Posted: 11/1/06 Section: Sports

The Illinois men's basketball team begins the 2006-07 season tonight at 7 in an exhibition game against Lewis at the Assembly Hall. With an inexperienced team, the only way for the Illini to improve is through playing games, head coach Bruce Weber said at Illinois Media Day on Oct. 14. Illinois will have plenty of opportunities as tonight marks the first game in a seven-game non-conference home stand. With a new look, some new faces and a few old mainstays, here is what Weber had to say about each of the Illini's 15 players.

Warren Carter - senior forward

Height: 6'9". Weight: 220. Hometown: Dallas, Texas (Lake Highlands)

Last season's stats: 4.8 points per game, 2.8 rebounds per game, 12.3 minutes per game

Weber says: "Warren has made great strides; I've been on him maybe more than anybody. I always joke that every time I ask Warren how he's doing, he always says he's chilling. Then I kind of comment that you're going to chill through life, and I'm hoping that he has a sense of urgency, that he realizes it's his senior year. I think he has all the ability, athleticism; his bench press has gained well over 100 lbs since he got here. He's near 300 now, that's just amazing for him. He ran the mile in 5:20; I think the only person that beat him was Chester; this is a 6'9" athletic kid that can run. But now, it's can he do it game-in and game-out against good competition when we need shots, when we need rebounds."



Brian Randle - junior forward

Height: 6'8". Weight: 220. Hometown: Peoria, Ill. (Notre Dame)

Last season's stats: 8.5 points per game, 5.4 rebounds per game, 26.7 minutes per game

Weber says: "I think he is slowly but surely taking on the role of maybe being our go-to guy. Again, he's going to have to do it in the game, be consistent, miss the shot and not put his head down, come back and make another play. Part of that is maturity, and I think he's done that."

Continued...

Page 1 of 4 next >

Article Tools

The Daily Illini encourages on-topic discussion through article commenting on its articles and blogs. It is our policy not to delete any comments based upon political or ideological point of view. However, we reserve the right to remove comments that are abusive, off-topic or use excessive foul language.

The posting of copyrighted material, including any and all content for which you are not the author, is illegal under Federal intellectual property laws. Such activity will not be tolerated. Comments containing copyrighted material will be removed, and continued violation of copyright law is grounds for being banned completely from commenting on DailyIllini.com.

If you feel any post meets these conditions or merits review, please e-mail our editors at meonline@dailyillini.com.