Tony Clements’ fight against cancer received a surprise boost last weekend.
As part of a trip to Kansas City for a Chiefs game organized by longtime friend Mike Haile, Clements was whisked to Lawrence, Kan., on Saturday morning. There, the longtime official scorer for Illini basketball and director of Campus Rec reunited with someone he grew close to over the years in Champaign-Urbana: Kansas coach Bill Self.
“He had a great conversation with Bill after practice,” said Haile, general manager of WDWS, WHMS and WKIO. “All of the players came over and introduced themselves. We also chatted with (former Illini assistants) Jerrance Howard and Norm Roberts.