For video highlights of McCamey's heroics against Northwestern, click here

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – A strange thing happened after Illinois left the practice court last week.

Sophomore Demetri McCamey critiqued practice.

"He said to us on Tuesday, 'Those guys weren't ready to practice, were they Coach?' " Bruce Weber recalled. "That's a mouthful for him to say, if you've been around practice."

McCamey leads No. 22 Illinois into a game at Indiana today (noon, CBS). He's coming off the biggest shot of his career, a 14-foot, banked-in leaner that beat Northwestern on Thursday, and he's averaging 15.3 points over the last three games.

Now, it's not as if McCamey has undergone a radical transformation when it comes to practice. He remains the favorite target of assistant coach Wayne McClain, who rides the point guard daily, and McCamey's laidback personality makes it unlikely he will ever match Weber's intensity in practice.

But it's a step, and others have noticed McCamey is becoming a more complete player, due in part to his willingness to work on his game without the crowd and bright lights.

"Where he's improving is on defense, making decisions," said Gene Pingatore, who coached McCamey at Westchester St. Joseph. "And that's what's going to happen over time. The skills are going to be the same. You don't pick up any new skills for the most part, but you learn how to play the game as you go on."

Pingatore sat behind the bench as McCamey pushed Illinois to a wild 60-59 comeback win at Northwestern. The longtime St. Joseph coach said McCamey showed a veteran's patience when Illinois faced a 14-point deficit with less than 6 minutes remaining.

"He's making better decisions," Pingatore said. "He's penetrating more. And he needs to do that. That's what he did (at Northwestern), and that's how they turned it around. He's getting better and better as the years go on."

Illinois (20-5, 8-4 Big Ten) hasn't been in a position where it needs a game-winner very often. Before the Northwestern game, only a 48-44 win against Tulsa and a 76-74 loss to Clemson came down to the final possession in regulation.

But when the Illini need a last- second score, "He's the guy you want the ball with," Weber said.

And McCamey is comfortable in that role.

"It just hits me. I guess I was born with it," he said. "Every since I was little, if there was a game on the line or playing HORSE or something, counting 3-2-1, I always wanted to take the last shot. I was born with it."

McCamey has excelled against the Hoosiers (6-17, 1-10), averaging about 16 points in three meetings, with 11 assists and five turnovers.

His history with Indiana, though, goes back further, to the days of his recruitment. He said the Hoosiers were in his "top five," and he was one of the recruits illegally contacted by former coach Kelvin Sampson, according to the NCAA report on the investigation.

"I had a little interview to do (with the NCAA)," McCamey said. "They asked me some questions about Sampson and the recruiting thing."

Players say they've moved on from the whole Illinois-Sampson hullabaloo, saying it's a different Indiana team. But a loss to the woeful Hoosiers would stain their NCAA tournament resume, which includes a number of quality wins and zero bad losses.

"There's a lot at stake for us, and they don't want us to be in the race for a Big Ten championship," senior Calvin Brock said.