Illinois News: Tim Beckman prepped for Media Day grilling

"Because of the issues we’re dealing with and because there’s still an ongoing review of the program, there’s only so much that can be publicly discussed by (Beckman) and our players."

Kent Brown via Scott Richey, The News-Gazette

The 2015 Big Ten Media Days begin today and it's probably going to be a long day for Tim Beckman and the rest of the Illinois contingent. The investigation into the player mistreatment allegations is still ongoing members of the media will be looking for answers.

The good news, though, is that the athletic department told them how to respond. According to Illinois sports information director Kent Brown, Beckman and the three players won't be answering any questions that deal specifically with the allegations. That is a smart thing to do! Thank you for doing your job, Illinois media relations.

"It was an opportunity I couldn’t turn down," Rice said. "Coach (Crespi Marco) said he wanted me to be the main guy over there and I couldn’t pass this up."

- Rayvonte Rice via Marcus Jackson, The News-Gazette

In case you missed it, Rayvonte Rice is heading overseas to join Italian basketball club Scaligera Verona. The former Fighting Illini guard played on the Chicago Bulls' Summer League team, but he only put up a total of 4 points and 9 rebounds in three games.

"University of Illinois baseball head coach Dan Hartleb announced the addition of Adam Christ to the Fighting Illini staff on Wednesday."

- Illinois Athletics

Illinois Baseball announced the hire of Adam Christ as the program's new assistant coach; he replaces Jim Allen, who left for the head coaching job at Northwestern.

Named an assistant coach at Minnesota State in the summer of 2008, Christ was promoted to associate head coach in 2012. During his time with the Mavericks, Minnesota State accrued a 306-86 overall record for a .781 winning percentage.

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