Southern Illinois Basketball

The start to the season has been an inauspicious one for the Southern Illinois Salukis. Two road losses, one to a legitimate tourney contender (UNLV) and one to a rebuilding mid-major (St. Louis) were not offset by the weak home schedule wins. A strength of schedule rating in the 300's tends to question your legitimacy as both a conference contender or NCAA tourney contender.

The logic is fairly easy to understand. The Salukis are young, albeit talented, and wins can help build confidence. Pittsburgh, Syracuse and others did this for years, bulking up nice non-conference records against virtually nobody. Syracuse has been hurt by this in recent years come March.

The Salukis are a longshot to reach the Madness in 2010. They need an impressive win or two in Las Vegas this weekend to have any kind of momentum going into the conference schedule. And they need their coach to show a little faith in some of the talent they have there.

Kevin Dillard is a nice point guard, and only a sophomore. He played many minutes last year and the hope is that by playing a few less minutes per game this year, he could be that much more productive. Anthony Booker is another sophomore and one of the highest players ever to commit to a Missouri Valley team. Foul trouble has hindered his progress but this kid needs to play - a lot. Tony Freeman is the only senior on the squad and was Iowa’s leading scorer before transferring to Southern. Nick Evans has made huge progress, and, yes, is a sophomore. Gene Teague is a bit of a project but provides even more size and is a freshman.

Carlton Fay has not been the shooter he should have been but has been developing different aspects of his offensive game and is an outstanding foul shooter. Justin Bocot and Kendal Brown-Surles provide some back court depth.

Defensive intensity has been the staple of Saluki teams for many years. This year’s edition may not be the same type of team. Coach Chris Lowery has to decide if can let his offensively talented team loose and not try to grind it out every game. Maybe at times in the past this was done out of necessity or maybe it was stubbornness. Whatever the reasons, this team can score and that needs to be recognized and emphasized

This team can compete with Northern Iowa for the Valley Crown. They have talent and decent depth at all positions. The question is, can they win on the road? This weekend’s games, though classified as neutral site, may go a long way in determining the answer to that question.

It was the fall of 2006, and my wife and I just moved to Mechanicsburg PA. Wearing an SIU hat, I walked into a Hes gas station. The man behind the register looked at me and said, "SIU, they have a heck of a basketball program down in Carbondale."  I nodded my head and smiled. 

Three years later, the Salukis from Southern Illinois are on the verge of a 20-loss season. 

Two years ago, the Salukis were a basket away from a trip to the Elite Eight, falling to Kansas in a Sweet 16 classic. "They're as good as anyone in the country," said Kansas coach Bill Self.

From contending for a National Championship in the 2006-2007 season, to the laughing stock of the pitiful Missouri Valley Conference. It's amazing to see how fast the Salukis have fallen. 

This decade has belonged to SIU. The Salukis won five regular season titles, one valley tournament, five NCAA tourney games, and one NIT game. They've done it under three different coaches: Bruce Weber, Matt Painter, and Chris Lowery.

A year ago, SIU missed out on the NCAA tournament for the first time in six years. The Salukis finished 17-14 and advanced to the NIT. They went on to defeat Oklahoma State in the first round, but they fell to Arizona State in the second round. 

Despite missing out on the NCAA tournament, SIU welcomed their greatest recruiting class in recent history. According rivals.com, the Salukis 2008 class was the 25th best in the country. Anthony Booker was ranked as No. 44 and Kevin Dillard (Mr. basketball in Illinois) was No. 137. 

Even with a dominating recruiting class, this was going to be a rebuilding year for the Salukis. Brian Mullins was the only returning starter for the Salukis. That said, I expected 10-11 wins from SIU in a very poor Missouri Valley Conference.

Overall, I predicted SIU to win 16 games and return to the NIT. 

Forget about the postseason SIU fans, it appears the Salukis (11-17) are on their was to a 20-loss season. A program that typically locks up win No. 20 around Presidents Day has fallen.

Once considered one of the best home teams in college basketball, opponents now welcome a trip to the SIU arena. The SIU Arena is anything but intimidating, with SIU losing six times at home this year.

The swarming Salukis defense no longer exists. It's been replaced by confusion, inconsistency, and embarrassment. 

