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Rosters Set for A Night of Legends Alumni Basketball Game
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Deron Williams returns to campus to participate in A Night of Legends alumni game Saturday at 7 p.m.
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Sept. 11, 2008
Champaign, Ill. - Ten Fighting Illini who played in the NCAA Final Four and 21 who won Big Ten Championships are among the 31 former players planning to attend A Night of Legends alumni basketball game, Saturday at 7 p.m. at the Assembly Hall. In addition, legendary head coach Lou Henson and long-time assistant coach Jimmy Collins have been named honorary coaches for the event.
Tickets for Saturday's alumni game are $15 each and are on sale online or through the UI Athletics Ticket Office by phone at 217-333-3470 or 1-866-ILLINI-1, or in person at the Assembly Hall North Box Office. The Assembly Hall North Ticket Office also will be selling alumni game tickets on Saturday prior to and following the Illinois home football game vs. Louisiana-Lafayette. The ticket office will remain open from the conclusion of the football game until A Night of Legends.
Henson spent 21 years in charge of the Fighting Illini and is the winningest coach in school history with 423 victories. Collins spent 13 years as Henson's assistant from 1984-96 and is now entering his 13th year as head coach at UIC.
Collins will coach the "Blue" roster, which is headlined by four of the five starters from Illinois' 2005 National Runner-Up squad. Deron Williams, Dee Brown, Luther Head and Roger Powell will serve as honorary captains for the Blue team.
Henson will handle coaching duties for the "White" roster, which features six of the top seven players from the Flyin' Illini squad that reached the 1989 Final Four. Nick Anderson, Kenny Battle, Kendall Gill, Stephen Bardo, Marcus Liberty and Larry Smith all are scheduled to attend and will serve as honorary captains for the White team.
Rounding out the rosters are former Illini who cover the last 12 years. Brian Cook, Frank Williams, Kiwane Garris, Cory Bradford, Jerry Hester, Sergio McClain, Lucas Johnson, Marcus Griffin, Bryant Notree, Jelani Boline and current Illinois assistant coach Jerrance Howard are on the White team, while Kevin Turner, Jarrod Gee, Nate Mast, Joe Cross, Chris Hicks, Arias Davis, Herb Caldwell, Rich Beyers, Brett Melton and current Illinois director of basketball operations Sean Harrington are on the Blue team.
Assembly Hall doors open at 6 p.m. and the entire 2008-09 Fighting Illini men's basketball team will be on-hand to sign autographs before the game at various entrances. The game will consist of two 15-minute halves with videos of some of the greatest moments in UI history shown at timeouts. Halftime will feature a tribute to Oympic gold medalist Deron Williams and Managing Director of the USA Basketball Men's Senior National Team Jerry Colangelo. At the conclusion of the game, there will be a video commemorating the 30 Illinois players selected to have their jerseys honored followed by the official unveiling of the banners.
The Big Ten Network is producing a 90-minute television special covering A Night of Legends that will air on Tuesday, Sept. 16, at 6:30 p.m. Following the alumni basketball game, the BTN will air back-to-back episodes of Illinois Football: The Journey, beginning at 8 p.m.
Alumni Game Rosters
Blue Team Coach: Jimmy Collins, Assistant Coach, 1984-96 No. Name Pos. Years 4 Luther Head * G 2002-05 43 Roger Powell * F 2002-05 5 Deron Williams * G 2003-05 11 Dee Brown * G 2003-06 42 Herb Caldwell F 1996-97 44 Rich Beyers F 1998 32 Jarrod Gee F 1995-98 33 Kevin Turner G 1995-98 3 Arias Davis G 1998-99 5 Nate Mast G 1999-2001 12 Joe Cross G 2000-01 00 Brett Melton G 2001 24 Sean Harrington G 2000-03 2 Chris Hicks G 2006-08 * - honorary captain, 2005 Final Four team memberWhite Team Coach: Lou Henson, Head Coach, 1976-96 No. Name Pos. Years 25 Nick Anderson * F 1988-89 33 Kenny Battle * F 1988-89 35 Stephen Bardo * G 1987-90 13 Kendall Gill * G 1987-90 30 Marcus Liberty * F 1989-90 23 Larry Smith * G 1987-89, 91 22 Kiwane Garris G 1994-97 25 Bryant Notree G 1995-97 40 Jerry Hester F 1994-96, 98 10 Jelani Boline G 1997-98 40 Sergio McClain G 1998-2001 52 Marcus Griffin C 2000-01 13 Cory Bradford G 1999-2002 22 Lucas Johnson F 1999-2002 30 Frank Williams G 2000-02 34 Brian Cook F 2000-03 25 Jerrance Howard G 2001-04 * - honorary captain, 1989 Final Four team member
Complete List of Illinois Men's Basketball Honored Jerseys Name Years Pos. Hometown Ray Woods 1915-17 G Evanston, Ill. Chuck Carney 1920-22 F Evanston, Ill. Bill Hapac 1938-40 F Chicago, Ill. Andy Phillip 1942-43, 47 F Granite City, Ill. Gene Vance 1942-43, 47 G Clinton, Ill. Walt Kirk 1944-45, 47 G Mt. Vernon, Ill. Dike Eddleman 1947-49 F Centralia, Ill. Bill Erickson 1947-50 G Rockford, Ill. Don Sunderlage 1949-51 G Elgin, Ill. Rod Fletcher 1950-52 G Champaign, Ill. John "Red" Kerr 1952-54 C Chicago, Ill. Jerry Colangelo 1960-62 G Chicago Heights, Ill. Dave Downey 1961-63 F Canton, Ill. Skip Thoren 1963-65 C Rockford, Ill. Don Freeman 1964-66 F Madison, Ill. Jim Dawson 1965-67 G Elmhurst, Ill. Nick Weatherspoon 1971-73 F Canton, Ohio Eddie Johnson 1978-81 F Chicago, Ill. Derek Harper 1981-83 G West Palm Beach, Fla. Bruce Douglas 1983-86 G Quincy, Ill. Ken Norman 1985-87 F Chicago, Ill. Nick Anderson 1988-89 F Chicago, Ill. Kenny Battle 1988-89 F Aurora, Ill. Kendall Gill 1987-90 G Matteson, Ill. Deon Thomas 1991-94 F/C Chicago, Ill. Frank Williams 2000-02 G Peoria, Ill. Brian Cook 2000-03 F Lincoln, Ill. Luther Head 2002-05 G Chicago, Ill. Deron Williams 2003-05 G The Colony, Texas Dee Brown 2003-06 G Maywood, Ill.
