Here's One For Chris Lowery's Bulletin Board: SIU Ranked No. 117

Not sure what to say here other than this preview couldn't be more off if it tried. It makes the NFL Previews at this blog look like they weren't written in jest and for fun.

Yes, I'll admit the Southern Illinois University men's basketball team isn't what it once was, especially when compared to the most recent Sweet Sixteen squad. Head coach Chris Lowery doesn't have a pair of seniors anchoring the backcourt, or two juniors up front that thrived when being fed by the little guys. Instead, Lowery has another young group of hungry kids looking to make their mark on Floorburn U.

I'll be brief with this because I do have a very premature and misguided post previewing the Saluki basketball season in the works. Instead, here is why this post should be balled up and shot like a basketball into your nearest trash bin.

If only you could do such a thing with the Internet:

If the Salukis could bring back the Tony Boyle that averaged 13.5 points and 7.0 rebounds in his last four games, I'm sure they would do so without asking twice.

Southern Illinois Basketball Preview [Collegehoops.net]

Introducing Bryan Mullins. Future Celtic?

Could Bryan Mullins be making another appearance at Madison Garden, this time in a NBA uni?

Needless to say, fans of the Boston Celtics must have felt clueless when ESPN.com Insider Chad Ford pegged the C's as drafting Southern Illinois point guard Bryan Mullins with the 58th pick in the NBA Draft. I know I was a bit stunned myself.

Fear not, Celtics fans, for I can shine some light on this mystery known as Mr. Mullins.

As the Daily Egyptian's basketball beat writer, I can tell you that no one worked harder in practice and on game day than Bryan Mullins. He would not be outhustled or outworked by anyone. Yes, that includes you Tyler Hansbrough.

He was the pass-first point guard every Saluki detractor heckled and booed to their lungs content, but quietly wished he was on their side.

And there is no denying that Mullins improved in every facet of the game. (You'll read that in the scouting report I whipped up below.) It's a rarity in this day of basketball where a player improves his offensive game while still being a terror on the defensive end.

Most importantly, Mullins imposed his will on his teammates. I remember an interview with then-freshman Kevin Dillard and I asked him what he had learned from playing with Mullins on game day and against Mullins in practice. It came down to two things: Composure and a will to win. Both of which would have been Mullins' major at SIU had it not been for that 4.0 GPA in finance.

If Stephon Marbury had Mullins' wits and heart, he would be a Hall Of Fame caliber point guard. Instead, he's just a headcase.

Sure, it looks like a project now, but you can't teach the intangibles Mullins has.

And after diving through several of the Celtics' message boards and knowing that Mullins is, at times, hidden in the relative obscurity that is Southern Illinois University Carbondale, I decided to blog up a scouting report on one of the all-time great Salukis.

Ready? Let's do this.

Mullins was a four-year starter as a Saluki, even though he started his first few games on the bench as juniors Jamaal Tatum, Tony Young and Mike Dale garnered starting roles. Dale struggled early (and often) for SIU and his spot was handed to Mullins, a pure point guard. Eventually, Dale disappeared into relative obscurity and is now one of my favorite punchlines over at SalukiTalk.

As a freshman, Mullins was named the Missouri Valley Conference's Freshman of the Year, placed on the All Newcomer Team and All-Defensive Team. Those are nice titles to have, but if anyone ever earned it, it was the Downers Grove, Ill., native.

B-Mull was a flat out crook as he registered a SIU single-season record 94 thefts (including a MVC record 8 in one game against arch-rival Creighton), good enough for a 2.85 steal per game average ... which ranked 7th in the nation.

Full of moxie and poise, Mullins helped lead the Salukis to their first MVC Tournament championship since 1995.

There was no sophomore slump for Mullins, who earned All-Defensive Team honors again to go along with being named to the All-Academic squad. Much to the chagrin of Valley foes everywhere, Mullins improved his offensive skillset adding a long-range jump shot as his 3-point percentage went up nearly seven percentage points from 30 percent to 36.8 percent and his free-throw percentage went up from 60.98 percent to 74.8 percent.

