CHAMPAIGN - I don't know how good Brandon Paul is or will become, but I know this: Through two games of this Illini basketball season, the freshman guard has become a lightning rod for excitement in the Assembly Hall.

I don't know how good D.J. Richardson is or will become, but I know this: Throughout the summer, and until he hurt his elbow last week, the freshman guard had established himself as Illinois' most willing defender, mature beyond his years, and a better-than-average scorer.

I don't know how good Jereme Richmond is, or how good Crandall Head or Meyers Leonard will become, but I know this: Those three recruits who will be freshmen next year are rare athletes just scratching the surface of their potential.

Throw in verbally committed 2011 recruits Tracy Abrams and Nnanna Egwu and here's what is clear: The University of Illinois basketball program is turning a page, stocking the shelves with an elite caliber of athlete who is unlike what Illini fans have been seeing the past few years.

A much-needed upgrade in recruiting is going full throttle now as coach Bruce Weber and his staff are bringing to the program the kind of players who can take Illinois back toward the Final Four.

I'm not predicting how quickly this might happen. The common theory is that if players stay healthy and normal growth can be projected, Illinois could be on the short list of teams with a reasonable chance at that lofty goal next season.

We also know college athletics is a crap shoot, a dice roll predicated on matchups, injuries, luck, fate and the unpredictable mood of a 19-year-old who may have just caught his girlfriend texting sweet nothings to one of the football players.

There's no point in belaboring the limitations of some recent past players, guys whose effort was unquestioned, but who could not shoot, could not create shots or who lacked the sudden explosion that sets premier athletes apart. But because we watched a number of those players the past few years, the difference now with the arrival of Paul, Richardson, Joseph Bertrand and Tyler Griffey is like being splashed in the face with ice water.

It's an awakening, and judging from the reaction in the Assembly Hall through two games, fans are overjoyed to be awake again.

Oh, sure, there will be bumps and disappointments. Even now, Weber said Richardson is battling a crisis of confidence with his ball-handling. It's something he'll have to fight through, the coach said.

Paul will have nights when his 3-point shot doesn't fall. He'll get frustrated, as freshmen do. And Weber is already warning that Paul needs to play with more intensity if he's going to reach deep into his well of potential.

But with Demetri McCamey playing lighter and quicker and finally able to push the ball, and with Mike Davis pogo-sticking on the glass, and with enough role players to mix and match, the fun won't have to wait until next season. It's already here, friends.

Now, if we can get all of the games back on network or cable television, and away from the annoying trend toward early-season Internet broadcasts, fans from Carmi to Clinton will be happier.

After Illinois got sloppy a few times in Tuesday night's 80-61 victory over Northern Illinois, I was curious to see if Weber would arrive at the interview room snarling at the mistakes.

He did not.

At least early-on, he has a curious patience with this group. He clearly likes the mix and he welcomes the changing makeup of the roster. Plainly put, it's more fun to coach exceptional athletes who can make plays on their own, rather than having to manufacture every play out of hard work and clever ingenuity.

It's when a team has exceptional athletes as well as hard work and clever ingenuity that championships happen. Weber knows how to orchestrate that. In his six years at Illinois, he has two Big Ten titles and two runnerup finishes.

The feeling has always been, give Weber an abundance of talent and the sky is the limit. As Paul and Richardson are showing, the talent is arriving. Looking ahead, I will place no limits.

mtupper@herald-review.com|421-7983