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| U.SportsTuesday, March 11, 2008 11:51 PM CDT |
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Illini enter Big Ten tourney with injuries on mind
CHAMPAIGN — No team in the Big Ten Conference lost two more significant players this season than Penn State. But Illinois, which faces the Nittany Lions in the first round of the Big Ten Tournament on Thursday, has had some injury issues of its own. Penn State lost its best player, Geary Claxton, to a serious knee injury on Jan. 15 against Wisconsin. That left the around-the-basket dirty work to Jamelle Cornley, the Big Ten’s version of Charles Barkley. But Cornley’s knee gradually wore down and on Monday he underwent arthroscopic surgery. Like Claxton, Cornley is lost for the season. The Illini arrive at the tournament with a mixed bag on the injury front. The good news is that Brian Randle grabbed a dozen rebounds and played a significant role in Saturday’s victory over Minnesota. That came four games after suffering a separated shoulder that coaches feared would end his season. “He’s in some pain, but the medical people have assured him he won’t hurt it any worse,” Illini coach Bruce Weber said Monday. “He can rest it after the season is over.” Rodney Alexander, who sat out Saturday with a concussion, has resumed shooting and should be cleared to play by Thursday. Of greater concern is defensive specialist Chester Frazier, who has been dealing with separate knee issues and who left the Assembly Hall on Saturday with an air cast and crutches. Frazier has developed Osgood Slaughter’s disease in one knee. That’s an inflammation of the bone below the knee cap. While compensating for the pain in that knee, he has developed tendonitis in the other knee. Frazier, who has a great capacity to play through pain, finally succumbed late in Saturday’s game, limping to the bench for an ice bag. “They took the air cast off yesterday and he’s doing a lot of therapy,” said Weber, adding Frazier is unlikely to practice this week. “We’ll try to save him for the games.” Expect Frazier to be in the starting lineup Thursday. But that begins a stretch in which Illinois would need to play on a daily basis and how Frazier’s knee holds up under those circumstances remains to be seen. E-mail this story | Print this story | Search archives | RSS Show comments |  Hide comments | Hide comments on all stories |
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clarkbar wrote on Mar 11, 2008 7:09 PM:
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