The UIC men's basketball program that seniors Jordan Blount, Godwin Boahen, Tarkus Ferguson and Marcus Ottey joined prior to the start of the 2016-17 season is a vastly different program than the program the quartet of seniors will walk away from following this past season.
 
The four seniors joined a team coming off a 5-25 campaign in 2015-16 and was four years removed from its last winning season (18-16 in 2012-13). UIC turned to its newcomers to help turn the program around and the results were immediate. In their freshman year, the team helped pushed UIC to 17 wins, 12 more than the previous season, and a run to the semifinals of the CBI.
 
UIC's pattern of growth continued into 2017-18 when the Flames went 20-16 overall and 12-6 in Horizon League play, the program's first 20-win season and 12-win conference campaign since UIC's historic 2003-04 season. The Flames' year culminated in a championship berth in the CIT, finishing runner-up to Northern Colorado.
 
As juniors, the foursome led the program to its second consecutive 10-win conference season, just the third time since joining the Horizon League that the team had back-to-back 10+ wins in conference play. As seniors, the four student-athletes put their final mark on the program, cementing its status as one of the top teams in the Horizon League.
 
The Flames finished advanced to the championship game at the Horizon League Basketball Championship for the first time since 2004 this past year, upsetting top-seeded Wright State in the semifinals to mark the program's first victory over the top seed in the tournament since 2004 as well. The team finished with 18 wins, with 10 of them coming in Horizon League play, giving UIC 16 or more wins in four consecutive years for the first time since 1991-92 through 1994-95. The Flames' 10 Horizon League wins marked the first time in program history that UIC had three consecutive seasons of 10 or more conference wins and just the 10^th season in program history with double-digit conference victories.
 
Along the way, there countless individual milestones achieved by the senior class. First came the triple-doubles…plural. Boahen became the first player in program history to record a triple double when he finished with 13 points, 12 rebounds and 11 assists in a win over Roosevelt during his freshman season. Not to be out done, Ferguson became the second player in school history to achieve the feat when he had a 14-point, 12-rebound, 11-assist performance against Illinois State.
 
To say that the four seniors were focal points of the team throughout their careers would be an understatement. Over the course of their four-year careers the Flames competed in 139 contests, with Boahen appearing in 132 games and making 78 starts. Ferguson started in all 127 career games that he played in for UIC while Ottey played in 123 career games with 92 starts. Blount, after not playing as a freshman, went on to play in 90 games (87 starts) over the final 103 games of his collegiate career.
 
The graduating class will have their names strewn across UIC's record book for the years to come. Three of the senior, Boahen, Ferguson and Ottey, all joined the 1,000-point club as juniors and continued their climb up the career scoring list as seniors. Ferguson finished his career with 1,646 career points, sixth-most in program history, Ottey finished with 1,579 career points to rank ninth all-time and Boahen capped his career 13^th in program history with 1,420 career points.
 
The impact the senior class made can be seen on paper an in person, and their legacy will be the foundation for the men's basketball program for the years to come.
 

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