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Let's continue with my countdown of my 30 favorite Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball players of my fandom, spanning from the 1996-97 season until present day. Here are numbers 30-5.
- #30 Morez Johnson Jr.
- #29 Marcus Arnold.
- #28 Matthew Mayer.
- #27 Kevin Turner.
- #26 Mike Davis.
- #25 Trent Frazier.
- #24 D.J. Richardson.
- #23 Tyler Griffey.
- #22 Will Riley.
- #21 Dain Dainja.
- #20 Jack Ingram.
- #19 Marcus Domask.
- #18 Tomislav Ivisic.
- #17 Robert Archibald.
- #16 Brandon Paul.
- #15 Frankie Williams.
- #14 Marcus Griffin.
- #13 Sergio McClain.
- #12 Alfonso Plummer.
- #11 Lucas Johnson.
- #10 David Mirkovic.
- #9 Damir Krupalija.
- #8 Terrence Shannon Jr.
- #7 Keaton Wagler.
- #6 James Augustine.
- #5 Cory Bradford.
On June 28, 2005, I was living in Raleigh, North Carolina, covering the Durham Bulls, the double-A affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays, wrapping up my postgame interviews in the locker room.
As I was leaving to finish my game story, I looked up to the corner of the room, where a television was sitting and showing the 2005 NBA Draft.
Earlier that night, the Utah Jazz had stunned the NBA world, selecting Illinois point guard Deron Williams ahead of Wake Forest's Chris Paul with the third overall selection.
The next pick appeared on the muted television screen: With the 24th overall pick, the Houston Rockets select Luther Head!
"Fuck yeah, Luther!" I shouted out in the Bulls' locker room, violating the unwritten rule of reporters being seen and not necessarily heard.
I pumped my fist in excitement as I rushed to the elevator to complete my story, distracted yet excited about Head becoming a first-round pick after a fabulous senior season with the Illini.
As I was leaving to finish my game story, I looked up to the corner of the room, where a television was sitting and showing the 2005 NBA Draft.
Earlier that night, the Utah Jazz had stunned the NBA world, selecting Illinois point guard Deron Williams ahead of Wake Forest's Chris Paul with the third overall selection.
The next pick appeared on the muted television screen: With the 24th overall pick, the Houston Rockets select Luther Head!
"Fuck yeah, Luther!" I shouted out in the Bulls' locker room, violating the unwritten rule of reporters being seen and not necessarily heard.
I pumped my fist in excitement as I rushed to the elevator to complete my story, distracted yet excited about Head becoming a first-round pick after a fabulous senior season with the Illini.
There was a time when Luther Head, my fourth favorite Illinois men's basketball player of my 30-year fandom, did not seem like he was going to make it to his senior season with the Illini.
Out of Manley High School, Head was Illinois' first Public League recruit in a long time, with Head Coach Bill Self securing his commitment after Lon Kruger was shut out by the coaches in the cutthroat and not-always-ethical Chicago high school basketball league.
As a freshman, Head eventually became the starting small forward, occupying the spot vacated by Sergio McClain after Lucas Johnson suffered a preseason injury and junior college transfer Blandon Ferguson was not up to the task. On a veteran-laden team, Head displayed a great level of athleticism, quickness and potential while making his greatest impact on the defensive end for an Illini team that reached the Sweet Sixteen.
Dealing with injuries as a sophomore, Head eventually settled in as a sixth man, helping Illinois win the Big Ten Tournament title before losing to Notre Dame in the second round of the 2003 NCAA Tournament.
With Self heading to Kansas after that season, Head began the Bruce Weber era on shaky footing. In addition to academic issues, Head was arrested for an on-campus burglary and driving without a valid license.
At this time I was a junior at Illinois, in a kinesiology class with Head and sophomore Deron Williams. I'll never forget Head and Williams showing up late to class the morning after Illinois lost to North Carolina in the 2004 Big Ten/ACC Challenge. For some reason, class was packed that day in the tiny auditorium in the basement of the Krannert Art Museum. I had just arrived a moment before Luther and Deron, with us stragglers having to sit on the carpeted floor in the back of the room.
Anyway, we had a paper due that day. I'll never forget Deron turning to Luther and saying, "Did you do it?"
A sheepish Head shook his head, with Williams giving him a dirty/disgusted look.
Ultimately, it seemed like Head was in a bad place at this point in his life, with it eventually resulting in a meeting with Weber. While Head volunteered to leave the problem, Weber rejected the idea, essentially telling him no more slip ups.
Head would reward Weber for his faith in him, having a solid junior season as Illinois found itself late in the year and reached the Sweet Sixteen, where it lost to Duke.
With every starter returning for the 2004-05 season, Illinois looked like a dangerous team on paper.
Head's senior season would make Illinois one of the greatest teams to never win the national championship.
As a senior, Head played like a man possessed, shooting the lights out from deep, attacking the cup and defending his behind off.
Everything came together for Head in his final season, and Illinois quickly established itself as the team to beat during that magical 37-2 season.
While Dee Brown was the face of Illinois basketball, and Williams was the straw the stirred the drink, the senior Head was the scariest Illinois player on that team in my humble opinion.
