High school basketball in Illinois has changed — and not for the better. That's the word from longtime recruiting reporter Brad Sturdy, who opens up about the state's shrinking talent pool, the dwindlng number of downstate hotbeds and the Big Ten's struggles with blue-chippers in his chat with 51-year Illini columnist Loren Tate.

There was a time Illinois was known for its outstanding quarterback play, an era kicked off by Dave Wilson and extending through Juice Williams' stay. Loren Tate, on the beat for 51 years, weighs in on his favorites and why Illinois plays its best when its quarterback has a throw-first mentality.

In this week's stroll down Memory Lane, 51-year columnist Loren Tate opens up about his favorite athletes from a variety of Central Illinois towns. Did your city make the list? Better yet, did Tate pick the right athlete? Email him at [email protected] with suggestions.

Chief Illiniwek was retired in 2007. But the music the Chief danced to at halftime of Illinois games — ‘Three In One’ — continues. For now. “It’s a magical confluence of music,” Loren Tate says in this week’s podcast, ‘Tatelines:…

The face of the Big Ten Network, Dave Revsine, is confident Lovie Smith will get the UI football program turned around. Eventually. 'Patience is hard to come by when you have had five straight losing seasons,' Revsine tells Loren Tate…

He's one of the stars on the most powerful program at the UI: Mike Small men's golf team. But there's a lot more to senior Dylan Meyer than irons and drivers. The soon-to-be pro loves his politics, and the Republican doesn't shy away from expressing his opinions. Listen in to this week's 25-minute chat with 51-year Illini writer — and top-notch golfer himself — Loren Tate.

Three men's basketball coaches at the UI have won Big Ten titles in their first year: Doug Mills (1937), Bill Self (2001) and Bruce Weber (2004). Will Brad Underwood enjoy the same kind of success? In this week's 29-minute podcast, 51-year columnist Loren Tate weighs in on that as well as Underwood's recruiting efforts, scheduling and next season's starting five.

There are coaches who won more football games at the University of Illinois than Mike White. But no one had more fun doing it than the California Kid, who had Memorial Stadium stuffed — and its goalposts constantly in danger — during his electric run in the 1980s. In this week's stroll down Memory Lane, Loren Tate visits with the 81-year-old coach, who still follows the Illini. 'I hope the success is coming,' he says.

At 75, Dave Downey remains a C-U mover-and-shaker. Recruited to the UI for basketball, Downey starred for the Illini and kept contributing to the UI in a variety of roles when his playing days ended. His name even was brought up when the AD job opened after John Mackovic left. 'I would not have been a good one,' he tells Loren Tate. Downey has succeeded in almost every venture during his long stay in the community, be it in business or race relations. He touched on the highs and lows of his time to our 51-year columnist in this 28-minute talk at our studios on South Neil in Champaign.

Ron Zook and Loren Tate aren't on speaking terms. "He probably blames me for getting fired," said Tate, on the Illinois football beat for 51 years. Zook won 34 games in C-U, including one that Tate considers the biggest in modern times (vs. No. 1 Ohio State in '07) but was sent packing after seven seasons. During that time, Zook and Tate sparred. "I don't think we were good fits for each other," Tate said. In this week's podcast, Tate tells how Zook got Illinois to the Rose Bowl — and how it fell apart thereafter. "Mostly lows but certainly the one great season."