The Final Four

Illinois vs. Louisville
Tomorrow at 5 p.m.

The Road to the Final Four

I’m doing it. I’m going to St. Louis for the Final Four. I don’t have any tickets, but I’ll find them. Just like the Illini found a way to pull out a win versus Arizona on Saturday, I will find a way to get into the Edward Jones Dome tomorrow. Here is where writing your own Illini basketball column has its advantages…if ANY of you have tickets…or know ANYONE who has tickets, please, please, please, let me know.

I might not be able to pay top dollar, but I’ll definitely have a good story to tell you about my trip. It might involve a 15 point come from behind victory, or it might involve stolen signs and the po-po. If neither of those happen, well, I am going w/my man BC…and when BC is around, crazy things happen!

The Pre Game

Reader, I don’t view myself as a journalist or a writer, I see myself as the sixth man…just like each of you. They say that the crowd can be like having an extra player on the court in a big game, and last week we proved it by helping rattle 'Zona as our boys in orange and blue made the greatest comeback in tourney history.

We can’t all be there. If we could, then I might be paying two months rent for a ticket instead of one. But just because you are not there, doesn’t mean that you be the Illini sixth man.

During Saturday's game, as soon as I moved from the couch to the floor, we mounted our comeback. I didn’t move back to the couch until the final buzzer sounded. I wasn’t at the game, but I was doing my part as the Illini’s sixth man.

When it became too much to bear for my friend Melinda, she jumped in the shower to get ready for a night out. A few minutes later, her friends yelled that we were coming back. “So I did what any logical Illini fan would do, I stayed in the shower until the Arizona lead washed away.”

Now Melinda probably won’t stand in the shower for the next two games (though it paints a pretty nice picture) – you get my point. Each and every Illini fan knows that he or she can directly affect the outcome of the game. And in our own way…we all do.

So if you have a lucky Illini shirt, wear it. If you have a lucky seat, sit in it. If you think that the Illini play better while you’re swilling a beer, then pick up a cup and chug. Basically, if something's working for the Illini, for God’s sake man, keep doing whatever you are doing!

Game Preview

Has anyone listened to the interviews w/Rick Pitino this week. He is one arrogant son of a gun. If his players love him half as much as he loves himself, then they’d go thru a wall the guy. I hate him; and for our team, he stands in the way of a National Championship. So he’s going down…hard.

Illinois has its Three Amigos, and Louisville has its own three pronged attack. Just like a pitchfork that the devil throws, you don’t know which prong is going to get you. (Yes I am comparing Rick Pitino to the Devil…Louisville’s primary color is red you know.) Francisco Garcia, Taquan Dean, and Larry O’Bannon lead the way for the Cardinals. They’re a bit taller than our guards, measuring in at 6’7”, 6’3”, and 6’4” respectively. Instead of the 5 or 6 passes that you’ll see from the Illini, it’s more like 5 dribbles, 1 pass, and 1 shot for the Cardinals. Their game is to penetrate and kick. Controlling the drive is our primary concern. We must play D like we did in the first half against ‘Zona…not like the second half.

My key for the Illini is easy baskets inside. The long arms of the Louisville defenders will prevent Illinois from getting open shots behind the arc. So if Roger Powell and James Augustine are shooting a high percentage at halftime, that means that they are getting quick hits off assists from our guards.

Using the pump fake will be a great weapon. If Luther, Deron, and Dee can get the Louisville defenders off balance by faking a shot, then we can penetrate and dish all afternoon. Establishing dominance in the paint, will open up the three point shot as the defense collapses. I think that Deron will have a double-double in points and assists as he leads us to victory and a shot at the National Championship.

Illinois – 79
Louisville – 72


Sincerely,

The Golden Ticket


PS…Last week I gave you a column to read for inspiration before the game. This week…I have a song guaranteed to pump you up. Check out the attachment.

