http://www.yardbarker.com/college_basketball/players/chester_frazier/18744 Recent articles about Chester Frazier en-us Illinois is an awfully tough team to figure out.  On one hand, they're ranked just 34th at kenpom.com using his advanced stats, so you'd tend to think the 14-2 start was a bit fluky and dismiss them as pretenders.  On the other hand, however, they just spanked Ohio State by almost 20 (an overrated Ohio State, but still) and already own a road win at Gonzaga by double digits and a neutral site win over Butler by nearly 20.  Those are not three wins a fluky team should have.  Their losses (to Missouri on a neutral court and @ Purdue) are both acceptable as well.  No clue what to make of these guys. One thing is for certain, they're already better off than the last several seasons since they finally jettisoned world's worst coach Bruce Weber and, with Tracey Abrams emergence, they actually have a viable point guard for the first time since the good ole days of Chester Frazier.  Perhaps the best thing about Abrams is that he's allowed Brandon Paul to spend more time off the ball where h Tue, 08 Jan 2013 22:15:00 -0500 http://network.yardbarker.com/college_basketball/article_external/game_preview_gophers_vs_illinois_fighting_illini/12611434 http://network.yardbarker.com/college_basketball/article_external/game_preview_gophers_vs_illinois_fighting_illini/12611434 Game Preview: Gophers vs. Illinois Fighting Illini http://www.yardbarker.com/college_basketball/articles/game_preview_gophers_vs_illinois_fighting_illini/12611434 http://www.yardbarker.com/images/yb_logo_square_grey.png MANHATTAN, Kan. And then there was the boxing. Once Angel Rodriguez found out Chester Frazier was a total ring nut, too, the walls came crashing down. It was love at first right. "That helps the connection me and Chester have, not only on the court, but off the court," Rodriguez, Kansas State's sophomore point guard, explained Monday during the Wildcats' basketball media day. "We talk about boxing, we talk about other things, rather than just basketball all the time. And I guess it makes it better. It makes you comfortable. It makes you feel like you have a friend you can talk to about anything you want." Sometimes, it's the hard sell. And sometimes, it's the bromance. In April, Rodriguez thought his world was going to end, that he might not be long for The Little Apple. In September, he found himself hanging out at the home of Frazier, Bruce Weber's youngest assistant, watching football and the fights, having the time of his life. "Angel thinks the Mexican fi Tue, 16 Oct 2012 02:44:25 -0400 http://network.yardbarker.com/college_basketball/article_external/rodriguez_knocked_out_by_new_hoops_staff/11974192 http://network.yardbarker.com/college_basketball/article_external/rodriguez_knocked_out_by_new_hoops_staff/11974192 Rodriguez 'knocked out' by new hoops staff http://www.yardbarker.com/college_basketball/articles/rodriguez_knocked_out_by_new_hoops_staff/11974192 http://www.yardbarker.com/images/yb_logo_square_grey.png MANHATTAN, Kan. And then there was the boxing. Once Angel Rodriguez found out Chester Frazier was a total ring nut, too, the walls came crashing down. It was love at first right. "That helps the connection me and Chester have, not only on the court, but off the court," Rodriguez, Kansas State's sophomore point guard, explained Monday during the Wildcats' basketball media day. "We talk about boxing, we talk about other things, rather than just basketball all the time. And I guess it makes it better. It makes you comfortable. It makes you feel like you have a friend you can talk to about anything you want." Sometimes, it's the hard sell. And sometimes, it's the bromance. In April, Rodriguez thought his world was going to end, that he might not be long for The Little Apple. In September, he found himself hanging out at the home of Frazier, Bruce Weber's youngest assistant, watching football and the fights, having the time of his life. "Angel thinks the Mexican fi Tue, 16 Oct 2012 02:44:25 -0400 http://network.yardbarker.com/college_basketball/article_external/rodriguez_knocked_out_by_new_hoops_staff/11974204 http://network.yardbarker.com/college_basketball/article_external/rodriguez_knocked_out_by_new_hoops_staff/11974204 Rodriguez 'knocked out' by new hoops staff http://www.yardbarker.com/college_basketball/articles/rodriguez_knocked_out_by_new_hoops_staff/11974204 http://www.yardbarker.com/images/yb_logo_square_grey.png This afternoon for lunch we went to this really cool authentic Mexican deli-type place where you could order our tacos or burritos or whatever you wanted with any one of a whole bunch of different meat choices, and I noticed that among those choices were beef tripe, beef tongue, pork stomach, and beef head.  