NICEVILLE, Fla. — When he checked into the game with 16:54 remaining in the first half, Kendrick Nunn did so to a rousing ovation from the Illinois fans inside The Arena on the campus of Northwest Florida State College.
The 1,000 or so Illini fans inside the building cheered simply at the sight of Nunn, who had missed the first five games of the season while recovering from surgery to repair a ligament in his left thumb. Once on the court, he gave them even more to cheer about.
In his first action of the season, Nunn scored a game-high 18 points off the bench Friday as Illinois advanced to the championship game of the Emerald Coast Classic with a 72-58 win against Alabama-Birmingham.