Lloyd Phillips hasn't played a basketball game for Illinois State, but he will. He figures to play a lot of them over the next two seasons. He could well be the starting point guard, though no one is saying it yet.

All Coach Tim Jankovich would say Thursday was Phillips is "picking things up very quickly" and should "factor strongly" into the competition to replace Boo Richardson, point guard and impassioned leader on last year's 25-10 team.

That is enough to make this a golden opportunity for the well-traveled Phillips, whose path to ISU included a career at Friendly High School in Washington, D.C., a year of prep school in Virginia Beach, Va., a season at Allen County (Kan.) Community College, an aborted commitment to the University of Montana and, finally, a year at Iowa Western Community College.

Phillips thinks about it a lot … the journey, the ups and downs, the chance in front of him.

"I can't wait," he said. "I can't even sleep some nights."

"I appreciate being here," Phillips added, his eyes scanning Redbird Arena. "I come in sometimes when there's nobody in this arena and just look around. It's like, 'This is what all the traveling was for, all the work you did. You made it … but you haven't made it.' "

Time will tell if the 5-foot-10, 170-pounder can play like Richardson. Already, he sounds like the Redbirds' former heart and soul.

Richardson always wanted more, particularly from himself. Phillips appears to be of the same mindset, and that could be the most encouraging news to come out of Media Day.

"I feel like a lot of people can make it to the Division I level, but I don't want to just be here. I want to be able to step right in and be good and be a contributor," he said.

"I put a lot of pressure on myself. This team can win the Missouri Valley (Conference). I don't want to be the one who keeps us from that."

You have to like that attitude. Beyond the physical demands, a point guard must be willing to assume responsibility for what happens on the floor, to demand as much of himself as his teammates.

Phillips averaged 17 points per game at each of his junior college stops, making 176 3-pointers and shooting 47.5 and 42.4 percent from beyond the arc. He also averaged 3.8 and 3.3 assists per game.

He signed with Montana following his freshman season at Allen County, but a week before school was to start learned he did not qualify academically. So, it was back to junior college, this time at Iowa Western.

All the while, his mother, Bonita Phillips, was back in Washington, D.C., telling her son to "roll with the punches" and "go to the next place and make the best of the opportunity."

The words resonate with Phillips, who has his mother's name and birth date tattooed on his right arm. He seems determined to heed her advice, to make the most of his time in Normal.

"I'm definitely looking forward to the next two years here," he said. "I've been to a lot of schools, trying to find the right fit.

"I've been in a lot of places … the Midwest, the East Coast, you name it. It's good to actually know where you're going to live the next year."

Phillips' potential impact is clear to his teammates. Senior guard Emmanuel Holloway said the returning Redbirds have been quick to help Phillips learn Jankovich's system because "we know we're going to need him."

Asked specifically what they need from Phillips, Holloway replied, "We just need him to play hard on every possession and play defense. If he buys into the situation, that's what we need. And he's doing that to the fullest extent."

Again, that sounds like Richardson, a tireless defender who Jankovich called a "one in a million" leader. He left big shoes to fill, but Phillips is eager to give it a shot.

"That's why I signed here," he said. "The way I got here has definitely made me hungry.

"Like Coach J says, a lot of guys are going to look to the point guard as a leader. I'll just try to do the best I can. I'm learning as I go, too. But I think with the type of teammates I have and the coaches we have, I'll be fine and we'll be fine."

Randy Kindred is a Pantagraph columnist. To leave him a voice mail, call 820-3402. By e-mail: rkindred@pantagraph.com. The Randy Kindred Blog is at www.pantagraph.com/blogs