McLean County Times

The Illinois State Basketball Coaches Show will be broadcast live from Rob Dob's in Bloomington tonight. The event is presented by The O'Brien Auto Team and features head men's basketball coach Ryan Pedon and women's basketball head coach Kristen Gillespie.

Attendees at Rob Dob's can purchase $12 specials on select menu items, including a classic burger, buffalo chicken sandwich, lasagna, or any pizza with a soft drink included.

For those unable to attend in person, the show will be available on WJBC 1230 AM, the Varsity Network, GoRedbirds.com, and the Illinois State Athletics Facebook page. During the show, coaches will review recent games and preview upcoming matchups.

Kristen Gillespie’s segment begins at 6 p.m., hosted by Greg Halbleib. She will be joined by senior guard Bella Finnegan. Finnegan transferred to Illinois State after three seasons at Indiana State and scored 20 points in the team's exhibition win over Illinois Wesleyan on Sunday. In that game, five Redbird players reached double figures: Trista Fayta (17), Addison Martin (14), Nevaeh Thomas (21), Doneelah Washington (10), and Finnegan. The team starts its regular season on November 3 against Dayton at CEFCU Arena.

Ryan Pedon's portion of the show starts at 6:45 p.m., hosted by John Fitzgerald and Mike Matthews. Graduate student guard Boden Skunberg will join him; Skunberg missed last season due to injury but previously averaged 14.1 points per game for North Dakota State in 2023-24.

The men’s team lost their exhibition opener against Illinois on October 19, with Jack Daugherty scoring a team-high 16 points while Ty'reek Coleman and Brandon Lieb each added nine points. Their final exhibition game is scheduled for October 29 against Northwestern at Welsh-Ryan Arena in Evanston.

Fans are encouraged to watch the show live at Rob Dob's or tune in through various broadcast options if they cannot attend.