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7 p.m. each weekday leading up to the season opener, beat writer Paul Klee will have an update on the Illini or the 2009-10 basketball season:
D.J. Richardson can be his own toughest critic.
That showed when he offered a report card on his performance in Friday's 95-67 exhibition win against Missouri Southern.
"I would give myself a 'C-plus' for the first half," Richardson said today.
And the second half?
"The second half was a B."
Fair enough. But there was more good than bad for a freshman playing in his first exhibition game - and spending time at a relatively new position.
Illinois is hoping Richardson can hold down the point guard slot when veteran guard Demetri McCamey is not. The Peoria product had a few shaky moments against Missouri Southern's defense but adjusted at halftime.
All three of his turnovers came before intermission. More than his scoring (14 points on 5-for-8 shooting) and defense (three steals), coaches wanted to see Richardson take care of the ball and value possessions.
"I feel a lot more comfortable at the 2 (shooting guard)," Richardson said. "I feel comfortable at the 1, but I think I have a better chance of getting my teammates open to score when I'm at the 2. When I started getting the ball to Dominique Keller (12 points), that's when I started getting my points."
Richardson watched film of the game's first half with teammates and coaches. Then he watched the second half by himself. He saw two areas, in particular, for improvement.
"Maintain ball control and keeping my dribble," he said. "Usually in practice my turnovers come from passes. But in the game my turnovers were from handling the ball. I only had one pass turnover in the game, when I tried to pass to Dominique. It's just a mental thing and something I need to work on. I'm going to get better throughout the season at it."
Richardson already is an early favorite to succeed Chester Frazier as the winner of the Matto Award, given to the player with the most hustle points at season's end. It seems an attainable goal, too, to aim for Dee Brown's record of four Matto titles.
Richardson had a team-high seven Matto points in his first exhibition game and said that was the statistic that caught Bruce Weber's eye.
"That would be a great experience for me to win that award. It would show hard I play," he said. "And I think Illini fans would love that, if I win the Matto chart as a freshman."
-Single-game tickets go on sale Tuesday at at 9 am. There are tickets available for all home games and can be purchased through www.fightingillini.com or by phone at 1-866-ILLINI-1.
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