Roosevelt basketball goes from nothing to hope for future
By Abbas Haleem Ira Berkow was 19 in 1958. The Pulitzer Prize-winner and former New York Times sports columnist didn’t know where he would attend school and what career path to follow. He had two scholarship offers to play basketball at small schools out of Chicago. However, he didn’t want to leave and didn’t take […]
From transfer student to leader: Kevin Priebe’s Roosevelt journey
By Abbas Haleem The bottom floor of Roosevelt University’s Goodman Center was still under construction the first time Kevin Priebe set foot in it. He walked upstairs for the basketball team’s first game at the gym on Dec. 1, 2012. He was a freshman at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater at the time, but he was […]
He shoots, he scores: Roosevelt point guard wins ‘freshman of the year’
By Abbas Haleem The spotlight has been on Roosevelt point guard Jake Ludwig the entire season, and it likely will stay that way next year. Last week the Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference named him Freshman of the Year. “Sometimes all that work gets recognized, but obviously the real award would’ve been winning the conference,” said Ludwig, […]
Sports History 101: How Roosevelt University transformed a parking lot into an athletic program
Q&A with Athletic Director Mike Cassidy By Abbas Haleem Seven years ago, Mike Cassidy walked the perimeter of a parking lot on the southeast corner of Congress and Wabash, wondering how an athletics center could fit there. Roosevelt University had just hired him to bring varsity athletics back after a 20-year hiatus. His charge: to […]
New Roosevelt additions expect to be in mix next season
By Abbas Haleem It’s about next year for two new Roosevelt players. There are only three games left this season for Roosevelt basketball team, and it is unlikely Thomas Cutts and Jake Asquini will play in either of them. However, teammates say the transfer players have displayed the skill needed to compete in the Chicagoland Collegiate […]
Coaching about opportunity, not money, for Roosevelt assistants
By Abbas Haleem Roosevelt assistant coach Aaron Rolle found himself staying on his friend’s couch off 18th Street and Wabash Avenue nearly five years ago. He needed to save money from his night job while volunteering as a Lakers men’s basketball coach during the day. He worked the door at a bar for a while […]
Curry and company: Roosevelt players surprised to see Golden State practice on their court
By Abbas Haleem It’s not every day the NBA-best Golden State Warriors are in Chicago, and it’s even less frequent that they practice at the Goodman Center, home of the Roosevelt University Lakers. That’s why Lakers guard Jake Ludwig waited in the lobby Tuesday afternoon, positioned strategically in front of the gym entrance with his […]
Cold helps Roosevelt shut down Judson
By Abbas Haleem Chicago’s winter weather may have helped Roosevelt University Wednesday night by cooling off Judson University’s shooters. The Eagles were overheard complaining about the temperature outside during pregame stretching. It turns out they also couldn’t shake off the cold inside: Judson’s 34 percent shooting from the field led to Roosevelt’s 88-70 victory at the Lillian and […]
