DeKALB | The Gary Steelheads of the United States Basketball League have selected former NIU center James Hughes as the 11th overall pick in the draft.

Hughes was the MAC Defensive Player of the Year in 2006 and averaged 12.1 points per game and a team-high 6.1 rebounds per game during his senior year, the 2006-2007 season.

The Silvis, Ill., native was the 27th player in NIU history to score at least 1,000 career points. Hughes also set the school record for blocks in a career with 208.

Huskie athletics tour

NIU head coaches and athletic staff members will tour DeKalb/Sycamore, Rockford and the Chicagoland area April through May to visit with Huskie fans and supporters at seven different locations.

Among the coaches and staff expected to make an appearance are football coach Joe Novak, new NIU men’s basketball coach Ricardo Patton, women’s basketball coach Carol Owens and athletics director Jim Phillips.

The Huskie 2007 Spring Caravan is presented by the Daily Herald and will begin Thursday, April 19, at the Stratford Inn in Sycamore and end at McNally’s Irish Pub in St. Charles Thursday,

May 31. All events will be held from 6 to 8 p.m., except the DeKalb/Sycamore outing, which will last from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m.

Each event is free and will offer one-on-one visits with Huskie coaches and staff.

Those in attendance will also be able to get information on purchasing 2007 football tickets, including tickets for the Sept. 1 season-opener versus Iowa at Soldier Field.

Go to niuhuskies.com for a complete list of caravan stops.

Worth a penny

All 12 schools in the MAC are going to compete in the MAC Penny Bowl to raise money for charity.

Between April 1 and April 22, the schools will try to raise as much money possible and the school which raises the most gets to pick the organization that half the earnings will go to. The other half of the earnings from each school will go to organizations that they choose.

If you want to participate contact Ajahnae Hinley at 815-753-8447 or [email protected] for more information.

A step in the right direction

The NIU men’s golf team finished in fifth place at the 38th Annual Marshall Invitational in Huntington, W.Va.

NIU freshman Greg Bauman scored a second-round 69 (-2) and placed seventh overall.

Improving

Despite losing their home-opener to Western Michigan 7-0 this past Saturday, the NIU (7-8) men’s tennis team came back and beat UW-Green Bay, 7-0, and Eastern Illinois, 6-1.

Javier Bernabe, Jimmy Chu, Adam Ford, Alex Friesen and Brian Livingston each had multiple victories in singles matches during the three contests.

Rough weekend

The NIU women’s tennis team lost on the road to Eastern Michigan and Toledo, 6-1 and 7-0, respectively.

Freshman Brooke Forsberg scored the lone point for the Huskies during the singles matches against Toledo.

Dora Delgadillo and Jenny Edner partnered up to win both their doubles matches over the weekend, but the other two Huskie duos lost in doubles’ competition, allowing the opposing team to take the points.

On the mat

Four wrestlers with ties to NIU placed in the top five in various weight classes in greco-Roman and freestyle wrestling over the weekend at the U.S. Senior Nationals in Las Vegas.

Current assistant coach Joe Williams and former NIU wrestler T.C. Danztler led the way with first place finishes, while NIU alumnus Scott Owen finished fifth and former assistant coach Lindsay Durlacher earned a second-place finish.

Williams and Owen each qualified for a spot in the U.S. World Team Trials, set for June 9-10 in Las Vegas.