MarquetteHoops.com: Most of our readers know that
you are an announcer for Marquette men’s basketball games; however, can
you tell us what other adventures you are into now a days?
Jim
McIlvaine: Well, first I am the
President of a youth and family camp called Camp Anokijig. Camp Anokijig
is located in Sheboygan about an hour north of
Milwaukee. We
have thousands of campers who come up every summer. The camp is open to the
public and people can drive up and rent a cabin or a tent. Also, the camp has a
traditional youth summer camp that starts in late June and goes through late
August. The youth camp is open to kids aged 6 to 17.
Camp
Anokijig
Second, I have a blog on ESPN Milwaukee Radio. On the blog I talk about sports, music
and random events such as why postcards are sold without stamps. There really should be a law that outlaws
this.
McIlvaine’s_Blog
Third, I also take photos for sports car magazines such as GM High-Tech
Performance and Popular Hot-Rod.
GMHighTechPerformance.com
PopularHotrodding.com
Finally, I have two wonderful kids that keep me extremely busy.
Kailey McIlvaine helps
her dad cheer on Marquette
MarquetteHoops.com: What is your favorite memory
of Marquette
outside of basketball?
Jim
McIlvaine: The friendships that I made at Marquette. The relationships that I made in college
are invaluable and have given me a great set of friends. The people you meet at Marquette are life long
friends, not just people you meet in passing.
MarquetteHoops.com: What Marquette basketball memory
stands out the most in your mind?
Jim
McIlvaine: I don’t know if there is one event, everyone talks about the
sweet 16 and beating Kentucky, but I think for me it is playing for
Kevin O’Neill and being part of how he built up the program again. Kevin did a great job of changing mind
sets at the school and the community while he was here.
MarquetteHoops.com: Who was the toughest college
player that you have ever had to defend?
Jim
McIlvaine: For me, it really wasn’t one player, but the teams that were
short. I always struggled against
guys that were 6’6 and pulled me out from underneath the basket. In those games I always seemed to end up
on the bench.
MarquetteHoops.com: What would you say to recruits
that are considering Marquette?
Jim
McIlvaine: I don’t think there is just one idea on why recruits should come
to Marquette.
First off, if I am a top big guy in
the nation, you have to look at this school because Marquette has developed
some top guards who can really up a big guy’s game. I never really understood when I was
getting recruited how much a great set of guards can really help a big guy.
I don’t know why more big guys
aren’t looking at Marquette. Tom Crean has done a great job of
developing guards while at Marquette. Another big reason why recruits should
consider Marquette is the Al McGuire Center and Humphrey
Hall. These are great facilities.
MarquetteHoops.com: So is there any
true to you being in the movie Shallow Hal and if so what was it like to work
with Jack Black?
Jim
McIlvaine: Yeah that’s true. Jack Black really isn’t much of an actor.
What you see on screen is exactly
how he is in real life. As for how
I got in the movie, I am a huge fan of the Farrelly brothers and I have seen all
of their movies, so one day I wrote
them a fantastic letter knowing that they put athletes in their films and I
asked them to be in a movie. Next
thing I know I got a call from the Farrlley brothers asking me to be in Shallow
Hal. The Farrlley brothers were great
guys who are huge Providence fans oddly enough.
Jimmy Mac the
Actor?
MarquetteHoops.com: Do you have any good Kevin O’Neill
stories for us?
Jim
McIlvaine: Well, before he came to Marquette he picked up a recruit wearing a
monkey suit. As for Marquette stories, he was a really clever guy when it came
to recruiting, such as when I came to Marquette,
he got all the players to wear Jim McIIvaine masks and got all of the freshman in
McCormick Hall to sign a banner asking me to come to Marquette. He was a great
salesman.
MarquetteHoops.com: Is there any college player out there
right now that reminds you a lot of yourself?
Jim
McIlvaine: Not really, they're all better than me, but I think it would be great if guys
like Kevin Durant and Tyler Hansbrough stick around for a few more years because
it helps out the schools and college basketball. I mean, look at how the Final Four of 2003
helped out Marquette.
MarquetteHoops.com: What one team besides Marquette are you
predicting to win the National Championship?
Jim
McIlvaine: I like North
Carolina and Roy Williams. He can just flat out coach and recruit.
They are just straight up tough to beat.
MarquetteHoops.com: Favorite Al McGuire
story…
Jim
McIlvaine: I really don’t have a lot of Al McGuire stories since he wasn’t
around a lot when I was here. I think he kept his distance because didn’t want
to cast a huge shadow on the program. The one story that sticks with me
is when Al came up to me convinced that I had red-shirted my freshman year. He asked
me repeatedly about being red shirted.
Besides that story, another great quote I heard from Al was, "Don’t let
basketball use you, you use basketball". This is great advice that I used to help
me decide when to retire from the game of basketball.
MarquetteHoops.com: Is there anything
you want to add?
Jim
McIlvaine: Please wear gold to the games. There is no reason people can’t do
it. It needs to be the point that
if you show up to the Marquette games not wearing gold, you are the
odd ball. It really adds to the
environment to see a sea of gold at the games.
MarquetteHoops.com: Thanks for your
time.
Jim McIlvaine:
Any time.
**Pat Barry is a senior majoring in Accounting.