Lennox' Comments on JUCO recruits

I am not going to spoil all the fun, but will provide a few tidbits from coach Forrester and brief analysis to give the fan-base a little early insight on our new additions, and our one subtraction.

All three players signed during the late period are junior college transfers.

Alex Brown, who we may remember from his alleged run-in with an older woman at a convenient store where he was offered all kinds of goodies in exchange for sex (which he and two of his teammates allegedly turned down, despite keeping all of the free goodies) will not be joining the Cougars next season. Brown has signed on with John A. Logan, a junior college and did not make the grades to compete in Division I. Brown, as we may remember was kicked off of Herrin's team in January because of his little incident, which I still think was an inappropriate decision on the part of Herrin High School. I wish Mr. Brown the best of luck and hope the kid is able to get back on the right track on and off the court. School is cool.

Anyways, Brown's scholarship instead goes to Abel Tillman, a 6"8 junior coming in from Highland junior college in Freeport.

Forrester's comment on Tillman:

“He is versatile, very long and athletic and can block shots and rebound. He needs to hit the weight room pretty hard, and he is, but he can hit the 15-footer consistently and his ceiling is high for basketball.”

 Sophomore line on Tillman: 9.5 ppg, 5.4 rpg, 103 blocked shots (most in NJCAA) 

Other schools vying for him:  Detroit, Fresno State, Oral Roberts, SEMO and Tennessee Tech. 

Where will he fit in? Tillman's shot blocking and rebound ability could have him positioned for the starting lineup at some point in the season. Tillman has an outstanding wingspan and vertical, giving Forrester many options at either the five, four or even three. It all depends on how big he wants to go inside, as Nikola Bundalo will likely be the team's starting center. Since Mark Yelovich is basically penciled in at the four position, Tillman could also provide him spells off the bench. Tillman is athletic for a big man, and is tenacious crashing the glass. He could potentially be an upgrade over guys like Zeke Schneider and Dob Mavrak at the post position.

The next two guys are from Wabash Valley junior college, and both of these guys were teammates with our old pal Brandon Dunson, who is also moving on up from Wabash, and headed to Arizona State.

First up is Cornelius Chatt, a 6"2, 190 pound shooting guard.

Forrester's comment on Chatt:

“He adds a lot to our team as far as the way we want to play."

 Sophomore line on Chatt: 10.9 ppg, 45 percent shooter from the field.

Other schools vying for him:  Albany, Austin Peay, Portland State, Sam Houston State, and SEMO

Where will he fit in? Chatt has a great build for basketball. He is a hard-nosed defender, and can push the ball in transition. As far as Forrester's quote, he is really looking to add physical toughness to his team. They need to develop a gritty attitude, which was something they lacked last season. The Cougars were soft in 2009-2010, and that's why they were pushed around so often, especially on the glass. Chatt is not necessarily a rebounder, averaging just under three a game, but you can't expect much on the boards from a shooting guard. He probably won't be a starter with all the players SIUE already has at the position, with Murphy destined to start and Stineman undoubtedly getting his fair share of minutes due to experience, but Chatt is a step in the right direction as far as fitting into Forrester's system and changing the team's approach. 

The final addition comes in Corey Wickware, a 5"10 point guard.

Forrester's comment on Wickware:

““Shooting is a key, that is how you score. That’s what Corey brings to the table. He can also pass it and push it forward; he is an all around team player. All of these guys are."

Sophomore line on Wickware: 11.6 ppg, 46 percent three point shooter, 86 percent free throw shooter .


Other schools vying for him:  Montana State, Morehead State, Austin Peay and North Carolina A&T

Where will he fit in? Tillman may have the best rating according to Scouts, but Wickware is the real steal in this recruiting class. Point guard is the most important position in basketball, and with Aamir McCleary graduated, SIUE needs a replacement and they need it now. Wickware could potentially solve this problem, as he and Gerald Jones are the only two natural point guards on the team's roster. Wickware is very creative, and has great vision and basketball IQ. His 46 percent three point shooting last season was insane. As a team, SIUE averaged 31 percent last year, and if Wickware's numbers can translate well to the next level, we could be in for a pleasant surprise. 


Forrester's latest recruiting class looks really good on paper, but then again, you never know how these things pan out until the guys are on the floor together. I was worried heading into a question mark filled off-season, but Forrester seems to have alleviated some of my concerns. The Cougars will have more depth in the paint, and I have the hope Zeke Schneider can develop into a better player over the course of the off-season. He was showing strides towards the end of the year, and the only way to go for him is up at the moment.

I really like the collection of guards, although I am a little worried about the potential minutes available to Murphy next season. His electric presence needs to be on the court as much as possible.

The point guard spot is kind of a wait and see at the moment. It's a JUCO guy, a freshmen and whoever is left over from shooting guard capable of doing the job in competition.

I would be happy to hear any and all fan feedback, it is very much appreciated in the early stages of this blog.

-Allan.

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Wednesday Word: 3/4/10

Good morning Cougar nation! Welcome to today's Word.
Working on no sleep today should get interesting, especially with Ashley Bey's senior night over at the VC later on, but we should be able to make it through. Five hour energy rules.
Anyways, I am excited for tomorrow's paper, the sports section is going to be HUGE with lots of variety. We even have tennis and golf in the mix!
Tomorrow is also exciting, because I will be heading down to Nashville to cover the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament for the online side of the Alestle. Looking forward to sleeping at truck stops and breathing college basketball for 48 hours. There may be a little bit of hockey mixed in as well, I am going to try to get down in time for the Predators game tomorrow to sit in the nosebleeds and talk to random people about hockey in the South, all the while wearing a St. Louis Blues hat. Hopefully they understand, not like we're playing them.
What can you expect on alestlelive.com/the alestle sports blog/and twitter.com/allanjlewis?
Good question.
I will be writing recaps for all four games Friday, as well as the tournament finals Saturday on the main page, blogging about my experiences on the blog and tweeting scores and random tidbits on the old Twitter.
So, if you are so inclined, and want to read about basketball and give me a reason for driving 700 miles I would appreciate it! In all seriousness though, it should be fun.
The pairings for the neutral-court games in Nashville were decided last night, with all eight opening round games in the OVC taking place. (4 women, 4 men)
Here is a link to the men's bracket.
Here is a link to the women's bracket.
Here are the semi-final match-ups if you do not like clicking links.
OVC Women's Semifinals

• No. 1 Eastern Illinois vs. No. 4 UT Martin (12:00)
• No. 3 Austin Peay vs. No. 2 Morehead State (2:00)

OVC Men's Semifinals

• No. 1 Murray State vs. No. 4 Eastern Illinois (6:00 ESPNU)
• No. 6 Tennessee Tech vs. No. 2 Morehead State (8:00 ESPNU)

