[This story originally appeared on The North Coast Review, a blog based in Prince Rupert that contains “items of interest to those living on the North Coast of BC.”]
In a state that treats basketball as a religion, the fans of the Illinois Redbirds are getting ready to take in another season of top NCAA play. They’re also cheering on the progress of one of their newest roster members: Prince Rupert’s own Liam McChesney.
The Redbirds recently gave McChesney a shout out on social media.
The former CHSS Rainmaker transferred from Utah State to the Illinois program over the summer and will be getting into the thick of the basketball training program this fall.
It comes as the NCAA team prepares for the upcoming season and their quest to make it into the March Madness showcase in 2022.
McChesney’s official introduction to RedBird fans came on June 22.
The Redbirds schedule kicks off with a southern destination set for November as the Illinois squad heads to Mexico for the Cancun Challenge games.
From there it will be on to the NCAA regular season and the challenges of the Midwest, which is a hotbed for basketball in the US.
McChesney’s entry to the biography section of the RedBirds home page can be reviewed below, where you can also catch up on his travels as he prepares for the season ahead.
Hoops fans from the Northwest can also follow the former Rainmaker through his Twitter feed, though as he notes in his Twitter bio, the contributions may be at a rather leisurely pace.