Illinois Republican Party

Giannoulias Embellished College Basketball Career
6/22/2010

'Giannoulias and the Killer Crossover'
By Reid Wilson - National Journal

IL Treas. Alexi Giannoulias (D) enjoys playing up his time as a professional hoopster, but his glory days in college didn't amount to much, according to NCAA statistics.

And Giannoulias, running to replace retiring Sen. Roland Burris (D-IL), will admit it: "I had a killer crossover that wasn't -- I tried to copy Tim Hardaway's, but it didn't really work," he told the Chicago Tribune in '08.

Giannoulias has long talked about his time on Boston Univ.'s basketball team, his first stop before joining a professional team in Greece. His first season with the team, the '96-'97 campaign, ended with a brief trip to the NCAA playoffs, where the 12th-seeded Terriers were quickly bounced by the 5th-seeded Tulsa Golden Hurricane.

But Giannoulias spent more time riding the pine than draining buckets. Giannoulias played all of 12 minutes during his first year, according to StatSheet.com, and scored just 2 points. He played a single minute in the NCAA tournament, though, collecting 2 rebounds and missing a shot.

During his next season, Giannoulias played in 13 games and shot 41.7% from the floor. He played a little over 3 minutes a game on average and scored 16 points on the season -- including 2 3-pointers and 4 perfect attempts from the free throw line.

So Giannoulias was no Michael Jordan, but he did get on the court. "As we've learned firsthand here in Chicago from our champion Blackhawks, winning requires a total team effort, and both the captain and the last guy off the bench get their names on the Stanley Cup as proof of that," said Matt McGrath, Giannoulias's press secretary.

SOURCE: National Journal

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