CHAMPAIGN - As problems go, Illini coach Bruce Weber should welcome this one.

One season after sorting out an avalanche of troubles, Weber appears to have a much more pleasant dilemma on his hands. Too many young players are rising up and making it difficult to decide who should redshirt.

Two of them - freshmen Mike Davis and Bill Cole - made a powerful case Wednesday night that they deserve to play as first-year players. Davis, in fact, was the best player on the floor. He turned in a dazzling performance with 13 points and nine rebounds as Illinois beat Quincy 82-61 in the exhibition opener at the Assembly Hall.

The Illini had 11 dunks on the night, including three by the 6-foot-9 Davis, and built a 48-16 halftime lead, which allowed it to survive a turnover-filled second half. Cole added 11 points and eight rebounds, and Trent Meacham and Steve Holdren also scored 11 each.

"Mike Davis shows little glimmers of that (in practice), but to do it for that amount of time, that was pretty impressive," Weber said.

Davis, who was a late signee and didn't arrive from Virginia until the fall semester was beginning, said he had to overcome a case of rookie jitters before he could settle in and do his thing.

"For me it was nerve-wracking," said Davis, who was once thought to be a strong candidate to redshirt but whose improvement has made Weber rethink his role. "I knew I could play, but I didn't know I would catch on so fast."

Davis' nerves showed on his first shot - a short jumper that missed by about 3 feet. But he quickly grabbed a rebound on one end, than slammed home a miss by Meacham on the other end. Just more than a minute later, he dunked over two defenders, and Illinois was off and running with a 25-7 lead.

Before he was done, Davis also scored when he grabbed a pass from Rodney Alexander and, while still hanging in the air, shot the ball into the basket. He also hit a jumper in the lane and scored on a turnaround jump hook to show some versatility.

"He's about the most improved guy since he got here," Weber said. "He has made a lot of strides. He's long and has a very soft shot. He still doesn't know how to play hard and close out and deal with emotions. He gets like a top and just spins around and doesn't know where to go. But with those natural instincts, he has a chance to be a player.

"The same with Billy Cole. He understands the game and has a little toughness and can shoot it. They definitely give us some depth at those spots."

Cole was plenty impressive in his own right.

"It felt good to finally play against someone who wasn't on your own team," said Cole, a 6-9 freshman from Peoria Richwoods.

Cole said he has found a comfort level in Weber's motion offense. "There's a little transition period, but once you find out what the rules are it just sticks with you and it actually becomes kind of easy."

Weber said nearly every player had positive moments, including freshman point guard Demetri McCamey, who had eight points, four rebounds and five assists.

Weber chose not to play Shaun Pruitt and Calvin Brock in order to carve out more playing time for his younger players. And senior Brian Randle, who scored six points in 10 minutes during the first half, did not play in the second period after suffering what Weber said he hopes is a slight injury late in the first half.

"I thought he banged his knee when he fell, but someone else said it was a groin," Weber said. "We'll find out more tomorrow. I just didn't think it was worth playing him in the second half."

And it was a tough game for big men like Brian Carlwell and Mike Tisdale, both of whom fouled out while defending the small but quick Quincy team. "We have to do a better job of post defense in practice," Weber said. "We let everyone fight and wrestle so it's physical for Shaun, then we get out here and all of a sudden they call everything."

Cameron Murkey led Quincy, which made five of six 3-pointers and totaled 17 points. Andre Muse added 16.

After a pair of intrasquad scrimmages Saturday in the Chicago area, Illinois will take on Kentucky Wesleyan in the final exhibition game Tuesday at Assembly Hall. By then Weber hopes to know who might redshirt. Based on Wednesday's game, it won't be an easy call.

Mark Tupper can be reached at mtupper@herald-review.com or 421-7983.