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Mike Davis, Durant and D.C.

Posted by: Paul Klee

Tuesday, March 10, 2009 6:46 PM

About this time last year, Mike Davis began to take small steps - and then a major leap - in his development. His season-high 10 points in an upset of Purdue at the Big Ten tournament provided a confidence lift heading into the offseason.

And if there's a player Davis idolizes, it's Kevin Durant. At home in the Washington D.C. area in the offseason, Davis often plays pickup games at Georgetown with the NBA's fourth-leading scorer, and the two communicate via Facebook. Durant's latest advice?

"He's in the gym way more than I am," Davis said today. "I talked to him a couple days ago, and he's like, 'Stay in the gym, stay in the gym, stay in the gym, stay humble.'"

- Loren Tate wrote today he thinks Chester Frazier and Bruce Weber were snubbed in All-Big Ten voting. Here's what Chester Frazier said about the league's coaches naming Michigan State's Travis Walton the Defensive Player of the Year

"I think we got what we deserved. I think Coach (Weber) should have gotten the Coach of the Year award," Frazier said today. "We just needed to win a few more games and all of it would have taken care of itself."

- The Walton pick is understandable. I thought the snub was how the coaches handled Chester Frazier on the All-Big Ten lists. It really jumped out to me after hearing a half-dozen Big Ten coaches sing his praises after playing against Illinois. But he wasn't named to their first-, second-, third- or honorable mention teams, though he was placed on the media's honorable mention squad.

Another slight snub was Verdell Jones, who wasn't named to the coaches' All-Freshman team. Over the final 11 games, Jones averaged 13.2 points and 4.7 assists, and he finished fifth in conference games in assists. Thought he deserved a mention.

- More on the All-Big Ten selections here in The Insider.

- Illinois is scheduled to play in a holiday tournament at Las Vegas next season. I asked the UI coaches today if it will be played in the same arena that held the WCC tournament Sunday and Monday on ESPN. Yes, they said, it will be the Orleans Arena.

- This afternoon, Bruce Weber was on his way to the Chicago area for a recruiting swing after the UI's practice at Ubben. A recent recruiting trip to observe UI recruit Brandon Paul lifted Weber's spirits after the loss at Penn State. 

"I went on Friday and he had a tremendous second half. It's fun to sit there when one of your kids plays well," Weber said of this game. "I think he had (24) in the second half and really takes over the game and they advance. I hadn't been to one of his games in a while, so it was fun to watch him and the progress he's made. He has unbelievable athleticism, the ability to kind of take over a game. I wish he would do it more often and for longer stretches. But I definitely left with a good feeling after watching him."

- Chat with you tomorrow.

pklee@news-gazette.com

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