Scouting report: UC Irvine at Illinois

Posted November 06, 2010 11:00 pm

By Lindsey Willhite

UC Irvine (0-0) at Illinois (0-0)

When: 7 p.m. at Assembly Hall

Web: ESPN3.com; Radio: WIND 560-AM

Skinny: Illinois' 106th season opener is the earliest in school history thanks to the exempt nature of the 2K Sports Classic benefiting Coaches vs. Cancer. The 13th-ranked Illini have big dreams with five returning starters, a terrific trio of freshmen and a pair of improved sophomores in Brandon Paul and Tyler Griffey. The Anteaters went 14-18 last year, which led to Pat Douglass' firing and Russell Turner's hiring. Turner plans to pick up the pace, though his best player is 6-foot-5, 250-pound Eric Wise. He averaged 16.3 points, 6.5 rebounds and 3.0 assists last year and there's not an Illini with a similar body. Illini coach Bruce Weber wants more out of PG Demetri McCamey than he saw in two exhibition games, when the all-Big Ten senior averaged 7.5 points and 4.5 assists and shot 33 percent from the field.

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