So, as far as the women go, the seeds stood up, and on the men's side Tennessee Tech pulled the 68-65 upset over Austin Peay, while  Murray (84-51 over Tennessee State) and Morehead (87-54 over Jacksonville St.) won their quarterfinal match-ups handily, which was expected.
The women's side is intriguing, mainly due to the fact that the league is flat out terrible. Whoever wins this thing is going to the NCAA tournament, regardless of what Eastern Illinois did in the regular season (it really wasn't much.) The Panthers ended their season 22-9 (16-2 OVC) and are currently projected as a a No. 16 seed by ESPN women's Bracketologist Charlie Creme. Undoubtedly, whoever wins this tournament will have to deal with the likes of UCONN, Tennessee, Nebraska, North Carolina or Stanford and get crushed. What a prize it is.
For Murray State on the men's side, they really have no other choice but to win. The Racers were perfect in the OVC until Morehead edged them by three on Feb. 25. Murray comes in to the OVC tournament with what many "experts" are considering to be a less than qualified resume for an at-large berth into the NCAA tournament.
Here is what the selection committee will see two Sunday's from now if Murray fails to take home the OVC crown.

• RPI: 69
• Strength of Schedule: 278 (what you get playing SIUE twice, sad, but true)
• Big Wins: None.
• Bad losses: 83-72 (Western Kentucky)
• Notable losses 70-75 (California)

Murray has not gotten any attention on the bubble, but earned two votes in the last coaches poll, and could go on to win 29 games while potentially missing out on the dance. If that happens, Murray could become one of the poster-children for a potential 96 team tournament expansion, which in my mind works to use mid-majors against their will. Teams like Murray should be opposed to expansion, because it would allow in more crappy big schools with .500 records to go along with them, but an appearance could save a coaching job down the line.
It has a good side and a bad side. It would be a shame if Murray missed out, but Morehead is tough and has been there before.
Keeping with the OVC theme, next year's tournament format will be changed to give the No. 1 and No. 2 seeds a bye into the semi-finals (like the Horizon League and West Coast Conference do. Seriously, why try letting anyone beat Butler or Gonzaga? It aint' happening.
Under the new format, the three and four seeds are placed in the semifinals, and the remaining qualifiers duke it out in an opening round.
Sure makes for a looooooooong road to the NCAA's for the underdog, but it prevents those pesky 13-17 teams from making the dance and making Selection Sunday hell.
The new tournament is going to be at the Municipal Auditorium, rather than it's current home, Bridgestone Arena (the Sommet Center randomly decided to change it's name.)
For SIUE, men's basketball season is over. It's a faded memory. It's incredibly sad. I don't like this.
Following the Cougar's final game at the VC, a sloppy 10 point win over an NAIA school, Lennox Forrester, Aamir McCleary, Stephen Jones and Mark Yelovich addressed the media in a very emotional press conference.
It was the most honest I have seen this team all season, and I applaud them for that. I know they worked hard and I know the transition is rough. We have a young team, perfection was not even a question with this group of guys, they just gave us something to talk about.
The first words out of Yelovich's mouth were somewhere along the lines of: "We weren't very good," and his sentiment is one that was obvious, but something that made me think.
Transitioning to Division I is damn hard.
These guys go out, play the most unbalanced schedule in the country, against a number of over-matched teams and NEVER have the opportunity to play what is a meaningful game in the immediate picture we see.
They talked about motivation, they talked about traveling from Edwardsville to North Dakota to Minneapolis to Los Angeles to Fullerton to Fort friggin Wayne and back to Edwardsville. That is a 5,700 mile trip and some serious jet lag.
It is hard to stay focused on the main goal: which in SIUE's case is to compete, or attempt to compete while trying to build towards a future they will not see as players. It is about pride and about the FOUNDATION.
I have seen the word 'foundation' tossed around all the time with this team, and it is defiantly relevant. We are building to the future. The wins/losses are not going to steer potential recruits away at this point. SIUE is in a decent place right now as far as moving forward with its current plan, and really, we are ahead of many past transitional schools.
Right now the record means nothing. We can't do anything with it, so who cares. Winning is great, but right now SIUE just needs to compete and focus on the bigger picture, so we are capable of doing some damage down the road.
Just think about it in comparison to SIUC.
The Salukis were in the Sweet 16, then made a few more NCAA tournaments and tanked. Enrollment in Carbondale is down, as is the basketball team. I would even go as far to consider Evansville rebuilding with Marty Simmons to be a situation in the Missouri Valley with more upside.
Now look at SIUE. The trends in sports are going to start to mirror enrollment, and education. With St. Louis next door and the media attention the Cougars will receive (albeit as the fourth most popular D-I school in the market, which is BS considering Mizzou and U of I are like 3 hours a pop away) along with newer facilities and this 'foundational vision,' we have hope.
The recruits look good, and Forrester said we should be a little better next season.
Now, we have no idea how Mike Messer, Gerald Jones and super-human-playa Alex Brown will do fresh out of high school, but anything is possible.
Think about the wonders the weight room could do for LeShaun Murphy's game.
I still HATE the word "transition" and still expect wins, but really, there are bigger and better things ahead than what we are seeing now.
As far as next year, Forrester divulged some schedule information, so I will share.
SIUE will play in the Las Vegas Invitational: opening with road games at two college hoops powers, in Indiana and Northern Iowa. From there, SIUE will go to Vegas for a few neutral court contests.
Other eye-opening road games include Iowa, Illinois State, Murray State and Morehead State.
The Cougars will host Murray and Morehead as well.
Time for some congratulations.

• Ashley Bey. The senior plays her final game tonight when the Cougars host Cal-State Bakersfield at the Vadalabene Center. Bey, one of the best basketball thief's in the nation and an SIUE record-holder deserves your support, as does the entire team ending a long, winding season.
• Ben Bishop. The guy who throws heavy things went to nationals and placed 10th. Good job.
• SIUE wrestling. Eight guys are going to Nationals. That's awesome.

And a head-scratcher.

• SIUE golf coach Kyle Viehl resigned. What makes this even worse is the timing. The golf team resumes with the spring portion of its schedule March 8.

That'll do it, hope to get some feedback while I'm in Nashville!
This video may come in handy for everyone at SIUE, given 3 power outages in 3 weeks and all....

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SIUE basketball season wrap

(Originally ran in the Alestle, print and online)

SIUE men's basketball Head Coach Lennox Forrester said a successful season in sports is often marked by wins and losses.

By those standards, the 5-23 season posted by the SIUE men's basketball team was unsuccessful, but Forrester thinks about it differently.

He said 2009-2010 was a year marked by progress, as the program has now completed two of four probationary seasons mandated for reclassification into NCAA Division I.