PS…Last week I gave you a column to read for inspiration before the game. This week…I have a song guaranteed to pump you up. Check out the attachment.

http://www.bighitbuda.com/Tha%20Illini.mp3

Illinois vs. UW Pearl

Illinois vs. University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
Tonight @ 6:27 p.m.

Hoops squads throughout the country play their best basketball during the madness of March, so too do writers step up their games in an attempt to satisfy the basketball jones of loyal fans. Re-typed below is one of my favorite columns of all time. It's about basketball, and it's a bit long. So print it out if you want, but be sure, however, to read Steve Rushin's 'Profession of Faith' before tip-off tonight.

Game Preview

After taking an 11-0 lead in last weeks 2nd round game against UWM, an unnamed Boston College player turned to UWM guard Ed McCants and spewed, "I don't give a sh!t what you did to Alabama. This is the Big East, baby." Unfortunately for BC, UWM closed out the game with an 83-64 run , and earned a trip to the Sweet Sixteen.

UWM plays basketball hard. They play the game the way it should be played -- 94 feet by 40 minutes. W/all but one starter standing under 6'5", UWM's four guard attack has forced a hair under 18 turnovers a game. Still, would it be wise to press a team like the Illini? We have 3 point guards on the floor at all times, and James Augustine and Roger Powell are much more mobile than the other forwards UWM has played in the tournament. All week, Weber has been simulating the UWM press by throwing 7 guys on the floor to defend his team. Augustine, Powell, Ingram, Smith, and Carter have been participating in drills usually reserved for guards.

UWM is relentless, and they proved it during their upset wins over Alabama and Boston College. If Illinois can get out to an early lead, then they cannot afford to go on cruise control. An 11 point lead can disappear very quickly against a pressing team like this. So how will we do it? We will attack when we have numbers, and we will feed our forwards down low when we get into a half court set.

We will get a gauge on how comfortable our players are early in the game. If we are pounding the ball into the ground to beat the press, then we could be in for a tight one. But if we move the ball across half court w/crisp passing, then Bruce Pearl and his team will be on the receiving end of a SportsCenter highlight real. Down low, I expect Powell to have a monstrous game on the glass. He will eat these guys up if he can get the ball consistently on the block.

Much has been made of the Bruce Pearl saga in the week leading up to this game. Tonight, as much as 70% of the Rosemont Horizon will be dressed in Illini orange and ready to cheer their team on to a birth in the Elite Eight. I encourage you all to read Steve Rushin's column below and remember that March is about hoops and not a feud that started 15 years ago. Go Illini.


I believe in b-ball

Hockey players, among all athletes, have the coolest way of entering the game, hopping over the boards with one hand, like Steve McQueen getting into a convertible. But basketball is forever, and so players are often made to genuflect in front of the scorer's table for a moment before stepping onto the court, as if entering a house of worship. Which, in a manner of speaking, they are.

For one is baptized into basketball not with water but confetti (conferred on the head by Curly Neal). And one believes in basketball, as one believes in the Bible and in all those names that are common to both: Moses and Isiah and Jordan…

Adam and Eve were banished from the Garden and so -- eventually -- were the Celtics, and sometime in between I became a believer, and this is my profession of faith:

I believe in Artis Gilmore, whose wife is named --as God is my witness -- Enola Gay.

I believe in new high-tops, always evocative of Christmas morning, for you get to open a large box, remove crinkly paper stuffed into the toes, and -- before wearing them for the first time -- inhale deeply from each sneaker as if from an airplane oxygen mask. (It's what wine connoisseurs call "nosing the bouquet" and works for Pumas as well as pinot noirs.)

I believe in tear-away suits, which make the wearer feel -- when summoned from the bench -- like Clark Kent, ripping off his business suit to reveal the S on his chest.

I believe a team's fortunes can always be foretold -- not from the length of its lifelines but from the integrity of its lay-up lines.

I believe in God Shammgod and Alaa Abdelnaby, and James (Buddha) Edwards (and in Black Jesus, Earl Monroe's nickname long before it was the Pearl).