Now, I really like trying new foods - not that long ago I had wild boar with escargot as an appetizer - and usually if there's a new type of meat (to me) on the menu I'll give it a shot.  I've never had anything like those, and I figured I could handle tongue because I know a lot of people consider tongue to be quite tasty, so that's what I was going to have.  Then I got to the counter and I ordered the adobo carnitas.  I'm such a sissy. I opened with that because I have very little reaction to the loss at Michigan State because as I said in my preview post I didn't really care because I expected them to lose and the game essentially meant nothing as far as their NCAA Tournam Thu, 26 Jan 2012 23:17:00 -0500 http://network.yardbarker.com/college_basketball/article_external/game_preview_minnesota_vs_illinois/9612644 http://network.yardbarker.com/college_basketball/article_external/game_preview_minnesota_vs_illinois/9612644 Game Preview: Minnesota vs. Illinois http://www.yardbarker.com/college_basketball/articles/game_preview_minnesota_vs_illinois/9612644 http://www.yardbarker.com/images/yb_logo_square_grey.png Where would the Illlini be without Sam Maniscalco? What would become of their point guard situation if the three time team captain at Bradley, All-Missouri Valley second team pick wasn’t eligible after his transfer this season? Illinois didn’t play very well, but they did make it three straight wins in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge, and snapped a three-game skid vs. Maryland in the event. It also makes it two in a row versus the Terrapins as Illinois beat them in Madison Square Garden in the Coaches vs. Cancer classic. The illini won 71-62, largely because of Maniscalco who scored a game high 24 on 6-11 shooting, 5-8 from three. But what the stat book doesn’t show is how critical Sma’s buckets really were. One triple gave them their first lead since the opening minute 42-41 down the stretch. Another trey stretched the lead to 7 inside 8 minutes to go giving Illinois their first semblance of breathing room in the game. And when the Terps cut the lead to 5 with under a minute left, Manis... Wed, 30 Nov 2011 11:01:10 -0500 http://network.yardbarker.com/college_basketball/article_external/illini_basketball_mvp_thus_far_sam_maniscalco/8415982 http://network.yardbarker.com/college_basketball/article_external/illini_basketball_mvp_thus_far_sam_maniscalco/8415982 Illini Basketball MVP Thus Far: Sam Maniscalco http://www.yardbarker.com/college_basketball/articles/illini_basketball_mvp_thus_far_sam_maniscalco/8415982 http://www.yardbarker.com/media/5/a/5a3a930a53df5137862f1659d85c8cfabed81cfd/mini/4b.jpg Chester Frazier has left his position as video coordinator for the Illinois men's basketball program in order to return to a professional playing career overseas. Tue, 22 Nov 2011 14:40:42 -0500 http://network.yardbarker.com/college_basketball/article_external/m_basketball_frazier_returning_to_germany/8266699 http://network.yardbarker.com/college_basketball/article_external/m_basketball_frazier_returning_to_germany/8266699 M. Basketball. Frazier Returning to Germany http://www.yardbarker.com/college_basketball/articles/m_basketball_frazier_returning_to_germany/8266699 http://www.yardbarker.com/media/5/5/556987e09e26755d2aaca8646482938204ceb973/mini/Big_Ten_Tournament_5f35.jpg Kim English wasn't surprised when Mike Anderson left Missouri for Arkansas. And while many Tigers fans were perplexed when MU tabbed Miami coach Frank Haith as Anderson's replacement, English stayed "even-keeled" as always. Part of that reaction is just the nature of English’s personality. The former Randallstown star says he never gets too high or too low. But English’s familiarity with Haith -- who recruited him heavily to play for the Hurricanes four years ago -- also played into his response to the coach’s hiring. “[Haith] called me when he first got the job,” English recalled. “He said, ‘I told you I’d be your coach someday.’” English, who said he “almost committed to Miami,” learned more about Haith from his former Cecil Kirk teammate Jack McClinton, an All-ACC performer for the Hurricanes. With that knowledge in mind, English made it his personal mission to help Mizzou fans come to believe what he already did – that Haith was the right man for the Tue, 01 Nov 2011 11:29:46 -0400 http://network.yardbarker.com/college_basketball/article_external/sweet_16_kim_english_missouri/7798612 http://network.yardbarker.com/college_basketball/article_external/sweet_16_kim_english_missouri/7798612 Sweet 16: Kim English, Missouri http://www.yardbarker.com/college_basketball/articles/sweet_16_kim_english_missouri/7798612 http://www.yardbarker.com/media/9/f/9f48c21e6518661d3687df0e226b1f3d633ab8b6/mini/PicImg_NCAA_BASKETBALL_MAR_d788.jpg