The 2004-05 Illinois Fighting Illini team is arguably the greatest team in program history. With Bruce Weber as head coach and stars such as Deron Williams, Dee Brown and Luther Head, that Illinois team made it to the national championship game before falling to North Carolina, 75-70. Although that Fighting Illini team did not win a national championship, they are still revered by the university and were honored on Saturday at the program’s football game to open the season, as per Kyle Tausk of 247Sports.com.
In addition to Weber, Williams and Brown, James Augustine and Roger Powell Jr. were also in attendance for the Illinois football game on Saturday. The only member of the starting lineup who was not able to attend was Luther Head.
That Illinois team started out the season 29-0, and went 15-1 in Big Ten Conference play. They finished the season at 37-2 overall following their national championship loss to North Carolina. It was the Fighting Illini’s first appearance in the national championship game, and Illinois tied Duke for most number of wins in a single season at 37.
Williams, Brown, Head and Augustine all went on to play in the NBA while Powell had a brief stint with Utah Jazz during the 2006-07 season. Williams had the most success of all of them, playing 12 years in the NBA and being selected to three All-Star appearances. Head played six seasons in the NBA and Brown and Augustine each played two seasons in the league.
Weber would coach the Fighting Illini for seven more seasons after that 2004-05 run, but the farthest Illinois ever got in the NCAA Tournament after that was the round of 32. Weber was fired after the 2011-12 season and he then went on to coach Kansas State from 2012-2022.
After a bit of a down period following Weber’s departure, Illinois has experienced a bit of a resurgence under Brad Underwood. The Fighting Illini reached the the round of 32 last season, one year after making it to the Elite Eight for the first time since that 2004-05 season.
