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Media day notes from Chicago

Posted by: Paul Klee

Sunday, October 28, 2007 4:58 PM

Checking in from Chicago's O'Hare Marriott....

-Illinois point guard Chester Frazier injured the thumb on his left hand Saturday in practice, coach Bruce Weber said today. The right-handed point guard had X-rays taken after practice, though Weber was uncertain of the injury's severity. He said it is probably a dislocated finger.

Frazier might be kept out of the Orange-Blue Scrimmage as a precaution. Depending on the severity of the injury and how long Frazier is sidelined, if at all, it could mean more minutes for freshman point Demetri McCamey.

"Knowing Chester, he'll probably want to be out there (tonight)," Weber said.

-The Illini expect to return to Las Vegas for an exempt tournament at some point in the next couple seasons, Weber said. Illinois last played in Vegas for a holiday tournament in 2004-05.

-Redshirt prospects for Mike Tisdale? Slim and none. Weber said the 7-foot-1 freshman was one of the team's three best players the first week of practice, though grueling practice sessions and the physical play of senior Shaun Pruitt have worn on the freshman. Still, Tisdale's performance is a far cry from what was initially projected when Tisdale arrived on campus around 205 pounds.

"I thought we were going to redshirt him for sure," Weber said.

These days he's still awfully slender but has gained about 15-20 pounds and is showing promise, particularly in scoring the ball.

-The preseason All-Big Ten list, as voted on by a 22-member media panel: Drew Neitzel (Michigan State), Shaun Pruitt (Illinois), D.J. White (Indiana), Jamar Butler (Ohio State) and Geary Claxton (Penn State). The News-Gazette voted Eric Gordon on its all-conference ballot, but the others were the same.

After a dynamic junior season, Neitzel was named preseason Player of the Year. Michigan State edged Indiana as preseason favorite; Ohio State was tabbed third. Neitzel said he has seen similarities between this Michigan State team and the one that advanced to the 2005 Final Four in his freshman season.

"We're going to go 10, 11 deep, so we're going to keep running guys into the game," said Neitzel, the league's only returning All-Big Ten player.

-The influx of new coaches at Minnesota, Michigan and Iowa was a hot topic. Tubby Smith shed some light on his new situation at Minnesota and how it all ended at Kentucky. Still seems odd to see him wearing those colors, and Smith said he understood the surprise when he bolted for Minneapolis.

"I think it was more of a shock because nobody knew about it," he said. "I didn't until we lost to Kansas (in the NCAA tournament) right here in Chicago."

-More from the Big Ten media day and tonight's Orange-Blue Scrimmage in Monday's News-Gazette.

Paul
pklee@news-gazette.com