Ryan Boatright returns to his "hometown" on Saturday night as UConn faces DePaul at AllState Arena. Boatright was born and raised in Aurora, Ill., about 30 minutes west of Chicago. This will be his first time playing in the Windy City as a collegian (though he has played in nearby Milwaukee and South Bend, Ind. already this season).

While Boatright predicts that "probably all of Aurora is going to be there," sadly, one very important person in his life will be missing. His uncle, Brian McAllister, passed away in June, 2011 (just a few days before Boatright graduated from high school). Boatright was very close to McAllister, and as I write in this story, McAllister is still often on the sophomore guard's mind. In fact, Boatright sometimes sports a Chicago Cubs jacket in honor of his late uncle, who was a big Cubbies fan.



In the article, I also talked to Boatright's mom, Tanesha, about her son's plans for the future (i.e., does he intend to enter this June's NBA draft?)

“I don’t know which way he’s leaning," Tanesha said, "but I am taking a little bit more aspirin lately.”

She added: “All I tell him all the time: ‘I was your mom before you ever put a number on. So, no matter where you go in life, I’m always gonna be you’re No. 1 fan.’ All I do is support him and tell him, wherever you go, I’m with you. I just want him to choose what’s best for him. It’s about him being happy.”