Illinois News: Leron Black agrees to deal, may avoid felony charge and jail time

Leron Black agrees to enter diversion program, may have felony charge downgraded

~ Dave Mercer via Associated Press

Here's some good news for Leron Black and Fighting Illini basketball. On Monday afternoon, the sophomore agreed to a deal that would place him in a diversionary program and potentially see his felony aggravated assault charge reduced to a misdemeanor. The agreement is still waiting approval from a judge.

Per the Associated Press, Black would have 90 days to pay a $200 fine and perform 25 hours of community service. Assuming he meets those requirements, he'd be allowed to plead guilty to a misdemeanor assault charge; that would entail a year of unsupervised probation.

Black was originally charged back on February 19 after allegedly threatening and pulling a knife on a bouncer at a campus bar. He's in the middle of an indefinite suspension from the program.

Dee Brown discusses 2005 Fighting Illini, current basketball life

~ Scott Richey, via The News-Gazette

Dee Brown recently sat down for a bit of an interview with the News-Gazette's Scott Richey. While discussing his playing career, he had this to say on the 2005 NCAA title loss to North Carolina

"I’m one of those guys, that game still haunts me," said Brown, who admitted he hasn’t watched a replay of that game in the last 11 years. "I would say around this time it’s been really tough for me. I woke up with a heavy heart (Monday) because I wanted it so bad. A lot of tears, a lot of memories from that game."

Villanova Wildcats win 2016 NCAA Basketball Championship

~ Via SB Nation

Speaking of North Carolina -- they lost last night! In what may have been the best NCAA Tournament finish ever, Villanova's Kris Jenkins hit an incredible last-second shot to defeat the Tarheels, 74-71. You can click here for a pretty detailed breakdown of the title-winning play.

Elsewhere, Jalen Brunson continued the streak of Chicago natives winning championships for other teams.

Congrats, Jalen, you made the right decision.

Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images