I believe in accordion-style bleachers that push back to expose, after a game, car keys and quarters and paper cups, which sound like a gunshot when stomped on just right. (And always, stuck to the floor, the forlorn strands of molting pom-poms.)

I believe -- now more than ever, in the time of global disharmony -- in World B. Free and Majestic Mapp. And that control of the planet's contested regions might be better determined by a simple, alternating possession arrow.

I believe that 300 basketballs dribbled simultaneously by eight-year-old basketball campers sound like buffalo thundering across the plains. And inspire even greater awe.

I believe that two high school janitors pushing twin dust mops at halftime can be every bit as hypnotic as dueling Zambonis.

I believe that any sucker can wear a $40,000 gold necklace as thick as a bridge cable when the only necklace worth wearing in basketball is a nylon net that costs $9.99. (but --and here's the point -- it can't be bought.)

I'm a believer in Lafayette Lever and regret never having covered him, for if I had, my first sentence about him would have been, "There must be 50 ways to love your Lever."

I believe that jumping off a trampoline, turning a midair somersault, slam-dunking and sticking the landing -- while wearing a gorilla suit that's wearing, in turn, a Phoenix suns warm-up jacket -- is enough to qualify you as a first-ballot Hall-of-Famer.

I believe in Harthorne Wingo, and I believe in Zap the dingo, the Detroit shock mascot whose costume was stolen from the Palace of Auburn Hills by two men who were caught -- one in the dingo head, the other in the dingo feet -- drinking in a bar across the street.

I believe in dunking dirty clothes into the hallway hamper and sky-hooking -- from the shotgun seat -- quarters into highway toll baskets. And I believe in finger-rolling heads of lettuce into my shopping cart, even though I have never, in the last 10 years, eaten a piece of lettuce at home.

I believe I can still hold, in my right hand, a boom box the size of Samsonite Streamlite while carrying, in my left, a slick rubber ball whose pebble-grain stubble has long before been dribbled away. And that I can do so while riding a 10-speed bike and steering with my knees.

I believe that the Truth (Drew Gooden) and the Answer (Allen Iverson) are out there, if we will simply follow the bouncing ball.

I believe that we, the basketball faithful, speak in tongues: the red, wagging tongue of Michael Jordan and the red, wagging tongues of our unlaced Chuck Taylors.

I believe that Larry Bird's crooked right index finger -- which he raised in triumph before his winning shot fell in the 1988 All-Star weekend three-point contest -- resembles, almost exactly, God's crooked right index finger, as depicted on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel.

Which would make sense, If God made man in His image. For I believe, above all, in what G.K. Chesterton wrote, and what Rick Telander echoed in the title of a book: Earth is a task garden. But heaven is a playground.

-Steve Rushin


Illinois - 78
UWM - 65


Sincerely,

Your Last Place Bracket

IGP: The Tourney Edition

Illinois vs. Farleigh Dickenson
Tonight @ 8:30

Welcome to the 2005 NCAA Tournament Edition of the IGP. In only a few hours the madness will begin, and you will be on your way to winning the office pool…that is, if you follow my 3 Steps to Office Pool Immortality Guide. I expect a steak dinner in the off-season when you win.

1. Pick the winner. Like it or not, if you want to be in the $$$, then you need to pick the winner. It's nearly impossible to catch up on points if you don't have the final game predicted correctly. This one is easy, though. It's the Illini.

2. Bank on heavy hitters. I am not talking about the steroid induced gorillas in baseball. I am talking about college hoops gamers. Every year a prime performer hits on all cylinders and carries his team to the Sweet Sixteen or further. Randolph Childress, God Shamgod, Harold Arceneaux, and Kyle Korver are a few examples. This year we have the obvious choices like Salim Stoudemire - 'Zona, Jerry McNamara - 'Cuse, or Francisco Garcia - Louisville. But how about Nate Funk - Creighton (17.6 ppg), Allan Ray - 'Nova (17.3 ppg 41% 3pt shooting pct), or Andrew Bogut - Utah (21ppg 12 rpg). Bank on these guys winning at least one round, and Allen Ray leading his team to the Sweet Sixteen by topping 'Cuse (there is only room for one orange and blue team).

