Illinois coach Bruce Weber let out a little secret recently. The Illini’s backcourt of Dee Brown, Luther Head and Deron Williams, perhaps the nation’s best, rarely plays together in practice.
“It screws up practice because nobody can compete with them,” said Weber, whose undefeated Illini (20-0, 6-0 Big Ten) have been ranked No. 1 for two months.
“I’d rather have them compete against each other in practice, which they love to do. That helps them improve. When they’re on the court, they play so well together anyway.”
Any of the three guards would be the go-to star on most teams.
Head, a 6-foot-3-inch senior with a dazzling vertical jump and deadly jumper, leads the Illini in scoring at 16.0 points per game. The 6-foot Brown, a junior who loves to push the tempo, is averaging 13.0 points and gives the team a high dose of energy. Williams, a powerfully built 6-3, 210-pound junior who was named preseason Big Ten player of the year, contributes 12.9 points and 7.0 assists as the floor leader.
Together they’ve helped lift Illinois to the best start by a Big Ten team since the 1975-76 Indiana team went 32-0 en route to the NCAA title.
When Illinois gets into one of its scoring spurts, it’s usually the guards leading the way.
“I don’t really get into that `best’ stuff; we’re the best team,” Brown said. “If people say we’re the best guards, we’ll take it. We just play with a confidence that you need to have to be No. 1.”
It’s confidence, chemistry and cohesiveness mixed with talent, athleticism and speed. Brown is hitting 52.2 percent from the field, a jaw-dropping number for a smallish guard. Head is shooting 51.5 percent. Williams, at 41.4 percent, has struggled all season to find his shooting stroke but makes up for it by distributing the ball and playing defense.
“They make you play at a speed you’re not accustomed to, a speed you can’t simulate in practice,” Purdue assistant coach Matt Painter said. “By the time you adjust to it, you might be down 20. Then it’s too late.”
The trio’s combined assists-to-turnover ratio is 2.5 to 1, which is outstanding for any lead guard. It’s an especially impressive figure considering the Illini love to heave the ball downcourt to ignite a fast break.
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“I know where they’re going to be,” Head said. “I know what cuts they’re going to make. When you see them, you get them the ball. It’s like a habit.”
Weber rates the chemistry among his three standouts as the best unit he has ever coached or coached against. He was an assistant at Purdue under Gene Keady for 18 seasons before a five-year stint as head coach at Southern Illinois.
“They really do like each other,” Weber said. “They play off each other. They know each other’s game. They complement each other.
“And what’s amazing is they don’t let egos get in the way. It’s not who scores the most. It’s more of a pride thing to help us win.”
Brown notices when other teams don’t have that closeness.
“We see some teams where one guy will be hogging the ball or some guys don’t want a certain guy to touch the ball,” he said. “We think every shot is a good shot for any of us. No one man is better than another.”