With Tatum and Young in the backcourt, and the emerging frontcourt of Randal Falker and Matt Shaw, Mullins' offensive contributions meant that no opposing player could rest on defense. As a result, SIU won 29 games that season, and Mr. Mullins highlighted a pair of unforgettable Saluki wins.

Mullins hit a running, left-handed 10-foot jump shot with 4.1 seconds left to give the Salukis a win against Creighton, etching his name among great Bluejay killers in SIU history.

B-Mull was an instrumental force in Southern's Sweet 16 run, and will always be remembered for this killer crossover against Kansas' Mario Chalmers, who happens to be currently employed by the NBA's Miami Heat.

As a junior, Mullins was hampered by a stress fracture, yet he had another solid season donning the maroon and white. He won his first MVC Defensive Player of the Year award, while continuing to improve his game on the offensive end as he nailed 48 percent of his 3-point shots. And for everyone keeping score at home, it was Mullins who got the honor of being interviewed by Erin Andrews on ESPN's GameDay -- which was the first such episode to be hosted by a "mid-major" school.

Senior year came around and, once again, Mullins fell victim to the injury bug. In an injury-shortened season, he still managed to win the Valley's Defensive POY award, cementing his legacy among the great MVC defenders. When on he was on the court, Mullins averaged 9.3 points, 5.6 assists and 2 steals per game. His field goal percentage was a career best 42 percent while shooting the three at a 43 perecent clip. Mullins surpassed Wayne Abrams' school assist record and became one of only two players in the Valley's history to record 500 assists and 250 steals.

And if you don't know, now ya' know.

(An aside: Even if Mullins isn't picked up by a NBA squad via draft of free agency, this is just the buzz that my alma mater and the Saluki basketball program needed. So, if anything, thanks Chad Ford. Forget about that stuff I said earlier about that whole failure of a grade you gave the Pistons for taking Darko.)


Mullins Works Out For Chicago Bulls, Boston Celtics [Daily Egyptian]
Update: Ford's Mock Has C's Taking Mullins [Celtics Hub]
BMull To The Bulls? [Saluki Talk]

Tweet This: Lowery Inks Jack Crowder

He's not John Wall, but it doesn't matter because SIU head coach Chris Lowery just inked himself another body for the 2009-2010 season.

Via a Twitter post (dear God I love tweets), Lowery said Jack Crowder of Cowley Community College inked with the team this morning. A simple Google search lists Crowder as a 2008-09 NJCAA Region VI All-American.

The Wichita, Kansas native is a 6-foot-4 shooting guard with a penchant for scoring. OK, so the link is from October 2008, but still serves a point. This link says he averaged 10.7 points and 5.6 rebounds per game. Via recruiting Web site Rivals.com, Crowder was recruited by Ball State, Fresno State, Northwestern State, Tennessee State and Central Arkansas.

(Yes, the same Central Arkansas that produced Scottie Pippen.)

So, SIU is getting Scottie Pippen? I'm sold.

And check out this glowing endorsement from February.

Who: Jack Crowder III, 6-foot-4 sophomore forward at18th-ranked Cowley College (W. Southeast ‘07) What: 43 points, 9 rebounds, 7 threes, 2 steals and 14 of 15 from the charity stripe … Tigers win 93-91 in OT at Coffeyvile to force what seemed like (two weeks ago, at least) it was damn near impossible, a tie for first in the Jayhawk East with the Red Ravens. Why: Because that’s how he’s wired — play hard, never quit.

Sounds like a winner to me. Good grab, C-Lo.

SIU Loses Out To ISU (Red) For Prized JUCO Prospect, Now What?

A long time ago in a newspiece somewhere buried in the Internet, I made mention of one available scholarship on the SIU men's basketball team.

Long story short: It came down to JUCO stud power forwards Torye Pelham and Tony Lewis. Short story long: Lewis is off the board.

Bloomington-Pantagraph beat writer Jim Benson reports one of the Midwest's worst-kept recruiting secrets as Lewis will join former teammate Osiris Eldridge and former Phillips High School (Chicago) head coach Paris Parham, who currently serves as an assistant on Tim Jankovich's staff at Illinois State.