3. Bet on winners. I've seen Georgia Tech is a popular choice to go deep in the Albuquerque bracket. I don't understand why. They're 2-9 against the field of 64, and they barely squeaked into the field thanks to a late run in the ACC tourney. The Yellow Jackets are a shadow of the team they were last year - find the white out. Florida is another squad that will blow up your brackets if you pick them to go deep. Head Coach Billy Donovan is a choke artist in the NCAAs. He's an underachiever who will fall to an overachiever named Jay Wright who is the Head Coach at Villanova.

On to the meat and potatoes

I received a disturbing e-mail the other day from a diehard Illini fan who was at the Big 10 tournament. He told me that he was worried about the Illini in the NCAAs. "They didn't look like a final four team," he whined. After picking myself up off the floor, I wrote down a few of Illinois' accomplishments this year.

· 14-0 non-conference record
· 15-1 Big 10 record - Outright Conference Champs
· 13-0 vs. tournament teams
· 15 wks ranked no. 1
· 3 First Team All Big 10 Selections
· Big Ten Player of the Year and Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year - Dee Brown
· 5 Players averaging double figures
· Home Court Advantage throughout the tournament (Indy, Chicago, St. Louis)

Feeling better?

When we started the season, every overpaid hoops analyst said that our frontcourt was suspect. But who carried us through the Big Ten Tournament? James Augustine earned tourney MVP honors by averaging a double-double; while Roger Powell played like a 7 footer, pulling down every offensive rebound available. Our perceived weakness has become a strength.

Smiling?

We have the best backcourt in the country. Dee Brown was quoted in the paper as saying he's been taking 300 shots a day. He said that he's not concerned w/how many he makes. He is searching for his shooting touch. It's a feeling that is not satisfied by the sound of a swish but by the feeling he gets when the shot leaves his finger tips. Deron Williams gets that feeling when he sees a teammate open in the lane. He mentally chalks up an assist before Augustine or Powell even catch the ball. Luther Head gets that feeling when he's going to hole. He can smell the front of the rim, and something inside wills him to beat his man to the basket.

Getting charged up?

I told you earlier in this letter to bank on a few prime performers to take their teams deeper in the tourney. Illinois doesn't rely on one player to win They play the best team basketball in the nation. That is why they will succeed.

This year, I wrote that the Illini make sweet music when they play together; I said they were like superheroes on the basketball court; and I even compared them to a prize fighter. Illini fans, there is only one thing left that I want to call this team - CHAMPIONS.


Sincerely,

Mike Nett

Illinois vs. NU

Illinois vs. Northwestern
Today @ 11 a.m.

When I got to work on Monday morning, I had 6 e-mails bursting at the seams ready to taunt me after my alma mater came w/in 6 seconds of a perfect season. The first email read:

O-H

And the second email read:

I-O

The third was from my boss's boss, who went to tOSU, and claimed that I owed him lunch - we didn't even bet on the game!

A Wisky alum sent the fourth email. "How about them Buckeye's?" He asked. This was well deserved because after each Illini win over Wisconsin, I pinned fresh news clippings to his bulletin board.

The fifth was from a converted Illini fan in Chicago who just wanted a reply message to make sure I was still upright.

And the sixth was from mom, telling me that 'Everything was going to be alright.'

After reading these emails, my first thought was REVENGE, but my second thought was 'WWDD'.

