CHAMPAIGN — After Meyers Leonard strung together a personal highlight reel, Loyola coach Porter Moser looked to the scorer's table with a question.

"Is there a media timeout coming?" Moser asked.

Time, it seems, is all that can delay Leonard's development. To this point, the 7-foot-1 sophomore center has taken baby steps toward college stardom.

Now the steps are coming rapid-fire. He had career highs in points (15) and blocks (six) as Illinois beat Loyola 67-49 in the season opener Friday.

A crowd of roughly 14,000 at the Assembly Hall witnessed what the Illini have seen daily in recent practice sessions: the maturation of the next star at Illinois.

You knew he could dunk, like he did on a monster alley-oop from Brandon Paul to close the first half. But now he's more comfortable shooting a jumper and has better timing on his blocks. During that impressive run in the second half, Leonard blocked a shot into the Orange Krush, followed that with a 12-foot jumper and followed that with another block.

"I would say it was like the last week," Leonard said. "I don't really know what happened, to be honest. There was just one practice that I took over. I really did. I was scoring literally every possession. ... After practice that time, it just really felt good."

Freshman Nnanna Egwu earned a starting spot in Leonard's place because Leonard was late for the game-day shootaround.

"He's been so good for 10 straight days, I hated to not start him. I told him that," UI coach Bruce Weber said. "The best thing is he reacted in a mature, positive manner. And he wouldn't have done that a year ago."

The fact that Leonard did his work without committing careless fouls — he had only one — allowed Weber to play Leonard and Egwu together for long stretches.

It's rare when the twin towers are put on the same side in practice sessions. It certainly caused problems.

"Maybe Coach will try putting us together more in practice," said Leonard, who added his first career three-pointer. "I feel like we did a nice job together."

Egwu and Leonard combined for nine blocks. The team had 13 blocks, one shy of the program record (vs. Denver, 1978).

"He's more physical than I've seen. He's very physical," Moser said of Leonard. "His mobility is really going to help them on defense."

Loyola made it a game into the second half, twice pulling within four points after halftime. Illinois pulled away behind Leonard, Brandon Paul (14 points) and a pressure defense that forced 22 turnovers.

Forward Tyler Griffey added 10 points. If there was a downside to the frontcourt's healthy night, it was a lack of free throw attempts (two from the big men). But that gives the coaches something to prod Leonard with in practice today.

Freshman point guard Tracy Abrams led the Illini with seven rebounds as the Illini won their 13th straight season opener.

"He (Abrams) plays like a bulldog," said Paul, who had 14 points. "That's our nickname for him."

Leonard is quick to acknowledge he is far from a finished product, but his growth over the past month shows a bright future. Really, it was the same way he has played in practice — at times overwhelming and ready with highlight-reel plays.

"The thing I'm most happy about is just how hard we played," said Weber, who noted the team had a high number on the Matto chart (48 hustle points).