Memo to Coach Chris Lowery, this not acceptable. This a nationally recognized basketball program. This is not Northern Illinois, Western Illinois, or Eastern Illinois.  This is Southern Illinois University, and this type of play will not be tolerated. 

The talent appears to be there, and these types of seasons wont be tolerated.  Rebuilding or retooling is one thing, but collapsing is NOT acceptable. 

Get it fixed and bring back the respectability that has somehow disappeared.   

Southern Illinois (11-13, 6-7) at Northern Iowa (17-7, 11-7)

Line: Northern Iowa -6.5

Southern Illinois gained a road victory 72-64 on Saturday, but beating Missouri State is nothing much to brag about. A much tougher task awaits in league leading Northern Iowa. At 6-7 in conference, the Salukis find themselves on the lower end of the main pack in the conference standings.

Northern Iowa dropped their second conference game on Sunday to Creighton 71-77. The Panthers shot just 18-62 (29 percent) from the field in a horrible performance. With a two-game lead in the Missouri Valley, Northern Iowa can afford the slip up.

ATS-

Southern Illinois is 12-11 against the spread including 6-6 on the road.

Northern Iowa is 10-10 against the spread including 4-5 at home.

Northern Iowa is 6-3-1 against the spread in their last 10 matchups with Southern Illinois.

See the rest of the article including Dave's free prediction at cbbplace.com

What has happened to the Southern Illinois basketball program?  That's the question that is being asked across many mid major campuses.  

The Salukis who missed the NCAA tournament for the first time in six years last year continue to take steps backwards this season.  Southern Illinois 5-8 (0-2) has struggled both on and off the court. 

Coming into this season the Salukis had just six home losses in seven years. They have already dropped two game at the SIU arena this year. The latest loss was an embarrassing 59-51 home loss to Northern Iowa.  SIU scored just four points in the final seven-minutes of the game. 

One of the best home teams in college basketball has turned into just another ordinary mid major team.

While the losses continue to pile up for the Salukis, what's more alarming is the amount of players that have left the program the past few years.  The latest two players to leave are junior Christian Cornelius, and freshman high recruit Torres Roundree.

Head basketball coach Chris Lowery commented on Rountree leaving saying, "It's unfortunate we lost a player as talented as Roundtree. He's a kid we definitely wanted to see blossom.  Unfortunately, we didn't have enough playing time for everyone on the team.  That's part of life.  Sometimes you have to work for things.  Things are not going to be handed to you." 

SIU who was picked to finish second in the Misssouri Valley is off to their worst start in 10-years.  The Salukis had a very difficult non conference schedule playing teams like Duke, UCLA, and St Mary. 

Lowery has said the difficult non conference schedule will pay of once conference play started.  That has not been the case as SIU has lost to Bradley and Northern Iowa to start conference play.  

If you follow Southern Illinois basketball, you knew that there was going to be a lot of ups and downs this season. Senior Bryan Mullins is the only returning starter. 

While this is one of the youngest SIU teams, it's also arguably their best recruiting class.  Mr. basketball of Illinois Kevin Dillard is developing nicely but top recruit power forward Anthony Booker has struggled.  Booker was Roundtree's high school teamate and is a top 50 nation recruit, but he has been not existent averaging just 2.5 points a game.

SIU certainly has the talent to compete in the Missouri Valley, but lets just hope Lowery and his players gets on the same page.  Losing is part of rebuilding, but Lowery can not afford to lose anymore players. 

Lowery who is an amazing 101-49 in 4+ years, with three tournament wins, and an NIT win can not afford to loose anymore players.  Enough is enough already. Top recruits leaving this program in unacceptable, and it needs to stop.  There are plenty of coaches that would love to have some of this talent. 

SIU will host 2008 Missouri Valley winner Drake tonight.  This is a must win for the Salukis.

If Southern Illinois harbors any hopes of returning to the NCAA Tournament short of winning the Missouri Valley Conference, Saturday's game with St. Mary's at the Wooden Tradition in Indianapolis is a must-win.

The Salukis' six-year run of consecutive tournament appearances ended a year ago when they went 17-14. SIU is off to another 4-5 start, but a win over the Gaels could be a springboard to better things.

