Illini 'Night of Legends' rocks Assembly Hall

CHAMPAIGN - "Night of Legends" was the official name for the glorified basketball scrimmage at Assembly Hall Saturday night.

The 15,417 fans that paid $15 apiece to sweat through the 90-minute exhibition got exactly as advertised.

While the Blue squad, featuring every starter except James Augustine from the 2005 national runner-up, recorded an 84-70 victory over the White squad that featured every starter from the 1989 Flying Illini except Lowell Hamilton, the competition was hardly the point.

This was an opportunity to reminisce with former teammates, revel in great memories and raise a ton of cash for Deron Williams' Point of Hope Foundation.

Oh, and the school raised 30 banners to the rafters to celebrate most of the greatest players in Illini annals.

Here are some snapshots from the grand occasion that Williams hopes to host again and again.

Nick's return: After leading Illinois to the 1989 Final Four, Nick Anderson left Champaign behind for the NBA.

Except for the 2000 reunion of the Flying Illini, Anderson had never been returned to campus until Saturday night.

A flurry of phone calls from his former teammates, Deron Williams and Bruce Weber convinced Anderson he needed to come back.

It didn't hurt when, five days before the scrimmage, the Illini announced 10 additional All-Century players (including Anderson) would have their jerseys added to the post-scrimmage ceremony.

"It was right for me to come back," Anderson said. "It was the right thing to do. It's been way too long."

Anderson, 40, claimed he hadn't played in 10 months, but he stepped up two minutes into the scrimmage and swished a 25-footer.

Williams then came downcourt and answered with his own 3-pointer, which was the first of a few times where Williams felt obligated to answer Anderson's touch.

Anderson finished with 13 points, 1 behind Kendall Gill for the White team's lead.

"I can still stand and shoot," Anderson said with a smile.

Another highlight? During a first-half timeout, the school replayed Anderson's winning 3-pointer against Indiana on the big screens above the court.

Anderson watched the whole thing and broke into a big smile when his shot went through. Marcus Liberty came over and jumped on him all over again.

"I hear it all the time - and I want to hear it," Anderson said. "I can honestly say I've never lost to Indiana."

Ironic Lucas: When Illinois sports information director Kent Brown saw Lucas Johnson before the scrimmage, he told him, "Just don't hurt anybody."

Johnson's response? "You're like the 10th person to tell me that. Don't worry."

So what happened to the Des Plaines native during the scrimmage? While going for a rebound alongside teammate Brian Cook, the latter's sharp elbow landed right between Johnson's eyebrows.

He fell to the floor as blood gushed from his head - a wound that required 6 or 7 stitches.

"Shocking, huh?" Johnson said afterward.

One other Johnson highlight which befit his hard-earned image:

After a first-half timeout, Johnson ran out on the floor straight to the Blue's Luther Head, grabbed his jersey and declared, "I got you."

Head yelled, "No, no, no!" and tried his best to break free from Johnson's grip.

Gill kills: If you didn't know any better, you watched the scrimmage and assumed Kendall Gill was the youngest player on the floor.

Gill, 40, attacked the hoop almost as fiercely as he did for the Flying Illini.

"The other guys don't work out as much as I do," Gill said with a laugh. "They're a little slow. It felt great. I felt like I'm 19 years old."

Lou-Do: Lou Henson served as honorary coach for the White team while Jimmy Collins and Mark Coomes, his longtime assistants, did the same for the Blue squad.

Henson's penchant for a quick hook became a running joke on the White bench.

When Ervin Small, who started for Kenny Battle (who didn't dress), threw up an airball from 15 feet in the second minute, Henson stood up, looked down the bench and told Brian Cook to go in.

Battle, sitting next to Henson, roared the loudest.

After that, whenever someone on the White team took a bad shot or threw a bad pass, guys on the bench called for Henson to pull him out.

Frank Williams tried some no-look nonsense that didn't work, so the guys hollered, "Get him out of there!"

When Marcus Liberty fumbled a pass out of bounds right before halftime, he turned to Henson and pleaded, "Don't take me out, Coach!"

Harrington on target: Former Elgin High School all-stater Sean Harrington rejoined the Illinois family in July as the director of basketball operations.

