Illinois trounces SIU-Edwardsville

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Meyers Leonard, Jerome Jones, Alex Mayfield

Updated: December 16, 2011 8:24AM

CHAMPAIGN — A few NBA scouts have dropped by Illinois’ practices lately — and not just because they have time on their hands.

The object of their interest is Illini center Meyers Leonard. Considering that the 7-1 sophomore wasn’t a big factor last season, this might sound like, ‘‘Hello, I must be going,’’ as Groucho Marx used to say.

On the other hand, if Leonard can show some things this season, pro teams never have been shy about drafting potential. So Leonard’s first ‘‘real’’ season at Illinois might be his last, as shocking as that might seem. Which means
Illini coach Bruce Weber will have to stay on his recruiting toes.

After showing up at the shootaround an hour early for extra work, D.J. Richardson tied his
career high with 20 points and led Illinois past SIU-Edwardsville
66-46 on Monday.

After not rebounding well in the Illini’s season opener Friday against Loyola, Leonard (eight points, 11 rebounds) and Tyler Griffey (14 points, 10 rebounds) both came up with career highs in rebounds as Illinois took care of business. It was the first double-double of Griffey’s career.

‘‘We’ve been on both of those guys to rebound,’’ Weber said.
‘‘Tyler doesn’t always play strong on the boards. He’s getting the message. Same thing with Meyers. But they should dominate the boards with their size advantage.’’

This was the first game of a four-game set for the Illini in the Cancun Challenge. Illinois will play Lipscomb on Thursday in Champaign, then travel to the Mexican beach resort for the final two games — Nov. 22 against Richmond and
Nov. 23 against Rutgers or Illinois State. It’s not the most challenging Challenge, but Weber wanted to give his young team an opportunity to polish its skills before the nonconference schedule toughens up.

The Illini looked like they needed that work when they let the Cougars (0-1) close to 44-37 with 13:30 left. From there, Illinois put together an 11-0 run for a 55-37 lead.

The Illini, who got too sloppy and too speedy at times, committed 22 turnovers.

‘‘We played hard again, and we shut them down pretty well,’’
Weber said. ‘‘The disappointing thing is, we never could sustain runs. You can’t have 22 turnovers. Some of it, we’re just going too fast. We’re trying to learn about each other, more than anything.’’