With Monroe playing fill-in, Calloway draws Dee Brown

When junior guard Earl Calloway made the journey from a junior college in Atlanta to Bloomington, he had a lot of change to deal with -- a change in temperature and a big change in the level of play.\nBut he was still fast. \nTonight, the Georgia native will get to show just how quick he is when he squares off against Illini guard Dee Brown, whose speed is well-documented.\n"The thing about Dee is that he is quick, but he is a change-of-speed type of player, going from slow to fast," said senior guard Marshall Strickland, who has seen a great deal of Brown in his four-year career. "Earl is fast all the time."\nSenior guard Lewis Monroe will likely be reduced to a "fill-in" role, said IU coach Mike Davis, because the Auburn transfer is still recovering from minor hemorrhoid surgery he underwent last week. Monroe watched Friday's practice from a cushioned office chair and participated only in the shoot around at the end.\nCalloway, who has played on the starters' team in practice, will likely grace the starting lineup for the second time in as many games. In his first outing, he went up against Michigan State guard Drew Neitzel -- Tom Izzo's facilitator point guard who typically looks to distribute to others rather than carry the offensive load himself. Neitzel was relatively stagnant against IU, posting five points and seven assists in 32 minutes of play.\nBrown comes into Blooming- \nton as the preseason Big Ten Player of the Year averaging 15 points, five assists and 1.6 steals per game -- all team-highs. \n"I just have to go in with the mentality of trying to get my game up, you know, try to become quicker and faster," Calloway said.\nCalloway said that guarding Brown is a matter of "giving him a little room" so that it is possible to recover if he drives. But Calloway credited the Illini guard as an outside threat as well.\n"Basically, keep a hand up, try to stay attached, but not too close," Calloway said. "But just rely on your instincts and try to do the best you can."\nDavis called Brown one of the best players in the conference.\n"He is going to come in and try to carry them," Davis said. "We've just got to make sure he doesn't come in and get 30 points on us ... I feel good about our chances at home."\nBrown scored 26 points at home against Michigan on Saturday to help the Illini fend off the Wolverines 79-74. But Illinois incurred its first loss of the season the previous game at Iowa, where a cold Brown posted just six points.\n"One man should not be able to beat all of us," Calloway said.