Crim: Illini land significant addition to men’s basketball recruiting class

QUINCY — Catching up while wondering if any player 29 of the 30 NBA teams had no intention of drafting has received as much attention as Bronny James:

The Illinois men’s basketball program, fresh off an appearance in the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament, got a boost with the signing of Will Riley, a five-star small forward and the ninth-ranked prospect in the Class of 2025, per 247Sports. 

The Athletic reported the 6-foot-8 Riley picked Illinois over Alabama, Arizona, Kentucky and others. He is the highest-ranked prospect to commit to the Illini in the Brad Underwood era. A Canadian, he played high school basketball for The Phelps School in Malvern, Pa., and is considered one of the best scorers in the country, averaging 26.5 points and six rebounds per game last season.

Riley, who has his own website, has reclassified from the 2025 class to the 2024 class and will join the Fighting Illini this season. He’s likely a one-and-done player, though, since he’s projected to go in the first round of the 2025 NBA Draft. …

There is talk the NCAA Tournament could expand to either a 72- or 76-team field by the 2025-26 season, according to Yahoo Sports.

The proposed models would maintain the 64-team bracket, meaning either more at-large teams seeded Nos. 10-12 or small-conference automatic qualifiers would need to win a First Four game to earn a spot in the round of 64. The tournament expanded to 68 teams in 2011. …

With NFL teams continuing to hand out huge quarterback contracts, Kansas City’s Patrick Mahomes, owner of three Super Bowl rings, is currently tied with Kirk Cousins for ninth highest annual salary among QBs at $45 million. Somehow that seems like a bargain.

Mahomes is first in total contract value at $450 million, but just 10^th in guaranteed money at slightly more than $141 million. …

The Cubs entered their weekend series against first-place Milwaukee in the National League Central cellar. To be fair, they also were only four games out of second place in the division that featured only two teams with winning records.

Offense has been the Cubs’ primary problem. They went 8 for 37 with runners in scoring position and stranded 33 runners in a four-game series against the Giants. Their .230 team batting average ranks 25th in MLB and their .370 slugging percentage 23rd. …

With the death of Orlando Cepeda, only two regulars from the 1967 and 1968 National League champion St. Louis Cardinals remain — second baseman Julian Javier, who turns 88 in August, and shortstop Dal Maxvill, 85. …

A stunning 2-1 home soil loss to Panama has created anxiety for the U.S. men’s national soccer team. While it is in second place in Copa America’s Group C and technically controls its own destiny, it most likely will need to beat first-place Uruguay July 1 in Kansas City and do better than Panama does against bottom-dwelling Bolivia to reach the knockout stage.

The U.S. played the final 70-plus minutes against Panama shorthanded after forward Timoth Weah was sent off for a jab in the back of an opponent’s head away from the ball. Panama scored the game-winning goal in the 83^rd minute. …

One of the best stories in the Rocket Mortgage Classic in Detroit was the PGA Tour debut of 15-year-old Miles Russell. Despite standing 5-foot-7 and weighing just 120 pounds, the left-hander shot even-par over the first two rounds to miss the cut, but showed he had game. The Detroit Golf Club had to waive its rule of no one under the age of 16 being allowed in the men’s locker room to accommodate the phenom. …

I’ve always been a fan of Mike Greenberg, first as co-host of “Mike and Mike in the Morning” on ESPN radio and now the host of TV’s “Get Up” and radio’s “Greeny.” My weekdays usually begin with a pot of coffee and two hours of “Get Up.” I recently ordered two of his books and recommend both.

The first, “Got Your Number: The Greatest Sports Legends and the Numbers They Own,” is a collection of short essays explaining why athletes and sporting events will forever be remembered for a number from 1 to 100. (Spoiler alert: Ozzie Smith owns No. 1, his jersey number, and Wilt Chamberlain No. 100 for his NBA-record scoring output in 1962.) Let the debates begin.

The second, “Why My Wife Thinks I’m an Idiot: The Life and Times of a Sportscaster Dad,” touches on topics such as marriage, fatherhood, fame, athletes, crazed aunts with gambling problems, the true significance of sports and the worst possible thing to say in a room of pregnant women.

While there are touching moments, the book is often hilarious. I suspect my sports-covering brethren will, as I did, see themselves in many of the stories Greenberg tells. And so will their wives.