Brown the key for Illini.
http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/columns/stor...andy&id=1878678
Dee Brown could be facing his most critical month as a basketball player.
He's nursing a stress fracture above his ankle that could threaten the start of his junior season, a year that he and the rest of his Illinois teammates believe could end in St. Louis in April as national champs.
It's a tall order, especially for a smaller point guard who has always made up for his height, listed at 6 foot, with a reliance on changing speeds and blowing past a defender.
But if there is ever time for Brown to diversify his game, it's in the coming weeks when he won't be as nimble.
"His whole life, he's totally relied on his speed to beat people down court,'' Illinois coach Bruce Weber said. "But guys are starting to catch up with him. We saw it in the Olympics, that the best athletes don't win, the best players on the best teams win. He's got to become more of a speed demon and become a smarter player.''