Lewis said even though Southern had the scholarship space, he did not want to be buried on the depth chart:

“I think I might have a chance to start (for ISU). It’s something I can work on. Illinois State has a better academic program. Southern has two, three and four people at my position. I felt I could come to ISU and come in and play.”

Had Lewis chosen Carbondale over Bloomington-Normal, he would have been fighting freshman prep-school transfer Eugene Teague, Jr., and sophomores Nick Evans and Anthony Booker for playing time as the post presence. Despite his 6-foot-8-inch frame, Carlton Fay plays more like a "3" and is more of a matchup problem on the offensive end in the Valley as a tweener.

The $750,000 question in Carbondale is what will head coach Chris Lowery do with the last remaining scholarship.

C-Lo and his staff want to fill out this last schollie, as it would love to avoid being shorthanded at any point next season. Lowery could begrudgingly go back to the high school straits, but unless John Wall is walking through that door, the prospects immediate impact will be questioned by a fanbase expecting a JUCO standout to fill out its roster.

But with a boatload of talent coming out of Illinois high schools in 2010 and 2011, maybe rolling the scholarship over wouldn't be the worse thing in the world.

The Curious Case Of The DePaul Coaching Carousel

Here we go again.

DePaul Blue Demons men's basketball coach Jerry Wainwright has had his staff raided ... by his own AD. Earlier in the college hoops off-season, Scott Wainwright (yes, Jerry's son and former staff assisstant) was given his walking papers ... much to the chagrin of Papa Wainwright.

The younger Wainwright was allegedly pushed off the Lincoln Park campus when his pops would not agree to a partial buy-out of the three years remaining on his contract. Now, the rest of his staff is looking for work.

(Aside: Seriously, has there ever been a job in college basketball history where three assistant coaches have gotten the heave-ho and the head coach has gotten to stay?)

Anyway...

Sources told WSCR afternoon host Dan Bernstein DePaul had been trying to push Wainwright and his entire staff out the door in an effort to help lure SIU head coach Chris Lowery away from his alma mater. And when Wainwright declined to resign and accept the partial buy-out, heads started to roll.

In December, Lindsey Willhite of the Arlington Heights Daily Herald, basically gauged Lowery's interest in the gig. C-Lo's response: Deserving of a block quote.

The biggest thing for me is, I want to win. That's No. 1. The only way I would leave Southern is if I thought I could go and win somewhere. I make great money. So I don't have to take a job where I feel is going to be detrimental to my career. I don't think I'm going to go anywhere that's detrimental to winning. And that's the thing: I've always been a part of winning, from high school to college to assistant (coach). Every step of the way, I've had some success. At this point, I don't need to go anywhere just for money.

In my chats with Lowery, I've learned that he likes the city of Chicago. (Most of those chats revolve around: "Hey Coach, get some Chicago games on the schedule so I can see the team once I graduates. Always my favorite ice-breaker w/C-Lo ... I digress.) He likes the city's recruits. He likes the exposure that could come from the media there. He likes Harold's Chicken (yeah, he told me that ... long story for another day). But DePaul seems like a job (right now) that could be detrimental to his career. Nothing says "detrimental to my career" like going to a school that was winless in the Big East.

Suprisingly, this is the last Lowery's name will be mentioned in this post (kind of).

Because if DePaul can't have C-Lo, it seems as if it will settle for assistant Lance Irvin, who coached under Joey Meyer in one of his many previous stops. As the Blue Demons attempt to rebuild the mess created by Wainwright (technically started by Dave Leitao but dates back to the Pat Kennedy days), Irvin is the "perfect" candidate because of his family ties to the very talented Mac Irvin Fire AAU team ran by his pappy.

At this point, Irvin should weigh his options carefully. If he returns to DePaul, it will likely be only for one year ... and likely will not land any of the Mac Irvin crew because he'll be added so late in the process. (Kind of why SIU doesn't have any Fire recruits right now. Most of those kids have already committed elsewhere.)

One year of bad Blue Demon basketball probably isn't worth the nearly six-hour trip up I-57.

