Williams pretties up ugly contest in Illini victory
CHICAGO -- Ugly was in the air. It was the sound of Illinois fans and their lusty, hard-hearted boos for a man they didn't know in 1989 and don't know now. It was the sight of the armed police officer sitting next to Wisconsin-Milwaukee's bench to protect that man, UW-Milwaukee coach Bruce Pearl, who turned in Illinois to the NCAA in 1989 when he was an assistant coach at Iowa.
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| Deron Williams finishes with eight assists for the Fighting Illini. (Getty Images) |
Ford was hauled past Pearl, who watched in bemused disbelief as his biggest player and No. 1 shot blocker was dragged off the court. Ugly.
Ugly was how 12th-seeded UW-Milwaukee was hoping to win this game, too. The Panthers were going to paint the floor with their ugly assortment of presses and defenses and hope the top-seeded Illini's offense lost itself in the slime.
Ugly was everywhere Thursday night.
And then the ball was passed to Deron Williams.
Ugly was no match for Williams. Ugly will never be a match for Williams. He plays a beautiful game devoid of the ugliness that brings down so many other players, and so many other teams. He prefers to pass instead of shoot. He dribbles, but only when necessary, and always as he seeks out teammates with his eyes.
UW-Milwaukee sought to ugly its way into the Elite Eight. Williams was too pretty for that, which is why Illinois was the one advancing to the Chicago Regional championship game after a 77-63 victory Thursday night.
For the 35th time in 36 games, Williams did enough for Illinois to win. Nine times this season that has meant having as many assists as points, if not more assists. On Thursday night it meant scoring 21 points. It meant handing out eight assists. It meant defending Ed McCants, the Horizon League player of the year, and holding him scoreless until early in the second half.
By the time McCants scored his first points, Illinois led 43-32. Soon Illinois coach Bruce Weber shifted Williams to UW-Milwaukee's other scoring guard, Boo Davis, who didn't score in the final 11 minutes.
Williams averages 12.1 points, as misleading a number as the No. 12 next to Wisconsin-Milwaukee's seeding. The Panthers (26-6) weren't lucky to beat Alabama in the first round. They weren't lucky to beat Boston College in the second round.
It's depressing to consider, but if Detroit guard Brandon Cotton had made a buzzer-beater in the Horizon League title game, UW-Milwaukee would have gone to the NIT and the country would have had no idea what it was missing. With Joah Tucker scoring 20 of his 32 points in the first half to make up for the missing McCants, UW-Milwaukee could have beaten all but a handful of teams in the 2005 NCAA Tournament on Thursday night.
But Illinois is the only team with Williams, which is why Illinois (35-1) is enjoying the best season in school history. Illini guards Dee Brown and Luther Head have received more individual accolades than Williams, prompting Weber to apologize to his point guard on behalf of all the knuckleheads who just don't get it. The NBA gets it, which is why Williams and his modest 12.1-point scoring average will be gobbled up in the lottery portion of the 2005 draft.
