"You might not see me smile," Illinois sophomore point guard Frank Williams said. "But on the inside, I'm as happy as everybody else."

No one is happier than Illini coach Bill Self at Williams' transformation from erratic, sometimes brooding freshman to Big Ten player of the year. So when his game goes into Peoria mode -- moves that played to many ooohhs and ahhs in Williams' hometown -- Self shows restraint.

A mature Frank Williams holds the key to Illinois' success. (AP)

"That's Frank," the coach shrugged. "He sees things. Plays that look fancy are actually solid."

Williams averaged 14.9 points, 4.3 assists and almost two steals per game while leading the Illini to the top seed in the Midwest Region. That he did it against one of the nation's toughest non-conference schedules is plenty to fuel speculation that he will bolt to the NBA after this season. Williams has said he's coming back to Illinois, but Illini fans will believe it when they see it.

For now, though, Williams just wants to duplicate a little of the success he had at Peoria Manual High School with current Illini teammates Sergio McClain and Marcus Griffin, plus McClain's father, Wayne, their coach at Manual. Williams won three state championships.

A year ago in the NCAA Tournament, Florida blew out the Illini in the second round. Williams had six points on 3-of-11 shooting from the floor, not to mention more turnovers than assists.

This year, Williams goes into the tournament with more confidence and older, more experienced teammates.

"Frank is not a press-clippings guy," Self said. "He doesn't check out where he ranks nationally. He just plays, and that is one thing I love about him. He put us on his back when he had to. And he's been one of five when he didn't have to. He has made tremendous improvement both on and off the court."

As a partial qualifier academically, Williams practiced with the Illini but sat out games during the 1998-99 season. Last season, finally reunited with his high school teammates, expectations for Illinois soared.

But the Illini, and especially Williams, weren't up to it. In the third game of the season, nationally televised against Duke from the United Center, Williams shot 4-of-17 from the floor. Dick Vitale ripped him for being selfish.

Early in the Big Ten season, he endured a game against Michigan in which he came off the bench for a six-turnover, zero-assist performance. He said he thought hard about transferring.

Williams and former coach Lon Kruger frustrated each other. Kruger was trying to mold a freshman point guard who had trouble adjusting to major college basketball. Williams felt constricted by Kruger's offense.

Self came in with a looser style, giving Williams more freedom. Eventually, it was settled. On this team, he is the man.

"I think he makes much better decisions," Iowa coach Steve Alford said of Williams. "In our game where they beat us very soundly (by 26 points on Feb. 24), Frankie only had four points and he took three or four shots. But he made great decisions. He got his teammates involved.

"He's got his teammates believing in themselves. He's distributing the basketball a lot better this year. He's just playing tough-minded. Those are things he struggled with his freshman year, which is consistent with what a lot of freshmen do."

In a victory over Purdue in the Big Ten Tournament quarterfinals, Williams had 11 assists and no turnovers. He had 13 points.

"I don't need to score a lot of points," Williams said. "I don't need to take a lot of shots for this team to be great. I put other guys in a position to get shots, and they have a higher percentage of making them.

"I think it developed as I got older. Plus, we have senior leadership this year. It's phenomenal. Those guys stay on me. All of my players stay on me. They said, 'Go out there and make plays, Frankie. Don't rush anything. Let your game come to you, and we're going to be fine.'"

Chances are that Williams, one of nine children in his family, will take his game to the NBA next season. A strong performance in the NCAA Tournament would help that cause.

"With our big guys, we have depth," Self said. "We can usually find two of four who are playing (well). But with Frank and Cory (Bradford, the guards), those guys have to deliver."