His shooting has fallen short of his expectations this season, but Illinois’ Deron Williams no longer is frustrated.
“The last three or four games, he has kind of relaxed,” Illinois coach Bruce Weber said Thursday. “He’s not quite as worried about his shot.”
Williams has switched his focus to passing and it has served him well. He had a career-high 12 assists in top-ranked Illinois’ 90-64 victory over Penn State on Wednesday night and improved his assist average to 6.9 a game, tops in the Big Ten.
“Early on when I was struggling with my shooting, it was affecting the rest of my game,” he said.
Since late December, Williams hasn’t forced as many shots and has committed far fewer turnovers.
His shooting also has shown signs of improvement. He went 3 of 6 on three-pointers against Penn State.
It’s clear, however, Williams doesn’t have to carry the burden, especially with guards Dee Brown and Luther Head shooting better than 50 percent.
“I’ve been giving them the ball because I know they’re hot,” Williams said. “Both of them are shooting nearly 50 percent on threes. You can’t beat that.”
Earlier this week, Weber talked with Williams about his strengths.
“He’s a great defender,” Weber said. “He has a great feel for the game. He has a heck of a body.
“`Be proud of those things and use those things,'” Weber said he told Williams. “I said, `Why do you think NBA guys like you? It’s because you can do things a lot of other people can’t do.'”
Williams said, and Weber agreed, he has not spent time worrying about the possibility of entering the NBA draft this year.
“I’m going to worry about it after the season,” he said. “I’m focused on winning a Big Ten championship and trying to win a national championship.”
No comparison
Brown dislikes comparisons between this year’s Illini and the 1988-89 Flying Illini. Brown and his teammates tied that team’s record for the season’s best start Wednesday with their 17th straight victory.
“They’re the best basketball team that ever came through here,” Brown said. “We’re trying to accomplish what they did. Until we do that, I can hardly even think about [it].”
Stephen Bardo, a member of the 1988-89 team, cracked Wednesday that the current Illinois aren’t as good as his squad because they haven’t been to the Final Four.
Williams responded with his own good-natured jab.
“He’s right,” Williams said. “They proved they could win at the highest level. That’s our goal this year. But before he opens his mouth, he has to wait until April. We ain’t had the chance yet.”
