It's Brandon Paul's world...or it will be

Two wins down, 36 to go for Illinois’ perfect season.

No. 23 Illinois didn’t prove a ton of things during its 80-61 win over Northern Illinois on Tuesday night -- other than the fact the Illini struggled to contain the dribble-drive and couldn’t keep the smaller Huskies off the offensive glass -- but that’s what these early-season games are for.

With three new guys in Illinois’ nine-man rotation (and junior F Bill Cole really should be considered a fourth because he played just 157 minutes in his first two years), performances and perceptions are going to shift from day-to-day. Or, in fact, from half-to-half.

Freshman guard Brandon Paul delivered another ridiculous opening half. He poured in 20 points in the first 17 minutes as he drilled 4 of 5 3-pointers. He skied for a putback. He slashed to the basket on the right side and somehow decided to switch the ball to his left hand for a short bank. If Dick Vitale had been in Assembly Hall, he might have gagged on his tongue praising Paul.

In fact, as Paul’s 20-point spree led Illinois to a 46-27 lead with three minutes left in the first half, the fella sitting next to me on press row (my Rivals.com guy Brad Sturdy) typed into his running commentary thread that Paul will be the Big Ten’s Freshman of the Year and a Freshman All-American.

Then came the final 23 minutes. Asked to run the point with Demetri McCamey on the bench, Paul committed 2 turnovers. In the second half, he missed all 5 of his shots as he kept settling for 3-point tries. Open 3-point tries, but you could see his confidence shrinking with each miss. He finished with 20 points as coach Bruce Weber muttered (and yelled) a few not-so-complimentary things in Paul’s direction.

Yet, when the game was over, Paul still had the game’s high point total and also owned the team’s best Matto point total. (For those of you new to Illini Nation, the Matto points are a way to measure a guy’s defensive hustle and productivity. Paul had 2 blocks, took 2 charges, nabbed a steal and had a few deflections. That led to 11 of Illinois’ 54 Matto points).

Nonetheless, Weber was inspired after the game to say, “Can you imagine if Brandon Paul would ever go get intense?” Combining that comment with a few of the things Weber said during the game, I wondered if Paul was his new Demetri McCamey-esque project -- the No. 1 whipping boy that Weber believes he needs to tame and fix with his brand of corrective coaching. And Bruce replied (with a smile):

“I hope he’s not that bad. One of the best things about him, though, is he doesn’t change his temperament. We’ve yelled at him. We’ve got after him. We’ve teased him. And he just comes back and plays. And that’s a good thing. I think that’s why he’s playing so well.”

In 2 games, Paul owns 42 points in 58 minutes. He has hit 8 of 14 3-point attempts. Grabbed 3.5 rebounds. Those numbers are in contrast to fellow freshman starter D.J. Richardson, whose injured right elbow seems to affect everything he does. There was even a play in the first half where a loose ball came D.J.’s way. If he stuck out his right arm -- the one closest to the ball -- he would’ve gained possession. But he stuck his left arm in there awkwardly and NIU took it away.

“D.J. right now, and I don’t think we’re yelling at him, he’s just got himself into a little bit of a nervous wreck,” Weber said. “He needs to relax. I just told him on the bench, ‘You’re a good player. You’ve been all over the country last year. You’ve played against the top kids in the country. You’ve played on TV. Now, just act like it.’ But I hope it comes with some time with him.

“You know, Brandon is still very good. He’s a little bit casual. The worst thing right now we’ve got to help him with is shot selection. Even if you go to his high school coach, you go to his AAU coach, you go to his mom, they used to call me and tell me to call him (and tell him) not to shoot; not to give in to 3s (Note: Eight of Paul’s 16 shots on Tuesday were 3-pointers. The rest of the team tried 5 3s out of 46 shots). He’s too talented. He can get to the basket. He can get to the free-throw line. That’s what he’s got to learn. If you’re on your heat check and you make 3 or 4 3s in a row, that’s fine.”

But when Paul missed his first 3-pointer in the second half?

“The second one now, you didn’t make the first one, (so you should) shot fake, drive to the bucket, dunk on somebody. Or penetrate and kick. Get to the free-throw line. Do those things. But that’s the best thing about him. He’s dealt with (coaching). He’s kept his temperament, his composure. He listens, learns. I still want him to play harder. There’s no doubt about it.”

Wait. Junior forward Mike Davis (who grabbed a career-high 17 rebounds on Tuesday) wants to chime in on Paul as well. It's almost a public-service announcement paid for by Weber:

"I told Brandon in the huddle, he's our best athlete on the team. He should get 6/7 rebounds a game. He's a freshman. He's learning. He's got to crash the board a little more. I think he could be our second-leading rebounder if he puts his mind to it. "

LW