Cam Shaffer has been an Illini fan for as long as he can remember. After all, his grandfather taught at the University for over 20 years. His dad grew up in Urbana and also attended Illinois. Some of Shaffer’s earliest Illinois memories include the 2004-2005 national championship run and when the 2007 football team made the Rose Bowl. He attends the Braggin’ Rights game against Missouri annually.

So it came as no surprise that he attended the school he pours his heart and soul into rooting for, graduating in 2020. Shaffer endured some rough stretches as an Illini basketball fan. The program went 65-63 in his four years as a student, and never once made the NCAA tournament. But Shaffer was met with a pleasant surprise on July 31 when Ayo Dosunmu announced he was returning to Illinois for his junior year.

“I’m one of those hardo fans that receives notifications … when a player on my favorite team tweets,” Shaffer said. “I couldn’t have been more ecstatic, considering he’s the best player we’ve had since Malcolm Hill or Brandon Paul.”

Illinois basketball endured a rough stretch in the 2010s. The storied program had more head coaches — three —  than tournament appearances — two. IT failed to make a Sweet Sixteen or finish in the top three in the Big Ten. When Brad Underwood took over for John Groce in 2017, things were initially not much different. The team was 26-39 in Underwood’s first two seasons, finishing 11th and 10th in the conference, respectively.

In year three, though, it finally saw a breakout. Dosunmu, alongside freshman Kofi Cockburn, pushed the Illini to a 20-win season, capped by an epic 78-76 win over Iowa on Senior Night. Predictably, Shaffer was in attendance.

“Both teams had to leave it all on the floor considering it was for a bye in the Big Ten Tournament,” Shaffer said. “When Ayo hit that midrange cheddar … and then Kofi blocked (Luka) Garza at the end, it was awesome. It couldn’t have been a cooler thing to finish off my college career.”

Shaffer has only been alive for the 2000s era of Illinois basketball, but fellow super-fan Bill Simmons has truly seen the glory days. Simmons started teaching at the University in 1987. Two years later, Lou Henson led the Illini to a 31-5 record and a Final Four appearance. Under Henson, the Illini made the tournament eight consecutive times from 1982 to 1990.

Simmons witnessed plenty of memorable games in his time as an Illinois aficionado. Andy Kaufman’s buzzer-beater over No. 9 Iowa in 1993 and Tyler Griffey’s last-second layup over No. 1 Indiana in 2013 are two that come to mind. So when he found out that Dosunmu and Cockburn would be returning, he was naturally excited.

“I was completely psyched,” Simmons said. “It’s gonna be great, and I think the new recruits coming in have adjusted to that idea and will be blended in. I can’t wait to see what Coach Underwood does with all these parts.”

The best Illinois team, arguably ever, was the 2005 team that made the National Championship game. Led by a backcourt of Deron Williams, Dee Brown and Luther Head, the squad only lost two games all season. Simmons sees some similarities between that team and the one slated to take the floor this upcoming winter.

“There’s a comparability here and expectations will be similar to that team,” Simmons said. “It should be a top three or four all-time Illinois team if things pan out the way I think they are going to.”

@BrandonSimberg

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