INDIANAPOLIS – Chester Frazier’s introductory coaching foray came sooner than anybody expected Friday at the Conseco Fieldhouse in the quarterfinals of the Big Ten Tournament.

The senior captain’s right hand injury, sustained during Wednesday’s practice, forced a padded cast and left the Illini hobbled during the team’s 60-50 win over Michigan. The 6-foot-2 guard was doing all the little things a coach does in this one- standing and shouting, glaring, and taking players aside to let them know his take on things. In a way, Frazier helped build his case as a future college coach, something he truly craves, while sidelined.

“That’s just Chester,” center Mike Tisale said. “I can always see him getting into coaching. He always helps us out. On the floor, he’s out there telling us what to do. So in a way it was good. Everyone says he’s louder than coach Weber sometimes. He’s a big time guy.”

Tisdale said Frazier, as he usually does, found a way to get the little things done.

“I think he sees it as a chance to fill a role,” Tisdale said. “He knows he can’t play so he’s going to do what he does best, to coach and to be a leader. He did that tonight, some guys stepped up for him, and we got the win.”

Frazier kept to himself after the game and wasn’t present in the locker room for comment. Teammates said it was because he didn’t want to draw unnecessary attention to himself after the team victory. In fairness, however, those same teammates pointed to his influence from the bench as a factor in the win.

“Chester’s always doing that, even before the injury. Whenever he comes out off the court, he’s always coaching,” Alex Legion said. “It was no big deal to us because we’re used to Chester coaching us- that’s what he wants to do. He’s doing it.”

Frazier averaged 5.7 points and 5.3 assists during the regular season in over 33 minutes of play per game. Sitting next to Bruce Weber on the bench Friday afforded Frazier the chance to have his voice heard during game action. Weber said he didn’t mind the added influence and welcomed Frazier’s opinions.

“A couple times he was saying, ‘You got to go to Tisdale, you got to go in there’ or different things. ‘You got to get somebody back in,'” Weber said. “He’s helping and talking, it gives me another coach to listen to.

“I wish for any kid, you don’t want his senior year to end like this and hopefully he’ll be able to get in there.”

Fans that saw Frazier on the bench got a glimpse at what a future coach Frazier could look like and act like. Although Frazier was often dogging teammates for things they did wrong, visually upset by their actions, and was quite verbal sometimes, he was able to get his message across. Tisdale was the focus of Frazier’s attention on more than one occasion.

Scorn, in this case, was a good thing.

“We all know that when he gets mad it’s not, ‘I’m mad at you,’ it’s ‘I want you to do this different,”‘ Tisdale said. “We all love him and he loves us. When he gets on somebody it’s because he cares and wants them to do something right. I think it’s good for me when he gets on me a little bit, makes me feel good. It’s good for us.”

Frazier isn’at expected to return to action until the Big Ten Tournament concludes and the Illini are in the NCAA Tournament, if at all. In this time off, Davis thinks Frazier can learn a few things about the team he may have missed had he been in uniform and on the court.

“To see the game from the sideline is totally different than playing the game. He can look at a couple things here and there. Like I said, it’s just a little different. Maybe it’ll help him next week when he comes back to play in the Tournament.”

Jordan making most of minutes

With Frazier out, Illinois looked to a cadre of role players to step up. Jeff Jordan – known for his Frazier-like tenacity on defense – received 16 minutes of playing time, his highest total in 20 games.

The sophomore’s stat line (two assists, a steal and a rebound) may not have been gaudy, but the point guard drew rave reviews from his coaches and teammates for his ability to push the fastbreak and pester the Wolverines guards.

“More than anything, it’s kind a preview of next year and just seeing how it’s going to feel while (Frazier’s) not out there because I’m so used to him being out there and being the leader,” Jordan said. “It was a good preview. I felt comfortable out there and I felt confident, so it’s good.”

Illini “finish the equation”

Illinois head coach Bruce Weber made team T-shirts before the year that seemed more like a shirt for mathletes than for a Division I basketball team.

The shirt reads: “41 + 24 = 65.”

The 41 representing the amount of Matto points, awarded for certain stats that represent hard work and hustle plays, Weber wants from the team each game. The 24 standing for the set goal for regular season wins with the end result equaling a bid to play in the NCAA Tournament field of 65 teams.

With the win over Michigan in the quarterfinals, Illinois hit their preseason goal for wins.

“I said we got to finish the equation. Tonight we finished the equation. Now I got to see if I can get them a little greedy and keep going.”

Jeremy Werner contributed to this report.