Illini basketball fans know the history of Deron Williams, Derek Harper and Nick Weatherspoon.
They were all-time greats from Texas, Florida and Ohio.
Call them outliers. There were others, of course — Memphis’ Rich Jones and Easterners Tal Brody and Bill Burwell come to mind from the 1960s — but the majority of UI players, dating to the Whiz Kids and beyond, were produced by the home state. In 100 years, you can count all the stars from Indiana, Iowa, Wisconsin, Michigan and Missouri without using your toes.
All the starters on Lou Henson’s 1984 Big Ten champs, his 1989 Flyin’ Illini and his last UI team in 1995 were produced in Illinois.