Talking Illini 4/20/09 Hour One

Boz & Mr. G welcome Illini Forward Mike Davis, who dishes on his off-season workouts, and his thoughts on the season. He also gives his take on the best place to play in the Big 10, Tyler Griffey & Brandon Paul, his goals for next season, and who he would like to see starting for the Illini.

Talking Illini 4/20/09 Hour Two

Laurie Richter, author of
Put Me In Coach
discusses her inspiration for the book. She shares her experience of helping her son find a college where he could play basketball. She explains the ways that student athletes can decide whether a universitys sports program is a good fit for them or not, starting in their sophomore year. Then, our focus shifts to the gridiron, as Boz & Mr. G analyze the Illini football program for 2009.

Mike Davis

2008-09 SOPHOMORE: Second-team All-Big Ten selection by coaches ... Third-team All-Big Ten pick by media ... USBWA All-District 5 selection ... Selected to Big Ten All-Tournament Team after scoring 22 points and grabbing 10 boards in victory over Michigan and grabbing 12 rebounds against Purdue ... Started all 34 games on the season, averaging 30.7 minutes ... One of the most improved players in the conference, he was second on the Illini in scoring, averaging 11.3 points, and ranked second in the Big Ten in rebounding with an average of 8.1 boards ... Led the conference with nine double-doubles on the year ... Also led the league with 11 double-digit rebounding performances on the season ... Third in the Big Ten in field goal shooting at 53.3 percent (171-321) ... Scored in double figures 23 times, with five 20+ point games ... Scored a career-high 28 points on 12-of-19 shooting vs. Clemson on Dec. 2 ... Was the Illini's leading scorer in nine games and leading rebounder in 23 games on the year ... Grabbed a career-high 16 boards vs. Purdue on Feb. 8, the most rebounds by a Big Ten player during conference play ... Over the last 12 games of the season, averaged 13.0 points (156) and 9.7 rebounds (116).



2007-08 FRESHMAN: Appeared in 34 games off the bench, averaging 10.4 minutes per contest ... Averaged 2.6 points and 1.8 rebounds on the season ... Totaled 14 blocked shots on the year ... Scored a season-high 10 points vs. Purdue in the Big Ten Tournament Recorded nine points at Minnesota Quarterfinal on 5-of-7 shooting ... on Feb. 12 ... Had eight points and a season-high five rebounds in 22 minutes at Iowa on March 1.



PERSONAL
Born Oct. 21, 1988 ... Parents are Steven and Tangie Davis ... Majoring in sport management ... Has a younger sister, Maleana ... Hobbies include playing video games, reading, talking on the phone and hanging out with friends ... Favorite player is LeBron James ... Credits his grandfather for most influencing his athletic career because, "He is the person who put a basketball in my hands and taught me to play the game."

Click Here for Mike\'s Player Profile

Laurie Richter

Laurie Richter’s foray into authorship happened quite unexpectedly. Mostly it was born out of a desire for a happy ending to her oldest son’s quest to play basketball in college. New to recruiting, Laurie was surprised at how few resources there were to guide them through the process. Having been in market research for many years, she tackled recruiting like a typical research project. She evaluated a range of schools and sports programs and questioned the many college coaches they came in contact with about every aspect of the college sports experience. The time and effort was well worth it as son Dylan now shoots hoops at Washington University in St. Louis. But along the recruiting trail, they heard too many stories with unhappy endings—the result of a lack of understanding about how recruiting really works. Penning Put Me In, Coach will undoubtedly set the stage for more happy endings among kids who want to play college sports at a school well-suited for them. Laurie received her B.A. in Psychology from the University of Maryland in 1978 and went on to get an M.A. and Ph.D. in Educational Psychology from the University of Texas at Austin. A spur-of -the moment job interview at a national psychology conference introduced her to a career path in market research with the Quaker Oats Company, where she stayed for ten years before striking out on her own with Consumer Voice, an agency she owned and operated for the next fourteen years, specializing in focus group research with Fortune 100 clients. Laurie, husband Jim, and son Brady live in Lincolnshire, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago.

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