Illini's McCamey draws early comparisons to Williams

With a career-high 31 points against Indiana last week, plus a near triple-double at Minnesota on Tuesday, freshman guard Demetri McCamey has revived early comparisons to former Illini great Deron Williams.

"Oh, there's no doubt," said Illinois coach Bruce Weber. "I told somebody a week or so ago, Deron got to a point where he got it. He understood. He became coachable. He made the commitment. He put the time in.

"The key question is, when is Demetri gonna get it? I think he's starting to understand, realizing how hard you have to go."

Judging by the frequency of Weber's critiques, McCamey isn't close to the lockdown defender that Williams was.

But the freshman from Bellwood has already come closer to a triple-double than Williams did during his three years as an Illini.

In Williams' first game as a sophomore, he racked up 11 points, a career-best 9 rebounds and 8 assists against Western Illinois.

McCamey piled up 10 points, 11 assists and 8 rebounds Tuesday at Minnesota. The latter two stats are personal bests.

"He's got the natural vision," Weber said. "He's got the body. … he has some similarities, and we've said that since the beginning. Hopefully, he can live up to that."