What Would Dee Do? Would Dee respond to this trash talking by blowing his cool? No. Would Dee pout at the end of the bench? No. Would Dee send a virus to those who mocked him? No, again. Dee would be patient. He would wait until the moment was right - when the other team was helpless to respond. He would make a steal or two. He would swish a few threes. He would turn into the One-Man-Fast-Break, crushing his opponents w/a sweet finger roll at full speed. Then, after his steal(s), or three(s), or fast-break(s) he would make one defining on-court gesture to send the Illini fans into a frenzy or demoralize the enemy crowd into a boiling silence. It might be a flying chest bump w/6'10" James Augustine, or it might be a muscle tightening scream thru his orange mouth guard. But hopefully, it would be the gesture that made the cover of Sports Illustrated this past week. The one where he lifts his jersey up w/both hands to show everyone what is written across his chest. ILLINOIS

Preview

OK. You all know Northwestern's scouting report, but I'll give you the cliff notes version in case you don't remember.

Head Coach: Bill Carmody - former Princeton Coach. He loves the backdoor (wink, wink).
Defense: Match-up zone. Attack the gaps, reverse the ball quickly, and hit the open shots.
Offense: Don't let anyone w/a funny sounding name shoot the three ball.

We smoked 'em last time at Assembly Hall. We'll smoke 'em this time at the UC.

One of my coworkers is trying to tell me that Illinois' confidence is at a season low. He prophesizes that if we don't win the Big10 tourney, then we will limp into March Madness like a wounded animal. He's a Mizzou fan. So I smile, I nod, and I say, "Have fun at the N.I.T."

If you think that Illinois will come out tentative after their loss on Sunday, then you have not been watching this team. They won 29 straight games, and they are on a quest to win 9 more. The Illini are filled to the brim w/playmakers. From 6'10" Jack Ingram to Dee Brown even to Head Coach Bruce Weber. I have no doubts that they are ready to tear the Mildcats apart.

We may be a little over-aggressive to start; and although most of you will be watching your ESPN ticker instead of the game itself, we'll probably be fast breaking at every opportunity. Deron and Luther will penetrate more than usual in this game. Attacking the basket will give Dee more room to hoist up wide open threes. Our backcourt trio will see to it that we end this game early.

Illinois - 84
NU - 60


Sincerely,

Bob Bowlsby


PS - I never did tell you how I responded to that hate mail. In my defining Dee gesture, I waited until mid-afternoon when IGP Editor Matt Spitz emailed me the new AP Poll. Illinois was still number 1. So I raised my left hand and held up my index finger high. I started humming Three-And-One (the Chief's song), and I clicked send - forwarding the new AP Poll to all of our detractors. Bring on NU. Bring on MSU. Bring on Duke, UNC, and Kansas. I'm ready for them all. I'm ready to take on the world...And so are the Illini.

Illinois vs. Purdont'

Illinois vs. Purdon't
Tonight @ 8 p.m.

So last week I was home in Chicago having dinner w/my family, when my Illini beer swilling Uncle says, "You'll never guess who ______ saw at _____ Salon (the _____ is not to protect my sources, it's because I do not remember _____'s name or where she gets her hair cut)."

"The Donald?" I asked.

"No, a guy w/even better 'hair' than the Donald. As ______ walks into the salon she recognizes the man who passes her as he walk out. She turned to the receptionist and says, 'Do you know who that is?...That's Gene Keady.' And the receptionist says, "Yeah, he's a real nice guy...really funny. He comes here to get hair extensions for his comb-over.'"

I kid you not Illini fans.

The Boilermaker coach, who owns a scowl mean enough to make Hannibal Lector cower in fear and who sports better extensions than Beyonce Knowles, has been getting way too much press as he makes his farewell tour of the Big10. Tonight should be 100% dedicated to the 5 Illini Seniors graduating at the end of the year. Here's a small blurb on each.

Luther
When Luther Head saw action as a freshman, we all said, "Man that kid can jump; but if he throws up any more bricks, then he'll be able to build a new house for his mother (Sidney Deane, White Men Can't Jump)." Now, Luther is one of the best 3-point shooters in the nation, and is a candidate to be an All-American.

