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CHAMPAIGN — As Joe Krabbenhoft stepped into the Madison cold, the burly Wisconsin forward noticed a familiar car heading out of the parking lot.

It belonged to Bo Ryan, the Badgers' coach, who was on his way home from the Kohl Center.

"He drove by when we were leaving the gym," Krabbenhoft said Friday by phone. "He rolled the windows down. We could hear a little OutKast coming out of his CD player."

Hold on. Bo Ryan? That Bo Ryan?

"He's not as old school as we like to think he is," Krabbenhoft said. "He has a few moves, and he definitely knows his music."

Bo Ryan's affinity for rap music – that's a surprise. (Though it sounds like Ryan's famous YouTube video, in which the 61-year-old coach grooves to "Soulja Boy," was legit.) That Illinois and Wisconsin will lean on their defense in a Big Ten game at the Assembly Hall today – that's not a surprise (3 p.m., ESPN).

And it probably isn't a surprise the matchup features two players in the running for the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year award.

A 6-foot-7 senior forward, Krabbenhoft is one. Ask around the Illini basketball offices to name the league's top defender and his name pops up often. The other is Chester Frazier, a 6-2 senior guard, who "should be" considered a leading candidate, coach Bruce Weber said.

"Chester Frazier," said fellow senior Trent Meacham, when asked to cite the Big Ten's best defender. "Every game he guards the best player."

"It's pretty easy. I would say Chester, hands down," sophomore Mike Tisdale said. "He looks at things before they happen. He analyzes things. He knows players' strengths and their weaknesses. He studies the game."

The Defensive Player of the Year award lacks the glamour and glitz of the Player of the Year award. But it might mean more to the players who win it.

The guy who wins the POY award, well, he's probably going to win a lot of awards. Take the last two Players of the Year from Illinois and Wisconsin, for example. When Dee Brown was the Big Ten POY in 2005, he also was The Sporting News' National Player of the Year. Wisconsin's Alando Tucker was the Big Ten POY in 2007 – and a consensus All-American.

But for the Big Ten's Defensive POY, that might be the only hardware he takes home. Purdue guard Chris Kramer was named Defensive POY last season, but he wasn't named first- or second-team All-Big Ten.

"I think fans go by who gets the most steals or the most blocked shots. That's not always the right reason to name them All-Defensive team or the best defensive player," Weber said. "Sometimes the one-on-one defender doesn't always get the steals. The other guy gets the steals because the one-on-one defender is locking someone down and getting them in a bind."

Still, stats are a factor for coaches, who vote on the award. The last three Defensive Players of the Year were league leaders in a major defensive category: Kramer (2008, steals), Ohio State's Greg Oden (2007, blocks) and Iowa's Erek Hansen (2006, blocks).

"When we had Glenn Robinson years ago (at Purdue) he was one of the best in the league in steals," Weber said. "But he was one of our worst defensive players. But he always was running around and he was so athletic, he could go get the steals."

A player's versatility also is a factor. Krabbenhoft and Frazier share that quality in spades. Both often are called upon to defend the opponents' best player, regardless of position.

When Krabbenhoft was asked to name his toughest defensive assignments, he cited several guards, a sign of the 6-7 forward's versatility.

"I think (Michigan State's) Shannon Brown my freshman year. He was really tough," Krabbenhoft said. "(Michigan's) Manny Harris this year is as hard as they come. (Purdue's) E'Twaun Moore is really tough.

"But it's not like Coach goes, 'Joe, this guy's the leading scorer so you're going to have him.' It's about matchups."

And that's what might make Frazier a front-runner for the DPOY award, at least to this point. In Big Ten play, the 6-2 guard has defended Purdue's Robbie Hummel (6-8), Michigan's Harris (6-5), Michigan State's Kalin Lucas (6-0) and Ohio State's Evan Turner (6-7).

"He's guarded point guards, small forwards, big forwards," Weber said. "He's guarded a mixture of people for us."

Frazier limited Hummel to seven points, six below his average. Lucas scored 10 points, four below his average. Turner scored four points, 12 below his average.

"I watch a lot of film," Frazier said. "I try to pick up on guys' tendencies, try to see what they like to do best, see where he likes to catch the ball. ...

"You can't just be a great defensive player. You've got to know tendencies. It's all about position, mostly. Stick to your principles. A lot of times I beat a guy to the punch. If he wants to drive right, I make him drive left. If a guy can't shoot, I'll give him an extra step."

Today, Frazier will be assigned to Wisconsin guard Trevon Hughes, who's fighting through a slump but averaged 16 points in three meetings against Illinois last season.

"Last year he's the one guy Chester didn't seem to be able to control," Weber said.

Take a straw poll to find the Big Ten's top defenders and you usually hear the same names.

Frazier cited Purdue's Kramer and Michigan State's Travis Walton. Weber cited Kramer, Harris and "the Wisconsin guys," among others. Off the top of his head, Krabbenhoft cited Kramer, teammate Hughes and Frazier.

Top defenders often are the kind of guys who shrug off postseason accolades. These are not me-first personalities who value the inventory of their trophy case. But the DPOY award means something to Frazier.

"That was one of the goals I gave him before the season: 'Be the Defensive Player of the Year,' " Weber said.

Three Illini have won the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year award, but only one since 1990 (Dee Brown, 2005).

"We talked about how, if we played and won some games, I could win the Defensive Player of the Year award and it should be one of my goals," Frazier said.

For his part, Krabbenhoft admitted he raised an eyebrow when his coach bumped OutKast.

"We were kind of surprised," he said. "But he's definitely in touch with the new trends."

What wouldn't surprise the Badgers' top defender is if his opponent today, Frazier, is in the running for the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year award.

"I have as much respect for him as I do for any player I've played against," Krabbenhoft said. "He's always been known as a good player, but he's one of the premier defenders in the league, not to mention the country. And it looks like he's the captain of that team."

Keys to defense

Beat writer Paul Klee picks five players in the Big Ten who will pick your pocket, block your shot or lock you down:
NAME    TEAM    COMMENT
Joe Krabbenhoft    Wisconsin    Like his coach, Krabbenhoft “can do a mean line dance” with the right music, he said
Chester Frazier    Illinois    One coach said, “I’ll always have a kid from Baltimore” after seeing Frazier’s tenacity
Damian Johnson (right)    Minnesota    Only Big Ten player to rank in the top five in steals (2.06 spg) and blocks (2.31 bpg)
Chris Kramer    Purdue    Reigning DPOY battling injuries but had three steals in Thursday’s win at Minnesota
Marcus Landry    Wisconsin    Stats don’t tell the whole story; veteran Badger arguably the league’s top post defender

pklee@news-gazette.com