It’s not very often sports fans get a reality check. We watch sports to get away from reality, to distract ourselves from our own daily lives.

Somewhere between late last night and early this morning, the Illini nation received a reality check when basketball players Brian Carlwell and Jamar Smith were involved in a serious car accident somewhere on South First street. Both were diagnosed with serious concussions, and Brian Carlwell remains at Carle Foundation Hospital in Urbana. What caused the accident has not been determined yet, but we can assume the weather played some sort of role in the crash.

But how the accident happened or who (if anyone) is to blame, is not what matters. At least not right now.

Nor is the issue that an Illinois basketball player is injured. Questions like, “How will the team recover?” and “How will this affect the Illini?” have no place being asked right now.

What everyone should care about is Brian Carlwell, a 19-year-old young man, is a student at this school, and he is in serious condition following the events that transpired last night. Right now, he is not No. 21 and he is not a back-up freshman center who averages how ever many points, minutes and rebounds per game. The only stats that matter right now are his vitals.

Questions like, “How will HE recover?” and “How will this affect HIS LIFE?” are what’s important.

Too often we don’t realize that athletes, especially student-athletes, are people the minute they step off the court. We can sit in the stands and cheer for them like they are gods, but the minute they trade in their jersey for street clothes, they become human beings. Last night, Brian Carlwell the human being was seriously injured in a car crash.

It’s time for sports fans to put aside any worries about the fate of the Illinois basketball team and offer all their thoughts to Brian Carlwell, and Jamar Smith for that matter, and anyone out there who has found themeselves in an unfavorable condition as a result of this storm that has hit us. It’s time for sports fans to slip back into reality and realize our Titans of the court are people off the court. And two of them need our prayers right now.

Freshman center Brian Carlwell’s condition has been improved to serious. The Maywood, Ill. native was involved in a car crash with teammate sophomore Jamar Smith early this morning. Smith was released earlier today, and Carlwell remains hospitalized.

Keep checking in with the Sports Blog and DailyIllini.com for updates.

Right now it is merely speculation and rumor that alcohol was responsible for the accident. An investigation as to the causes of the accident is still underway. But with the weather being what it is, it’s likely that was the most relevant factor. The concern now is purely making sure Brian Carlwell, who is still critical, gets through this.

These photos are supposedly from the crash:

http://www.markdeming.com/

Stay tuned.

We’re going to try and provide breaking updates on the status of Brian Carlwell and Jamar Smith.

Apparently, Smith was driving the vehicle and crashed on South First Street. He has been released already, while Carlwell remains in critical care.

We’ll keep this up to date and let you know what happens as it happens.