For the last week, it seems almost every question posed by the media to coach Bruce Weber or the Illinois players has centered on Chester Frazier’s status or the impact of his absence on the team.

Now we know what we should have known all along. Frazier will not play against Western Kentucky in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Thursday. The players seem tired of answering the same questions and realize that win or lose, Frazier’s hand injury is not the only thing that matters.

This team proved it can play a great game without Frazier, as it did in the Big Ten tournament against Michigan. It proved it can play a stinker like the Purdue game. But they’ve done both of those things with Frazier as well.

And as Mike Davis pointed out, it’s not like the Illini don’t experiment with different groups of players.

“Coach does a good job in practice of switching up the team, so we can play with different people,” he said.

Added Trent Meacham: “Calvin is getting more minutes. He’s going to be more productive with more minutes. Same with Jeffrey Jordan. He can push the ball, pressure the basketball. We’ve got some guys that have a great opportunity for them and they can really do some work.”

These guys have been trying to say for a week, yes, Frazier is important but the Illini have never been about one player. “Team chemistry” has been the catch phrase this season and now they just have to tweak the formula.

The one area where Frazier will be most missed is on defense. But Illinois played a heavily guard oriented team in Michigan last weekend without him and turned in a strong effort with Calvin Brock shutting down Manny Harris.

Western Kentucky has numerous perimeter threats and that’s what concerns Weber. The Hilltoppers’ top three scorers are all 3-point threats who could shoot the Illini out of the game if given too much space. Illinois has been strong against the 3-pointer this season, but now Davis probably is going to have to step out and defend someone who is capable of shooting a 3 or putting the ball on the floor.

“We’ve got to do a good job of defending the 3, getting to their guards and especially in transition,” Weber said. “And not let them get the easy baskets the second-chance points or the transition easy baskets. … I’m worried about all the matchups to be honest. It’s a different look.”

Brock and Jordan have the potential to fill Frazier’s shoes defensively. What the Illini really need is for Demetri McCamey to awake from his inconsistency and provide a boost in several areas.

He continues to have trouble stringing together good performances, and his outing against Purdue ranks among his worst in an Illinois uniform. The sophomore needs to recognize that there are jobs to be filled in Frazier’s absence and give the kind of effort that so often seems lacking.

“I always talk about every guy gets to a point where they decide if they want to be and player and they make that commitment,” Weber said. “We’ve gotten a little closer with him. I hope somewhere here it would be great this weekend and the next couple of weeks it would be good if he can turn it on and be consistent.”

If Frazier plays no other role on Thursday, he should stay on McCamey’s butt and at least try to make sure the sophomore gives an inspired effort.