- The entire Klee's Corner will publish Sunday on HQ. For last week's Corner, click here.

WHAT I'M HEARING
- I'm hearing, once again, Dominique Keller's biggest impact at Illinois has come off the court. He's the dispatcher, the networker, the recruiter, the socialite (in a good way) that keeps the current Illini connected with the incoming Illini. "I talk to those guys (the 2009 recruits) almost every day," Keller said. "At least one of them, I try to talk to them every day. Usually we just text, but sometimes we'll get on the phone and just talk."

- I'm hearing that's an attitude that had been missing from the Illinois locker room. Odd that it would come from a junior college transfer with just 12 months in the program.

- I'm hearing the coaches appreciate Keller's willingness to connect with incoming recruits. "That's kind of his thing," coach Bruce Weber said. "I think he's done a good job with making sure those guys feel welcome and feel like they're a part of it."

- I'm thinking Keller's recruiting relationships extend beyond the men's half of the Ubben Basketball Complex. A Houston-area native, Keller often text messaged with former UI women's recruiting target Kelsey Bone, another Texan.

- I'm hearing Keller already has a nickname for incoming freshman Brandon Paul. "Brandon's 'Mighty Mouse,'" he said with a laugh. "I call him Mighty Mouse because of his ears. He's been hoopin' and getting ready. It's a good group of kids. We can't wait to get them."

- It helps Keller's networking efforts that he's a Facebook and Twitter pro. "I used to spend a lot of time on Facebook. I don't really get around to that anymore," he said. "When you're in the ages of 18-24, that's the time to use it. I'm into the Twitter thing."

- Keller (dkeller23) said of Twitter: "I usually do 20 (tweets) a day. Today I woke up, had an academic meeting with Troy (Collier), had another academic meeting at 10, went back home, waited for Calvin (Brock) and his mom and ate lunch with them. And I let everybody know what I was doing. You just post your status, people read it and you're done. It's easy."

- Like UI coach Bruce Weber, Keller is relatively new to the Twitter movement.
"I didn't know about it until Charlie Villanueva did it at halftime (of an NBA game)," he said. "Then I looked it up and said, 'I gotta get up on there.'"

- Before an individual workout in the spring, Keller tweeted: "At the gym, fixin' to get yelled at by coach (Wayne) McClain."

- Keller isn't one of the big guys that's looking to add significant strength this offseason - not like Mike Davis and Mike Tisdale - but the UI weightlifting program is paying off. He entered the program at 220 pounds and is now at 230. "I'm hoping to get to 240 by the time I leave," he said.

- Though Richard Semrau will be a fourth-year junior, next season is the rare campaign when Illinois has just one senior. "I thought about it a little at the banquet, how I'm going to be the lone senior. I know it's my last chance to make a big impact," Keller said. "I've got to pick up my role immediately. I know the freshmen are going to look up to me and follow what I do. So I've got to pick it up and get mature and grow and be a better player."

- Chicago St. Ignatius and Illinois Wolves standout Nnana Egwu took an unofficial visit to the UI campus on Wednesday. The 6-foot-9 forward is one of several 2011 prospects with a scholarship offer from Illinois.

- Talent evaluator Joe Henricksen of Chicago's City/Suburban Hoops Report said Egwu is a work in progress, though his potential is evident.
"I wouldn't anticipate Egwu being an immediate-impact type of player as a freshman, but if he chooes the right program he won't have to be. There will have to be a level of patience, both now and in the future, with Nnana," Henricksen said. "But if he makes the same strides and makes as big of a jump over the next two years as he has the last two years, he's going to be a top-50 player nationally."