Northern Star: Alex Illikainen
For this week's segment, meet a UMD men's basketball transfer who feels right at home already.
DULUTH, Minn. – In high school, UMD men’s basketball forward Alex Illikainen knew that he wanted to go to a big school.
“I was definitely looking at going division one and my options up there,” Illikainen said.
After spending three seasons at the University of Wisconsin, a Division I basketball program, the Grand Rapids native decided to come back home and play for the Bulldogs.
“I always had a love for UMD. I was here playing in games for the section and stuff like that. I always loved the area and I’m definitely glad I’m back here now,” Illikainen said.
“This was a place where he wanted to go. He’s a local guy from Grand Rapids. So when he transferred, this was a place he wanted to go, he wanted to go somewhere where he could make a big impact right away. It wasn’t a lot of selling on my part, this was a place that he wanted to be, and as a coach that’s a pretty good feeling knowing that you’ve got a good player coming here that really wants to be here,” UMD men’s basketball head coach Justin Wieck added.
The transition has come easy for the former Thunderhawk star, who said he already knew some of the players on the team with Romano Gym being just an hour and a half away from home.
“I played here quite a few times in all–star games and stuff like that so it definitely feels like a home gym to me,” Illikainen said.
Feeling comfortable and ready to go will be huge for Illikainen, as the Bulldogs hope he can make a big impact in his first and only season with UMD.
“He’s going to be one of our main go–to guys. He’s joining a bunch of older guys that have been here for three or four years now and he just wants to be a big part of that. He’s figuring out how to be effective, how to use his body be effective inside, but he can also shoot the ball from the outside,” Wieck said.
During his time at Wisconsin, Illikainen went to the NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 twice, and hopes to use that experience to push the Bulldogs they make their own playoff hopes.
“He’s played in NCAA Tournament games, Big 10 Tournament games so he’s got a lot of different experiences to fall back on,” Wieck said.
“Going from weekend to weekend and advancing is just an unreal experience. But I’m really excited to get started this year and make the same run. I’m just hoping we can do better than the previous couple of years. I know the team has been getting better and more and more wins, but I really want to help this team get a banner on the wall,” Illikainen added.
