Illinois coach Bruce Weber received a phone call on Thursday night from Southern Indiana coach Rodney Watson asking for advice, as Watson wanted to know how to break it to his team that Jeron Lewis had died, reports John Supinie of the The State Journal-Register.

Watson, a former assistant coach under Weber at Southern Illinois, was charged with that heartbreaking task, and it brought back memories for Weber of going through a painful situation with Jamar Smith.

Smith, who now happens to be Southern Indiana's leading scorer, is the former Illini guard who pleaded guilty to driving under the influence in a 2007 car crash in which he left the scene of the accident thinking teammate Brian Carlwell was dead.

Weber eventually dismissed Smith from the team, and Smith now averages 23.6 points per game for Southern Indiana. Carlwell survived the crash, ended up at San Diego State, and in a recent feature in the San Diego Union-Tribune said that he and Smith remain close friends.

Smith also had somewhat of a big brother in Lewis, who died after collapsing during a game, with a coroner saying Lewis had an enlarged heart. The shocking news led Watson to quickly seek help from a friend in the coaching fraternity.

“I could tell something from his voice right away that something major was wrong,” Weber told The State Journal-Register. “My first thought it was something with Jamar. It was even worse than that. To deal with the death of a player, you’re not prepared for that as a coach.

“I can remember what we went through. Brian, thankfully, was OK. The grief and the stress, I’ve never been through something like that. There was a lot of anger. I’m sure Rodney has a tough task here this next week or 10 days.”