The Preacher

Best known as the only college basketball player who is an ordained minister, Roger Powell Jr. didn't reach his full potential until Bruce Weber came aboard in 2003. Since then, Powell has played w/a Charles Barkley mentality and given us more SportsCenter highlights, than any other graduating Illini.

Chainsaw

As soon as Nick Smith stepped on the court, we all new that he was the tallest player in Illinois history. W/a soft touch from the outside, we got excited every year when the newspapers reported that smith put on 30 lbs. in the off-season. By my calculation, Nick should be tipping the scales at a solid 370...he's not.

Ham Sandwich

Jack Ingram was recruited by Bill Self to Tulsa and followed Selfless to Illinois - paying his own way. As soon as Ingram became eligible last year, $elf jumped ship again for Kansas. Despite it all, Ingram has made the most of his situation, his talent, and his eligibility. I think that this is his 6th year in college, and even Coach Weber likes to kid him about it, "His patience has been tried. I joke that when I got the job, his mom called and said, 'Would you please stay for two years? My son is losing his self-esteem. Coaches leave when he comes.'

The Walk-on

Fred Nkemdi is a seldom used walk-on who says his greatest accomplishment as an athlete was the day he put on his University of Illinois Basketball jersey. In practice, he's the punching bag for our starters; but seeing Dee, Deron, and Luther jump out of their seats whenever he gets a basket shows how much a part of the team he truly is.

Thanks for all the hard work Seniors!

Preview

It has not been the type of farewell year that the ugliest coach in the college basketball was hoping. He's 7-18 on the year and 3-11 in the Big10, but every stadium that he's visited this year has presented him with a gift. Hopefully, our gift to Gene will be a good ole fashioned ass whipping. Purdon't's best player is Forward Carl Landry who tore his ACL in Saturday's loss to Minnesota. The Boilermakers will have a huge scoring and rebounding void to fill as Landry averaged 18 ppg and 7 rpg.

Without Landry, Purdon't has no one to guard The Rev. Roger Powell Jr. will go off in a big way on Senior Night. Besides being the odds on favorite to cry before the game, Powell will score off easy lay-ups and dunks set up by dishes from Dee, Deron, and Luther. Powell will hit the offensive glass w/such ferociousness that a double-double is almost guaranteed.

Illinois - 85
Purdue - 59


Sincerely,

Ham Sandwich's Goatee

Illinois vs. the Mildcats

Illinois vs. Northwestern
Tonight @ 7 p.m.
Meet me at Joe's Brewery!

Mailbag

This year, your responses to the Illini Game Preview have been overwhelmingly positive. Everyone is so worked up about the Illini that the IGP mailbag is pretty darn boring. Still, I've found a few gems that I'd love to share with you. The first is from Illini Loyalist Marc Pinsof.


Netter-

On my 23rd Birthday, I stumbled out of a Lincoln Park Tavern and one of my buddies from High School mockingly pointed at Lucas Johnson who was hanging out outside, "Pinz, Lucas is such a crybaby. I can't believe you ever rooted for that guy." In my extreme drunken state, the only way I was able to defend such a comment was to proceed to do the chief dance in front of Lucas while humming the melody of “The Three-In-One” out loud. Lucas laughed, a crowd gathered, and my friends grabbed me and pulled me away from the “B” celebrity.

Pinzy

That's my boy Pinz. I love it when Illini fans do crazy stuff out of love for their home team. Here is an email from HC, BC's sister, who is currently a senior at Illinois and a member of the Orange Krush.

Last saturday i got in line at 5:30 am to get onto the floor
for the Wisconsin game. when i got there at 5:30am
there were alrady 45 other people before me. :( I got on the
floor anyways!! here's the picture of a determined orange
krusher who would do anything to get on the floor to see the
#1 illini play :).

Heather

Great picture HC…and thanks for those "other" pictures you sent as well…keep 'em coming! Here's one from my boy Parkman.

nice..i've been waiting all day for the IGP!!!! yeah
baby!!!!

rock and roll... there's trouble in MSU land!!!

