McCamey a new man

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CHAMPAIGN – Exhausted cheers echoed around the Illinois practice facility. A three-hour marathon of a practice finally came to a close.

Players tugged at their sweat-dripping jerseys. Demetri McCamey, a veteran, slumped into a courtside chair with an ice bag on either knee. "I'm getting old," he offered with a laugh.

Truth is, that's not such a bad thing for Illinois basketball. With age – in this case, two seasons under demanding coach Bruce Weber – has come a born-again approach from the Illini's enigmatic lead guard.

Put it this way: Demetri is different.

Sure, you're thinking, more offseason sunshine. We'll see in today's Orange & Blue Scrimmage at the Assembly Hall (4 p.m.). But it's not just a reporter saying so. It's those closest to McCamey, the folks that have prodded and pleaded with the 6-foot-3 showman to realize his potential.

The Illinois strength and conditioning coach.

"I would say his entire mental approach in coming to train is a lot more mature and a lot more professional," Jimmy Price said of the junior. "He comes in and he understands what we're doing can help him. So I think he puts more effort into it than maybe he did before."

The coach that screams Demetri's name when his defense is beaten like a birthday pinata.

"I see a big change in him since last season," associate head coach Wayne McClain said. "I see a Demetri that's trying hard."

The AAU coach that battled the same up-and-down tendencies Weber has witnessed.

"Demetri's as focused and determined as I've seen him," Illinois Wolves director Mike Mullins said.

What are the changes these guys are talking about?

Start with offseason conditioning, because that's where a transformation had to start with McCamey.

The strength coach yanked a sheet of white paper from a file in his office. The sheet was titled "Post-Summer '07 Testing" – measurements from the summer before McCamey's freshman season.

McCamey's weight on that sheet? 219. On Thursday he checked in at 200.

"His body composition – his body fat – is down 5 or 6 percent," said Price, a former Marine with a no-bull approach to workouts.

Training for players like Mike Davis focused on building strength. Davis, for example, put up 11 reps of 185 pounds on the bench press, 11 more than when he arrived. But with McCamey, the focus was on speed and power training and core strength, Price said. They also sought to improve his ability to leap off either foot and score with either hand. At Illini Madness last week, the right-handed McCamey finished a fast break with a left-handed dunk.

"He's similar to how we worked with Deron (Williams)," Price said. "He's strong enough. But we're going to evaluate his weaknesses and work on those."

The changes also include a greater effort on the court. Last season McCamey averaged 30-plus minutes but ranked eighth on the team in average Matto points – .13 per minute – a formula that tracks hustle plays. During an intrasquad scrimmage Tuesday, he tied a team high with seven Matto points.

"He has matured. He has grown up, from school to life, and now hopefully he can make a big step in basketball," Weber said.

That's a mouthful coming from a coach that has been McCamey's No. 1 critic. But McCamey's offseason was the brightest development for an Illinois team that will sink or swim depending on the reborn guard.

"Meechie has so much talent," senior Dominique Keller said. "He's putting all of that together."

Pinpointing the reason for McCamey's 180 isn't so difficult, either.

For one, he's been motivated by the rise of Evan Turner, a close friend and former teammate at Westchester St. Joseph. McCamey's seen Turner front more magazine covers than Megan Fox, and Ohio State's All-America candidate isn't shy about sharing the notoriety with McCamey.

"He's texting all the time, talking trash," McCamey said.

During one practice last season – in preparation for a game against Turner and Ohio State – Weber tried to motivate McCamey by telling him Turner had passed him up.

"And you were just as good as him in high school!" Weber said then.

"He's one of the best players in the country," McCamey said of Turner. "Knowing my ability, where I came up from, I know I can do the same thing."

Second, various NBA mock drafts regularly ignore McCamey for hard-working prospects that aren't necessarily more talented. McCamey, who desperately wants to play in the NBA, would scan mock drafts in search of his name. Now, instead of hoping others take notice of his game, he wants to make certain they have no choice.

"That's where I think I probably messed up the first couple years. I thought about getting to the next level instead of working on my development and helping my team win," McCamey said. "So this year I'm not looking at mock drafts or anything like that. I'm just going to play and let that fall in the hands of Coach Weber and the GMs and everybody in the NBA."

Third, the arrival of freshman guard D.J. Richardson has given McCamey few options other than to pick it up. A bulldogish defender, Richardson matches up with McCamey in daily drills and pickup games, pushing the veteran to respond or risk getting embarrassed by a rookie. Their one-on-one showdowns sometimes are private, like their shooting session Wednesday at the campus rec center, or public, like last week's Illini Madness.

In the latter, McCamey and Richardson squared off in a virtual game of "whatever you can do, I can do better." McCamey nailed a three-pointer; Richardson followed with one of his own.

"He knows I'm going to come after him," Richardson said.

"He reminds me of Chester (Frazier)," McCamey said, using a term of flattery among the Illini. "He's better offensively, but he's going to give it his all in practice, just like Chester."

McCamey's progression is far from over. There are bound to be clashes with coaches – Weber and McCamey are too different to pretend otherwise – and wild three-pointers that test Weber's patience but not the shot clock. (McCamey calls them "heat checks.")

"He knows we're not quitting. We also want him to guard more. We're still going to stay on him," McClain said. "That's going to be something we're going to have stay on top of him, from practice-to-practice. But I think he wants to change that."

It's a start, a new start, that bodes well for the next two seasons, the Illini and their most important player.

"I don't want inconsistent games. I don't want people to say, 'He's just good some games,' " McCamey said, rubbing those iced knees. "It's just about proving to people that I'm a good player, that I want to win and help Illinois get back to the Final Four."

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