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Some great news broke on Thursday night for a former Illinois basketball player! Per his Twitter, Brandon Paul will participate in the 2016 NBA Summer League (Orlando, FL) with the Charlotte Hornets. The 6-foot-4 shooting guard played at Illinois from 2009-13, and he left Champaign as the program's No. 8 all-time leading scorer (1,654 points).
Excited to announce I will be in action at NBA Summer league (Orlando) with the Charlotte Hornets. Great opportunity so #staytun3d
— Brandon Paul (@BP3) June 24, 2016
Paul had a previous Summer League stint with the Minnesota Timberwolves after going undrafted in 2013. After failing to make their regular season roster, he enjoyed a brief overseas venture with BC Nizhny Novgorod (Russia) before returning to the United States as a member of the NBA D-League's Canton Charge. Unfortunately, he was waived from the team after suffering a season-ending injury to his shoulder during the Spring of 2015; he went on to play professionally for FIATC Joventut (Spain) this past season after recovering.
So congratulations, Brandon! Keep making us proud. Who knows -- maybe this is the break he's been waiting for.
Illinois Fighting Illini Links | June 24, 2016
- Single-game Illinois Football tickets are officially on sale (Illinois Athletics)
Fighting Illini football single game tickets went on sale at 8 a.m. on Thursday, June 23. Tickets start as low as $20 for non-conference games or $35 for Big Ten play. Student tickets are an incredible value at just $10 per game.
- Arrelious Benn pressing towards historic comeback with Jacksonville (JoeBucsFan)
Few NFL players would have a team to call their own if they spent three consecutive seasons — full seasons — on injured reserve. Arrelious Benn is one of those rare breeds.
A Buccaneers' 2010 second-round pick (No. 39 overall), Benn oozes talent and athleticism, but he's proven to be among the most fragile players in NFL history. Entering his seventh NFL season, Benn has never been active for a Week 17 game.
- Three-star OL Bryce Bailey (IN) commits to Vanderbilt over Illinois (TCR)
The 6-foot-5, 290-pound lineman is rated as the No. 860 overall player in 247Sports' class-of-2017 composite rankings. Bailey had other Power 5 scholarship offers from Illinois, Iowa State, Purdue, and Syracuse.
- Illinois releases contract details for new AD Josh Whitman (TCR)
Per the News-Gazette, Whitman has a 5-year contract that will pay him $600,000 per year. For comparison, former athletic director Mike Thomas earned $568,178 in 2015, according to The Daily Illini's Salary Guide.
- The new Illinois Football uniform numbers are here (TCR)
The two incoming graduate transfers -- Hardy Nickerson Jr. and Gimel President will wear No. 10 and No. 14, respectively. 23 members of the incoming freshmen class have also been assigned numbers.