Illinois ranked one of the best basketball states, says one study. Here’s why it could be higher

A recent study named Illinois the fourth-best basketball state in the United States behind only California, Texas and New York.

NBA experts at Fadeaway World created its rankings using a formula that considered the birthplaces of NBA and WNBA players and Hall of Famers, the number of NBA, WNBA, G League and NCAA Division I teams, and the number of NBA, WNBA, NCAA champions in each state.

Illinois does well with any paint-by-the-numbers formula you use. It has produced 300 NBA players, trailing only California and New York. It was sixth in most NBA players per capita and fourth in most NBA Hall of Famers. Chicago, with 155 NBA players, easily leads all cities in producing the most NBA talent. Illinois has 13 NCAA Division I basketball schools, tied for seventh and one shy of fifth place.

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Basketball in Illinois is ‘unparalleled’

High schools were not part of the formula. If they were, people from the state say Illinois would have ranked even higher.

“The history of the sport in our state is unparalleled,” said Kurt Gibson, who oversaw basketball for the Illinois High School Association for years before moving to a part-time role on June 29. “There are so many stories, great rivalries, players and coaches that have made Illinois high school basketball second to none. It’s America’s original March Madness. That alone speaks to why Illinois is the best state in the country when it comes to high school basketball.”

As the IHSA reminds people every spring, March Madness was first coined to describe the Illinois state tournament in 1939 — while the NCAA didn’t start using that tag until broadcaster Brent Musberger kept using it during the 1982 NCAA tournament.

But almost no one seems to know that Illinois also had the first state basketball tournament in the nation. Before Illinois began its tournament in 1908, track was the only sport any state had a state…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/illinois-ranked-one-best-basketball-141343634.html

Author : Journal Star

Publish date : 2024-07-10 14:13:43

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