Some of my favorite off-the-court moments with this particular group have involved Belo (meeting him after the AZ game on the floor of SFC, my stepkids meeting him in Lincoln at the Nebraska game and getting autographs, watching him interact with fans from floor level before Iowa, etc)...so I'm definitely bummed. But life's a journey until it isn't, so I wish him the best and hope he doesn't transfer to another B1G school.
Don’t hold your breath, my friend.
This is my exact sentiment as well. We've come a long way these last few years to get to the point where there are legitimate reasons to believe a talented transfer or recruit will more than adequately replace a departed player.
Why is that? I understand if he feels like he needs to get a fresh start elsewhere after a tough year. Maybe that's it. But I genuinely wonder sometimes how something that seemed so promising last year and he and Underwood seemed to be so close (from the outside looking in). What was it? The system hasn't changed. The assistant coaches did but is that such a big deal? What motivates him to go after a difficult year? I'm not judging- just actually curious. And I'm not upset about the decision.
I think we'll see things like this a LOT more frequently from now on in all of college bball.
I need a new avatar....
Even though we had the hints this was coming, it doesn't make it any easier. Talk about someone that loves the game. He only wanted to perform for his team, his coaches, and his fans. Out of the many memories, the one that will be forever etched in my mind was his freshman year when he came out of the game and tried to give Coach U. a high five that was denied and then he went and jumped into coaches arms. I know Illinois will be fine, but this is a huge loss on so many levels. We have some major work to do losing Belo, Trent, Damonte, Plummer, possibly Grandy, and possibly Kofi. How many minutes and point per game is that? How many years experience and chemistry playing together? I think Kofi might be back, but still that's a ton of guard play gone. Talk about needing Skyy more than ever. Best of luck Belo, really enjoyed watching and cheering for you the past two seasons!
Totally agree, unfortunately.