"If you are not playing at 110 percent every night, you are going to be embarrassed like we have. That's a part of it," Forrester said. "There were some nights we lost by 20-something points [to more established schools], and I thought our guys did a pretty good job."

During the course of the season, SIUE was handed its share of blowout losses. The Cougars lost 12 games by more than 20 points and four by more than 30 points, including two against Murray State University, a member of the Cougar's future home, the Ohio Valley Conference. SIUE ended the season ranked No. 318 in the Ratings Percentage Index, out of 347 D-I schools.

Putting aside their record, sophomore forward Mark Yelovich, a preseason first-team All-Independent player and the Cougar's rebound leader (5.9 rpg) and leading scorer (16.3 ppg) said there are positives to take from what was, in a small sense, a championship season: a Drake Hy-Vee championship season.

"We beat a really good Drake [University] team and a good team in [the University of Texas at] Arlington and won the tournament," Yelovich said. "I really don't know what happened to us that weekend."

Following a 10-day break in the schedule and a 57-50 loss at the Vadalabene Center to the University of North Dakota, Feb. 7, the Cougars played well down the stretch, aside from a 78-40 loss to Indiana-University-Purdue University-Fort Wayne Feb. 23.

In the final leg of the schedule in which the Cougars logged 5,800 miles of travel, SIUE knocked off North Dakota by 15 points and came within four points of California State University at Fullerton, their opponent in ESPN's Bracketbuster series. Following the loss to IPFW, SIUE defeated Hannibal LaGrange College to round out the season.

"[Down the stretch] we played really well. We shot the ball and executed," Yelovich said. "We played a good Cal State Fullerton team, and made some shots, but it didn't go our way. Despite that loss, you can't be disappointed with it. IPFW was a struggle."

Yelovich said the amount of traveling during the final four games and throughout the season took a physical toll on the team.

"Not to make an excuse, but we did a lot of traveling, and not everyone was on their game against IPFW," Yelovich said. "We let it slip away from us."

According to senior guard Stephen Jones, the Cougars lacked the focus they needed toward the end of the season.

"It's tough going through what we have been through. Losing the games that we did, and we played some close games, but it's a grind," Jones said. "We kind of got worn out and almost use to losing."

Jones, who was depended upon in the starting lineup by Forrester throughout the season for defensive purposes, was one of four seniors on SIUE's roster. The others included guard Aamir McCleary, forward Denycko Bowles and Dane Church, a role player off the end of the bench.

McCleary will graduate as one of SIUE's top 10 career assist leaders and averaged 11.3 points per contest this season. His average 4.7 assists per game is currently good for 63rd in the nation.

After his final game as a Cougar, McCleary said he has seen improvement from the beginning of the season in some of the team's younger players, a group that includes players like freshmen LeShaun Murphy and Zeke Schneider.

"The younger guys showed a vast amount of improvement, and there are nothing but good things to come in the next couple years," McCleary said. "I expect good things from the young kids coming in as well."

SIUE has signed on three freshmen for next season, in Michael Messer and Gerald Jones of St. Louis and Alex Brown of Herrin. Forrester said he is also recruiting at junior colleges to round out next season's roster.

Forrester said it is too early to tell how big of an impact his new recruits will have on SIUE's success in future seasons because of the transition from high school basketball to D-I competition.

"We have a couple freshmen coming in, and you just don't know how they are going to do," Forrester said. "It's a big adjustment, but we should be improved."

Recruiting during the transition to D-I is a tall task for Forrester because of SIUE's ineligible postseason status.

"Going through the years of the transition, recruiting will get easier," Forrester said. "It will still be tough, but it's hard to tell a young man that watches basketball on TV and the tournament, 'hey, come play for four years and not play in the post-season.' As we go through the years it will still be a challenge, but get easier."

Jones said the possibility of post-season play for future SIUE teams can play a motivating factor, which can dictate success.

"Once SIUE can play in conference tournaments, in conference play and in the NCAA tournament, better players will start coming in and it will give the team something to play for," Jones said.

Forrester also said this season's team had little more to play for than pride.

"Every night we are the underdog, and that will come easier in conference play," Forrester said. "It's a motivation when you can look up at the standings. There is a goal. These guys are playing for nothing. All they have is the challenge and the pride they have to play for every single game."

Toughness, concentration and basic fundamentals such as shooting, will serve as focal points for Forrester as he tries to address this season's problems in order to improve upon the next.

"There are a lot of words you can use to define our team, but toughness sums up a lot of things like concentration and execution," Forrester said. "Concentration is following the game plan night in and night out. We got better, but not fast enough."

Concentration for Forrester's team boils down to the fundamentals, and he said next year's SIUE team needs to be better mentally at shooting the basketball. On the season, SIUE averaged 39 percent shooting from the field, with opponents shooting 47 percent. SIUE shot 51 more three-pointers than their opponents on the season, averaging 31 percent.

Rebounding was also a problem for SIUE, especially early in the season. The Cougars' average rebounding margin for the year was negative seven. The Cougars' starting center, junior Nikola Bundalo was third on the team with 3.7 rebounds per game, behind Yelovich and McCleary.

SIUE's crash course in D-I continues next season, and once again, Forrester is not shying away from power-conference competition in the early going. The Cougars will play at Indiana University and current No. 25 Northern Iowa University as part of preliminary play in the Las Vegas Invitational. Following those games, the Cougars will travel to Nevada to play two neutral court games against yet to be determined opponents.

Forrester said he is a proponent of in-season tournaments, because they give his team something to play for. Aside from winning the Drake Hy-Vee Classic this season, the program earned its first win of the D-I era at last year's Charleston Classic against Western Michigan University.

"With the experience we had this year at Drake and last year at Charleston, I think it's great to go somewhere and hopefully be able to get some wins," Forrester said.

Other notable road games Forrester said will be on the Cougars' 2010-2011 schedule include a return trip to Illinois State University and a game against the University of Iowa, of the Big Ten Conference. The Cougars will get a bigger look at the OVC, with home and away meetings scheduled against the league's top two teams, Murray State and Morehead State. Southeast Missouri State University and the University of Tennessee at Martin will play return games at the Vadalabene Center.

California State University at Fullerton will not make their return trip to the Vadalabene Center required for participating in Bracketbusters until 2011-201, because of previous scheduling commitments.

Forrester said a number of nationally recognized programs have been calling him trying to schedule SIUE in order to fulfill guarantee games on their schedules.

"Coaches pull out the RPI and look to the teams at the bottom because they think it will be an easier win," Forrester said. "We are getting the big dogs. I have been called by [the University of] Michigan, Michigan State [University], Gonzaga [University], you name it."