Meanwhile, I can't help but wonder if Lowery is getting agitated by the situation. One of Lowery's top recruiting principles is bringing kids in who want to be Salukis. If an assistant (a highly regarded one at that) doesn't follow the same mantra, isn't that self-defeating ... or hypocritical?

Having dealt with Coach Irvin this season, I know the following:

• He's a great quote.
• In practice, he participates like he's a 20something.
• The kids love him.
• Coach Lowery loves him.
  

But if he goes, he goes. Remember when SIU had three different head coaches in three years ... and each of them won the Valley and the Valley's Coach of the Year award? If Saluki Nation can overcome that, it can overcome the loss of an assistant who had only one year worth of ties to the program.

Salukis find presence inside, TBDS finds angry mug shot of said presence

Word of mouf is all the rage these days on the campus of SIU, especially when it comes to men's basketball.

While head coach Chris Lowery can't say a peep about verbal commits such as Eugene Teague, Jr., and John Freeman, I can. And will.

Teague, Jr., (that imposing looking figure to your right) is a 6-foot-8-inch monster who weighs about 290 pounds. He could be the answer inside as he possesses a few low-post moves that could open up outside threats such as Kevin Dillard, Ryan Hare, Justin Bocot and Tony Freeman.

Sure, he couldn't qualify at the University of South Florida, but sometimes you have to take a risk a player like that. In practice, Lowery has a way with words and can really motivate a kid to outperform expectations. If C-Lo can do that in the class room as well as the court, the Dawgs might have just landed a steal.

Based on his angry mug alone, he could be good for a few minutes of intimidation.

And before anyone says SIU shouldn't take a risk with this kid, see Justin Bocot and hit me up when he pans out and is a star.

Joining Teague Jr., in the world of verbal committments is Vincennes forward John Freeman. The 6-foot-5-inch forward averaged 14 points, 4 assists and 2.4 blocks last season and my hope is that he brings to the team the kind of intensity Tyrone Green or Lamar Owen brought. Actually, all I want Free II to do is to get in the way of Osiris Eldridge for about 20 minutes in games played in Normal, Carbondale and St. Louis.

SIU has one more scholarship available and it could go to one of two JUCO studs: Torye Pelham or Tony Lewis. Both are forwards that could provide the Salukis with even more much-needed bench depth.

If the Dawgs are to land the 6-foot-6 inch forward, it would mean Pelham turned down the generous offers from power-conference schools such as Florida State, Iowa, Iowa State, Oklahoma, Texas Tech ... along with Missouri Valley Conference rivals Creighton and Wichita State.

On the other hand, bringing Lewis to Carbondale might be more of a distinct possibility. The recruiting gurus at Rivals.com list SIU and Illinois State as schools with offers on the table for the JUCO all-American, but ISUred just recently filled all of its scholarships, so Southern might be just going up against Loyola-Chicago for Lewis' services.

And as much as I like Chicago, better basketball exposure awaits Lewis in Carbondale.

Photo Credit: Scout.com

It could be ... it might be ... but is it going to be?

Every year for the past five years, a familiar refrain has been heard around the great state of Illinois.

"The Hiding Illini won't play us, Big Bad Bruce is afraid of the monster he helped build."

"What's a Saluki? We don't need to go to Carbondirty to prove our supremacy."

So every now and again I'll ask SIU head coach Chris Lowery or Director of Athletics Mario Moccia about a potential match-up that would pit mentor against pupil. Lowery says he calls Illini head coach Bruce Weber, and it's among the things that get discussed. Moccia has also said he would like the teams to play a game as well.

Well, shoot, kids. Let's get this game together already. Allow me to break it down.

I want a three-game set. No buyouts. No bullshit.

Game One at the home of the Fighting Illini so the fans at Chambana get the first crack at the series, something they would probably ask for. Then, Game Two takes place at a renovated SIU Arena, where Lowery debuts a Maroon sports coat to offset the creamsicle-colored git-up from Coach Bruuuuuuce.

Finally, Game Three. The game that will take place to please the two biggest alumni bases in the city of wind. That's right. Game Three, at the United Center in Chicago.

