"It was real
fun," Paul said. "He's a great player and that was
really the first time I've played against him or watched
him play. He really impressed me."
For
Bertrand, it was his second stellar effort at the
Assembly Hall in front of the Illinois fans. Last winter
he had a big game against another Illinois commitment,
2009 Peoria central star
D.J. Richardson.
"I don't know if it's just the
atmosphere or maybe going up against another great
player like that," Bertrand said. "Brandon is a really
good player and he's physical. He's got a nice body and
he's strong. I want to get my body like that too, so I
can be that strong. He's a real good player and it was
fun playing against him. "
Paul is excited about the
future after seeing Bertrand play for the first time and
envisions the three guards, Bertrand, Richardson and
himself, playing very well together.
"I think we can all shoot
pretty well, and we can all get to the basket at will,"
Paul said. "Thinking about that excites me. I think it
(was) real fun out here and that I've been playing
pretty well."
Bertrand is also happy that
they will be teammates in the future and that he won't
have to play against them anymore.
"Knowing those guys are going
to be my teammates is great," Bertrand said. "We'll be
going up against other people and winning games."
Paul will head to the NBA
Player's Camp this month in Virginia and says he is
looking forward to the opportunity to showcase his
talent against the top level players from around the
country.
"I expect to see a lot of great
players and I'm excited to compete against them," Paul
said. "It will also be cool to see all of the old NBA
guys. I just expect it to be really exciting, but it's
going to be hard."
Bertrand has battled a sprained ankle this spring which
has limited his playing time and his mobility with the
Illinois Wolves. Now that he is healthy he wants to
continue improving with his Sterling squad this summer
in preparing for a big senior year next season.
"I'm working mostly on defense
and being more aggressive. I've
got to be more aggressive,"
Bertrand said. "We're just
trying to win conference again
and taking it game by and game
and hopefully getting
downstate."
Paul had
an exciting spring for his AAU
Squad Team NLP that saw his
Rivals ranking soar into the top
50 and he hopes to continue to
play well during July. Team NLP
went deep in many tournaments,
but couldn't get that elusive
title this spring. They hope to
change that in July.
"We
just want to continue to play
well and get to championships,"
Paul said of Team NLP. "We want
to get our name out there and
continue to show what we can do
across the country. I definitely
think we're getting better every
weekend, and I think we are
close to getting one of those
championships."
The
chance for these players to get
down to the Illinois campus is
not only a great recruiting
tool, but also a great
opportunity for the committed
players to enjoy the campus and
play in front of the fans.
Bertrand is obviously looking
forward to the chance to have
some great performance in
Assembly Hall, only next time he
wants to do it in an Illinois
uniform.
"It's a
great school," Bertrand said.
"They produce some great players
like Deron Williams, Dee Brown
and Luther Head, NBA players.
We're just trying to go down
there and make some noise
ourselves."
A third
2009 commitment,
Tyler
Griffey
from Lafayette (Mo.) High School
also took in the action last
weekend and came away impressed
with the play of Paul and
Bertrand.
"They're great players," Griffey
said. "I can't wait until we all
get down to campus and can play
together. It should be a lot of
fun."
Fun for the players and fans
alike.
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