Yelovich, who will be relied upon heavily next season, said the ultimate goal of moving forward is to get better, and eventually win.

"We really didn't have a great season, but D-I is tough and you have to be a good team to compete with all these great players," Yelovich said. "Hopefully we learn from our mistakes and come out next year a little more focused and have the confidence to be in every game."

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My school:SIUe

(Originally appeared on midmajority.com)

Driving Eastward on interstate 255 from St. Louis there's large billboard with the simple phrase "Cougars rising," and each time I see it I inevitably crack a smile, because the Cougars are my work, education and my life. I'm rising too.
A short 20 minute drive from that billboard lies our den; a quaint 3,000 seat venue as freshly remodeled as it is fresh to the mid-majority. Here at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville and the Vadalabene Center, the rising is happening before our eyes. This is the St. Louis area's newest Division I program.
Before every game, I take a seat along the empty row of media along the baseline about an hour before tip off and set up a live game blog which will inevitably go unread. I gather notes and a bottled water from a kinesiology classroom on the far end of the gym, a room set up as a pseudo media room. It even has a skeleton model hiding behind the black and red backdrop that's set up for post-game interviews.
I grew up with this basketball program living in Edwardsville for 21 years. As a young kid, I'd spend Saturday afternoons shooting hoops in my driveway, eagerly awaiting my grandparents to pick me up and take me to a special land of hoops. At an early age I learned the ropes of this D-II sub-mid-majority, and followed SIUE basketball as if it was a D-I program... not knowing what the future would hold.
I vividly remember a few things from this era. I remember the blue reserved seats beneath a cast of puke brown bleachers. And I was that kid, the overly enthusiastic ADD one who knew every player on the team and their tendencies. I knew the records of every team in the Great Lakes Valley Conference. Yeah, that kid. I knew just as much, if not more, about SIUE hoops than the loyal grey haired folks who come to the Vadalabene Center for every game, no matter what the record is, no matter who shows up to provide competition. Back then, I gave players from the likes of (then D-II) IPFW hell. I even provided play-by-play from the stands, practicing for a long and illustrious career in the broadcast booth. Move over, Billy Packer!

The game-night experience was not over until well after leaving. I would always have my grandparents tune into the post-game show on the local radio broadcast. I wanted to hear what then-head coach Jack Margenthaler had to say. That was usually followed by ice cream, which I'd eat while my grandparents and I shared thoughts on the game.
Margenthaler retired from SIUE in 2002 after posting a 112-150 record. Before his days in Edwardsville, he had a winning record with Western Illinois University, where he coached the Leathernecks to two D-II NCAA Tournaments.
The women's basketball team was much more successful during this period, going to the NCAA tournament in 1998, 1999 and 2001. More often than not, a day at the Vadalabene Center meant a double-header, giving me a second team to cheer for.
After Margenthaler's retirement, I was 13. The Cougars started improving as SIUE entered the Marty Simmons era. And my grandparents still had plenty of free season tickets, which were given to them by the local car dealership that my grandfather works for. Coach Simmons would eventually go back to his alma mater, Evansville, but Simmons and his signature sweater vest became the turning point for SIUE basketball.
By the time I was almost ready for college, SIUE finally broke through. After one bad year and a second mediocre one, the Cougars finally earned a trip to the NCAA tournament. I was not nearly as excited as I had been about the team, because I did not anticipate it truly becoming "my own" two short years later. I was a young man sick of his surroundings by then. The pink houses, the countless fast-food jobs I worked had caught up with me, and I felt I needed a new challenge. SIUE's postseason run, eventually culminating with a disappointing 60-58 loss to Virginia Union, was something I was following with great interest, but that year I took more of a "hometown-appreciation" approach to rooting them on. I didn't have that childhood connection anymore.
I wanted to go to college somewhere else in the mid-majority. I knew I could never get into a place like the University of Illinois or the University of Missouri; I had an utter disdain for their athletic programs. Southern Illinois Carbondale was busy wrecking the Big Dance across the state, and I wanted to go there, or somewhere like that.
Simmons went away to clear the path for former Bradley assistant Lennox Forrester, but the only college I ended up applying to was the local one with the Cougar mascot. While I was researching schools I would never go to -- like SIUE's sister school Southern Illinois Carbondale, which is highly despised in this corner of the state -- SIUE was exploring the possibility of reclassifying it's athletic programs to D-I. In March of 2007, the school formally announced it would do so.
In June of 2008, the Cougars joined the Ohio Valley Conference as the only non-American-Style Football school among its ranks, replacing Samford after their departure for the Southern Conference. This made me feel a little better about a future at SIUE. The value of my future diploma went up as high as LeShaun Murphy on a dunk!
My freshman year in college marked our last year in D-II obscurity. In 2008-2009, the Cougars officially took off. They're still rising, attempting the transitional NCAA hurdles, hoping against hope to have the necessary pieces in place by 2012-2013, when the hallowed land of March Madness will finally be within reach.
Over this past summer, I was promoted to sports editor at SIUE's student newspaper, the Alestle, where I have worked since my first day of college. I made an executive decision to place extra emphasis on basketball (as opposed to some of our other collegiate sports) because this is Our Game. I make sure that I'm accompanied by a reporter and a photographer at each home game. I occasionally travel when economically possible, just to make sure I'm there for every step of this great basketball journey.
The majority of our student body remains apathetic when it comes to SIUE basketball. But the student section is emerging, the orange-clad Red Line supporters on campus are dwindling, and Cougar red is making its way out onto the quad and into the limelight. So I feel an editorial responsibility to help make and keep Cougar basketball relevant.
I love walking out onto the Vadalabene Center floor before a game now. I'm able to talk basketball with our sports information staff, our radio personalities and everyone involved in Cougar basketball. I can look up at those 10 banners acknowledging the teams in the Ohio Valley Conference -- as well as its torch logo on the court -- and the pride really hits me. To know first hand where SIUE has come from, its 14-year climb, makes every aspect of this transition more rewarding.
The Cougars are 3-21 on the season, and have been pushed around a lot while trying to manage this independent, pre-OVC schedule. There are lots of 25 percent shooting nights, days when we're doubled up on the boards, and Osiris Eldrige or Kenneth Farried have done plenty of standing in our way. It's been frustrating, but the guarantee game money has been pouring in -- supplemented by a cameo or two on ESPNU. We are not there yet, but the foundation is in place at SIUE. We want to become a special place in the mid-majority.
When SIUE wraps up this season Feb. 25 against Hannibal LaGrange, an NAIA school, SIU Edwardsville will be halfway there. Two of the school's four transitional years will have been completed. Though the D-I hardwood has been unforgiving at times, the Cougars continue living on that prayer, and we'll continue rising for two more seasons.

