deron, dee, ugly pike, and 10,000 visits...

folks,

for those of you who are illini basketball fans, pardon the backstory:

during the 2004/2005 season, the university of illinois mens basketball team made it to the national championship game, only to lose to an overpowering north carolina team. illinois finished that season 37-2, and in spite of their loss in the national championship many college hoops pundits consider that team to be one of the best in the history of NCAA basketball.

the heart and soul of that team were deron williams and dee brown (for those james and luther fans out there, i love 'em too). deron left his junior year and was picked third by the utah jazz. dee played his senior year and went in the second round to the jazz. the two most electric players every to hit the hardwood at the university of illinois are now teammates on the jazz. deron is in his second season, dee is in his first.

after a 41-41 season in 2005/2006, the jazz really put it together this year and are in the playoffs. as a matter of fact, they're doing very well in the playoffs, and last night clinched their second round series against the golden state warriors. why am i telling you all this?

well, deron has had a breakout season this year, and it's been a joy to see. but last night i was even more thrilled because dee played significant minutes as a rookie - in the playoffs - subbing for deron (who was in foul trouble early). and you know what? dee did a damn good job. he played 9 minutes, ran the point effectively, made a basket, dished out 2 assists and no turnovers, and did all the little things dee has always done to influence the game away from the ball. at one point he was fouled hard, and on getting up from the floor did some pushups.

i will shout it from the rooftops: i love dee brown. he's a scrapper, a winner, and a smart player. watching him and deron play last night was almost like watching the illini from 3 years ago. almost.

on another note, here's an ugly ass pike i caught from a local secret reservoir:



and finally, this blog is 50 clicks away from 10,000 visits. thanks to all my friends and family who have remained loyal readers. there will be a few more posts this summer, and then this blog will go away. but fret not - i will continue to have a web presence. i just don't know how yet.

thanks for reading.