Basketball

For nearly 30 years, Eric “Coach E” Ewald has shaped Lincoln basketball from the background — building confidence, refining an offense and quietly making players better people. Now, the longtime Railers assistant is stepping into the spotlight as an inductee of the Illinois Basketball Coaches Association Hall of Fame.

Royalty Hoops Etc. is a blend of Destiny Ramsey’s love for basketball and a business acumen built through her education. The Bloomington-Normal native is also the girls junior varsity coach at U-High.

Illinois State men's basketball coach Ryan Pedon says his team embraces being a target this season. The Redbirds are picked to win the Missouri Valley Conference — something the program last achieved in 1998.

When Ryan Pedon’s Redbirds meet Chris Collins’ Wildcats on Oct. 29 at Evanston, it will be more than a garden variety exhibition game. It will be two good friends seeking to learn about their teams and a proud father/father figure (Doug Collins) loving every minute.

For the first time in nearly a quarter century, Illinois State University's men's basketball team is the preseason favorite to win the Missouri Valley Conference.

Ryan Pedon led the Redbirds to their winningest season in eight years, and the team won the College Basketball Invitational title last season.

The WNIT has announced the Redbirds will play Abeline Christian in the Super 16 round on Thursday. The game will be played at Shirk Center in Bloomington.

Illinois State sophomore Chase Walker, a first-team Missouri Valley Conference selection, has announced on social media he plans to return to ISU next season.

The Redbirds, who have a 19-14 record and previously announced they would accept a bid to the College Basketball Invitational [CBI], learned on Sunday they will play Presbyterian College.

U-High alum Tanner Morris is fueled by a basketball upbringing. His father, Bob Morris, was a men’s assistant coach at Northern Illinois, Illinois State and Lincoln College. Now, Tanner is thriving as the head coach himself at College of Lake County.