To make that happen, the Saluki defense will first have to contend with Naismith Award finalist Patrick Mills. Mills is deadly at both ends of the floor, averaging 20 points per game, dishing out almost 4 assists, and picking up more than 2 steals.

The Salukis will throw Bryan Mullins at him. Mullins stepped up huge in last year's game with the Gaels.  He not only harassed Mills into a so-so night (11 points, 2 assists, 5 turnovers), but he lit up the gym with 24 points of his own. He'll need that kind of performance again if SIU is to have a chance.

Mullins will need some help from his backcourt mates Wesley Clemons and super freshman Kevin Dillard, who comes off the bench averaging over 9 points per game.

Even if the Salukis can lock up Mills, they are going to really have their hands full with the Gaels front court—6'11" Omar Samhan and 6'7" Daimon Simpson don't let you do much in the lane.

Simpson is the player who gets most of the accolades between the two, but Samhan is no longer taking a backseat to him. Simpson is all-time leader in blocked shots at St. Mary's, but he's second in the team to Samhan this season. Samhan is also the team's second leading scorer (to Mills) and rebounder (to Simpson).

It's going to be tough for Southern Illinois to handle those guys without Randal Falker this year. Carlton Fay is having a nice season, averaging 13.7 points per game, and 6'8" Tony Boyle is a physical presence inside; still, even combined, they don't match Simpson's rebounding numbers. Unfortunately, Boyle's also a bit foul prone. The Salukis need him on the floor in this game.

If Southern can dictate with their grind-it-out style, shoot well, and take care of the ball (not a strength), they have a chance. Otherwise, the Salukis are in for a long night.

Emptying out the notebook from Northwestern’s 33-7 win over Southern Illinois.  As usual, these are my…

(Wild)Cat Nips

• Saluki running back Larry Warner looks like a replica of Maurice Jones-Drew.  SIU uses him the same way the Jacksonville Jaguars do Jones-Drew, as a running back and a kick returner.  He had a 40-yard kick return in the first quarter and later scored on a 19-yard run.  On his touchdown, Warner changed directions four times, yet went untouched as he reached the right corner of the end zone.  If he was on any major conference team, he would be getting national recognition.

• Head coach Pat Fitzgerald on Warner:  "I knew we were going to have to stop Larry Warner, and for the most part, I think we did that. He only broke out for a couple of runs.  He's a dynamic football player.”
• SIU quarterback Chris Dieker was a perfect 5-for-5 until the 11:54 mark in the second quarter.  By the end of the game, he was 14-for-22 for only 115 yards.
• Dieker left the game in the third quarter after getting sandwiched by defensive tackle John Gill and linebacker Malcolm Arrington.
• The Northwestern defense recorded six sacks, the most by a Wildcat team in seven years.  They also added 13 tackles for loss.
• Northwestern place-kicker Amado Villarreal tied a career high with four field goals.
• The rain never let up and was coming down in sheets for a majority of the game.
• Said Villarreal of kicking in the rain: “My foot was soaked but that prepped me well for this game.  I was talking to Kyle (Daley, the holder) and he said it was extremely difficult for him. I didn't notice it, which is a testament to how well he did but ultimately it wasn't really much of a difference from what I normally do." 
• Wildcat running back Tyrell Sutton once again demonstrated that as he goes, so goes the offense.  He was shut out in the first quarter, rushing for a mere six yards on four carries.  By the end of the game, Sutton had 101 yards on 17 carries, while plunging into the end zone three times.  He is currently third in school history in total rushing yards (3,307) and total yards from scrimmage (4,311).  In my Primer, I predicted Sutton would have no trouble reaching the end zone.
• The Northwestern linebackers struggled with their tackling, a testament to both the elusiveness of Warner as well as the slippery weather conditions.
• Junior quarterback Mike Kafka saw his first action of the season as he and running back Omar Conteh replaced Bacher and Sutton to begin the second quarter.  The offense went three-and-out and Kafka returned to the bench.
• Bacher and wide receiver Eric Peterman finally seemed on the same page, hooking up four times for 53 yards.
• For the second straight game, Bacher didn’t turn the ball over.
• Hats off to Northwestern defensive coordinator Mike Hankwitz for containing Warner by blitzing his linebackers directly at him. 
• Punter Stephon Demos set a career high with a 57-yard punt.
• On the flip side, Saluki punter Scott Ravanesi had the first punt blocked of his career by running back and special-teams player Jacob Schmidt, who recovered the ball himself after racing another defender for it.
• After catching his first career pass last weekend, Bacher lined up at receiver again, with Conteh taking a direct snap.
• Safety Brendan Smith is a play-maker.  He led the team in tackles with seven and deflected three passes, a career high.
• Defensive linemen Corey Wootton (two sacks) and Gill (one sack) are unstoppable at times.  They make each other better when the other commands the double team.  I'll expand on them in the coming week…
• The Wildcats face Ohio next weekend (11:00 AM) before beginning their Big Ten conference schedule.