It seemed like Head would not let Illinois lose that season, especially home games against Wisconsin and Indiana. I'll never forget Head stealing the ball during overtime of the Elite Eight classic against Arizona, staring down a helpless Salim Stoudamire for a layup. Rewatch the final minutes in regulation of that game and be amazed by some of the ridiculous threes Head hit to keep Illinois alive.
All in all, Head averaged 15.9 points per game as a senior. Every time he shot the three, no matter the distance, I thought it was going in. In fact, Head led the Big Ten with 116 threes that season, breaking a season-record of 96 set by Cory Bradford.
Head was a true sniper his final season in Champaign, earning consensus second-team All American honors and leading Illinois to the Final Four and national title game. Head led all Illini with 21 points in the title game loss, pairing up with Williams in the second half to shoot the Illini into a tie following a 15-point halftime deficit.
For as much of a killer Head was on the court as a senior, he was a very shy and soft-spoken person off of it. I remember interviewing Luther prior to his junior season one Friday after that sports kinesiology class, specifically about Weber being the new head coach. Head was very polite but hard to get detailed answers out of whereas Williams was more bored and brash in the interview. :-)
In many ways Luther Head could have been an Illini "What If." However, he turned things around his junior season and produced a senior campaign that led to the greatest season in Illini basketball and a seven-year NBA career.
It is very rare to see everything finally come together but that was certainly the case with Head during his last season in the Orange and Blue, with Luther's elevated consistency ultimately the X-factor that propelled the Illini to unbelievable heights.
Out of Manley High School, Head was Illinois' first Public League recruit in a long time, with Head Coach Bill Self securing his commitment after Lon Kruger was shut out by the coaches in the cutthroat and not-always-ethical Chicago high school basketball league.
As a freshman, Head eventually became the starting small forward, occupying the spot vacated by Sergio McClain after Lucas Johnson suffered a preseason injury and junior college transfer Blandon Ferguson was not up to the task. On a veteran-laden team, Head displayed a great level of athleticism, quickness and potential while making his greatest impact on the defensive end for an Illini team that reached the Sweet Sixteen.
Dealing with injuries as a sophomore, Head eventually settled in as a sixth man, helping Illinois win the Big Ten Tournament title before losing to Notre Dame in the second round of the 2003 NCAA Tournament.
With Self heading to Kansas after that season, Head began the Bruce Weber era on shaky footing. In addition to academic issues, Head was arrested for an on-campus burglary and driving without a valid license.
At this time I was a junior at Illinois, in a kinesiology class with Head and sophomore Deron Williams. I'll never forget Head and Williams showing up late to class the morning after Illinois lost to North Carolina in the 2004 Big Ten/ACC Challenge. For some reason, class was packed that day in the tiny auditorium in the basement of the Krannert Art Museum. I had just arrived a moment before Luther and Deron, with us stragglers having to sit on the carpeted floor in the back of the room.
Anyway, we had a paper due that day. I'll never forget Deron turning to Luther and saying, "Did you do it?"
A sheepish Head shook his head, with Williams giving him a dirty/disgusted look.
Ultimately, it seemed like Head was in a bad place at this point in his life, with it eventually resulting in a meeting with Weber. While Head volunteered to leave the problem, Weber rejected the idea, essentially telling him no more slip ups.
Head would reward Weber for his faith in him, having a solid junior season as Illinois found itself late in the year and reached the Sweet Sixteen, where it lost to Duke.
With every starter returning for the 2004-05 season, Illinois looked like a dangerous team on paper.
Head's senior season would make Illinois one of the greatest teams to never win the national championship.
As a senior, Head played like a man possessed, shooting the lights out from deep, attacking the cup and defending his behind off.
Everything came together for Head in his final season, and Illinois quickly established itself as the team to beat during that magical 37-2 season.
While Dee Brown was the face of Illinois basketball, and Williams was the straw the stirred the drink, the senior Head was the scariest Illinois player on that team in my humble opinion.
It seemed like Head would not let Illinois lose that season, especially home games against Wisconsin and Indiana. I'll never forget Head stealing the ball during overtime of the Elite Eight classic against Arizona, staring down a helpless Salim Stoudamire for a layup. Rewatch the final minutes in regulation of that game and be amazed by some of the ridiculous threes Head hit to keep Illinois alive.
All in all, Head averaged 15.9 points per game as a senior. Every time he shot the three, no matter the distance, I thought it was going in. In fact, Head led the Big Ten with 116 threes that season, breaking a season-record of 96 set by Cory Bradford.
Head was a true sniper his final season in Champaign, earning consensus second-team All American honors and leading Illinois to the Final Four and national title game. Head led all Illini with 21 points in the title game loss, pairing up with Williams in the second half to shoot the Illini into a tie following a 15-point halftime deficit.
For as much of a killer Head was on the court as a senior, he was a very shy and soft-spoken person off of it. I remember interviewing Luther prior to his junior season one Friday after that sports kinesiology class, specifically about Weber being the new head coach. Head was very polite but hard to get detailed answers out of whereas Williams was more bored and brash in the interview. :-)
In many ways Luther Head could have been an Illini "What If." However, he turned things around his junior season and produced a senior campaign that led to the greatest season in Illini basketball and a seven-year NBA career.
It is very rare to see everything finally come together but that was certainly the case with Head during his last season in the Orange and Blue, with Luther's elevated consistency ultimately the X-factor that propelled the Illini to unbelievable heights.
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