This makes me so sad. We went to the Maui Invitational in 2000 to watch the Illini for our 25th anniversary. Got to see Bill Self’s first three games as the Illinois coach. Beat Maryland & Gary Williams by ten and UNLV and Jerry Tarkanian by five. We ended up losing in the finals to Lute Olson’s Arizona 79-76. The first night with the coaches’ banquet was a blast, just like a roast. Calhoun from UConn, Williams, Tarkanian, Denny Crum from Louisville, and Olson AZ (where I first learned to despise Lute and AZ) on the dias all roasted the newbie Self, who held his own quite well. It was hilarious. I have five other distinct memories from that time in Maui: 1) I was walking outside our hotel, the Sheraton, with my husband before the banquet, and I heard footsteps behind me. I turned around, and it was freshman Sergio McClain. I greeted him with ”Hello. I know who you are, Sergio. Welcome to the Illini. We’re so glad you chose us.” He was astounded that I knew who he was. 2) We got to meet, talk to, and take photos with Damir Krupaglia at the banquet. He was special to us since he was the first (and only) player from Rockford to wear my husband’s dad’s #33 since his dad wore it. 3) After the first game, the DIA tour fans waited for the team bus to get back to the Illinois hotel. There were about 150 of us who cheered the kids and Self as they were getting off the bus after their first game when they blew out Maryland. Self gave a short, very emotional impromptu speech saying how grateful he was for our presence and loud vocal support. I’ve been a fan of his ever since. 4) During the championship game, even though we had about a quarter as many fans as AZ did due to their close proximity and high potential, they were ticked off that our small group out yelled their U of A with our U of I on top of their cheer. It was awesome. 5) After the AZ game where we, the huge underdog team that no one expected anything of, almost upset them, we drove to downtown LaHaina (where the huge banyan tree was) with our Illini car flags on our rental car. We stopped at a stop sign and high fived Sergio and freshman Jerrance Howard, who were standing there waiting to cross the street. Our Illini contingent took over the small town as we were all pretty proud and happy that we did so well, and the players were celebrating, too. It would be an awful shame for Illinois (and every team) to never experience this really fun time again and have this prestigious tournament be lost forever.