The ties between Illinois guard Luther Head and Northwestern guard Jitim Young extend beyond the basketball court.
“He was almost like my brother,” Head said. “I know him more than anybody.”
Head said watching Young play as a kid always had him in awe.
Both Young and Head grew up on the West Side of Chicago and have known each other since they were about 10 years old.
The pair will be reunited tonight at Welsh-Ryan Arena when Head and the Fighting Illini roll into town for the season’s first meeting between the teams.
The Illini (10-3, 1-1 Big Ten) are coming off a home loss to Purdue. NU (6-7, 1-1), on the other hand, is coming off arguably its best performance of the season — a road win against Iowa.
“Just to play against Jitim and try to compete against him and try to out-do each other, it’s going to be fun,” Head said.
Although they didn’t attend the same high school, Young and Head played in a summer league together and kept in touch over the years.
“We played pickup together, we hung out together, we ate together, we had sleepovers and stuff like that together,” Young said. “Getting out there on the court and playing against him is not going to be like we’re playing in front of cameras. When we get out there, we’re back in the neighborhood, we’re back on the playground, back in the park playing with each other.”
Tonight’s contest against Illinois will mark Head’s return to action, as the junior was benched following his Jan. 6 arrest in connection with a traffic violation. Earlier this season, Head was suspended four games for his suspected involvement in an off-campus burglary, according to the Chicago Tribune.
Illinois coach Bruce Weber said he hopes Head will add depth to the Illini lineup.
“In his mind, he’s got the world off his back,” Weber said.
Head is not the only Illini player returning home to the Chicago area for this evening’s matchup. Forwards James Augustine and Aaron Spears and guard Dee Brown also will be revisiting former stomping grounds.
Although Brown said returning to his home area doesn’t provide any added excitement, he acknowledged that the Illini can’t take the Cats lightly.
“They’re a team in our state that’s capable of beating us,” he said.
Weber said tonight’s game will be critical for the Illini, who are coming off a 58-54 loss to Purdue on Saturday.
“We’ve got to come in here with a lot of energy and enthusiasm and we got to fight,” Weber said. “We’ve got to compete, otherwise we could be in trouble.”
Illini forward Augustine said Welsh-Ryan is a particularly tough place to play because it is similar to a high school gym.
The Illini lead the series against NU 116-33 dating to 1908 and Cats coach Bill Carmody holds an 0-5 record versus Illinois. The only other Big Ten team that Carmody has yet to beat in his three full seasons at NU is Ohio State.
Even though Illinois has outplayed NU, Carmody said he tries to view them as just another conference opponent.
“(The players) might feel the rivalry more than I do,” Carmody said. “I try to be less emotional about it.”
The last time the teams met, Illinois handily beat NU 94-65 in last year’s Big Ten tournament.
The Illini have won their last 10 contests against the Cats at Welsh-Ryan Arena.
“It seems like, for me, every time we play we make history. So I guess let’s make it again,” NU guard T.J. Parker said. “Ten years, did they ever beat Illinois?”
