Big Ten crowns Illinois basketball stalwart with high honor

Monday was pretty special for the women’s Illinois basketball team for multiple reasons.

One of the reasons was that the Illini continued to climb in the AP Top 25 poll. Holding the No. 22 spot in the country entering the week, Illinois remained undefeated and moved up to No. 19 in the country in the latest AP Top 25 rankings.

As a team, that is a great honor, as Illinois hasn’t been ranked that high since 2000. No, that is not a typo. Google wasn’t even two years old, Facebook was still four years away, and Twitter was over six years away. It has been a long time.

That wasn’t the only huge news to break on Monday. The Big Ten took to social media to announce that they crowned Illinois paint player, Kendall Bostic, the Big Ten Player of the Week.

This is a well-earned honor, as Bostic tore through the competition. Last week, she averaged 28.0 points and 10.0 rebounds per game. She also shot 83.9% from the field and logged a career-high 31 points against Oregon State.

Kendall Bostic is starting to put a bow on a pretty special Illinois basketball career

Bostic’s massive numbers this past week have helped elevate her season numbers as well. For the 2024-25 campaign, she is now averaging 18.0 points and 10.2 rebounds per contest. That is a career-high average in points, beating out last season’s 12.1 points per game average.

With Bostic playing so well, the realization that this is her final season is starting to sink in. When you stop and think about it, at the end of the day, you have to put Bostic up there as one of the greatest Illinois basketball players of all time.

Let’s break down her numbers. She hit the 1,000-point club this year. The only reason she didn’t get there quicker is the fact she doesn’t get to the free throw line often.

Bostic is now second all-time in rebounds for the women’s Illinois basketball team. She has 51 rebounds this season, which puts her at 1,045 rebounds in her career. That passes Karisma Penn, and Bostic needs just 173 rebounds to secure the No. 1 spot over Jenna Smith.

An extra layer of Bostic’s greatness is her success on the court. The previous two that I mentioned didn’t have that success. Bostic has a legitimate chance to make two NCAA tournament appearances with the possibility of advancing to the Sweet 16 and beyond. She also won a WBIT championship.

Illinois has a special player in Bostic. She has elevated the program to new heights, and when the dust settles, she should be looked at as one of the greatest players to ever come through Champaign.