Weber experiments with Illini lineups

CHAMPAIGN -- Working from handwritten notes on a rumpled piece of yellow legal paper, Illinois coach Bruce Weber tried to balance playing time for 14 young men Tuesday.

Every five minutes or so, he sent five fresh players into the Illini's exhibition finale against Division II Kentucky Wesleyan.

Why so scripted?

With the season opener against Northeastern just four days away, Weber needed to glean approximately 14 answers from his team's fifth and final public rehearsal.

"I wish I had answers," he said. "It's a difficult situation. There's consistency, there's inconsistency."

While he didn't quite get everything he needed in that respect, at least the Illini didn't come away with a loss like Ohio State did to Findlay.

Illinois scored the game's first 15 points and rolled to a 76-39 victory over a tired Panthers squad playing its fourth game in five nights.

Junior guard Trent Meacham led Illinois with 12 points as no one played more than 19 minutes.

But the level of play wasn't indicative of a 37-point whipping -- and not just because the Illini tried many combinations that probably won't be seen in the regular season.

Late in the first half, Weber angrily called timeout after four Illini stood and gawked as a Kentucky Wesleyan player grabbed a loose ball and laid it in.

"Get on the floor!" Weber seethed. "Dive on the floor! Play basketball! If you want to win games, that's how you play!"

Illinois' freshman big men went in different directions Tuesday. Weber started Mike Davis (4 points, 2 rebounds) and Mike Tisdale (1-for-5, 7 points, 2 rebounds), while Bill Cole (7 points, 4 rebounds) came off the bench.

Weber suggested, in a perfect world, he'd redshirt two of his youngsters.

"I'm not sure we're going to have that," he said. "Our young guys have been better than we thought. That puts us in a little bit of a bind. We might not redshirt anybody."

If any stretch was representative of Illinois' immediate future, it came at the start of the second half when Weber paired seniors Shaun Pruitt and Brian Randle with juniors Chester Frazier, Rodney Alexander and Steve Holdren.

They went on a 12-2 run in the first four minutes after intermission as Pruitt delivered 5 points and 3 assists while repeatedly passing out of double teams to the open man.