Parkman

Parkman graduated from Loyola and, like me, resides in the South (Austin, TX). I've granted him an honorary Illini Degree for his ardent support of our team.

This next letter shows why you should not let your girlfriend/wife determine your favorite team

Mike-

The IZZone will be rocking tonight. My wife went to MSU so I have a tie to them. Let's put down a wager my friend. Give me 8 points and I'll take the Spartans!!

Stew

Thanks for the cash homey!!!! And thanks for the great wallpaper sent in the following email.

Nett...u like? pass it on! -Dave

Dave is a new reader but an old friend. Check out the awesome background he sent me. If you want to set this as the background of your desktop, then follow these directions. First, save this picture to your computer. Second, right click your desktop and choose properties. Third, select the desktop tab and click the Browse button. Fourth, navigate to the picture you just saved and click OK. Fifth, choose the 'march_arch' choice that was just added to the list and click OK. Sixth, show all your coworkers how cool you are. Seventh, when you coworkers start talking about UNC and Duke, tell them to jump aboard the Illini Bandwagon and commence arguing about how over-rated the ACC is.

This last email was the best of the season, and it was the greatest compliment ever paid to the Illini Game Preview.

Netter-

Whenever I get the IGP, I print it up and take it to the can. It's the best bathroom reading material ever.

Ander


I have arrived!

Preview

If I could revoke Green Cards from anyone in the U.S., then it would definitely be Northwestern's European big men who seem to go unconscious from 3-pt range whenever they play the Illini. Vedran Vukosic and Davor Duvancic each start their last name w/the same initial as their first, and each has killed the Illini during the last 2 games in Evanston. Fortunately, tonight we'll play at Assembly Hall where Illinois Head Coach Bruce Weber will probably extend his defense to prevent being hurt by the long ball.

The Mildcat match up zone will be in full effect. You better believe that coaches around the country will be basing their game strategies in the tourney on how effective NU is tonight. Likewise, if the Illini struggle on offense, then predictable columnists everywhere will write about their 'formula' for beating Illinois. However, the Illini will not provide fodder for any second rate newspapers and prove how good they are…again.

James Augustine will start the game, as he always does, by winning the tip. A combination of long range shooting and dizzying teamwork for the first 15 minutes will crescendo in a fast break dunk by Dee Brown to end the half. Yes. Yes. Dee Brown can dunk…I've seen video. Here's how it will go down: After picking T.J. Parker clean, Dee will blur down the court for a one-handed jam. No he won't cover his eyes like another famous hoopster of the same name, but he will bring all of Assembly Hall to their feet. Illini Nation will be in a tizzy. The dunk will energize his play and his team's. Dee is the prime performer tonight using a combination of shooting, passing, stealing, and dunking to lead the Illini to a late season victory.

Illinois - 70
Northwestern - 56

Sincerely,
The Anti Vitale

Illinois vs. PSU

Illinois vs. Penn State
Tonight @ 7 p.m.

I'll remember the 89-72 shellacking of Gonzaga when I realized that this Illini team was really good.

I'll remember the 91-73 destruction of Wake Forest when I realized that this Illini team was really, really good.

I'll remember Luther Head's 25 point, 42 minute performance against Iowa in an overtime win.

I'll remember Ingram's two three-pointers that helped snap Wisconsin's 38 game home winning streak.

I'll remember Dee Brown tossing the ball over his head to Deron Williams who punched the ball to James Augustine for a monstrous dunk in the opening minutes of our win over Indiana.

And I'll most definitely remember Dee Brown's refuse to lose attitude in the second half of the Michigan game.

Reader, these moments will be filed away next to some other special Illini memories that I've gathered over the years. I’d like to share one with you now.

[Cue cheesy music]

It all started like bad 80's movie. Dimitry called me from Australia where he was visiting his girlfriend who was studying abroad.

"The bitch dumped me," he said dumbfounded.

