Weber's Illini visit Painter's Purdue
Matt Painter and Bruce Weber are close friends and coaching confidants, but there are ways to determine which is the mentor and which is the protégé in their long-time relationship.
Painter, who's 14 years younger, still addresses his former boss' wife as "Mrs. Weber" in social situations.
And similar to the way Weber still genuflects in Gene Keady's direction 10 years after leaving Purdue, Painter pays homage to Weber at every opportunity even though they've been at the same schools for five years.
"I wouldn't be in this position without him," Painter said.
What position might that be?
Painter is coach of the Purdue Boilermakers, who are several rungs ahead of Illinois in the Big Ten standings going into today's meeting at Mackey Arena (1 p.m., ESPN), in spite of the fact Painter retained just two starters and his seventh and eighth men from last year's second-round NCAA Tournament squad.
Painter, 37, refreshed his roster with four prized freshmen and two junior-college big men. They've allowed Purdue to reload more than rebuild.
The Boilermakers' newcomers have played 58 percent of the minutes, scored 61 percent of the points and grabbed 70 percent of the rebounds.
Sophomore guards Chris Kramer and Keaton Grant are the team's guiding forces, but freshmen JaJuan Johnson, E'Twaun Moore, Robbie Hummel and Scott Martin have combined to make 53 of a possible 68 starts.
Each of the freshmen ranked among the Top 62 players in the Class of 2007 according to the Recruiting Services Consensus Index.
"This class was just huge for Matt to set a foundation," Weber said. "They could be one of the favorites in the league as these guys proceed in their career."
The Illini are riding seniors and juniors to try to reclaim their traditional space in the Big Ten's first division.
With their 18-point win over Michigan on Wednesday, they finally received a reward for their marked improvement of late.
"We wish we were playing Illinois about three weeks ago instead of now," Painter said. "I think they're in a good place right now."
Illinois' better play coincides with freshman point guard Demetri McCamey's ascension to the starting lineup.
McCamey's assist-to-turnover ratio in Big Ten play (22-to-8) ranks fourth in the league behind such notables as Michigan State's Drew Neitzel and Ohio State's Jamar Butler.
But Illinois' improvement also coincides with a better mental perspective from senior Brian Randle.
After playing a total of 35 minutes while fouling out against Penn State and Wisconsin, Randle played 68 minutes against Indiana and Michigan and delivered 28 points and 20 rebounds.
"I just want to play the best I can for these guys," Randle said. "I know there's going to be some good days and bad days, but just enjoy them and enjoy college and have fun and be free.
"You just try to enjoy it and hopefully leave a mark for these younger guys to continue the legacy of Illinois basketball."
Illinois (9-9, 1-4)
at Purdue (12-5, 3-1)
When: 1 p.m. at Mackey Arena
TV: ESPN
Radio: WIND 560-AM
The skinny: The last time the Illini visited Purdue's gym, they suffered one of the most embarrassing losses of Bruce Weber's tenure. The Boilers reeled off 21 points in a row to take a 25-4 lead that never shrank smaller than 12 in a 64-47 whipping. If Illinois opts to match Purdue's intensity this time -- and the Illini have enough perimeter players to match when the Boilers go with five guards -- this could become the program's first road win since Feb. 24 at Penn State.
The Boilers employ nine players between 15 and 28 minutes per game, which leads to balanced scoring from Keaton Grant (11.4 ppg), Robbie Hummel (10.3), Scott Martin (10.1) and E'Twaun Moore (10.0). Grant is a sophomore while the other three are freshmen. Illinois' best non-senior or junior scorer is freshman point guard Demetri McCamey (6.4 ppg).
-- Lindsey Willhite