Brown, Augustine will play large roles for new-look Illinois

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- Dee Brown would rather be with his friends Luther Head and Deron Williams making millions in the NBA. His backup plan isn't bad, though.

He's the big man on campus, even starring in a commercial touting Illinois' academic ideals. His foot, broken during the NBA's predraft camp, has healed and he's a preseason All-America heading into his senior season with the Illini.

"I won't say I'm a rock star," Brown said. "I just think people respect and love what I do."

If Brown is disappointed that fortune didn't come his way last summer, he doesn't show it. He's always smiling; the life of the Illini, a team captain and mentor for younger players, knowing his shot at the NBA is only a few more months away.

In the meantime, he and fellow senior James Augustine provide some experience for a young Illinois team that will try to win its third straight Big Ten championship.

"I think we're a little bit like two years ago, where we've got a lot of unanswered questions," said Bruce Weber, who has won 63 of his first 72 games as Illini coach. "The seniors, you expect them to be two of the better players in the country, but they also have to do that without some guys who were pretty good last year."

Oh yes, last year. The 37-2 record, 15 straight weeks at No. 1, a storied comeback against Arizona in the NCAA tournament and a shot at the national championship only to lose 75-70 to North Carolina -- the new standard to which future Illini teams must aspire.

"You're always going to be compared to last year's team, whatever you do," Brown said. "You can't do that. We've got young guys. We're going to be a different team that's going to be fun to watch because everybody's so new."

Illinois, ranked 17th in the preseason AP poll, opens its season Friday against South Dakota State before games against Texas Pan-American, Texas Southern and Wichita State. The first big test will be a rematch with North Carolina in Chapel Hill on Nov. 29.

"People kind of joke about our schedule and question it, but I want to have confidence," Weber said. "I want them feeling good. We've got plenty of tough games down the road."

Williams, Head and Roger Powell Jr. are gone from a lineup that, with Brown and Augustine, started 42 consecutive games together between March 19, 2004 and April 4, 2005. Top reserves Jack Ingram and Nick Smith also have departed.

So Weber is counting on juniors Rich McBride and Warren Carter, who saw significant time off the bench last season, to make major contributions. Brian Randle should be a junior but retains three years of eligibility because he sat out last season with an injury, and Marcus Arnold is a redshirt junior who sat out last season after transferring from Illinois State.

Randle sparkled at times in his freshman season, playing in 32 games and averaging about 11 minutes and three points. McBride and Carter combined for about 22 minutes and five points per game last season, and sophomore Shaun Pruitt played in 21 games as a freshman and could see big minutes up front this season.

And with the loss of Head and Williams, who shot 470 3-pointers between them last season, the ball will have to go inside more often, Weber said.