Jan. 08--Last season, Illinois coach John Groce contemplated how he would handle the potential dilemma of being at the birth of his third child and being at a game.
It turned out that Groce didn't have to make that tough decision (his daughter was born between games), but he didn't let one of his players struggle with a similar decision.
As Illinois tipped off at Michigan State on Thursday night, junior guard Kendrick Nunn was in Champaign to attend the birth of his son, Kason Lee.
"I said, 'Hey, I love you. I support you,'" Groce said. "I wanted him to feel comfortable doing that. As a father of three kids, (I understood) he needed to be there."
Kudos to Illinois for celebrating the birth of Nunn's son and understanding that babies will always trump basketball.
"No one would ask him to miss that," Illini center Maverick Morgan said. "That's obvious."
Illinois certainly could have used their leading scorer, who averages 18.5 points per game, in the 79-54 blowout loss to the No. 5 Spartans.
Everyone who watches Illinois' basketball has asked, What next?
Point guard Tracy Abrams is missing his second straight season. Two Illinois big men -- forwards Leron Black and Mike Thorne, Jr., -- are out indefinitely with knee injuries. Khalid Lewis returned Thursday from a two-game absence for mumps. (Seriously, who gets mumps anymore?)
And now a baby was born during the third Big Ten basketball game of the season.
We've seen fathers in sports -- from Seahawks cornerback Richard Sherman to golfter Phil Mickelson -- struggle with whether to attend the births of their child. (Short answer: Yes, dads always should be there.)
If Nunn's baby was born earlier in the day, the Illini had a plan to fly him to East Lansing, Mich.
"It just didn't work out that way," Groce said. "That one is in God's time."
But Groce made the right choice by letting Nunn know he didn't have to make a choice. He should be with his partner and see his son enter the world.
Nunn's teammates played their best supporting roles to Nunn by saying it was a no-brainer for him to stay in Champaign.
And Nunn played the best role of teammate to his family he could have possibly fulfilled on Thursday.
sryan@tribpub.com
