{"id":186015,"date":"2025-08-30T01:11:08","date_gmt":"2025-08-30T01:11:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/186015\/"},"modified":"2025-08-30T01:11:08","modified_gmt":"2025-08-30T01:11:08","slug":"notes-04-05-illinois-basketball-reunites-at-football-season-opener-sports","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/186015\/","title":{"rendered":"Notes: ’04-05 Illinois basketball reunites at football season opener | Sports"},"content":{"rendered":"

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CHAMPAIGN \u2014 An impressive crowd filled Memorial Stadium on Friday night for Illinois football\u2019s season opener against Western Illinois. <\/p>\n

Not one of the multiple sellouts already on the books this season, but still impressive.<\/p>\n

A crowd that produced one of its biggest pops during the first timeout of the first quarter. Not for what was happening between the Illini and Leathernecks on the heels of a turnover on downs by WIU, but for the 2004-05 Illinois men\u2019s basketball team back together at its old stomping grounds for the first time in 20 years.<\/p>\n

Safe to say their accomplishments \u2014 a second straight Big Ten title, national runner-up finish and an eye-popping 37-2 record \u2014 still resonate with the Illinois fan base.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe love is strong, but I get it,\u201d former Illinois forward Roger Powell Jr. said. \u201cI\u2019m coaching at (Valparaiso), and I\u2019ve got Illini fans at my games. Everywhere I\u2019ve been, they love us.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think they love us because, obviously we all stuck together, and we did something special. My team, I told them where I was coming. I said, \u2018Guys, we want to bring you back to Valpo because you\u2019ve done something special.\u2019 If you do something special \u2014 if you grind together and you win \u2014 fans appreciate you. That\u2019s what we did, and it\u2019s a blessing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dee Brown put it simply. Win at Illinois and \u201cyou become a rock star.\u201d The former Illini guard, who was the Sporting News National Player of the Year in 2005, certainly qualified for rock star status.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe appreciated the love,\u201d Brown said. \u201cWe never took it for granted. It made us work even harder once we saw the look and the vibe of Champaign and how everybody just took to winning. It was an awesome feeling. You wanted to keep going to the gym and working on your craft to make sure you were still winning.\u201d<\/p>\n

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There were only two blemishes on that 2004-05 season \u2014 a home loss to Ohio State in the regular-season finale and the national championship loss to North Carolina.<\/p>\n

James Augustine hears about the latter. A lot. The former Illinois forward fouled out having played just nine minutes against the Tar Heels. A game Augustine said he hasn\u2019t watched in the last two decades.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt the beginning, it was kind of difficult to get over it,\u201d Augustine said. \u201cIt\u2019s not the best time of your life where you\u2019re in the biggest game of your life and you foul out.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bruce Weber contends Illinois \u201cwas the better team,\u201d and the former Illini coach would have liked to see Augustine on the court more in that 75-70 loss. Weber said he tries not to complain about the officials but …<\/p>\n

\u201cI will tell this story,\u201d Weber said. \u201cI got thousands of letters and emails. I opened up a big envelope and it was a picture of a toilet. I was like, \u2018What the heck is this? I\u2019ve got to read this letter.\u2019<\/p>\n

\u201cThe letter said, \u2018Look at the toilet closer. There\u2019s a gold plaque with the names of the three officials on the toilet.\u2019 She said, \u2018Every time I go to take a you-know-what I think of those three officials, and I will always do that.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

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Deron Williams has made a couple trips back to Champaign during Brad Underwood\u2019s tenure as coach and keeps abreast of what the Illini have accomplished.<\/p>\n

\u201cI love Brad as a person, and I think he\u2019s a phenomenal coach,\u201d Williams said. \u201cI\u2019ve had the chance to see him in practice situations and, obviously, see him in games. I think he\u2019s doing a phenomenal. He hasn\u2019t gotten over that hump yet making an impact in the NCAA tournament, but he\u2019s right there knocking on the door. In today\u2019s age with the turnover of talent, it\u2019s about getting hot and staying healthy and getting the right breaks at the right time.\u201d<\/p>\n

What Williams can\u2019t really do is compare the current Illini to his team. College basketball is simply too different two decades later.<\/p>\n

\u201cSome of these guys are probably making more than I did in my rookie season,\u201d Williams joked, referencing the massive name, image and likeness deals now commonplace. \u201c I had a baby at 18. Dee did, too. We were surviving on $180 after we paid our rent. We were a little hungrier than some of these guys. That\u2019s the biggest difference.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know if it\u2019s a good thing or a bad thing. It\u2019s a good thing because I could have used it, for sure, but part of what got me to where I was was the struggle. My junior year I had a baby, my now ex-wife was living with me and she had a job here nannying. We could have used that money.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Underwood and Bret Bielema connect on the phone frequently. Mostly because their schedules are basically polar opposites. But there\u2019s a level of respect between the Illinois men\u2019s basketball and football coaches that has developed a strong bond since Bielema arrived in Champaign in December 2020.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s amazing how much we think alike,\u201d said Underwood, who was at Memorial Stadium on Friday night both for the Illinois football opener and the return of the 2004-05 Illini basketball team.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe just gets to do it with pads and outdoors, and I get to do it indoors,\u201d Underwood continued about Bielema. \u201cThe mentality, the characteristics, he\u2019s instilling are the things that I value. … He\u2019s won Big Ten championships (at Wisconsin). We\u2019ve won Big Ten championships. We just keep striving to find the next level of greatness. I appreciate that about him. Couldn\u2019t be any more happy for what they have going right now, which is a very good football team.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Phil Simms got a chance to spend time with Luke Altmyer this week in the lead up to Friday night\u2019s season opener against Western Illinois. The two-time Super Bowl champ was on the call for Peacock, and a sit-down with the Illinois quarterback was part of his pregame preparation.<\/p>\n

Simms, who spent 14 seasons in the NFL with the New York Giants, came away impressed by the Illini quarterback.<\/p>\n

\u201cToo hard on himself,\u201d Simms said was part of his impression of Altmyer. \u201cHe was talking about 2023. Well, hell, those are gone. Well-mannered, down-to-earth kid. … Everybody was very complimentary of Luke. You know why? He\u2019s very understated to be a star quarterback. There\u2019s nothing worse than a star quarterback who thinks he\u2019s a star quarterback. You got me?<\/p>\n

\u201cI thought he really did a good job last year. He\u2019s tough. He throws the ball well. He told me he thinks he throws it better now and had worked on some stuff. He gained some weight, so that made him stronger. If you get stronger, you\u2019re going to throw it harder, and I\u2019m sure that will come in handy for him.\u201d<\/p>\n

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That Altmyer is in his third season working with Illinois offensive coordinator Barry Lunney Jr. was something Simms called \u201ca miracle\u201d in this era of college football. The continuity within the program from last year\u2019s 10-win season and Citrus Bowl win has helped fuel the interest and expectations for the Illini heading into the 2025 season.<\/p>\n

\u201cExpectations are not high, they\u2019re extremely high,\u201d Simms said. \u201cIf they finish 10-3, it\u2019s going to be a disappointment. You can\u2019t say that too often about a team anywhere at any level, but they did 10-3 last year and they improved the team. Expectations go up.\u201d<\/p>\n

SCOTT RICHEY<\/p>\n