CHAMPAIGN — One of Lee Zerrusen's first memories is watching his dad, Dan, go nuts in their Teutopolis home when Andy Kaufmann drilled a desperation buzzer-beating shot to stun Iowa in 1993.
"My dad jumped up and knocked out the ceiling," recalled Zerrusen, who wasn't even 5 at the time. "From that young age, all things Fighting Illini have just been ingrained in me."
As a youngster, he ran around in a Kiwane Garris jersey and dreamed of one day wearing his own Illini jersey and running through the tunnel at the Assembly Hall.
"I knew pretty early on that I wasn't going to make it as a basketball player," Zerrusen said.