely turned it around,' Bostic said. 'We've made Illinois a place that recruits want to go, and it's not a place just anybody can go anymore. Our staff is very particular with their recruits. 'And they're a great staff. They have a good culture. They're building something really cool here. And I feel like we've been able to, the last couple years, lay a foundation for the future.' Home stretch Bostic is not in cruise mode for the final stretch of her academic studies at Illinois. As she pursues a master's degree in special education, she student teaches from 7:15 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. and then heads to practice, film work and treatment from 3 to 6:30. The school of education records her classes, which run at the same time as practice, so she can virtually attend them later at night. Green is impressed with how Bostic is able to flip right away into basketball mode after she arrives from teaching. She knows Bostic must be tired and want to crawl into bed at times, but she has stayed locked in. 'I don't know how many kids could really handle her schedule,' Green said. 'And sometimes it pulls her in a lot of directions. She may not be able to get in her normal recovery time before, treatment before, no extra shots before. So she might stay after. She might get up early to do it. But she always gets it in.' Bostic could see herself playing overseas for a couple of years, should the opportunity present itself, when her time at Illinois is up. But her long-term plan is to work as a teacher or behavior consultant with elementary school children. Her dad tells her she will be a good coach one day, too, a path she can see herself exploring. But for now, she's focused on extending her record-setting Illinois career for as long as she can. 'Just super loyal and committed, and it's just been absolutely amazing what she's done for this program,' Green said. 'She's one of the best players to ever play in Illinois women's basketball. 'And no doubt in the near future, I believe that she'll have her jersey hanging in the rafters. And that's a pretty bold statement, but that's the impact she's made.' Big Ten Tournament Gainbridge Fieldhouse, Indianapolis Wednesday's games (12) Washington vs. (13) Minnesota, 2:30 p.m., Peacock (10) Nebraska vs. (15) Rutgers, 5 p.m., Peacock (11) Iowa vs. (14) Wisconsin, 7:30 p.m., Peacock Thursday's games (8) Oregon vs. (9) Indiana, 11 a.m., BTN (5) Michigan vs. Washington/Minnesota, 1:30 p.m., BTN (7) Illinois vs. Nebraska/Rutgers, 5:30 p.m., BTN (6) Michigan State vs. Iowa/Wisconsin, 8 p.m. BTN Friday's quarterfinals (1) USC vs. Oregon/Indiana, 11 a.m., BTN (4) Maryland vs. Michigan/Washington/Minnesota, 1:30 p.m., BTN (2) UCLA vs. Illinois/Nebraska/Rutgers, 5:30 p.m., BTN (3) Ohio State vs. Michigan State/Iowa/Wisconsin, 8 p.m., BTN Saturday's semifinals 2 and 4:30 p.m., BTN Sunday's final 3:30 p.m., CBS-2
