Back from injury, Randle finds role for unbeaten Illini

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- Redshirt sophomore Brian Randle has played a big, surgically repaired hand in No. 6 Illinois' season-opening 12-0 run.

The 6-foot-8 forward is averaging nearly nine points and more than five rebounds a game, fueling a quick start he says has eased the disappointment of missing last year's march to the NCAA title game after he broke a bone punching a wall in frustration during a scrimmage.

"My philosophy is there's no point to dwell on the bad stuff. ... I'm out here on the court. Things are going well. If things go wrong, they go wrong. You work from there," said the Peoria Notre Dame graduate, whose defensive work includes 10 steals and seven blocked shots.

Randle credits his glass-half-full outlook to Roger Powell, a licensed Pentecostal minister who helped lead the Illini's tournament run as a senior last year.

He says Powell "kind of opened my eyes to what I really had in my family, the gifts I've been given. ... There's really no point in thinking you're lost, nobody cares or the Lord doesn't care."

Now, Randle is back at church every Sunday after drifting away during his first two years in college. He also has taken over for the graduated Powell, leading the team's daily prayers.

"He makes sure our faith in God is still there," said senior guard Dee Brown.

Randle, whose Illini will try to extend their unbeaten streak tonight at 7 against Southeast Missouri State at Assembly Hall, says he also draws strength from his upbringing.

Adopted as an infant, he was raised by a black father and white mother in predominantly white East Peoria. Randle says his parents taught him balance, encouraging pride in his black heritage while also exposing him to rural life on his mother's family's central Illinois farm.

Randle says he struggled at first when he found out he was adopted, wondering why his biological parents gave him up, but now has no interest in finding them.

"I'm blessed to be with my parents. If anything, I thank the people who brought me into this world for putting me into the position I'm in," Randle said.

Brown called Randle a perfectionist who sometimes thinks so much on the court that Illinois coach Bruce Weber has to scream for him to just run.

"He's a kid who analyzes everything. He has deep thoughts, sometimes too much for basketball," Weber said. "As a responsible student, citizen and person, you love him."