By MARK TUPPER

H&R Executive Sports Editor

CHAMPAIGN - Freshman maturity is being put to the test within the Illini basketball team.

With two freshmen starting and another making a positive impression with his play off the bench, coach Bruce Weber has tried to acclimate his newcomers to the world of college basketball.

That includes teaching them how to study detailed scouting reports, how to pay attention to preparation in practice and the importance of self-discipline during Thanksgiving break when sleep habits and nutrition need to be taken as seriously as practicing free throws.

Always the teacher, Weber is excited to learn how his freshmen do as 20th-ranked Illinois begins a series of games against better teams.

Tonight the opponent is Wofford College, which won at Georgia, led by 13 in the second half before fading to lose by three at Pittsburgh, and which on Sunday led by two at halftime before falling at Bradley 56-54.

Running through the scouting report at practice Monday, the Illini players learned Wofford is a smart, difficult-to-play basketball team.

"We have tried - even with the exhibition games - to get them used to the preparation and that the little things are important," Weber said of his freshmen. "If you screw up on an out-of-bounds defense against Presbyterian and give up two points, it isn't going to hurt us when we're up by 45. But in a game like this, it might make a difference.

"This is a disciplined team, well-coached," he said. "They are versatile. They run a lot of players at you and they keep making you guard in a lot of different situations. If you are not prepared, they will take advantage. This is good preparation for all of our guys."

That's especially true of freshmen like Brandon Paul, D.J. Richardson and Tyler Griffey, who have been among the most mature first-year players Weber has coached.

Mature so far, Weber cautioned, but he wonders if there will be bumps in the road as Illinois tackles a tough stretch the rest of November and through December.

"We're going to have to see as we get into the grind," Weber said. "We're in a whole new situation. They are on break and they have free time. Are you smart? Do you sleep 14 hours and come to practice groggy and not ready? Do you eat right or stay up too late? That's maturity, and we talk to them about it."

Tonight's battle features two teams that will dip deep into their benches.

"They have great depth," Weber said. "They will play 10 or 11 guys. They will rotate five guys at once. In fact, we thought that changed the tide of the game (with Bradley) when they did that."

Wofford's top player is a young man Weber already knows.

Noah Dahlman, a 6-foot-6 junior from Minnesota, is the brother of a player Illinois recruited, Isaiah Dahlman, who is a senior reserve at Michigan State. Noah led the Southland Conference in scoring last season with 17.8 points per game and he leads Wofford early on this year.

"He was part of an unbelievable high school run," Weber said of Dahlman, who helped win three state championships and who is the all-time Minnesota prep rebounding leader. "He knows how to post up, he's smart, uses his body and is good at getting to the glass.

"And Junior Salters is one guy who has the ability to create shots. He gets points for them," Weber said.

Weber has been pleased with the play of his freshmen, the rebounding of junior Mike Davis and the way junior guard Demetri McCamey is pushing the ball. And he's pleased with the quality of play off the bench.

What he wants to see now is more from starting center Mike Tisdale, who through three games is averaging 7.7 points and 4.7 rebounds.

"He probably hasn't played up to what he expects and we expect," Weber said. "Some of it is the tempo of the game, some of it is playing against teams with smaller players. But I got after him the last couple of days and said he can't just give up and say, ‘We're playing small so I'm not going to get involved as much.'

"He has to find ways. He can't give in. We need him to be successful and he has to continue to push himself and not be satisfied. It's a little slow start, but now he has to step up and make a difference for us."

mtupper@herald-review.com|421-7983