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Sports Editor Matt Daniels with a look at what’s going on around the area:
Makira Cook was one of 10 Big Ten women’s basketball players who received preseason All-Big Ten recognition on Thursday as chosen by the league’s coaches.
Three reasons we love sports today
➜ 1. Illinois women’s basketball guard Makira Cook is one of 10 players named to the All-Big Ten preseason team selected by the league’s coaches on Thursday.
➜ 2. Congrats to Logan Mills from the St. Joseph-Ogden boys’ soccer team and Reese Rundle of the Danville girls’ tennis team. The duo is our latest High School Athletes of the Week, powered by Copper Creek Contractors. Read more about the pair in Monday’s News-Gazette.
➜ 3. Illinois fans can bleed for their favorite school for a good cause. The Big Ten and Abbott announced on Thursday the Big Ten school that donates the most blood between now and Dec. 6 in ‘The We Give Blood Drive’ will receive $1 million to advance student or community health.
Derrick Rose was the No. 1 overall pick by the Chicago Bulls in 2008 and won MVP honors in 2011 before a series of injuries derailed his career. The Chicago native ended up playing 15 NBA seasons and announced his retirement on Thursday.
Numbers game: 4
active NBA players who won The News-Gazette’s All-State boys’ basketball Player of the Year during their high school careers in Illinois. The number was at five before former Simeon star and 2007 honoree Derrick Rose announced his retirement on Thursday. Still on NBA rosters are 2021 winner Max Christie from Rolling Meadows (Lakers), 2018 and 2019 winner E.J. Liddell from Belleville West (Bulls), 2016 winner Jordan Goodwin from Belleville Althoff (Lakers) and 2015 winner Jalen Brunson from Stevenson (Knicks).
The Parkland volleyball team is 24-1 this season and ranked second in the country in NJCAA Division II.
Crowd control
Three events I’m paying attention to
➜ 1. Illinois at Penn State football. The Illini will try to do something Saturday night that has only happened twice before in the first 10 seasons of James Franklin coaching Penn State: beat the Nittany Lions in their Big Ten home opener.
➜ 2. Parkland Fall Challenge. The Cobras’ volleyball team carries a 24-1 record, a No. 2 national ranking and a nine-match win streak into the two-day tournament that starts Friday in Champaign.
➜ 3. Spartan Classic cross-country meet. The annual event featuring some of the top small-school programs in the state is Saturday morning. Runners start in downtown St. Joseph and then end on the track at Dick Duval Field near the high school.
Ryan Parker and his wife, Paige, and their two sons, Kolvin and Kooper.
Coach’s corner
Three questions with Rantoul boys’ basketball coach Ryan Parker:
âžœ 1. My favorite sports teams are … the Chicago Cubs and the Illini.
âžœ 2. Three coaches I’d like to have dinner with are … Nick Saban, Phil Jackson and Joe Maddon.
âžœ 3. My biggest pet peeve is … when players call for a ride five minutes before practice starts.