For the second straight year, the No. 1 team in the nation came into the Assembly Hall. True, Illinois Wesleyan had a little less decoration than last year’s Wake Forest team. Being Division-III counts against its credit, but to its credit, Wake was disposed of easier than the mighty mighty Titans.

That’s a sign of the times, things done changed. For as long as I have been associated with the Illinois basketball program, the nucleus was Luther, Roger, Deron, Dee and James. You don’t need their last names, and you know exactly who I’m talking about, only 40 percent of my familiarity is left. A lot of fans who made it down for the first exhibition game probably had to spend a few minutes memorizing the new faces.

ÿI will never say that last year became dull, it was among the greatest college basketball seasons ever, but I will admit it became repetitive. The Illini were going to win, probably by a lot, and the starters would be doing the wave with about 10 minutes to go. It was a great year, but Illinois tilled the soil, and with the exception of Augi and Dee, we are in for something completely new. Who knows what to expect? Can we win the Big Ten? How long can we dance come March?

ÿInstead of watching our juggernaut make every team look Division-III, we have our chance to watch the maturing of a young and malleable team, and I’m excited. There are so many questions to be answered, and Weber has been anxious to get his No. 2 pencil and break the seal to his greatest test. How many answers did he fill in on Thursday? Maybe a couple, but probably none acceptable enough for the returning National Coach of the Year. He is going to have fun with this one.

Weber said that of course he would rather have a preseason national contender, who could deliver a record 37 wins, but playing Dr. Frankenstein is something he looks forward to.

Against Illinois Wesleyan, we got our initial glance at the pieces he’ll be looking to bond together.

We saw plenty of positives; James Augustine looking to become a force inside and on the break. Jamar Smith doing a lot to earn valuable minutes and Shaun Pruitt looking aggressive.

We saw plenty of negatives; Illinois only lead 37-31 at halftime. For the most part, the offense didn’t look comfortable outside of the break and our preseason defensive expectations may take time.

But I regress. I’m excited, I want to see what Weber can do. For all the recruiting knocks (I like Jamar, Chester and C.J.), it’s this part of his coaching resume that made him such an appealing choice.

The players that were the face of Illinois are now reaping their NBA benefits. Is Deron the first point guard off the board without Weber? Does Luther find the straight and narrow and become the first pick of the Rockets? What Bruce Almighty did with last year’s Illinois team is in the books, what he will do with this one remains to be seen.

Adrenal glands = fully open.

Ian Gold is a senior in Communications. He can be reached at [email protected].