It has been said to a point where we seem to take it for granted here, but Demetri McCamey is really important to the success of the Fighting Illini. The offense runs through him, he is the team's leading scorer  he is having articles written about him in the USA Today and he is universally regarded as the best player that this team has to offer. Though perhaps not the out and out best player in the conference, he is certainly the most valuable, accounting for over 50% of all offensive production for the team while playing nearly all 40 minutes every night. He is shooting nearly 50% from the floor and his second in the nation in assists per game (in front of even the hyped John Wall.) To summarize, Demetri McCamey is a damn good basketball player.

We take all of this as a given now, but it was not always the case. Heading into this season, McCamey's success was anything but a done deal. People were most sure about Mike Tisdale and Mike Davis being the keys to success for the Illini as well as the much hyped freshmen guards and maybe even the long overdue breakout of Alex Legion. But McCamey bringing the ball down the court as a primary point guard? That was the perceived weakness.

Chester Frazier was as important to the Illini last year as McCamey is now, a fact which was driven home to Illini fans when Frazier missed the last few games of the season and the first round exit at the hands of Western Kentucky. The logic was, if McCamey could not handle the responsibility then, how could this team fare now? Until Jeff Jordan left the team in early summer there was speculation that he would be the one functioning as the primary ball handler, filling the role of a Chester Frazier as a passer first a defender second, and an offensive threat almost never. when Jordan left the consensus was "wow, those freshmen sure must be good, if Jordan thinks he wont get any playing time."  Well, look where we are now.

Jeff Jordan is not Chester Frazier, the freshmen have proven to be freshmen after all, and Alex Legion is not even an Illini anymore. Demetri on the other hand, has taken on the role of centerpiece to an Illini team that has searched for consistency in every position, but only found it in his point guard.

There are two people to credit for this: Bruce Weber and McCamey himself. Much has been made out of the coaching job Bruce has done with DMAC these past two years. He has always been hardest on him in the press and always asked more of him on the court, in the weight room, in the film room and in the class room. The agreed upon turning point seems to be Demetri's two minute removal from the starting lineup a month and a half ago, which is just another example of Weber's tough love approach. An approach  that has clearly yielded spectacular results. Weber has said he loves McCamey but is always hesitant to complement him, because from then on "he just chills."

Complacency and high expectations have been part of the Demetri McCamey story since he first set foot in the Assembly Hall. His breakout game, against the hated Indiana Hoosiers in the Eric Gordan Game as it will always be remembered raised expectations to levels far beyond what Demetri was prepared for. His performance in that game has sadly been overshadowed in our memory because of the many other storylines and controversies that resulted from it, but to Illini fans, Demetri McCamey would from then on be the heir apparent to Frank Williams and Deron Williams.

For the next two seasons though, the MO of DMAC to show up some games for very big days and vanish for others. Worse still his work ethic and conditioning were questioned as the two biggest factors that were holding him back from reaching his full potential.This is where credit must be given to Demetri for his own development. As much as Weber may have harped on him, it was ultimately up to him to improve himself, his decision making and his conditioning. In the end it is his talent and he is the one maximizing it.

It is important to put into context how surprising it might be that Demetri is now in the position he is, considering the nature of his recruitment. Ask anyone in the know, and you will hear that Demetri McCamey was not the first choice to be the Illini's center piece at guard. Eric Gordon, Derek Rose, E'Twaun Moore and Evan Turner all fell much higher on the list of targets and for good reason, that is a list of four NBA players, as well as the most notable recruiting misses of the Weber era. But from these recruiting debacles came the opportunity for Demetri McCamey to become just as big a name as either of the two Williams were to Illini basketball earlier this decade.  Indeed the only reason McCamey was even noticed by Illini scouts was because they were already present to evaluate Turner's play.

So take a moment this bye week and appreciate just how fortunate this team is to have Demetri McCamey, and ask yourself where would it be without him?