In three days, the Big Ten Conference will announce

its annual basketball award winners, as selected by the coaches and media,

prompting one question.

   What do the players think?

CHAMPAIGN – Kevin Turner watched the little ceremony on Wednesday and couldn't help but think ahead.

A year from now, the University of Illinois guard will be the one out on the floor, hugging family members and getting his picture taken with the athletic director.

Terry Holland has some good news for Illinois and some not-so-good news for Illinois' next opponent.

Illini fans will be happy to hear that Holland doesn't put any stock into the Ratings Percentage Index you see in the paper each week.

   CHAMPAIGN  The heck with Senior Night. Lose to the bumbling Buckeyes of Ohio State in the last week of the regular season at your place, Illinois, and you''ve got bigger problems than Kiwane Garris'' hurt feelings.

CHAMPAIGN – The heck with Senior Night. Lose to the bumbling Buckeyes of Ohio State in the last week of the regular season at your place, Illinois, and you've got bigger problems than Kiwane Garris' hurt feelings.

Where Kiwane Garris fits among Illinois'' all-time leaders:

CHAMPAIGN – Four years, 1,865 points and 477 assists later, they're still butchering his name.

Why, just a few weeks ago, Illinois' All-Big Ten senior was welcomed to Minnesota's Williams Arena as "a 6-foot-2 guard from Chicago ... Ki-WAYNE Garris."

Perhaps the Big Ten's problem is too much promotion, not enough production.

The league worries too much about how many teams it can get in the NCAA tournament, not how those teams fare.