Talor Battle admitted he played through a stomach virus during Friday's game versus Slippery Rock and was visibly uncomfortable at the post-game press conference.
Apparently it's a lingering issue.
Coach Ed DeChellis said Battle "didn't look good" at practice on Sunday and didn't know if Battle would be OK to play Friday in Penn State's opener against Penn.
Junior forward D.J. Jackson said Battle practiced a little bit Sunday but stopped practicing because Battle felt sick. Jackson talked to Battle Monday morning and said the team's point guard was taking it easy for the day.
"We're hoping it's a stomach flu and not one of these things that are bouncing around now," DeChellis said. "They've got their close eye on him."
Battle played a team-high 30 minutes in the 82-51 victory over Slippery Rock on Friday and finished with 16 points, 10 rebounds and six assists.
At the conclusion of the first half, Battle said he ran into the locker room because he was feeling sick.
"It was definitely bothering me in the first half and a little bit in the second half," Battle said after the game Friday.
"Hopefully it's not anything serious, just something I ate or drank before the game."
DeChellis said he talked to one of the team's trainers yesterday who told him that Battle looked the same as he did Sunday. DeChellis said he would have a better idea of Battle's status later in the week.
If Battle can't go Friday, freshman guard Tim Frazier would likely step up into the point guard position. At times Friday, Frazier played the point position alongside Battle.
"That would just be an amazing experience," Frazier said of the possibility of starting. "I wish all the best to Talor. I wouldn't take it as any other game, coming off the bench or being able to start. But it would be an amazing opportunity. I would just come in and take it as any other game."
Oliver still battling headaches
Billy Oliver has been limited in practice for the past few weeks with lingering headaches, DeChellis said Monday.
Oliver, who sat out last season as a result of concussions, only played four minutes Friday against Slippery Rock, but scored three points in his first game in front of the Bryce Jordan Center crowd.
DeChellis said the doctors don't believe Oliver's headaches are a result of the concussions. Oliver practiced with the team all spring and played pick-up games with no problems this summer. DeChellis has said that Oliver had been practicing well as of late.
He is being treated with rest and medicine, DeChellis said.
"I think he's better than he was," DeChellis said. "He practiced almost a whole practice yesterday and he hadn't done that in awhile."
Doctors and migraine specialists have tried to evaluate Oliver's condition, and DeChellis said they believe Oliver's headaches occur during physical activity.
"When he's reading, or on the computer or walking around campus there's not really a problem," DeChellis said. "But it's activity induced, so when he starts running around and jumping he gets a migrane."
Guards crash the glass
Replacing Jamelle Cornley means replacing his rebound production.
But during Friday's exhibition, the Nittany Lions' two leading rebounders were its two smallest starters, Talor Battle and Chris Babb, with 10 and nine, respectively.
"That's something we've tried to concentrate on," DeChellis said, "those guys coming back to rebound the basketball and starting the break. Talor's affecting the game in a lot of ways."
