The two winningest players in Illinois basketball history made their leaps to the National Basketball Association on Wednesday when guard Dee Brown and forward James Augustine were selected in the second round of the NBA Draft in New York City.

Augustine was the first to be selected, taken No. 41 overall by the Orlando Magic. Five picks later, Brown was taken No. 46 by the Utah Jazz.

“For both Dee and James it’s not about where they got drafted in the second round but more who they got drafted by,” said Bruce Weber, Illinois head basketball coach. “They have to take advantage of their situations. This will be a great opportunity for Dee in Utah and the same for James in Orlando. Hopefully it works out for both of them.”

It took a little longer than Brown would have liked to hear his name called, but once he did, he didn’t care about having to wait.

“I wasn’t really too upset,” Brown said. “It’s a blessing to be in the situation I am right now. I have a positive attitude and outlook right now. This is a great opportunity for me. Utah has a great coach in Jerry Sloan. It’s an honor and a blessing to be able to go out there and get the chance to play with Utah.”

Brown, who finished his career at Illinois ranked third in scoring with 1,812 career points, will be reunited with his good friend and former teammate Deron Williams, who was drafted third overall in last season’s NBA Draft by Utah.

“Deron is my favorite player,” Brown said. “With him and me back together it’s exciting. Deron is like my brother so it is great to be able to go play with him. It’s a great opportunity for me and I’m lost for words to be able to be in the backcourt with him again.”

Augustine, who became the first player in Illini history to record more than 1,000 career points and 1,000 career rebounds this past season, was ironically drafted during a commercial during the draft that was broadcasted on ESPN.

“It’s pretty ironic because everything James did, he did quietly,” Weber said. “He did a 1,000-1,000 quietly, he won more games quietly and he was just a quiet guy. I called James right after and he wasn’t fazed by it and was just excited.”

Augustine will join college standout guard J.J. Reddick, who was selected 11th overall by the Magic.

“J.J. is a great player,” Augustine said. “He has done so much for college basketball and brings so much to the table, and to get the chance to play with him will be great. Orlando is a young team with a good nucleus. I think it is a good fit for me and I think I’ll fit in pretty well there.”

This is the second year in a row Illinois has had two players drafted in the NBA Draft.

Former Illinois guards Williams and Luther Head were drafter last year. Williams averaged 10.2 point per game and 4.5 assists per game in his rookie season after being taken third by the Jazz. Head was drafted No. 24 by the Houston Rockets and finished his rookie campaign averaging 8.8 points per game.

“You feel good for them and it’s great for out program,” Weber said. “A few second round players ended up getting guaranteed contract after last season’s draft. They just have to take that next step and I hope both situations work out for both of them.”

Italy’s Andrea Bargnani went first overall to the Toronto Raptors, Lamarcus Aldridge of Texas was selected by the Chicago Bulls with the second pick in the draft, but was then traded to the Portland Trailblazers for LSU’s Tyrus Thomas and Viktor Khryapa.

The Bulls also selected Memphis’ Rodney Carney with the 16th-pick but then traded him to Philadelphia for Thabo Sefolosha.

Other notable Big Ten draft picks were Michigan State’s Shannon Brown at No. 25 to the Cleveland Cavaliers, Maurice Ager at No. 28 to the Dallas Mavericks and Paul Davis at No. 34 to the Los Angles Clippers.

Now that the draft is over, both Brown and Augustine will head to their respective organizations and start preparing to make their teams rosters because they do not receive guaranteed contracts.

“It’s a relief this part is over,” Augustine said. “Right now I just have to start getting ready and get back in the gym and working out to get ready for summer league and stuff like that. But I’m happy the draft part is over and I can just go out and play basketball again.”