Getting here early gives me a chance to get started ahead of the other freshmen.

Everybody kept the tempo up. Nobody gave up. That's what we do. I said it don't matter if don't score at all or I score four times. If we win, I'm happy.

We wanted it. It was that simple. It came down to who wanted the game. And once it clicked in, we weren't giving up in the second half like last year. We came out to play.

Miami was my dream school. But they wanted to wait to see what I did as a senior before deciding to offer or not. What if I waited and they didn't offer? I had several offers. I didn't want to drag out the recruiting process. I feel comfortable with my decision to go to Illinois.

The main reason I chose Illinois was because of the coaching staff. They are different from other staffs. I felt more comfortable talking to them. Zook was the only head coach I talked to. Some schools offered scholarships but I never talked to the head coach.

My dad told me it was a great opportunity for me. It was my chance to go to a school and make my mark.