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Wednesday Word 2/10/10

Lots to address this week, we have basketball to break down, a few new sports starting their seasons and all kinds of fun and exciting things.

Here it goes again!

Let's begin the week talking about softball. Yeah, I know we almost had a snow day yesterday and it's -325 degrees outside, but believe it or not Friday the Cougars begin their attempt at an encore to last year's 40 win season, competing in South Alabama's tournament, featuring a cast of mid-majors in hosts South Alabama (Sun Belt), Lipscomb (Atlantic Sun), Samford (the school SIUE is replacing in the OVC, now members of the Southern Conference) and Western Kentucky (Sun Belt).
I am a little hesitant on predicting how Coach Sandy Montgomery's team will fare this season. The Cougars were outstanding last season. The softball team is our athletic department's pride and joy. They are the 2007 Division II National Champions, and last season proved they were not just a transitioning DII juggernaut prone to a rude awakening at the next level. SIUE received votes in the National Top 25 poll, and knocked off two ranked teams on their way to a 40-10 record. 40-10 is impressive for anyone playing the schedule they took on last season, but to do it in their first year was nothing outside of special.
Could this year be a repeat or something different? Well, we will see how it plays out on the diamond, because I honestly have no idea. SIUE lost five seniors, while returning just two. There are MASSIVE shoes to fill for the Cougars, especially on the mound. Caitlin Colosimo was a monster. Check out this line: 19-4, 22 complete games, 10 shutouts a 1.00 ERA, 152 strikeouts, 20 walks and 174.1 Innings pitched.
It's not just her numbers Montgomery has to somehow find a way to re-produce, but her ability to eat a ton of innings and relieve the rest of the pitching staff. A lot of trust is going to go to junior Erika Taylor to fill the ace role, a spot she should be able to naturally fill, after posting her own earth-shattering numbers: 17-6, 1.22 ERA, 17 complete games, 3 shutouts, 144 strikeouts in 143.1 innings.
Junior College transfer Ali Downing and Freshmen Lindsey Coleman round out the pitching staff.
Offensively, SIUE has four of their six biggest weapons returning to the squad, most notably Lauren Zembruski, the team leader in batting average (.373) Home Runs (7) RBI (39) walks (32) and on-base percentage (.497.)
Taylor and Zembruski are going to be the cogs in the SIUE machine this season. Chaleen Rumpf, The only senior on the team outside of Zembruski will also play an important part in the Cougar offense, with her career .331 batting average.
SIUE has a young team this year, and the inexperience on the roster is the only thing keeping anyone from penciling in another 40 win season and perhaps cracking the top 25. There are eight sophomores and four freshmen on this team. The majority of the sophomore cast saw playing time last season, and that added experience will be important. The past success of the program undoubtedly gives Montgomery a little more flexibility when it comes to recruiting, along with the program's fast-tracked status allowing it to compete for championships next season. Freshman Samantha Stanicek comes to the team after being named one of the top high school players in the state.
Following up on last year is going to be a tough task, but this is a confident bunch. We'll see what happens.

 On the slightly bigger field of similar shape with a mound instead of a circle is the SIUE baseball team. They have a little bit more time to prepare for the unseasonably early beginning of  the college season, opening up against the team they closed last season against, Central Arkansas on the road.

The Cougars will be spending a lot of time in Arkansas early on, playing two against UCA with Creighton sandwiched between before a three game series at  Arkansas Little-Rock.

If I had to pick an SIUE team to break out of last season's funk in 2010, it is this one.
Coach Gary Collins knows what he is doing. The man has 944 career wins coaching SIUE baseball.
Last year, the Cougars were 15-39. It wasn't the most illustrious year of Collins career, but as with every team here (besides softball...knock on wood), it was marked by the typical transitional growing pains we have seen across the board. With just six home games on the docket, it was also a grind associated with constant life on the road.
In my short time covering this team at the end of the season, one glaring weakness was apparent.
Pitching.
SIUE did not have any.
Opponents outscored SIUE by 120 runs over the course of the season, but the Cougars certainly had an ample amount of offensive firepower. They just let down too many runs.
The stat of the season last year: SIUE was 7-5 when scoring more than 10 runs in a game.
They allowed opponents to score more than 10 runs 13 times, losing all 13.
The team's combined ERA was 7.01 and opponents hit .323 against SIUE pitching.
This team has it's offensive weapons, in seniors Micheal Hopkins, Mike Hurt and Adam Eggemeyer. There is a good cast of role players complimenting them as well. Offensively, the Cougars are healthy after an injury-riddled 2009.
SIUE will score runs, it is just going to be a matter of keeping them off the scoreboard.
Looking to the spring is nice, but it's time to talk about what is going on RIGHT NOW...and probably what a majority of our readers are here for, COUGAR BASKETBALL!

First up, the men. I will be the first to admit I have been a little frustrated with this team. I love college basketball, and I love SIUE basketball even more. Let's hold off on the frustration for a bit, because I have a feeling my constant regurgitation of the team's problems are getting tired and the proof has been made evident through countless performances.

The two games SIUE played this week were against teams going through the same process we are, in South and North Dakota. USD has owned us throughout the maiden voyage, holding a 4-1 mark against SIUE, (2-0 this season, 2-1 last season, with the Cougars coming back from 17 down last season at the Vadalabene Center for its first "Division I*" home win.) This season, there was little doubt when it came to who was going to get the win in Edwardsville. USD was just the all-around better team on both ends of the court, and held an apparent advantage on the low-post with the combination of Steve Smith and Tyler Cain.

The senior duo combined for 13-19 shooting and 30 points with 14 rebounds and along with the rest of the Coyotes, torched SIUE inside, where they owned a 39-32 rebounding edge and 54 points in the paint, an area where even with a rebounding advantage, SIUE has had trouble scoring. The low post has not been generating any offense for the Cougars all season long, and that area has really put a burden on this team, not being able to work the ball inside out while running the offense. USD's low-post presence undoubtedly helped their shooting numbers, creating easy buckets and an astronomical 65 percent mark for the contest.

SIUE's offense, meanwhile struggled, connecting on 39 percent of their field goal opportunities, and shooting just 5-23 from three-point range. They went into their typical NBA Live panic mode after a few empty possessions and fired up too many perimeter shots in a feeble attempt  to get back into the game, obviously creating more empty possessions.

There were positives early on. The Cougars were moving the ball much better in their offense, creating a few easy back-door opportunities with Stephen Jones running the point in the absence of Aamir McCleary, but at times they maybe made an extra pass or two, passing up on a look and ending with a mistake.

Mark Yelovich scored 18 points, but was only 8-22 shooting in the game, I thought maybe he was pressing a little too hard without McCleary at his side, but I do agree with what Coach Forrester said after the game, in trusting Mark to take his shots when he has the chance. It was just one of those games where nothing went right, as has been the case offensively for awhile.

