O’Donnell: Celebrating the 2004-05 Fighting Illini
FINAL FOURS MAY COME AND FINAL FOURS MAY GO, but memories of Bruce Weber and the 2004-05 Fighting Illini might go on forever.
Twenty years ago today — April 2, 2005 — that eternally entertaining ensemble reached the apex of its unforgettable season with a 72-57 win over Rick Pitino and Louisville in an NCAA men’s basketball semifinal at the Edward Jones Dome in St. Louis.
There were Deron Williams and Dee Brown weaving up there and Luther Head flaring out from there and Roger Powell Jr. and James Augustine ball screening down there.
EVERYWHERE IN THE AIR was victory. Two days later, those No. 1 Illini would take a 37-1 mark into the national championship game against Roy Williams and No. 3 North Carolina (31-4).
Tucked inside Sean May and Rashard McCants (and later Marvin Williams), Augustine would draw three quick fouls, a fact that still grates many Orange Krushed to this day.
Weber's rotation was altered but Illinois tried to hang tough. Jack Ingram turned in heroic minutes in place of Augustine.
STILL, THE TAR HEELS LED 40-27 at the half and maintained a 65-55 lead well into the second 20 minutes.
Finally, with 2:40 remaining, a 3 by Head tied the game at 70-70.
But the final bounces favored NC. Williams tipped in a miss and Raymond Felton pilfered the ball from Head. One free throw made it 73-70. Head then failed on perhaps the most dramatic 3 try in the history of Illinois basketball.
North Carolina won, 75-70.
THE DEFEAT CAPPED A SEASON in which every Illinois game became an event, and not just in the Chicago-to-Champaign corridor.
From a Dec. 1 match vs. Chris Paul and Wake Forest in Champaign, ESPN or one of its platforms televised 17 of 25 games that pushed the Illini to a 29-0 mark.
Dick Vitale worked a few for the cable giant. But its primary broadcast crew was Brent Musburger, Steve Lavin and a 26-year-old sideline reporter in her first full year with ESPN named Erin Andrews.
Sitting next to Andrews or near her on press row, one impression was unmistakable — this young journalist is going to be a star.
THE UNDEFEATED HOPES OF WEBER AND HIS STARS were stymied four weeks before their weekend under the Gateway Arch. That happened in Columbus, on a flat Sunday afternoon, when a chorus liner named Matt Sylvester drilled a 3 at the end for Thad Matta's Buckeyes to down Illinois 65-64.
Sylvester later summarized the 2004-05 Illini with an observation that may stand for the Orange ages:
“They were such a beautiful team to watch. They played the game the right way. They shared the ball, they played smart defense and every game, they wanted to bury you. I still can't believe we beat them that day. ”
IN A SEASON FILLED WITH ceaselessly heightening national expectations, those Illini came within a total of three playing minutes of finishing an astonishing 39-0.
Weber was a saint throughout. Some of the players had minor media quirks, but so what? Unsung hero of it all for the university was assistant sports info director Derrick Burson, now the school's assistant athletic director/communication.
It was the kind of season that could make a spoiled NBA writer jolt into the realization that there is fulfilling basketball theater after the prime of Mr. Michael Jordan.
STREET-BEATIN':
Tip times for the fresh Final Four Saturday from San Antonio: Florida (-2 ½) vs. Auburn, 5:09 p.m., CBS; Duke (-4 ½) vs. Houston, 7:49 p.m., CBS. Thankfully, Ian Eagle, Bill Raftery and Grant Hill call both games. Eagle and Raftery picked up large legacy points for noting the “Willis Reed” aura around the second-half return of Auburn star Johni Broome against Michigan State on Sunday. …
The venerable Ted Koppel opened Jane Pauley's “CBS News Sunday Morning” with an earnest piece on the serious downside of excessive gambling. Full reality: Once corporations stepped into ownership of Vegas casinos way back when, power, imaging and influence greatly expanded on the already odds-favoring house side. And the impaired psychology of the addict goes far beyond mere money. …
That said, Chris Fallica of Vegas Stats and Info (vsin.com) reports: “In 2008, the only other time when all four one seeds reached the Final Four, neither semifinal was decided by fewer than 15 points. Favored Memphis beat UCLA by 15 and Kansas upset UNC, winning by 18 as a three-point dog.” …
Less than one full week into the “domestic” MLB season, the biggest thing Craig Counsell and the Cubs may have going for them in the NL Central is the terrible pitching of Milwaukee. The Brewers gave up 47 runs en route to an 0-4 start, including an 11-1 suds-sacker against the Royals on Monday. …
ESPN held a media Zoom call about the upcoming Masters featuring Andy North, Curtis Strange and Scott Van Pelt. The result was about as exciting as picking the bread crusts off pimento cheese sandwiches at Augusta. Hearing “Favorite Installation Tales” by Geek Squad vets from a Best Buy would have been more engaging. The post-Tiger event catches a break because so many LIV golfers will start. …
And from JD Vercett, the Chicago SportsPhone Hall of Famer: “The White Sox opened better than their 'Beat-the-Mets' pace of 2024. Maybe Billy Donovan can switch over to keep it going.”
Jim O'Donnell's Sports and Media column appears each week on Sunday and Wednesday. Reach him at jimodonnelldh@yahoo.com. All communications may be considered for publication.