Illinois men’s basketball has been a yearlong inconsistency.

Fans who have attended a game this season can attest to the Illini playing games with the fans’ emotions. They put up an impressive 12-0 to start the season, then followed it by losing five of seven Big Ten games. But fans of the Orange and Blue can always count on one thing at home.

It isn’t the first year that 11-year-old Sam Watts, known around Assembly Hall as “Popcorn Kid,” has stood up to dance. He’s been keen to dance in public since his aunt’s wedding six years ago. But when Watts stood this year, wearing dark shades and concessions-popcorn bucket as a hat, he struck popularity gold.

“I think I was kind of desperate to get on the Jumbotron this year, so I just tried something and it worked,” Watts said.

Watts said he had gotten up on the screen two or three times since he started going to games in the first grade, but nothing compares with to his current moves and how it affects the fan base. After one game, fans hoped for his dance. After three, his dance was an expectation.

“It’s a great time,” said Ryan Lemenager, a freshman in Orange Krush. “He really gets the crowd going and everyone loves it.”

Watts’ dance moves, inspired by Internet videos, vary from game to game, but it isn’t an act he’s putting on. It’s a full-fledged expression of who he is on the inside.

“I just like to be myself,” Watts said. “I just like to let out the stress from school ‘cause there’s a lot of work … and just go by whatever I feel like doing.”

Judy Argentieri, Watts’ mother, said she and her husband, Ben Watts, let him do his own thing because it’s in their son’s nature.

“We get questions all the time, ‘Who does he get it from?’” Argentieri said. “Neither one of us. It’s all him. That’s his personality.”

At last week’s home game, shortly before Purdue head coach Matt Painter was ejected, Orange Krush organized a popcorn-hat theme to rile the crowd, and they recruited Watts himself for the lead inspiration.

“We knew they were coming (to get him),” Argentieri said. “We didn’t give him any warnings.”

What followed was a wave of freestyle dance around the court that seemed to recharge fans with love for the Illini. And amidst the excitement, an amazed Watts led the show.

“It was a lot of fun, especially because we all got to have our popcorn hats with him,” Lemenager said, laughing. “His dance moves just crack everybody up.”

Olivia Watts, Sam’s older sister, laughs at the thought of her brother dancing. She said she feels embarrassed, as all big sisters are by their little brothers. But still, she has fun seeing him show the crowd what he’s got.

Watts is more than just an energetic fan. In fact, he calls his love for the Illini an obsession — extending from his favorite player, Brandon Paul, to every scoring detail about the team.

“If you what to know how the team did and who scored, you ask him,” Argentieri said. “He loves it.”

Watts remembers most statistics by simply watching the game. Occasionally, he’ll turn to the Internet or newspaper, but he pays attention to which player does what, game by game.

“My favorite thing (about the Illini) is that they’re always competitive in sports, I’d say,” he said.

He doesn’t limit himself to basketball, even though it’s his favorite sport. He has attended several football and baseball games, as well as women’s basketball, as a fan. However, his dance is exclusive to Illinois basketball.

“For the most part, it’s funny,” Argentieri said. “It’s always surprised me how funny it is.”

Illinois takes on Penn State on Thursday, and while the Illini have been on a hot streak since the win over No. 1 Indiana, there is no guarantee of the outcome. But whether Illinois is winning, fans can count on one constant just after halftime.

Before each game, Watts said fans come up to him and say, “Do a good dance tonight, will you?”

He smiles and nods.

Why? Because whatever he does, it’ll be a reflection of him and his support for the team he loves most, and that’s consistency.

J.J. can be reached at [email protected] and @TheWilson9287.