Memory Lane: Orange & Blue Scrimmage in '04

Remember 2004-05: Midnight Madness

EACH WEEK, WE'LL TAKE A LOOK BACK AT A MEMORABLE MOMENT IN ILLINI HISTORY, THANKS TO THE WORDS OF THE NEWS-GAZETTE

This week: In our continuing series on the five-year anniversary of the 2004-05 Final Four Illini, a look at the Orange & Blue Scrimmage that drew 7,200 fans and the best sophomore in the land, Derrick Rose.

Date: Oct. 30, 2004

Headline: Illinois' balance has Weber beaming

CHAMPAIGN — You put the All-Big Ten backcourt on one side in an intrasquad scrimmage, and it's supposed to cruise.

So in the last of three 10-minute Orange and Blue scrimmages Saturday night, an Orange team featuring Dee Brown and Deron Williams - the 2003 and 2004 preseason Big Ten players of the year - should've cruised, right?

Wrong.

"They lost - that was great," Illinois coach Bruce Weber said. "That was because I coached on the other end, and we won."

Why shouldn't Weber crack jokes?

After three scrimmages Saturday, he was in a smiling mood. His team might not have put forth as much defensive effort as he'd like, but the Illini looked smooth offensively, and some of his overshadowed players stepped into the limelight.

In the three games - in between which players shifted teams and the scoreboard was reset - Luther Head totaled 27 points and 11 assists. Brian Randle had 15 points and three steals. Rich McBride netted 20 points on 6-for-7 three-point shooting.

Williams (team highs of 29 points and 14 assists) and Brown (23 points, four assists and few noticeable effects from the calf and groin injuries slowing him last week) had their moments, too.

But they teamed up once, and they lost 35-33 to a Blue team featuring Head, Randle, McBride, Roger Powell Jr. and Shaun Pruitt.

Surprising? Maybe to outsiders. It's become old hat to the guys in the Nikes.

"In the last game, they had Jack (Ingram), Nick (Smith), Dee and Deron on the same team, and you'd think that team would just beat up on everybody," said James Augustine, who sat out most of the day after spraining an ankle early. "But we're so balanced this year. Last year, you had the scout team, and they would compete every once in a while. Now it's every day. The scout team is just as good as the first string."

Not that those roles have been defined.

Conventional wisdom says Brown, Williams, Head, Augustine and Powell will start.

But conventional wisdom doesn't fill out the lineup card.

With less than a week before Illinois' first exhibition game, there's playing time up for grabs.

And that's just how Weber wants it.

"Some kid and some mom and dad are going to be mad at me (about playing time)," Weber said. "But it's up to them to earn time and work their butts off and be ready because we have competition."

Consider Randle, who Weber called "maybe the biggest surprise" of the preseason. He averaged 11.1 minutes a game as a freshman, plagued by inconsistent outside shooting and roller-coaster confidence.

Now, as a sophomore, Randle is arguably the most improved player on the court, and he's pushing for extra clock.

"(The backups) are going hard," Randle said. "We want playing time, too. We want to compete. We're going to come hard at (the first string), and they're going to come hard at us."

It showed Saturday.

The afternoon's second scrimmage, a 31-22 win for the Orange in which Head scored 14 points, was the most lopsided of the day. The Orange won the first 23-20 and lost the third 35-33.

The Illini put on a show for the 7,200 fans at the Assembly Hall.

But that's not who they were trying to impress.

"It's an audition for (the coaches)," Weber said. "We want to see who can do stuff. Who's learned? Who's gotten better? Who can play with lights (on), with people in the stands? It's for us, and at the same time it's a sneak preview for the fans."

The featured attraction gets under way in less than three weeks, when Illinois hosts Delaware State in the Nov. 19 regular season opener.

Until then, don't expect the competition to ease up for anyone.

"I think (more than playing time), the main thing for us is improvement," Randle said. "Top 5, No. 1, whatever you want to call us, we've got a lot to live up to for our fans as well as ourselves. We're trying to go hard in practice and carry that over to the court."

– Visiting hours. Derek Rose, the Simeon guard who's ranked the nation's top sophomore basketball player, took in Saturday's scrimmage, and he wasn't alone.

Illinois also hosted Charles Jackson, a wide-bodied 6-foot-8 senior power forward from Georgia. Jackson was on his official recruiting visit, and Rose was on an unofficial trip.

Also visiting unofficially: Mike Conley Jr., a junior point guard from Lawrence North High in Indianapolis. The son of the triple-jump great made the visit without teammate and friend Greg Oden. Oden, a junior, is the consensus No. 1 player in high school basketball. He opted out of a possible visit in favor of a Halloween party.

Orange & Blue stats

Cumulative stats from Saturday's Orange and Blue Scrimmage:

James Augustine 1-2 0-0 2, Roger Powell Jr. 5-9 2-3 12, Jack Ingram 5-9 1-2 11, Luther Head 12-15 1-1 27, Dee Brown 8-15 2-2 23, Calvin Brock 1-4 0-0 2, Rich McBride 7-9 0-0 20, Fred Nkemdi 0-0 0-0 0, Brian Randle 6-10 3-4 15, Marcus Arnold 4-6 0-0 8, Nick Smith 2-5 0-1 4, Shaun Pruitt 3-4 1-2 7, Warren Carter 3-8 0-0 6, Deron Williams 11-14 0-0 29. Totals 68-110 10-15 164.

Three-point field goals: 18-33 (Powell 0-4, Head 2-4, Brown 3-9, Brock 0-1, McBride 6-7, Williams 7-8). Rebounds: 43 (Brock 7). Assists: 38 (Williams 12). Steals: 10 (Randle 3). Attendance: 7,200.

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