National Championship.

Bruce Weber, Dee Brown, Deron Williams and all of Champaign-Urbana dreams of Illinois walking out of St. Louis in April with a national title.

Seasons like this don’t come around every year. Well, at Illinois this is the third time in the last five years Illinois has had a legitimate shot at a national title during the season. But really, these seasons are rare – unless it’s Duke.

You never know when a team’s success will disappear. Or when a team will fall back to being JUST a Top 25 team – not a top five team.

It takes the right mix of talent, limited injuries, peaking at the right time and luck to be near a national title.

So my advice to you – enjoy this season, but don’t go overboard with it.

Don’t fret over each and every little detail. How does Oakland look this year? Would James Augustine play better after eating a ham or turkey sandwich? Will Warren Carter be the deciding factor against Chicago State?

It is Chicago State for crying out load.

As Ferris Bueller said: “Life moves pretty fast sometimes. If you don’t stop and look around every once in awhile you’re going to miss it.”

So watch the games. Go crazy that Wake Forest will be coming to Assembly Hall.

But when Luther Head makes an amazing dunk, take a moment to look around at Assembly Hall and see what everyone else does.

When Williams takes over a game and scores 30 points, take a moment to smile. Williams won’t be invincible every game – opponents hope.

Basketball seasons are long. One loss won’t ruin Illinois season. One win won’t make it either. Sit back enjoy the ride – that hopefully ends April 4th with Illinois the winners of the final game of the year.

You want to go crazy over every detail, wait until April 4th. Especially if it’s against Kansas.

Enjoy the issue.

Click here for stats, rosters, schedules and more…