Though Harrington might have put on an ounce or two since graduating from Illinois in 2003, he retains his shooting touch.

During a 49-second stretch of the first half, Harrington drilled 3 3-pointers to turn a 22-18 lead into a 31-18 bulge.

The first of his 3-pointers was from well beyond NBA range.

Harrington was the top scorer on the Blue team who wasn't a 2005 starter. Deron Williams led everyone with 19 points, Roger Powell added 13 on an assortment of dunks and Luther Head had 11 with a different array of dunks.

Next wave: Since it was a night for the 1989 and 2005 teams, Bruce Weber sat in the stands with his wife.

It just so happened a few recruits (and potential recruits) happened to be sitting nearby.

Illinois commits Brandon Paul, Crandall Head, Joseph Bertrand and Meyers Leonard sat wide-eyed in the stands. So did uncommitted recruits such as Rock Island sophomore Chasson Randle.

Frankie chills: When the Blue team was being introduced before the game, Frank Williams stood on the sideline and smiled confidently as he fixed his gaze on Deron Williams, Dee Brown and the others.

That suggested the crowd should get ready to be treated to a vintage Frank Williams game like the ones when he earned the league's Player of the Year honors in 2001.

Though Williams came out early with some spectacular no-look passes and a few long jumpers, he soon deferred the guys from the 1989 team.

As it turns out, that wasn't necessarily by accident. As Williams said with a smile:

"Kendall and them told me I couldn't shoot the ball, I had to pass it to them because it was their night."

Deron's night: Halftime was devoted to the Olympic gold-medal tag-team of Deron Williams and Jerry Colangelo.

While the crowd chanted, "U-S-A, U-S-A," Williams promised he would continue to organize the legends games as long as the legends wanted to play.

Nick Anderson, among others, nodded their heads in agreement with Williams' sentiment.

Then Colangelo, after lauding Williams' character, suggested the 24-year-old might want to plan for more Olympics swag.

"I'm sure you're going to see him in 2012 as well," said Colangelo, who assembles the United States teams for international competition. Scoring totals: Here's the point distribution for the scrimmage:

White: Kendall Gill 14, Nick Anderson 13, Sergio McClain 8, Brian Cook 6, Kiwane Garris 6, Marcus Liberty 5, Frank Williams 5, Marcus Griffin 3, Jerry Hester 3, Ervin Small 3, Lucas Johnson 2, Bryant Notree 2, Stephen Bardo 0, Jerrance Howard 0, Cory Bradford 0, Jelani Boline 0.

Blue: Deron Williams 19, Roger Powell 13, Luther Head 11, Sean Harrington 9, Nate Mast 8, Dee Brown 6, Joe Cross 5, Chris Hicks 4, Brett Melton 3, Herb Caldwell 2, Rich Beyers 2, Arias Davis 2.

Banners raised: After the scrimmage, Illinois introduced the 30 players whose jerseys were being raised to the rafters with a 10-minute video.

Whiz Kid Gene Vance and Johnny "Red" Kerr were the oldest Illini to show up to unveil their banners. Current Illini players stood in for the deceased and living players who did not have family members in attendance to help with the banner ceremony.

The first 30 to be honored:

Ray Woods (1915-17)

Chuck Carney (1920-22)

Bill Hapac (1938-40)

Andy Phillip (1942-43, 47)

Gene Vance (1942-43, 47)

Walt Kirk (1944-45, 47)

Dike Eddleman (1947-49)

Bill Erickson (1947-50)

Don Sunderlage (1949-51)

Rod Fletcher (1950-52)

John "Red" Kerr (1952-54)

Jerry Colangelo (1960-62)

Dave Downey (1961-63)

Skip Thoren (1963-65)

Don Freeman (1964-66)

Jim Dawson (1965-67)

Nick Weatherspoon (1971-73)

Eddie Johnson (1978-81)

Derek Harper (1981-83)

Bruce Douglas (1983-86)

Ken Norman (1985-87)

Nick Anderson (1988-89)

Kenny Battle (1988-89)

Kendall Gill (1987-90)

Deon Thomas (1991-94)

Frank Williams (2000-02)

Brian Cook (2000-03)

Luther Head (2002-05)

Deron Williams (2003-05)

Dee Brown (2003-06)