Lightning Rod

Former Hoosiers Tom Coverdale and Kyle Hornsby always told junior guard Rod Wilmont to wait his turn.\nAnd Tuesday night, his turn finally came.\nWilmont scored 17 points and grabbed nine rebounds off the bench to become IU's second-leading scorer in the Hoosiers' 62-60 win over Illinois.\n"Tom Coverdale and Kyle Hornsby always told me 'You've got to wait your turn; it will all work out, so keep working hard,'" Wilmont said. "That's what I've been doing."\nWilmont overcame injury, limited playing time and one of the nation's fiercest defenses to post one of the more memorable performances in his career as a Hoosier.\nThe night first ignited for the redshirt junior when he single-handedly pulled the Hoosiers out of a 14-3 slide. It had been more than five minutes since senior guard Marshall Strickland's opening 3-pointer, and IU desperately needed to quell a strong Illini attack.\nWilmont responded by knocking down two 3-pointers in a row on two consecutive possessions.\n"When I walked in the locker room (before the game) ... I could tell he was focused," senior forward Marco Killingsworth said. "He just went out there and did his thing."\nWilmont finished the first half like he started, capping off the Hoosiers' 18-0 run with two more consecutive baskets.\nThe second score was a layup, but the first was an authoritative dunk over a retreating Illini defender. Assembly Hall roared with excitement.\n"Wilmont's a player who brings a lot of energy to the court and that's what he did for us tonight," sophomore forward Robert Vaden said. "He gave us a spark when he got that fast-break dunk."\nBut at the start of the second half, Wilmont's night was nearly soured.\nHe hit the floor hard when Illini guard Dee Brown drove strong to the basket and collided with senior guard Lewis Monroe. Wilmont hit the floor hard along with Monroe, which caused Wilmont to come up wincing, holding his ankle in pain.\nWilmont walked under his own power to the Hoosier locker room.\n"It's just a little bit sore, but I'll play through it," Wilmont said.\nAt 14:28, Strickland was preparing to shoot a second free throw when Wilmont tore out of the locker room, crossing behind the Illini basket -- where the impending free throw was headed.\nLike a scene out of a movie, Assembly Hall again roared with excitement.\nWilmont almost immediately checked in with the scorer's table and entered the game at the 12:18 mark. Within 10 seconds, the Florida native pulled up successfully from the 3-point line, despite getting fouled.\n"Rod is an energy guy," IU coach Mike Davis said. "He played with a lot of energy and that really affected Illinois"