Men's basketball fight off Hawks in final preseason tuneup

Illinois' Mike Tisdale (54) and Mike Davis (24) defend during the Illini's 84-63 exhibition win over the Quincy Hawks at Assembly Hall on Sunday, Nov. 8, 2009.
Joshua Beckman The Daily Illini

The Quincy basketball team gave No. 23 Illinois quite a scare Sunday evening in its final preseason tuneup. Quincy came out strong, converting three-pointers and slam dunks, while Illini head coach Bruce Weber’s squad appeared afraid to even shoot the ball in the early going. But the Hawks were unable to swoop down and finish off their prey, as freshman D.J. Richardson led the Illini back to an 84-63 victory.

“As a coach, obviously talent is important, but if you have a talented player that has no passion that doesn’t do you any good,” Weber said. “That was our thought, our process that we talked about (Saturday).”

And oddly enough, it was a freshman who displayed that passion Sunday.

Richardson, who finished with a team-high 23 points, had more baskets at times than the combined total of his fellow Illini out on the court with him.

“Everybody wants to know if I’m a defensive stopper, but I want to show that I can do other things besides play defense,” Richardson said. “I just took open shots. Every shot we took, I know we needed it. I think that’s what we need, an offensive threat to do that.”

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Illini squeak by Hawks 

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Weber started both Richardson and freshman Brandon Paul, who led the team from behind. Paul, who had three fouls in the first half alone, shared the ball-handling duties with junior guard Demetri McCamey and finished with 11 points. Richardson’s defensive toughness and five conversions from behind the three-point arc provided the Illini with a much-needed boost. The duo’s efforts helped the Illini stay alive in the first half, compensating for the fact that big men Mike Tisdale and Mike Davis couldn’t even put a hand on the ball.

Richardson’s three-point shot with seven minutes remaining in the first half invigorated a change of pace for Illinois, and Paul’s three-pointer two possessions later put the Illini up 25-22, giving them their first lead since the first two minutes of the game.

In the first half, as all of the Illini stood outside the perimeter afraid to shoot, Weber screamed at his players telling them to move toward the basket. It took an entire half for Tisdale to finally find the basket and shut down the Hawks, a team made up of several transfers from Division I squads.

“We were a little sluggish in the beginning,” Tisdale said. “We need to work on our defense a little bit and containment.”

Meanwhile, Davis failed to improve for the Illini, only sinking two baskets in 25 minutes of play.

“He’s so mobile and so athletic, and I don’t think he always uses his tools,” Weber said of Davis. “He was supposed to be one of our mainstays, and we’ve got to get better production from him if we’re going to be successful.”

Junior forward Bill Cole scored nine points off the bench and junior guard Jeff Jordan, who rejoined the team on Oct. 16, saw playing time for the first time since last season. Jordan had zero points and four assists in 19 minutes on the court.

Weber was lucky his freshmen showed up, but he needs his veterans to change their attitudes when the team begins its regular season Friday.

“It’s tough for our guys, especially the older guys, to get motivated,” Weber said.