Paul leads men’s basketball to victory

Illinois' Brandon Paul (3) goes for a lay up at the home game against SIUE held at Assembly Hall in Champaign on Friday, Nov. 13, 2009.
Brad Meyer The Daily Illini

Brandon Paul was a last minute addition to coach Bruce Weber’s starting lineup Friday night.

In comparison to fellow freshman starting guard D.J. Richardson, he was almost an afterthought.

But Southern Illinois Edwardsville didn’t think so, as Paul led the No. 23 Illini to a 96-69 victory against the Cougars, halting their season-opening game win streak at 16. Paul finished with 22 points, breaking Deon Thompson’s record for the most points by an Illinois freshman in a season opener.

“I had a little bit of butterflies, but after the first couple of plays, I just went after it, so all of the butterflies came out and I just had a lot of confidence,” Paul said.

The Illini had four players finish in double figures, including junior forward Mike Davis, who delivered the double-double he promised and displayed much more energy than during Illinois’ two preseason games. Davis barely eclipsed the mark, finishing with 10 points and 10 boards.

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Paul shines, Illini roll over SIUE 

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Contrary to the preseason, the Illini shooters came firing out of the gate, quickly giving the Orange and Blue a 14-2 lead. Everything seemed to be going right for Weber’s squad, with shots falling and Davis and center Mike Tisdale effectively boxing out.

“We came out with energy,” Davis said. “Brandon got hot quick, Demetri (McCamey) had a couple of shots, I got a dunk, Dominique (Keller) came in and got a dunk. And the crowd was hot tonight. The coach talked about coming out with energy tonight and that’s what we did, and we got off to a quick start.”

Most of that energy surprisingly came from Paul. His unexpected stealth caught the Cougars off guard in the early going, as he was 4-of-9 from the field in the first 20 minutes of play to put the Illini up 47-25 at the half.

And Paul didn’t come out quietly in the second half, either. The Gurnee, Ill., native scored the team’s first bucket after the break, sank a 3-point shot a few minutes later and was even up in the Cougars’ faces grabbing rebounds.

“He is not afraid to put it up, and we just have to keep him inside that NBA three,” Weber said. “That’s got to be our biggest obstacle now. He’s got a great temperament. It’s impressive. It’s just one game and there’s a lot to go, but it just shows you what these guys can do.”

The young guard played 29 minutes, the most of any Illini, and may no longer be just a potential starter.

“We all want to start,” Paul said. “That’s definitely one of the things I want to work up to.”

Richardson, who hurt his elbow in practice Thursday, helped Paul in the duo’s debut, putting up 14 points and converting 8-of-10 free throws.

Cougars head coach Lennox Forrester wasn’t surprised by the fabulous freshmen.

“They don’t play like freshman, especially D.J. Richardson,” Forrester said. “They come in acting like seniors, and that’s the way they’re playing.”

Forrester added he always put his best defender on the court on Richardson.

But it was Illinois’ defense that lagged toward the end of the contest, giving up 44 points to SIUE in the second half. Davis said rebounds are the single most important thing the Illini must work on before Tuesday’s matchup against Northern Illinois.

Junior Bill Cole came off the bench to score seven points on 3-of-6 shooting, while redshirt junior Richard Semrau finished with six points and six rebounds.

Meanwhile, Paul humbly seems to know he may not be sitting next to Cole and Semrau on the bench anytime soon. Perhaps it was his new faux hawk that kept him unruffled.

“He’s not real emotional,” Weber said. “He’s just cool and calm, and he doesn’t get real excited. You get a smile on him once in a while.”