Illinois Athletics is celebrating Black History Month 2023 by highlighting the accomplishments and contributions of Black student-athletes, alumni and staff. This year’s celebration entitled “28 Days of Black Excellence” will be featured across FightingIllini.com and social media platforms.
The rafters at State Farm Center got a little more crowded over the last two weeks with the addition of two banners honoring Illinois women’s basketball greats Jonelle Polk McCloud and Jenna Smith. The pair became the second and third women in Illini history, respectively, to earn the opportunity to forever be commemorated high above Lou Henson Court in Champaign.
“I don’t even know how to describe it,” Polk McCloud said. “I had gotten inducted to the Hall of Fame, and I got a call probably 2-4 weeks later. They said, ‘They’re gonna raise your jersey.’ I’m like, ‘What?!’ Shauna Green called me and told me that, and I just couldn’t believe it. I’m just honored, so honored.”
Polk McCloud, who was inducted into the Illinois Athletics Hall of Fame in the Class of 2022, represented the Orange and Blue from 1984-87, leading the Illini to the second round of the NCAA tournament in each of her final two seasons. Polk McCloud’s name appears often among the program’s all-time records, as she ranks first in made field goals with 815, third in scoring with 1,984 points, fifth in rebounding with 933 boards, and sixth in blocks with 135.
Her scoring records stand even more impressive given the fact she never attempted a 3-pointer; the 3-point line was not added to college basketball until the year after she graduated.
After departing Illinois in 1987, Polk McCloud played professionally for three years in France and Italy. Once she finished her playing career, she returned to the U.S. to serve as a graduate assistant at Northern Illinois and eventually as an assistant coach at Bradley and Florida State.
Though Polk McCloud had not previously returned to campus much since leaving the program, she has already been back in town twice this season to watch the new-look Illini’s historic 2022-23 campaign.
“It is amazing. I love everything: the change in it, excitement,” Polk McCloud said. “I came here for the Indiana game, and to be able to see this and then this many people here at the games, it’s just incredible.”
When Smith left Illinois in…
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