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CHAMPAIGN – Norm Stewart's reflections from the Braggin' Rights basketball series are not particularly good. And Illini fans' recollections of Stormin' Norman, raging from the sideline and challenging archrival Lou Henson, aren't positive either.

But a decade of time has a way of easing passions, and Stewart, now missing his blond locks, is missed because ... well, it was a lot more fun to beat Missouri when he was the victim.

Stewart now works for the Mizzou alumni organization – "full-time work, part-time pay," he jokes – and will be a fan himself when Mizzou takes on Illinois in the 28th Border War at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday. The 9-1 Tigers won their seventh straight Saturday with reserves scoring 45 points in a 78-44 rout of Stetson. Tomorrow's clash may not be a sellout the way those Stewart-Henson confrontations were, but it's picking up steam with both teams on a roll. Stewart's comments follow.

LT: How did the series in St. Louis get started?

NS: After a game in Champaign, (athletic director) Cecil Coleman and Lou Henson brought up the idea of playing in St. Louis (in December 1980). I was suspicious. I was born at night, but it wasn't last night. But it turned into a great idea for both schools. The series has drawn a lot of interest and comes at a wonderful time right before Christmas.

LT: You always claimed Henson ducked you in 1982 when Steve Stipanovich and Jon Sunvold were heading up your fourth straight Big Eight champions. And you talked about halting the series during the UI's eight-game win streak through 1990. Is that true?

NS: Somebody called and said there should have been a clause in the contract that, after Illinois wins four in a row, we get to win one. Finally, we were able to turn it around before I retired (Mizzou won four of the last six games he coached; Illinois now has an eight-game string working).

LT: The 1988 game, when you had Doug Smith and Byron Irvin, and Illinois put forth a Final Four lineup featuring Ken Battle and Nick Anderson, is an Illini favorite, 87-84. You always preferred the way your subs came through in Mizzou's triple-overtime 108-107 win in 1993. How does this series compare with Mizzou's rivalry with Kansas?

NS: It's different. With Kansas, it's more than an athletic event because of the history between the states, some of it unfortunate with factions dating back to the Civil War. I always tried to make it a basketball game.

LT: How are you and Henson getting along these days?

NS: We had an intense rivalry for a lot of years, dating back to an occurrence in Columbia that I won't go into. But tragedy hit us both at about the same time. Lou lost his son (Lou Henson Jr. in 1992) in an auto accident, and I was diagnosed with cancer. I didn't know if I would make it. Without anything being said, it changed. The relationship that my wife and I have with Lou and Mary is as good as any we have in coaching. I'm sorry they're not coming down to the game (Henson has Christmas-related family obligations). We'd love to see them.

LT: What has happened to Mizzou basketball attendance? Between the Ricky Clemons jailhouse tapes, unhappiness with former coach Quin Snyder, NCAA sanctions, the renaming of the new arena, arrests and suspensions, and a five-year record of 78-75, attendance has fallen to around 6,000 in a 15,000-seat building. It picked up slightly with 7,409 tickets sold Saturday, but not that many actually attended.

NS: We've been through some tough times with things off the court. We got out of step. Now Mike Anderson has things going the right way. He's getting his own players to play his style. Winning helps. Mike has a diverse club. They've been up and down somewhat, but they're coming along.

LT: Tell the truth, Norm, is Missouri a "football school?" They've grown into a powerhouse under Gary Pinkel and it took mighty Oklahoma teams to turn them back the last two years.

NS: I always wanted to win a national championship in basketball. I said, if that happened, it would put a lot of pressure on the football coach because Missouri is basically a football school. We went through 13 straight losing years (through 1996) and never drew fewer than 30,000 fans for a game (Mizzou also had four losing seasons through 2002). The fans always kept coming out.

LT: Henson's health has improved, and he was playing golf a little more than a week ago in New Mexico before traveling to Champaign. How are you doing?

NS: I had open heart surgery to replace a valve last summer, and I'm feeling fine. I've worked with the Coaches vs. Cancer, and it is unbelievable how that program has caught on. We now have all the college coaches and 2,000 high school coaches aboard. I enjoy working for the university. I've been here since 1952 so I have the advantage of knowing a lot of people. It's full-time work and half-time pay.

Loren Tate writes for The News-Gazette. He can be reached at ltate@news-gazette.com.