More on Chester Frazier
Chester Frazier underwent a minor hand surgery Wednesday, as you saw here.
"We were told it (the surgery) gave him the best chance to play next weekend (in the NCAA tournament)," UI spokesman Kent Brown said a few minutes ago.
Officially, Frazier has not been ruled out of the Big Ten tournament, only that it's "highly unlikely" he will play. A UI spokesman said there also is some misinformation floating around the Internet, but officials said they can't discuss the details of the injury, even to clear it up, because of patient confidentiality rules.
For the time being, Chester Frazier, the toughest athlete I've covered, will be on the bench when Illinois plays Michigan this evening. It's not a devastating blow for Illinois, but it's a blow.
Tom Izzo has been a longtime admirer of Frazier, going so far as to say he would put him on his coaching staff "if Bruce doesn't want him." A few minutes ago in the Michigan State locker room, I asked Izzo for his thoughts on the loss of Frazier. The coach was saddened, as though it was one of his players.
"It makes me sick," Izzo said. "Luck has not been with Bruce Weber lately. I love Frazier. You know I love Frazier. He just embodies everything I believe in. Not only does he play hard, he leads well. And most importantly, I love his comments about last year's (Illinois) team and this year's team and the difference in chemistry. Whether we play them or not, I'm sad. I think he is the heart and soul of his team. But they're still going to be able to win some games with or without him."
As I was writing the "Chester is injured" story after it happened Wednesday, the first thing I thought of was something he said before practice the other day. He joked on Tuesday - before the injury - the fates were against him in his quest to land a championship ring at Illinois.
"I dislocated my ring finger. God must not want me to get one," he said. "(I have) this one chance. I'm willing to die for it. I'm willing to go out there and do anything possible to win it."
As for how the loss of a key player could affect Illinois' seed in the NCAA tournament, here's what bracketologist Jerry Palm said yesterday.
I can tell you that will be a minor basketball miracle if Frazier plays for Illinois again. For his sake, here's hoping.
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