I want to make note of this though: SIUE is a young basketball team, with a strong cast of freshmen and sophomores. South Dakota, meanwhile started their transition with an experienced basketball team and in turn, is currently playing with juniors and seniors. Without Cain and Smith, SIUE would have had a fighting chance, but the combination of Nikolo Bundalo, Zeke Schneider (who I will note, has improved since early on this season) and Dob Mavrak (whom I feel Zeke has in turn, passed on the depth chart due to his improvement) was just unable to compete with the experience and talent the Coyotes had at their disposal.

Sunday, SIUE continued their shooting funk, going 27 percent from the field against the other Dakota, the North one.

Yelovich tallied 18 points, and as a team the Cougars just managed 50 in a seven point loss against the patient Fighting Sioux and their Princeton offense. SIUE had 27 rebounds, and was 5-22 from three-point range, you know the story. Cougars will be Cougars.

The outcome of this game was difficult to stomach, because victory was a distinct possibility for the first time in awhile, if you don't consider the win against Robert Morris for more than it was worth. The Sioux were 4-17, SIUE 3-20. It was an even-matched game, and with the full support of McCleary and LeShaun Murphy, out of the lineup for various reasons, the outcome could have been different. The back end of the bench, Dane Church, Alex Newlin and Desmond Young saw action early in this one, which comes as a surprise being a competitive game. This team has got to be physically drained at this stage of the schedule, creating more opportunity for these guys. Not to mention the injuries.

The pieces will come together. I just keep telling myself this. It will be okay.

The SIUE women also had a rough week, but considering the competition, all in all, it wasn't bad. They played the first-place team in the Ohio Valley Conference tough at home, and endured a tough road game at Miami of the ACC, in battle of schools nicknamed after vowels.

Thursday's game against Eastern provided a fantastic barometer to gauge the future of SIUE women's basketball with, and all in all I am okay with the final result, a 74-63 loss to Tony Romo University.

SIUE fought of an early 14 point deficit, and trailed by six at the break, while Freshmen Michaela Herrod had the biggest game of her career, scoring 20 points.

With the Ohio Valley Conference having a horrendous year on the women's side, and putting SIUE's youth into consideration, we can assume the Cougars will improve as the transition period progresses, and the pieces will fall into place when an NCAA tournament bid is on the line.

Speaking of the OVC's weak women's league, ESPN women's Bracketologist Charlie Creme currently has EIU tabbed as a 16 seed. No complaints here.

Miami is on the bubble, at 16-7, they need as many wins as they can get to try and sneak into the NCAA tournament in the always tough ACC. Anytime SIUE plays a power conference school, no matter the sport or gender, it is a good experience, and the Cougars held their own against a very good team, losing 85-60, with Herrod once again coming up big with 20 points.

Up next for the women is Oakland City Saturday at the Vadalabene Center, it's the pink game for Breast Cancer awareness, so if you are not partaking in the Mardi Gras craziness in St. Louis I encourage you to go to the VC for a few reasons.

1. We are going to win, It's Oakland City.(7-12, DII)
2. It's for a good cause.
3. Free T-shirts!!!!

My job advertising is done.

Time to close out with a few random tidbits and things of that nature.

The SIUE track teams, whom I would have blogged about in a little greater detail if this wasn't already too long and straining your eyes have one more event to close out the indoor season and are on an absolute tear. Every time they compete, someone is setting some kind of record, and that is all good news as we prepare to wait out until the spring, and track without a roof. Ben Bishop has thrown heavy objects farther than everyone else in all five tries inside, while Kayla Brown, Aftan Noon and company are up to their old tricks.

The SIUE women's tennis team is off to a strong start, posting a 6-1 win over OVC rival Southeast Missouri State at the Edwardsville Y!M!C!A! Saturday, sweeping doubles and winning five of six singles matches. Good job.

I clicked onto siuecougars.com the other day and found out we are having a pep-rally for the Men's basketball Bracketbuster game Feb. 20 against Cal State Fullerton. Intrigued, I clicked on the link to find out the pep rally is taking place in FULLERTON. I asked the Alestle to get me on a plane, but that was to no avail.

As far as the Super Bowl goes, I picked the Saints, and the Saints won. Still, football expert, I am not. Go Rams!

You want something to watch on TV Thursday instead of going out? I'll suggest Moreahead State vs. Eastern Illinois in OVC men's action at 8 p.m. on ESPNU and St. Mary's vs. Gonzaga at 10 p.m. over on ESPN2.

In honor of softball/baseball starting up, and the awesomeness of George Knox, I'll sign off with this, enjoy the show!

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From the other side

The Cougars blew another halftime lead and lost to UMKC tonight.

