Illinois coach Bruce Weber said he is unsure about his starting lineup three days before Friday’s season opener against Southern Illinois-Edwardsville. He tried a couple of combinations in the team’s exhibition games, opting for a younger group in the second game.

“I don’t know who I’m going to start yet,” Weber said today. “I’ll see how the week goes. I think we know three or four, but (not) the fifth guy and who rotates in. I know I’ve got to keep guys happy but at the same time they have to keep me happy. They do that by producing and having a great attitude.”

The Illini will not have Jeff Jordan for the first two games. When Jordan decided to return to the team, it was discovered that he participated in a non-sanctioned three-on-three event during the summer, leading to an NCAA mandated penalty.

“It’s something that was just an innocent thing,” Weber said. “I feel bad for Jeff.”

Jordan didn’t play in the first exhibition and had 19 minutes in the second.

Weber used the starting lineup of Demetri McCamey, Alex Legion, Dominique Keller, Mike Davis and Mike Tisdale when the Illini played Missouri Southern on Oct. 30. He went with McCamey, Davis, Tisdale and freshmen D.J. Richardson and Brandon Paul against Quincy on Sunday.

Richardson made a final push to secure a starting job by scoring 23 points on 9-of-13 shooting. Paul had 11 points. In his bid to secure a starting job, Alex Legion scored 18 points in the two exhibitions, making 6 of 16 shots, including 4 of 10 3-pointes.

“I always try to give the upperclassmen some benefit,” Weber said. “But they have to earn it in practice with work ethic and attitude and we’re not going to just give them something because they’re older players. The freshmen played well and they’re going to get minutes.

“I wish I could tell you definites but I don’t have those definites right now because I don’t think we’ve shown that. As a staff we’re trying to figure it out and the players are trying to figure it out also.”