Weber signs junior college power forward

Earlier in the week, Bruce Weber lost a junior-college transfer who came to Illinois a year ago with great expectations.

On Thursday, Weber signed another junior-college recruit who is coming to Illinois with even greater expectations.

If things go as planned, Dominique Keller, an energetic 6-foot-7, 230-pound junior-to-be from Lee College in Baytown, Tex., will be Illinois' power forward from the jump.

"Well, I hope so," Weber said. "I mean, that's our goal. A lot of it is those intangibles. The patience. The mental part of the game. Listening. Being able to adjust. Being able to guard."

Keller certainly delivered the tangibles while at Lee. He averaged 25.5 points, 9.1 rebounds and 2.4 blocks this year with 18.4 points and 6.3 rebounds per game as a freshman.

Weber believes Keller has the versatility to play small forward offensively and center defensively.

But after Illinois' 16-19 season that was disappointing in so many ways -- including some players' unwillingness to embrace certain roles -- Weber is happy to note Keller knows what he is.

"The first thing I did was make him understand he's a '4' man," Weber said. "He said, 'I'm a '4' man, Coach, I know that.'

"And I said, 'I need you to rebound, run the court, be physical and that will help us be successful.' He has accepted that."

With Illinois' starting center (Shaun Pruitt) and power forward (Brian Randle) gone, Keller will compete with Mike Tisdale and Mike Davis for the frontcourt spots.

That slender duo combined for 6.2 points and 3.5 rebounds per game as freshmen. Bill Cole, who's still recovering from late-season leg problems, also could jump into the mix.

With the addition of Keller and the subtraction of Rodney Alexander, the aforementioned junior-college transfer who left the program this week, Illinois has 11 scholarship players for the 2008-09 season.

Senior Trent Meacham, who served as a walk-on last season, likely will receive one of the open scholarships. Freshman Jeff Jordan, another walk-on, is on an academic scholarship.