As the decade draws to a close, the Post-Dispatch will look at 10 memorable moments for many of the area’s teams and events. As with any lists, they are purely subjective and a fun point of discussion. Feel free to add your own in the comments section of the blog.

 

Best game

No. 1 Ohio State was in position to take an undefeated record to the national championship game when the Illini visited the Horseshoe for a nationally televised game.

Juice Williams threw four touchdown passes for the first time as Illinois moved ahead 28-14 in the third quarter. Ohio State answered to make it 28-21.

The Illini then sealed the win by controlling the ball for the final 8 minutes 9 seconds. Juice Williams converted a fourth-and-1 in Illinois territory and ran for three first downs on third-down plays to run out the clock to position the Illini for a Rose Bowl bid.

Best athlete

Dee Brown started all but one game during his basketball career and finished No. 3 on the program's all-time scoring list with 1,812 points. Beyond the court, he was an ambassador for the school and became the most recognizable Illinois athlete of the decade.

His presence was greatest during the 2004-05 season when he made 43.4 percent of his 3-pointers and ignited the team's run to the Final Four.

Coach Bruce Weber once said: “He's helped us rise into a national name into that elite group. You just see his face all over the place and not just in Illinois or the Midwest. He has a national face.''

Biggest win

All seemed lost when Illinois trailed Arizona by 15 points with 4 minutes 4 seconds left in regulation in a regional championship game in 2005. That's when the Illini transformed the game into an NCAA Tournament classic.

Illinois rallied to force overtime as the three starting guards scored every point during a 20-5 run and then held on to beat the Wildcats 90-89. The win kept alive a run to the national title game where the Illini lost to North Carolina.

The Illini made 16 3-pointers that night at Allstate Arena in Chicago, including six during the regulation rally and overtime.

Biggest loss

There's no telling how bad things might have become had Penn State coach Joe Paterno not had some mercy on the Illini in the Nittany Lions 63-10 win in 2005. Penn State walked through the Illinois defense to build a 56-3 halftime lead.

First-year Illini coach Ron Zook would call this the low point for the program during a season that also included losses by scores of 61-14 and 40-2.

Ultimately it might have had some positive impact. The following day the Illini received a commitment from cornerback Vontae Davis, who reportedly told then-offensive coordinator Mike Locksley, “I know I can play here.''

Best performance

Juice Williams broke three stadium records for single-game total offense in 2008, but none was more impressive than his 431-yard effort in a 45-20 win at Michigan. He broke the record of 403 yards at Michigan Stadium, which opened in 1927.

Williams passed for 310 yards and ran for 121, marking the first time in Illinois history that a player topped 300 and 100 in the same game. He also accounted for four touchdowns, two on the ground and two through the air.

Williams also established marks that season for total yardage at the Edward Jones Dome in St. Louis and Memorial Stadium in Champaign.

Best recruit

Several players helped change the course of their respective programs, but the arrival of Deron Williams in 2002 and Rashard Mendenhall in 2005 were critical in transforming the basketball and football teams

Williams gained less attention than the flamboyant Brown, but he averaged 12.5 points, 6.8 assists and 3.6 rebounds in the Final Four season before being taken No. 3 overall in the 2005 NBA draft.

Mendenhall broke several school records in 2007 when he rushed for 1,681 yards and scored 19 touchdowns to lead Illinois to a Rose Bowl berth.

Best quote

Tired of hearing negative comparisons to former coach Bill Self, Bruce Weber arrived in the Illinois locker room in December 2003 wearing a black suit to address his team. He later talked about the moment.

“I told them before the game this was a funeral.I was coming to a funeral. It was the end of Bill Self.''

The diatribe had less to do with Self than it did some Illinois fans, who were relentless in their criticism during Weber's early days. The situation reached a boiling point when Illinois lost to Providence 70-51, and Weber cut loose after a 10-point win over Memphis.

Best hidden gem

The first thing people noticed about J Leman when he arrived in 2003 was his hair. Athletic ability was not abundant in the linebacker, whose only other scholarship offer came from Illinois State.

“People questioned my speed and said I wasn't that big,'' Leman said. “But there's some stuff you can't measure – effort, heart, the way you approach the game.''

When he left in 2007, Leman was a consensus All-American and a two-time All-Big Ten selection. He led the conference and was third in the country in tackles in 2006 and was third in the conference in 2007.

Biggest blunder

Fans were mystified by a scheduling oddity that landed the football team in Detroit on Nov. 8, 2008 for a nonconference game against a dangerous team from Western Michigan and in the Broncos' home state, no less.

The Illini were 5-4 at the time, one win short of becoming bowl eligible. But a late rally fell short in a 23-17 loss, and Illinois lost the next two games to pull off the improbable feat of going from the Rose Bowl to no bowl.

More confusion followed in 2009 when the Illini schedule concluded with two nonconference games, including a bye week.

Best moment

Illinois was in heaven when it hopped a bus for the third consecutive week to travel to the 2005 Final Four at the Edward Jones Dome in St. Louis. The trip capped a season in which the Illini were ranked No. 1 nearly throughout.

They arrived in St. Louis with a chance to break the NCAA record for most wins in a season. The Illini beat Louisville in the semifinals to improve to 37-1.

But after wiping out a 15-point deficit to tie North Carolina late in the championship game, Luther Head missed a 3-pointer that would have forced overtime.