I wrote the following article for my college newspaper. I decided to repost it here since I felt it was a pretty big deal a mid-major like SIU landed the best high school basketball player in Illinois. 

The Salukis may not have won the big one on the court this season but they were the victors off of it.

SIU is expected to welcome Kevin Dillard, who won Mr. Basketball of Illinois this month, to the team next season. Mr. Basketball is awarded to the best high school player in the state and is decided by a vote from coaches and media.

The Homewood-Flossmoor point guard is in elite company, joining past winners such as NBA players Kevin Garnett, Eddy Curry and Julian Wright and current Memphis point guard Derrick Rose. Most winners have advanced to the NBA since the award's debut in 1981.

Dillard said he wasn't sure if he would win the award but he believed in himself and was honored when he heard he received it.

"I wasn't really expecting to win it but I thought I had a chance," Dillard said. "Based on what my team's record was and what I was able to do I thought I was a candidate for that award."

Dillard is accustomed to proving the critics wrong because he battles bigger players every game. Though he stands at 6-feet and weighs in around 170 pounds, that does not stop him from dominating his opponents.

The soon-to-be Saluki led Homewood-Flossmoor to a 27-2 season while averaging 23.3 points, 5.6 assists and 4.3 rebounds per game. He also seems to have some "Floorburn U" in his game as he averaged 5.1 steals per game.

Dillard's father, Kevin Dillard Sr., said his son's work ethic doesn't allow him to fail.

"It all started in the summer when he had a fantastic season on the AAU circuit," the elder Dillard said. "He would go to individual workouts any time the gym was open and when the school season started he would stay an hour, hour and a half after workouts to work on drills."

Big universities started taking notice of Dillard during his time on the AAU circuit where he proved he could shine alongside top high school players such as Mike Dunigan, Josh Crittle and Matthew Humphrey.

Unfortunately for schools like Georgetown and Kentucky, which tried to get him late in his high school career, SIU and Chris Lowery already had him on the radar his sophomore season.

The elder Dillard said it was SIU's genuine interest and belief in his son's abilities that attracted both of them to the school.

"It's kind of like going out with a girl. If she doesn't want to go out with you she will be the worst date in the world," the elder Dillard said. "If you're going to be with someone for four years, you want to make sure they're going to want to be with you."

Dillard did not only overcome obstacles on the court but he persevered off it as well. His mother died when he was a one-year-old, which he said resulted in a close friendship with his father that continues today.

Before a game against Rockford Boylan, Dillard had to deal with another loss at the funeral of his grandmother. Dillard used his sorrow as motivation and had one of the best games of his career as he scored 36 points.

Dillard said the adversity off the court has helped him develop into the player and the person he is today.

"I'm a stronger person because of what I have been through," Dillard said. "Everything that has happened in my past, I just dedicate everything I do to that."

Dillard will join Torres Roundtree and Anthony Booker in one of the most highly regarded recruiting classes at SIU. Dillard said he is also trying to convince another Chicago top-prospect Ryan Hare to join the team. Dillard said Hare is expected to make his decision public Saturday.

The title of Mr. Basketball can carry a heavy burden, but Dillard said he is ready to prove his critics wrong again at the collegiate level.

"Now people are doubting me at the collegiate level again," Dillard said. "So I am just going to keep working hard and prove them all wrong again."