CHAMPAIGN — Joseph Bertrand doesn't change much.

Still plays tennis when he can, like when he challenged a member of the Illinois women's team and "she crushed me," as he put it. Still watches "Dragon Ball Z," a cartoon from his childhood. Still was one of the last teenagers in America to forego Myspace for Facebook.

"I guess I don't like change very much," he said.

Well, these days he is slightly more popular, which is saying something for a guy that was voted prom king at his high school. After going off against Missouri, Bertrand's cell phone lit up like a Christmas tree.

"It died," he said. "It couldn't even get all the messages coming through."

Now for the other, less-fun side of notoriety. He's no longer an unknown, a 6-foot-5 anecdote buried on the opposing team's scouting report. Purdue hosts Illinois at Mackey Arena today and is preparing as though Bertrand is a major piece of the Illini's gameplan (3 p.m., ESPN2).

"He can give you troubles in terms of matchups," Purdue coach Matt Painter said Friday.

Missouri had no idea what was coming — Who did? — when Bertrand threw a second-half bash and finished with 19 points. He followed that up with 13 points against Minnesota. Either would've been a career high.

That's 32 points in two games. He had just 38 points in the previous 12 games this season. As a redshirt freshman? He had 17 points total.

One question, though, Joseph: Where in Kevin Turner's name did this third-season surge come from?

"Probably I'm just more comfortable out there on the court," said Bertrand, who took a redshirt during the 2009-10 season. "I'm being more aggressive. I passed up a lot of my shots in earlier games. Now I'm just taking them comfortably."

Better yet: Is it here to stay?

"He's kind of broken out of his shell," said Meyers Leonard, who knows a thing or two about season-to-season improvements. "Over the summer he was killing when we were in Italy. It kind of went away and he was frustrated, probably not getting as much playing time as he thought he would. I hope he keeps it up. He's very versatile and he can guard."

Like the situation with Leonard, an increase in playing time has been a significant factor in Bertrand's success. Prior to the Missouri game, Bertrand had never played more than 21 minutes in a game. His minutes in the six previous games: 3, 2, 1, 12, 7 and 6.

His emergence isn't totally without precedent, however. The scoring moves he's shown recently — the pull-up jumper, the floater in the lane, the tip-in — are what he often shows in offseason pickup games. Teammates acknowledge Bertrand, a two-time IHSA dunk champion at Sterling, is the finest athlete on the roster.

And his mother, Lolita Bertrand, wasn't the least bit surprised when Joseph erupted against Missouri. From her courtside seat, Lolita said she appreciated his 9-for-9 shooting effort but said there was still room for improvement in the turnover department. He had two.

Today's matchup figures to make Bertrand a player again. Purdue (11-3, 1-0 Big Ten) often goes with four perimeter players. Illinois (12-2, 1-0) began to show that look against Cornell and Missouri and likely will give it a go again at Mackey Arena.

"You want your best players on the court," as Painter explained, and Bertrand has been one of the Illini's best players of late.

"You're concerned about rebounding, one-on-one defense in the post. There is some risk involved," Painter said of a four-guard lineup. "You also have to make the other team match up to you if you can consistently score the basketball. If you don't, they don't have to match up to you."

After the Minnesota game, the Illinois coaches returned to their offices and flipped on an NBA game. They noticed the pros were showing a four-guard look, as well.

"If we can get Tyler (Griffey) going again and one of the other freshmen to really fill a role, that gives us nine or 10 guys you really feel good about," coach Bruce Weber said.

And, really, Bertrand is the personification of the Illinois roster as a whole: A work in progress that probably hasn't peaked.

"Still evolving and still improving," Weber said. "We don't have a veteran team. We don't have the top seven or eight guys back, like a Missouri has or like we had in 04-05."