I was not happy about it.
Normally my job requires me to show no emotion or bias in supporting SIUE athletics. I am after all, a journalist. First and foremost though, I have a lot of pride for the Cougars, which I feel is okay since I am a student. Being christmas/winter/holiday break (whichever you prefer) and being a native of Edwardsville (and not having anywhere to go home for the holidays because, um, I'm already here,) I wanted to go to the Vadalabene Center tonight. I had two choices: be the journalist I am, providing some sort of game story recap on this very blog, attend the post-game press conference, get quotes and provide some live game blog analysis, or since the Alestle does not print over the recess from classes go to the game in an entirely different function. That of a fan.
And I chose the latter.
This was new to me. I could yell things at the other team and clap. it didn't help the Cougars efforts being one of about ten students in the audience of 1,650 but being able to partake in the emotion and intensity of college basketball was something special for me.
It didn't hurt that the marketing people chose me out of the deserted student section to participate in the Commerce Bank Dash for Cash at the first media timeout of the second half, they really didn't have a choice. It was me or my friend who attends Illinois State. After the home opener Nov. 15 it was safe to say he was not stepping foot on that court. I got $93 out of it, not too shabby, considering I would have made about $24 covering the exact same game and having to do some serious "work."
The Cougars jumped out to an early 9-0 lead while shooting over 60 percent from the field. Nikolo Bundalo opened things up with a nice hook-shot in the lane, Mark Yelovich tallied a mid-range floater, Denycko Bowles hit a three and Yelovich capped it off nailing another jump shot.
Things were looking good for SIUE. UMKC could not get a rebound if their scholarships depended on it and SIUE was doing a good job maintaining defensive pressure and forcing turnovers.
Then it got away a little bit and the tide began to turn. The Kangaroos fought off an 8-0 run of their own to get within one and after another Cougars run they got back into the game yet again and went into the locker room down two.
My first thought at the break was "here we go again."
The same thing happened to SIUE at home against Lipscomb and IPFW. They led Lipscomb by eight at halftime on the road before getting pummeled in the second half towards a 20 point defeat. It is nothing against the will of the players, they just cannot play 40 minutes of solid basketball on any given night. You can bet on 20, but 40 is pushing it just a little bit.
It is all the mental things that cost the Cougars tonight, and I saw a direct correlation with SIUE's volleyball team. Now, I am starting to talk like a sports reporter, but the problem with SIUE's 2-27 volleyball squad was their inability to put together a solid match throughout. When opponents made runs the Cougars never had the intangible ability to shift the momentum back in a positive direction. Back to basketball, it is the same problem. It is all mental. You can contribute this to whatever you want, inexperience, coaching or execution. In my opinion, tonight's loss was a combination of all three things.
Inexperience: When UMKC went on runs the Cougars confidence took a nose-dive and there was no way they would be able to kick it into overdrive. Chalk this up to having a young team.
Coaching: Kevin Stineman should not be starting basketball games. Nothing against him, but he is not what we need in the starting five even if Stephen Jones can't go, which was the case today. There is no reason in my mind at least to play a defensive specialist in the starting lineup when you have scorers like LeShaun Murphy at your disposal. Sure, Murphy is a freshmen, but when he is on his game he has the ability to be the most electric player on the basketball court. Murphy is fourth on the team in scoring with 6.1 ppg in limited action. Stineman? 3.2 ppg. Bowles probably needs to get his starter tag removed as well, in favor of David Boarden. A starting lineup of Bundalo, Yelovich, Murphy, McCleary and Boarden sounds absolutely deadly in my mind. Stineman had two points to show for his 27 minutes on the court. Bowles put together a decent effort with a season-high ten points, but he has not proven to be a consistent answer for SIUE.
Execution: The Cougars take way too many three-point shots. You can attribute this to having virtually no interior game, but you have to try to get buckets however you can and the perimeter is not the answer. SIUE went 4-18 from long-range, and the second half was just a disaster from that point of view. It doesn't help that there isn't someone to depend as a garbage disposal down low to punish the inside and get some hard-earned points, but the Cougars need to find better ways to attack defenses. I don't care if Dob Mavrik rebounds with one hand or if Zeke Schneider is still a work in progress. UMKC was switching up their looks a lot, and that proved frustrating, as they mixed and matched zone coverage with man-to-man throughout the second half. Execution was also lacking on the defensive end. SIUE sent the Kangaroos to the free-throw line 35 times, and they capitalized on 27 attempts. There's your game. Nearly 43 percent of all of UMKC's points CAME FROM THE FREE THROW LINE. It deserves to be capitalized and now spelled out, because it was FOURTY-THREE PERCENT OF ALL OF THEIR POINTS. You cannot do that and expect to win at any level of basketball. That, is how you win a basketball game shooting 38 percent from the field.
Rebounding was a little bit better for the Cougars, but UMKC is not a good rebounding team by any stretch of the imagination. They came in averaging under 30 per contest. They ended up holding the advantage 36-32 in this one, after SIUE got a little sloppy boxing out in the second half.
SIUE forced more turnovers than they gave up, 20-15, but it sure didn't seem like it. Almost every time the Cougars had a critical posession the ball ended up headed the other way.
The last ten minutes of this game my hands were on my head and my heart was sinking with every missed oppurtunity or UMKC free-throw attempt. Yelling at UMKC's Kurt Korver and telling him he'll never be as good as his brother (Utah Jazz forward and former Creighton bluejay Kyle Korver) was also a highlight of this rare oppurtunity to just kick back and watch some Cougar basketball, just as I did watching the game against Purdue on ESPNU last week.
I would have traded my $93 in prize money for that first Cougar's Division I victory on home soil, but it wasn't meant to be, and now I'm left with a wad leaving people wondering where I've been and this blog entry highlighting the woulda coulda shoulda's of tonight's game.
As a fan I just have to keep reminding myself the wins will come, and one day we will be crowned Ohio Valley Conference champions earning ourselves an automatic bid in the big dance, and as a reporter I have to remind myself that one day in the near future I will have to ask Coach Forrester another tough question.
Allan Lewis
Alestle Sports Editor

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SIUE against Purdue

I'm back!
Good afternoon everybody, hope break is going well, hopefully better than its been to the Cougars so far after a 79-61 loss to Loyola at the Vadalabene Center Sunday.
It's back to the court today for Lennox Forrester and crew, and things don't get any easier with the fourth best team in the nation waiting.
Purdue is a 41 point favorites against the Cougars.
It's tough to break down these guarantee games. We know SIUE is the definite underdog in this one, and likely the results will not be pretty. We will lose and the basketball program will get a big check for having the kahoneys to travel to West Lafayette.
After the Loyola game, Forrester was quoted in an article by the Alton Telegraph as saying "If we play like we did (Sunday) we will lose by 70 points."
Unfortunately I have to attribute them because I was unable to make it out to the game, but it's the same thing.
The Purdue contingent is not too happy about this one being on the schedule. I don't blame them. SIUE comes into this one ranked #327 in the latest RPI ratings, Purdue is #8, a little down from their AP national ranking due to their strength of schedule. Purdue's schedule is ranked 69th toughest in the nation up to this point, after playing the likes of North Dakota State (#280) IPFW (#263) Ball State (#220) and CS Northridge (#153). There is a lot of complaining over cupcakes in West Lafayette.
Needless to say, the Boilermakers have beat some decent teams. You don't climb to the #4 national ranking doing nothing. They have wins over #11 Tennessee in the Virgin Islands, a win over Wake Forest in the Big Ten ACC Challenge and a nice victory over Alabama. SIUE is their final tuneup for Big Ten play, which begins against Iowa (a team I am convinced SIUE could beat, the Hawkeyes are awful) next Tuesday.
Here are a few things Boilers fans are saying on ESPN's game conversation.
"purdue is going to kick butt tonight they r going to crush siue"
"This game is gonna be a blowout. Boiler up!"
"no matter how soft siu-edwardsville is, it's hard to resist +41. it's christmas time... certainly purdue will show some compassion?" (my favorite one!)
"purdue's schedule needs some big boy games, enough of the playing high school teams." OUCH!
"remind me again why this game is even being played?? I will be very disappointed if we ever schedule a team of this magnitude - or lack thereof - again."
So, to conclude, the Purdue people are not really excited about this one.
So, who to watch for Purdue?
E'Twaun Moore (16.1 PPG)
Robbie Hummel (15 PPG 7.3 RPG)
I would expect atleast 20 and ten from Hummel if Cougars cannot contain him. I would expect Yelovich to be matching up with him, expect Stephen Jones getting a lot of minutes for defensive purposes to guard Moore.
Keys to the game for SIUE:
1. Don't try and run with Purdue. The Boilers average 78 points and SIUE CANNOT run with them. Try and slow things down in the half-court and get some open looks. With this offense it is not going to happen, but that is a way to keep this one somewhat close.
2. Rebounding. As usual with the Cougars, they are 2-0 when they out rebound the opponent, 0-9 when they don't. They need to pay extra close attention to blocking out.
3. Don't play like you did Sunday. Forrester said his team would lose by 70 points if this happens. They cannot play scared and have to come out with some swagger.
That's about all for now, as I wait for my SIUE hoodie in the washing machine. Game time is 45 minutes away from Mackey Arena, and Buffalo Wild Wings for me. Hope to see you there.
Allan Lewis

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My second angry rant of the season...

