Let the games begin. The long-anticipated start to the Illini season is almost under way. The faithful hope this year will culminate with nets being cut in St. Louis. And the season is right around the corner.

Delaware State comes into Assembly Hall tonight at 7:00 p.m. to kick off what promises to be an exciting season of basketball in Champaign. The Hornets, out of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference, are coming off of a 13-15 record in 2003-04. They are led by senior forward Terrance Hunter, a preseason first team conference selection who averaged 12.6 points per game last year.

Bruce Weber, who recently underwent surgery on his appendix, was back at practice on Wednesday. He expects an up-tempo game featuring various scramble and press defensive looks from Delaware State, and anticipates the challenge of playing at a hectic pace.

“I think it’s good for us,” Weber said. It’s something we don’t usually do, so it gives us a chance to go up against that. I think it’s good to play different styles; if you don’t prepare now, you’re not going to be ready later on.”

As so-called tune-up games come and go early in the schedule, preparation and focus hold great importance for Illinois, which is why Weber attended practice just hours after being released from the hospital. A grounded Weber took as much command as possible and trusted his assistants to put in the necessary extra work.

“We had a couple more things we wanted to put in this week,” Weber said. “(That is) the main reason I came back yesterday. We have been working with Delaware State for three weeks now, so we should be OK. We have talked to our players about discipline and focus. You prepared for 20-plus days and you hope that you have enough in the system that you can go up against whatever they throw at us.”

As seen across the country during the past week of college basketball, highly touted teams have struggled out of the gate to put away inferior opponents. For the Illini, this game and the few following will be a good gauge for how far the team has come in the three weeks since practice began and what needs to be addressed before facing a brutal non-conference schedule and the always-difficult gauntlet of Big Ten match-ups.

Weber realizes what lies ahead for his team, but operates under the cliche that the season must be handled one game at a time.

“It’s a tough week of practice,” Weber said. “Guys are like, ‘Oh, we’re doing that drill again.’ Yes, we are doing that drill again so we can get better and have good habits.”

No matter which challenge presents itself from week to week, one fact remains: The Illini control their own destiny against their first opponent. One common sentiment of both players and coaches on the expectations and tests that will be ushered in with the season opener is best expressed by junior guard Dee Brown.

“I usually just think about

Illinois.”