Watch Paul Klee's postgame thoughts here.

CHAMPAIGN – Shortly before Illinois began an 88-53 blowout of Western Michigan on Sunday, Dominique Keller was chatting up super-recruit Jereme Richmond behind the Illini bench.

"I'm basically a nice guy," Keller explained.

And that's been his behind-the-scenes M.O. The 6-foot-7 forward has been one of Bruce Weber's most effective recruiters – despite having zero ties to the Illini program when he arrived as a junior college transfer. But if a prospect is on campus, you can bet your Orange Krush T-shirt he will spend time with the gregarious Texan.

On the court, this season hasn't gone how Keller envisioned. He's a senior coming off the bench, and that's not what a senior wants. But Keller made like Vinnie Johnson with a season-high 15 points – one shy of his career high – as Illinois (8-2) steamrolled Western Michigan (3-4).

"We've had some heart-to-hearts with me doing a lot of the talking," said Weber, and if you know D.K., he's usually the one doing the talking. "Maybe slowly but surely he's starting to figure things out."

Keller's scoring delighted an announced crowd of 14,886 at the Assembly Hall in the Illini's final game there until Dec. 30. He made all three of his three-point attempts – and all in the first half – and helped Illinois to a 40-10 edge in bench scoring.

"The games that they've struggled in, their depth has not played as well as it did today," said Broncos coach Steve Hawkins.

"Before the game the older guys said in the huddle, 'Come out there and jump out to a big lead so everybody can get in the game,' " said Mike Davis, who had his fifth double-double in 10 games with 12 points and 10 rebounds.

An overlooked aspect of Weber's recruiting bonanza is the role of the players. Unlike some recent teams, the current bunch considers recruiting to be a part of its job description. Keller, for one, would have weekly phone conversations with D.J. Richardson and Tyler Griffey when the freshmen were still in high school.

On Sunday, players made time to rap with UI recruits Richmond, Crandall Head and Nnanna Egwu – not to mention key target Chasson Randle, who also attended the game.

"He picked all of us up, especially me and Joe (Joseph Bertrand)," Richardson said. "He put us on his shoulders and brought us some life. Every day in the summer, I think we probably spent, like, six or seven hours together."

Illinois has scored at least 76 points in eight of 10 games. But it defended with a purpose against Western Michigan, holding an opponent below 60 points for just the second time.

"I thought, 'That's how I envisioned our team to be,' " Weber said.