So the SIUE Cougars are not off to a great start at starting great. In all three regular season losses, the Cougars dug themselves into deep holes going into the locker room before rallying to a decent second half.
Last night's game was flat out embarrassing. It was the Cougars biggest loss of the season, and it was against the one team they had a legitimate chance of beating. Here are the numbers.
SIUE is being outscored by their opponents 68-133 in the first half.
SIUE is being outscored 121-107 in the second half.
What a difference a 15 minute break does for this team. I don't know what it is. Coach Forrester has been stressing all along in his post-game press conferences that the team needs to play an entire 40 minutes. It is one thing to say it and another to do it. Who knows what it is. Whether it is nerves, inexperience, pre-game preparation or just a lack of urgency out of the gates something needs to be addressed by the Cougars coaching staff. Something has to be done to make this team score early, and it starts from the inside out.
The rebounding game has got to be better, and it's not the players fault, we don't have the tools to compete with some of the bigger athletes. Many of you saw the game against Illinois State, the Cougars were dominated in the paint. The same happened at Illinois. Last night, Evansville out-rebounded the Cougars 49-23. Those are eye-popping stats. the Aces grabbed 26 more rebounds than SIUE. You cannot win basketball games doing that. Mark Yelovich grabbed seven boards to lead the Cougars, followed by Aamir McCleary's four. McCleary leads SIUE averaging five rebounds a game. Your offensive minded team leader and GUARD cannot lead your team in rebounds. This is spawned by the Cougars weak inside game, Nikolo Bundalo and Dob Mavrik shared time against Evansville in the paint, with 18 and 19 minutes respectfully. Mav had 2 rebounds and 2 points, while Nik had 3 rebounds and 4 points. There is no production from inside the paint. Zeke Schneider is finally sitting on the bench, he played just three minutes last night.
For the Cougars, the inside game and establishing some physical presence should be a priority. Whether it is feasible with this cast of players remains to be seen.
On the bright side, help is on the way for next season. Mike Messer, a shooting guard has committed to SIUE, he is the first of SIUE's three commitments for next season to be evaluated by Scouts Inc. and he comes in with an 85 ranking, which in english terms means he is a "mid major prospect," expected to start for 2-3 seasons. They say "Messer is a smooth and skilled wing that competes on both ends of the floor. He has a terrific work ethic that allows him to be productive on a regular basis. In transition Messer runs the outside lane for the spot up jumpers or displays his ability to handle..." on the ESPN website.
That's great, now get us some help in the paint.
The three point shooting needs to settle down. SIUE was 2-15 from long range, take Cody Rincker out of the equation and they were 0-13.
SHOT SELECTION
SHOT SELECTION
SHOT SELECTION.
needless to say, it hasn't been smart.
Next up for SIUE is Ball State. the Cardinals are 1-0 after a 10 point win over Valparaiso. Ball State had six players in double figures, and all eight players on the floor scored. Jarrod Jones provide the size that the Cougars have not proved they can stop, measuring 6"9. He led them with 19 points in the game and had six rebounds.
The Cardinals can rebound, kind of scary, considering SIUE cant.
Thats all for today kids.

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The time I blogged from my phone

posting from my cellphone listening to the game on the radio in the car and this is just a flat out embarrassing performance for siue. evansville picked last in the mvc this year and siue is making them look like northern iowa. cougars are down 21 and i am making myself finish listening to the game. cougars came out flat for the third straight game and went to the break down by 20 plus again. playing the aces about equally in the second its typical 2009 siue basketball. no rebounding and sporadic shooting. siue being outrebounded by 15 and outscored by 20 with less than 10 minutes left. forgive my capitalization and punctuation not as easy to do those things on a phone. anyways ill write more after a trip to lovejoy. go cougars...

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Cougars ready to play ball

The floor in the Vadalabene Center is back to normal, "beat ISU" shirts are on sale and Cory the Cougar is combing his fur.

With no NCAA football team to cheer for during the first few months of the semester, this is it for Cougar fans. The wait for college basketball is over.

SIUE began its second season transitioning to Division I Wednesday, hosting Division III MacMurray College. If you were there, great. If you stayed in your dorm or in the library ignoring the red lights, shame on you. This is not another fan support column because it should be obvious by now the Cougars are hitting the big time and the students need to be behind them in any way possible. If you don't care by now, you probably won't care at all.

There are reasons to be excited and optimistic.

SIUE is going to have a good team. Maybe not an NIT team, and NCAA guidelines prohibit them from being an NCAA tournament team, but they are poised to impress under third year Head Coach Lennox Forrester.

In USA Today's college basketball preview, the Cougars were regarded as one of the top independent teams in the country, and sophomore forward Mark Yelovich was named to their All-Independent team, along with Dana Smith (Longwood University), Jamar Briscoe (North Carolina Central University), Chris Gweth (Seattle University), and Trent Blakley (Cal State-Bakersfield). The publication also billed next Friday's regular season opener at the University of Illinois as a "great local matchup between two competitive teams."

Reading this had me fired up immediately.

The Cougars retained most of their young talent from last season. Brandon Dunson and Barry Wellington packed their bags and transferred to schools I have never heard of, but Yelovich averaged more than 13 points a game and led SIUE as a freshman, Aamir McCleary is a bona fide senior leader, and the Cougars sport a strong recruiting class ready to make an immediate impact. Not to mention the big Serbian center, Nikolo Bundalo will be a force in the paint.

The Cougars will be dangerous. They will not win 20 games, but with Forrester's focus on toughness and competing, expect a more mature team and do not think they will go away or be an easy target.

Most games on the schedule are winnable, with the exception of a few. The University of Evansville is going to be down after losing four starters. Illinois State University is going to be vulnerable on the road and after losing some key parts of their team. The Cougars hold an 8-5 all-time series lead against Indiana University-Purdue University-Fort-Wayne, a team SIUE knows well from their days in D-II.

The Big Ten schools on the schedule will be a challenge, but don't count against SIUE, as they look to turn heads this season.

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