Headaches Won’t Keep Wilson From Playing

Senior forward Jaha Wilson said he still has headaches from a concussion he suffered Thursday in a game against Washington State, but that it will not keep him off the court Friday against Illinois.

“When I didn’t play against Washington [on Saturday], I felt the guys looked at me like we lost it because I couldn’t play,” he said. “I wanted to be on the court to give support. I still have headaches sometimes but I’m just dealing with it.”

Said USC Coach Henry Bibby: “We didn’t want Jaha to practice yesterday and we let him go early today. I can’t keep him out of there.”

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Illinois Coach Lon Kruger said he has no advantage preparing for the Trojans, having faced USC guard Rodrick Rhodes for three seasons in the Southeastern Conference while Rhodes was at Kentucky and Kruger coached at Florida.

“He killed us every time,” Kruger said. “Rodrick’s too good. One of the best players in the country. No one has an advantage preparing for him.”