"What?! How did that happen?" Dimitry started to explain how it went down, but his words faded as I hatched the greatest idea I’d ever had.

"Let's go to Dayton," I interrupted.

"Huh? You want me to fly half way around the world so that we can go watch Illinois in the first round of the NCAAs?"

"Yes."

"That's a great idea," his voice quivered

Thirty-six hours later, I picked up D at O’Hare and we drove to Dayton to watch Illinois vs Northwestern State in the first round of the 2001 NCAA Tournament. On the way I called up my friend Jared. He was President of the Orange Krush at the time and is the Co-Author of 100 Years of Illinois Basketball. We booked a room, bought tickets, and prepared for the deepest Illinois tourney run in 10 years

Friday’s game was a laugher, and after we watched the games all day Saturday, we decided to celebrate St. Patrick ’s Day in downtown Dayton. We were drinking green beer at a tented block party when I hatched my second greatest idea ever. "Fellas," I said. "Each hotel that is housing a team has an NCAA basketball banner on display. I think we need some decorations for our houses. A sparkle twinkled their eyes. At that, we were off like Dee Brown on a fast break.

We snuck into a parking garage in downtown Dayton where we untied and stole a 10 foot long NCAA banner. We stuffed it into Jared's car and Dimitry wondered aloud, "who gets to keep it?" Jared and Kevin lived together, while Dimitry and I resided at the Cottage, a huge 8-man mansion we called home. "Well, let's go get another one offered up Jared.

At our second stop, the four of us swiped a low hanging sign, and we started the hi-fiving each other as we walked back to the car. All of a sudden we heard footsteps and then, "You, you there. Stop where you are."

We took off.

I dropped the sign, and we jumped into Jared's car. He threw it into reverse when we heard a sickening THUD. Our heads snapped around to see a lanky man in cowboy boots flying in slow motion through the air. 'Oh Shit' should have been stamped on all of our foreheads as we looked at each other dumbfounded. The hotel security guard had tried to jump on the car as we were making our getaway

We got out and saw that the man was OK. We knew that he was OK because he picked himself off the payment and screamed, "Get your asses inside. I'm calling the cops and charging you four w/trespassing." We contemplated another escape, but Zed (that's what we'll call him for dramatic purposes) said, "Don't even think about it. I have your license plate number."

We sat in the hotel lobby waiting for the police when Jared started to plead our case. "Sir, we're just fans who wanted a souvenir. It's not like we got drunk and decided to go steal something." I nearly lost it.

The police strode in and things immediately started to look up. "I hear that you boys have been very naughty," said one of the cops trying to contain his laughter. The police let us off with a warning, and as we left they said, "Go have some fun,"

We were all pretty pleased until Jared saw the trunk of his car. There was a huge dent from where Ned had jumped on trying to do his best MacGyver impersonation. We called over the police and Jared showed them what had happened.

"Pop the trunk and let’s see the damage. You might be able to file charges against the hotel."

At that point, we all realized that the first sign we stole was stashed in the trunk. We were about to be caught red handed.

"Uh, Uh...let's just forget it. I don't want to push our luck," Jared told the officers.

We drove back to the hotel relieved that there would not be any jail time and happy about the story we had to tell from our trip to Dayton.

The next day, Illinois defeated Charlotte to earn a trip the Sweet Sixteen and a meeting w/Kansas.

A month after the tournament was over, we were still telling our story to anybody who would listen, when Dimitry and I received a strange package in the mail with no return address. When we opened it, we found the very banner we tried to steal in Dayton. Attached to the sign was a note from the police.

Guys,

Sometimes its better to ask then to steal.

Officer Johnson and Officer Nadel.

I know that many of you have some great Illini memories, so please send them my way. I’d love to read them, and I may even publish them in my annual IGP Mail Bag Edition.

Game Analysis

The Nittany Lions - bad .

The Fighting Illini - good

Illinois - 79
Penn State - 60


Sincerely,

The Ghost of Illini Past