Illinois G Kendrick Nunn misses game for birth of his child

By foxsports
Published

This season has been a revolving door of injuries and illnesses for Illinois head coach John Groce and his Fighting Illini. On Thursday, the Illini were without leading scorer Kendrick Nunn, although it was under much more joyous circumstances.

Nunn was not presence for Illinois' 79-54 loss to No. 5 Michigan State because he was in Champaign, awaiting the birth of his son, Kason Lee. According to Shannon Ryan of the Chicago Tribune, Nunn's son was born just around tip-off in East Lansing.

“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.”

Nunn is the Illini's leading scorer at 18.5 points per game. This was the sixth game he's missed this season, sidelined the first five games with a thumb injury.

Illinois hosts No. 20 Purdue on Sunday night.

(h/t Chicago Tribune)