CHAMPAIGN — Midway through the first half of Monday's exhibition game, Tracy Abrams got a vote of confidence from Bruce Weber.

"You're all right," the coach told his point guard of the future. "Just do what you can do."

What Abrams is doing might be the most important development of this preseason for Illinois. The freshman from Chicago Mount Carmel is proving to be further along in his evolution into a point guard than the Illini expected.

Abrams wasn't perfect in Illinois' 73-45 win against Quincy University in front of about 3,000 scattered around the Assembly Hall. But he was more than capable and always competitive. And in practice is where Abrams has steadily improved and started to earn the coaches' trust.

"I think Tracy has been very positive," Weber said.

Of the five positions, point guard is the most unsettled. That is especially true as senior transfer Sam Maniscalco continues to be in and out of practice as he nurses a sore ankle.

Maniscalco played 11 minutes Monday — all in the first half before coaches shut him down — while Abrams played 23. The senior had three points and stayed healthy in limited time; his understudy had 10 points, five rebounds, two assists and two turnovers.

Abrams' coaches — current and former — have told the rookie his best move would be shadowing Maniscalco and learning from the veteran. He's taken the advice to heart, sitting next to Maniscalco when both are on the bench and asking questions in practice.

"He (Abrams) has probably played like one of the best players on the team in the past couple practices," said D.J. Richardson, who led all scorers with 17 points.

Illinois knew what it was getting in Abrams — on the defensive end. Assistant coach Jerrance Howard has Abrams' name in his cell phone as "Bulldog," and Abrams' competitive streak on defense reminds of former Illini guard Chester Frazier.

They weren't sure, however, how he would acclimate on offense. In high school, out of necessity, he played as much on the wing and at forward as he did at the point. At times he still plays too fast and drives too far into a defense.

That's why Weber could be heard saying from the bench, "Slow down" or "Take what they give you." The best part about him, however, might be his willingness to take coaching and learn, one reason he has progressed over the past two weeks. His development at the point not only is crucial for this season but for the next three, as well.

"The thing is he wants to learn, continually coming over and asking questions," Weber said. "I'm just trying right now to push it and attack. Not to go crazy but to put pressure on the defense."

Illinois opens the regular season Friday against Loyola. Abrams was the starting point guard in the final exhibition game and figures to see big minutes early in the season.

Shuffling the cards. The UI coaches wanted to get a look at as many lineup combinations as possible in the final exhibition game. At one point Weber fielded five players with little or no experience at Illinois: Maniscalco, Joe Bertrand, Myke Henry, Mike Shaw and Ibrahima Djimde.

"My biggest challenge is just going to figure out rotations — who and when and why," Weber said after getting 11 players at least 11 minutes. "I guess it's good we have a few more home games here to figure that out."

Weber has said he wants to play a deeper rotation this season.

However, Monday's exhibition was an example why coaches often shy away from 10- or 11-man rotations. All the lineup shuffling seemed to disrupt their chemistry on the court and disallow any sort of continuity. The Illini finished with 17 assists and 16 turnovers.

"It definitely wasn't a masterpiece, by any means," Weber said.

"Taking care of the ball is one of the big things the team needs to work on, too," Bertrand added.

Man on a mission. What's more impactful than winning games?

What Weber has done with the Coaches vs. Cancer program at Illinois.

The American Cancer Society last week honored Weber with its Partners in Progress award. In eight years working with the ACS, Weber has helped raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for cancer research and awareness.

"Everyone has someone close to them, whether it's a friend or someone in your family, that has been affected (by cancer)," Weber said last week at the Covington Classic, another fundraiser for Coaches vs. Cancer.

Mike Shaw, passer. Late in the first half, Shaw whizzed an over-the-head assist to Bertrand for a layup. That was a flashy play, but the freshman has shown in practices he can make the easy pass, too.

In fact, Shaw has proven to be one of the team's better passers. He might be the team's best post-entry passer. It is one aspect of the forward's game that often gets overlooked.

"The young guys might not be pretty right now, but they play hard and get to the boards," Weber said.

Shaw had a game-high nine rebounds to go with two assists in 20 minutes. Another freshman, Henry, added eight rebounds in 19 minutes.

Sidelined. Freshman swingman Devin Langford dressed for the game but did not play as he nurses a broken finger. Langford has been going through one-handed dribbling drills and light shooting in practice. The injured digit is his left ring finger.

Weber said Langford is roughly one week ahead of schedule in his recovery. He said Langford might return to contact drills before the Cancun tournament that opens two weeks from today.

"It'll be close," Weber said. "He's done a lot more than he probably should have, to be honest, on the sidelines and shooting."

Crandall Head also wore warmups but didn't play due to a suspension. He's scheduled to return for the third regular season game — Nov. 17 against Lipscomb.

"Crandall, because of his situation, he's put himself behind and he's got to work his way back in," Weber said.

Sam on the mend. Coaches stuck to their plan to get Maniscalco (ankle) around 8-12 minutes Monday. Weber said they are hoping he can play around 15 minutes in the season opener Friday.

"Each day we've tried to lengthen his amount of practice without doing too much," Weber said.

D(J) for three. In practice sessions, Richardson has been the team's most consistent shooter. That carried into the second exhibition game as he made 4 of 6 three-point attempts on his way to a game-high 17 points. Coaches appreciated the efficiency.

"I was the leading scorer this game and Meyers (Leonard) was the leading scorer the last game," Richardson said. "That's the kind of team we have this year."

Defense. Midway through the second half, Weber hollered from the sideline, "Five in a row!" The coach wanted to see shutouts on five consecutive defensive possessions.

The Illini's pressure defense isn't where he wants it to be, but there was an uptick in their defensive intensity from the first exhibition game. Quincy shot just 30.9 percent from the field and didn't reach 30 points until there was 9:24 remaining.

Illinois also held Quincy, which lost by 39 points at Illinois State on Sunday, without a field goal for roughly 10 minutes in the second half.

The visitors finally scored when the Illini switched to a zone defense for one possession. There goes that idea.

All-around effective. The game's highlight also came on the defensive end. Quincy guard Jordan Wilson drove for what appeared to be an uncontested layup. Instead, Bertrand elevated and slapped the shot against the top of the white square on the backboard.

Forget that he was called for a foul. The play put Bertrand's athleticism on display.

"Everybody wants that starting spot," said Bertrand, who earned a starting spot in the second half and had an all-around game with eight points, five rebounds, three assists and three steals in 21 minutes. "Coach has been changing up the starting lineup every game, so practices have been really competitive. And I'm trying to get that starting spot."