Frozen in my seat at the Edward Jones Dome last Monday night following the title game, I was overwhelmed with a feeling of sadness.

And it wasn’t only because the Illini couldn’t end the year with a win, the fact that I was noticeably absent from the “One Shining Moment” montage on CBS, or that Ashley Judd cheers for Kentucky instead of Carolina and therefore was not present in St. Louis.

The sadness originated from the thinking that I had attended my last game as a student, and that college basketball venues around the country would be vacant until November.

Suffice it to say, it has been a long week of reflecting on the glorious 2004-2005 college basketball season, where seemingly the entire country got a taste of Champaign.

One reflection worth noting around here is this: The statements made this year by the 1989 “Flyin’ Illini” will never be forgotten. Please throw out your ’89 Final Four T-shirts and posters and replace them with those of the ’05 variety.

Members of the ’89 team decided that it would be a good idea in the middle of a run to the national title game to express their feelings that they could beat Luther, Deron, Dee and Co.

“The Flyin’ Illini baby, all day long,” said Stephen Bardo, guard on the ’89 squad and current broadcaster. “Our athleticism and size in the backcourt would have been the difference.”

“I think we would have run them over,” chimed in Kendall Gill.

Kenny Battle suggested that the ’05 Illini lacked flair. That’s funny, it seems to me that the flair of Dee Brown, on and off the court, captivated the country and landed him on the cover of Sports Illustrated.

More than 16 years later, I can’t help but disagree with Bardo, Gill and Battle. They were great; but this team was greater.

As Athletic Director Ron Guenther so eloquently put it at the Memorial Stadium rally, this year’s group was the best Illinois basketball team of all time.

Talking about a head-to-head match up between the ’89 and ’05 teams is worthless, simply because it isn’t happening.

I don’t know if a healthy Luther Head could have shut down Nick Anderson, and frankly I don’t care.

You have to measure the two teams by how they took advantage of their one year in the national spotlight.

This squad advanced further in the tournament than any other Illinois team in history. They were ranked No. 1 in the nation longer than any other team in Illini history.

The Flyin’ Illini were at the top of the nation’s rankings for about as long as it takes Dee to go end-to-end on a fast break.

Getting to the Final Four was a tremendous feat. However, once there, they lost to a Michigan team that they had beaten twice before in the regular season.

The members of that ’89 team have all had their 15 years of fame in this area – and some even experienced 15 minutes of fame in the NBA.

The accomplishments of the ’89 squad should be respected. But their 15 years in the Illini spotlight is up.