From the bench: A student-manager’s view of the 2004-05 Illini
By Sean Neumann
March 17, 2015
Crossing the Mississippi River, the St. Louis Gateway Arch began to peak over I-70. To anyone else at that moment, it was just a monument. But to the Illinois basketball team, watching the 630-foot symbol rise from the river’s western bank, it meant a dream accomplished. “There’s the arch!” D...
Illinois basketball has come a long way since 2005
March 17, 2015
When you’re young, you rarely think long-term. I grew up in a golden era of Illinois basketball in the late 1990s and early 2000s, when Big Ten titles and NCAA tournament appearances were the norm. I didn’t associate Illinois basketball with anything other than success, since it had been good for...
Illinois vs. Arizona: 10 years later
March 17, 2015
It was truly a magical season: a 29-0 start, a No. 1 ranking for 15 straight weeks, a Big Ten championship and a Final Four appearance. Illinois fans still want to talk about the 2004-05 Illini. Luther Head, Dee Brown, Deron Williams. 37-2, NCAA runner-up. Until the Illini win a national title — i...
Where are they now: 2004-05 Illini basketball players and coaches
March 17, 2015
It has been an eventful 10 years since the 2004-05 Illinois men’s basketball team made it to the NCAA championship game. Much has changed at Illinois in those 10 years. But what have the players and coaches from that year’s team been up to since then? Dee Brown No. 11 guard Brown was drafte...
