I felt a strange sense of irony Saturday as I watched Illinois lose to Wisconsin then went home, turned on WGN, and saw Dee Brown and Deron Williams continue their winning ways at the United Center.

The two games, played within hours of each other, confirmed the nagging feeling I had been wrestling with most of this season. It’s something I ragged on other reporters for constantly bringing up, but suddenly found myself acutely aware of it.

This is a new era of Illini basketball.

I realized this on Friday as Jamar Smith stood on the three-point arc at Assembly Hall and explained to a group of reporters how his ankles were affecting his jump shot. I realized it as Shaun Pruitt led the Illini with 19 points against the Badgers, marking the 12th time this season a big man has been the team’s top scorer. And I definitely felt it as the United Center crowd warmly welcomed two of their own home again.

Yup, the age of the backcourt is busted.

The way I see it, Illinois cannot drop one more home game if they want to make the tournament. On top of that, two or three road wins are mandatory for being part of the big dance. But that isn’t news to anybody. We all know the pressure’s on.

The key to putting the pieces together is going to be getting the ball inside. Enough of this three-point nonsense. Jamar, Trent and Chester can shoot when they’re open. Rich can drain threes when he’s on fire. But Illinois needs to stop forcing long-range shots. It needs to stop acting like the backcourt is still the team’s strength.

They know that, too, and nobody’s pretending the alumni will magically appear, suit up and come back for more. For one thing, the NCAA hates Illinois too much to let that happen. For another, scholarships don’t match up to NBA salaries.

So Illinois needs to learn to exploit the players it has.

“This is a new team. We’ve just got to find ways to win with who we’ve got,” Frazier said after Saturday’s loss. “People get hurt in the NBA, you lose guys in the NBA, too. You’ve got to find ways to win with who you have.”

Exactly. So stop trying to be Dee. Be Chester. Play to your own strengths. Chester is one of the better ball handlers I’ve watched, he’s got an ability to see the court that is a rare asset, and he needs to play to his own strengths. The whole team needs to play to its strengths.

I’m not saying that on Saturday the Illini fired missed three after missed three, although it started to feel that way in the second half. Illinois actually had more success from behind the arc than Wisconsin did; the Illini connected on 6-of-19 shooting from a distance, while the Badgers made only 3-of-16 long shots.

But in the end, when it mattered, Illinois tossed up frantic long looks, praying the ball would magically fall through the hoop. And last year, it might have. Two years ago, I have no doubt. But Saturday was “Paint the Hall Orange” and Dee Brown and Deron Williams were wearing navy, if you get my point.

Wisconsin won because its senior stars took smarter shots. Period. When Illinois took a late lead, the Badgers did not panic. They did not become frantic.

“We didn’t try to get every point back in one possession,” Wisconsin’s Alando Tucker, who had 17 points, said after the game. “We took it one play at a time.”

Illinois needs to learn to take it one play at a time. It needs to learn to feed the ball inside – without turning it over – and chip away at leads the way Wisconsin did.

Look at the way Illinois’ bigs seem successful game after game. Brian Randle is recovering nicely, and has had strong performances lately. Warren Carter is starting to look like that leader Bruce Weber is begging for. And Pruitt finds new ways to get to the basket every time he’s on the court.

Remember how Bruce Weber held a “funeral” for the Bill Self era? Maybe it’s time for a funeral for the Dee, Deron and Luther era. Yao Ming could preside. Jerry Sloan could give a eulogy.

The problem is, Illinois doesn’t have time to keep mourning. It’s time to make a change.

Courtney Linehan is a graduate student in communications. She can be reached at [email protected].