Alex Legion makes his Illini debut tonight and the ideal scenario for Coach Bruce Weber has happened up to this point.

There was real concern among the Illini coaching staff before the season that if the Illini got off to a slow start in 2008-09...that Alex Legion would be looked upon by too many Illinois fans as the "missing piece" that would have to come in and start pouring in points right away.  That concern was only natural....especially after the departure of Jamar Smith.

As it turns out...the Illini offense is doing just fine (about 70 ppg) and the Illini are #2 in the country in assist percentage.  There is a real strong bond off the court between team members...and that is carrying over into unselfish play on the court. 

Now it is up to Legion to "blend in" with the current successful rotation.  I think the biggest battle he will face is "thinking" too much.  How often does he shoot the ball?  Should he defer more to his teammates?  Those are things that will have to be worked out as the Illini  go along and Legion appeared to be showing a little "tightness" in the most recent practices leading up to his possible debut Saturday night.

Certainly though....Alex brings some more offensive firepower to the team...as well as more depth.  In fact....his shooting ability in previous practices has rivaled that of Jamar Smith (not quite that good but not far off either).  Coach Weber tells me Alex is probably able to create his own shot a little better than Jamar could.

One other thing to keep in mind.  Legion has only played (6) college games in his career (at Kentucky)...so give him a little bit of time before you decide whether or not the wait for him was worth it.

If you want to peek ahead at the Missouri game Tuesday night....go ahead.