Since before the season began, Illinois’ backcourt trio has been winning wide acclaim for its passing and outside shooting. Guards Dee Brown, Deron Williams and Luther Head are the combination coaches dream of – they work well together, complimenting each other’s strengths and reading one another as if they’d played together since preschool.

But in recent games, the invincible triplet has begun to falter ever so slightly. Individually, no one guard has dominated every game, but until Ohio State they always picked each other up. With the guards showing some signs of weakness, however, Illinois’ post players have had a vital opportunity to step up – and they’ve done just that.

In the Big Ten tournament, it was the frontcourt getting all the attention for a change. In two of the three games, Illinois’ scoring leader was a post player, as James Augustine had 15 points against Northwestern, and Roger Powell Jr. tucked away 15 in the championship against Wisconsin.

When Brown, Williams and Head only had 20 points between them against the Badgers – as a group they average 41.5 per game – Illinois needed just what Augustine and Powell were supplying.

“Coming into the end of the season, end of the conference season and even into the NCAA tournament, you kind of realize that we need a whole team effort,” Augustine said. “We can’t just have three guys show up or two guys; we need all five. Sometimes everybody’s not going to have their best games, but we need somebody to step up.”

Part of the problem may be that Illinois’ guards are just too easy to spot, single out and shut down. Each leads the team in an important area. Head averages 15.9 points per game. Brown is a close second, with 15 points per game and 28 steals this season. And Williams has those 107 assists on his resume.

The guards have certainly gotten their fair share of attention for all the success. Williams was named the Big Ten Preseason Player of the Year, while Brown got Big Ten Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year just last week. All three made first team All-Big Ten.

It’s enough to keep them at the center of opponent’s radar screens.

“People have extended to our guards, especially to Luther,” head coach Bruce Weber said. “Where earlier in the season maybe you put your best guard on Deron or Dee, as it progressed now they put their best defender on Luther and didn’t give him quite the easy open looks that he was getting, penetration, dishing it to him.”

It didn’t take long for Illinois to catch on that its guards were getting overplayed. Watching film, the team noticed that this created openings for the posts – and the Illini took advantage.

In the Big Ten tournament, Augustine and Powell each improved on their scoring averages from the regular season. Both upped their rebounding averages, too; Augustine tallied 10.3 boards per game (5.5 during the Big Ten season), and Powell averaged nine (6.9 in regular conference play).

“They’re so active; they’ve been very effective on the boards,” Weber said. “Even Roger, at Ohio State, even down the stretch here you can go back five or six games, he’s been very effective on the boards, the offensive glass, and that makes a big difference for our team.”

Both forwards have picked up their presence down low, and the two have learned to talk in the paint. The got-your-back attitude they approach games with keeps the pair ready for when the ball gets past Illinois’ guards.

“The biggest thing I do is I try to not let (the player I’m defending) catch the ball, because if he can’t get the ball then he can’t score,” Powell said. “If he catches the ball, a lot of times I’m trying to deny it so hard that I may give him a little angle, and that’s when James has to come in.”

While the backcourt gets all the headlines for its ball sharing and overall work ethic, the frontcourt has developed the same strengths over the last two seasons.

Now Augustine and Powell are getting a chance to prove that.

“Roger fights; he’s got some quickness, he uses his strength,” Weber said. “Then James is longer, has some pretty good athleticism. His lateral movement is very good for a big guy; he has good feet. Roger gets in a body fight and James is there to help.”

The timing couldn’t be better, either, as Illinois begins the most challenging segment of the season. With more games against less familiar teams, the NCAA Tournament will be a true test of the Illini’s depth.

Augustine and Powell say they’ll keep it up for these vital next few weeks. Brown, Williams and Head are looking to restore their consistency. If successful, the combination could mean good things for Illinois.

“It’s exciting, but everybody I think is a little anxious too,” Augustine said. “Just to find out what kind of team we are, I mean, this is what we’re made of. This is where teams find out what they’re about.”