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Illinois News: Dee Brown aims to be future Illini Basketball coach

Dee Brown told The News-Gazette that his long-term goal is to be the head coach at Illinois.

Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images

"I hope the University of Illinois is my future. I don’t want to have to go anywhere. I can wear an Illinois shirt for the rest of my life. I’m going to work toward making that happen."

- Dee Brown via Bob Asmussen, The News-Gazette

Dee Brown sat down with The News-Gazette for an extended interview that details his time at Illinois over the last few weeks. If it wasn't already abundantly clear, the Illini icon is thrilled to be back in Champaign.

Oh, and he went on to say this as well:

His dream job is currently occupied by John Groce.

"Head basketball coach," Brown said. "That’s my long-term goal. If I stay in administration, I would love to be either assistant AD or AD."

"I'd like to compare myself to Tom Brady. He's an unbelievable quarterback. I think we have a lot of similar traits just athletically and how we throw the ball. It's exciting to watch. You really get a feel for how good he is when you watch every game in a season."

- Wes Lunt via Fighting Illini.com

In the second part of an Illinois-produced video conversation, Fighting Illini quarterback Wes Lunt stated that he often compares himself to Tom Brady. Ok--this comment probably deserves some sort of witty response. However there are at least some similarities between the two:

  1. They both play football
  2. They both wear No. 12
  3. They both play/played in the Big Ten
  4. They're both pocket-passers
  5. They both have great awareness
  6. They kinda look the same out on the field?

The junior quarterback has thrown for 1,763 yards and 14 touchdowns in his injury plagued one-year career with the Illini. That isn't exactly Brady-like. Lunt still needs to prove himself against Big Ten competition, but if he's able to stay healthy and put up similar numbers across an entire season there's a chance this comparison won't be too crazy after all. Regardless, the important thing here is that he's making a conscious effort to model his game after one of the best players of all time.

"There are a lot of little incidents. But, remember, these are just allegations, and it must be proved that the coaches intentionally fostered a hostile environment. It is sometimes hard to prove intent. But I think there is enough for the case to go forward."

- Marc Ansel via Loren Tate, The News-Gazette

If you've been following along with the women's basketball scandal, then the above work from Loren Tate is a must-read/listen.

Pat Provenzale, co-counsel with Terry Ekl for the seven former Illinois players' $10 million lawsuit, joined his Saturday show on WDWS to provide some insight into the decision to file the suit. Champaign attorney Marc Ansel also joined Tate to provide an outside opinion on the whole situation.

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