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The Big Ten never has been in a class with the Atlantic Coast Conference in basketball. But until recent years, it didn’t rank behind the Southeastern Conference, Big 12, Big East and Pac-10 in the eyes of most evaluators.

Big Ten teams won five NCAA titles from 1976 to 1989, but they have won just one in the last 19 years (Michigan State in 2000).

What happened? More important, what can the Big Ten do to get back on top? Or has the turnaround already begun and is all of this fretting much ado about nothing?

Read more from the Chicago Sun Times.

 

From the Peoria Journal Star:

So the 6-foot-8, 220-pound high school junior - who committed to the Illinois basketball program last winter - cut down on his AAU season and made it a priority to build his body and his game.

By concentrating on the Adidas Nations program - a series of weekend development camps where improving skills and fundamentals comes before competition - the suburban St. Louis forward from Lafayette High School took a different approach in preparing for college.

“It’s physically impossible to do all the trips I planned,” he said. “I put together a calendar. I would have been home two weekends the whole summer. We made the Adidas Nations a priority. It’s a good experience. I get a lot of coaching there. The workouts are really beneficial.

“I’ve done AAU since I was a seventh-grader. I’ve been to all the major tournaments at least twice. The biggest need for my game right now is in the weight room or the gym working on my skills. I know where I’m going to college. I don’t have to impress anybody. (Illinois coach Bruce Weber) knows what I’m doing and how hard I’m working.”