I can see it now: The House That Jordan Built torn apart. Half maroon. Half orange.

Hat Tip: Paul Klee

Remembering the days where the "Lowery to (BCS School)?" threads struck fear in Saluki Nation

As I attempt to hunt down the kind of JUCO players Southern Illinois head coach Chris Lowery wants to fill out his roster with, I found this instead from the New York Times:

[H]ere comes Southern Illinois. If this team finds a way to beat Kansas in the Round of 16 get ready for ad nauseum talk about the Salukis rough-and-tumble practices.

The S.I.U. players compare cuts after their workouts and stitches often follow. There is no out of bounds and no fouls are called. There is clutching and hacking and pushing. The defense in practice, insist the Salukis, is tougher than what they see in games.

Nowadays, fans think his practices are too rough and are one of the main reasons a number of players have taken their ball and played elsewhere. Personally, I like the practices because they're fun to watch. That's easy for a guy on the sideline to say, I guess.

Southern Illinois Coach Chris Lowery is already one of the next hot mid-major coaches.

Now, no one wants him ... not even certain segments of Saluki Nation.

Rome wasn't built in a day, and neither was "Floorburn U."

Marcus, Save The Salukis?

While this isn't an official post for the "God, Save The Salukis" series, it should be noted that there is a Class of 2009 prospect that isn't on any SIU radar that I know of.

His name: Marcus Jordan.

Yes, the son of Michael Jordan (a.k.a The Greatest Basketball Player in the History of the World) is unsigned and only has one scholarship offer ... from Toledo.

So my pitch to you, Chris Lowery (who may or may not read this blog ... hell, I don't even know this place exists) is to bring in Marcus Jordan. Sure, it might sound like a ploy to grab a piece of the Jordan legacy ... but it's worth a shot.

He's proven to be a pretty good high school player, as he recently helped lead Whitney Young to a state championship. And who knows the kind of benefits that could come with it. I'm sure Director of Athletics Mario Moccia wouldn't mind receiving a check or two from Michael Jordan that goes toward Saluki Way.

And I'm sure C-Lo wouldn't mind having another backcourt presence to go along with returnees Dillard, Hare and Bocot, signees Kendal Brown and Drew Barnham and not to forget about the difference-maker-to-be Tony Freeman.

I know the Saluki braintrust in working the JUCO circuit in search of a big man, a wing player with size and/or a defensive presence with a way around the rim ... but why not take a chance on a name that could change the face of SIU basketball.

Marcus Jordan Recruiting Update [Chicago Tribune]

God, Save The Salukis: Starring Tony Freeman

Welcome to the first installment of God, Save The Salukis. This is a set of features in which yours truly (fresh off covering a full season of SIU men's basketball) tries to find a clear path for the Salukis' return to NCAA Tournament play. Today's feature: Tony Freeman. The Iowa transfer will spend his senior season donning Saluki Maroon and could be a difference-maker.

I've said it once and I'll say it again: when next March rolls around, Saluki Nation will be talking about Tony Freeman in the same way Illinois State fans talked about Chamberlain "Champ" Oguchi.

Freeman is a power-conference transfer stud. Everything about him screams "man among boy." He's built like a Big Ten player and practiced like one. I'll never forget the early season practice that yielded my favorite story.

As players and coaches filed onto the SIU Arena floor, Freeman jokingly asked why none of the assmebled media members wanted to talk to him. Saluki head coach Chris Lowery responded in kind: "No one wants to talk to scrubs, Free." Chuckles ensued, and so did a show. Freeman dominated everyone that practice. On offense he scored at will and on the defense, he was a stopper.

That's when I knew he was for real.

WHY SIU WILL BE BETTER: Freeman, who averaged 13.8 points in his junior year at Iowa, should slide into the starting line-up once the ball gets bouncing next year, providing a dynamic backcourt with Freshman of the Year Kevin Dillard. However, Freeman's insertion into the starting five will bump either Justin Bocot or Ryan Hare to the bench. Unless, of course, Lowery goes all Villanova on us and drops the four-guard offense on the Valley.

It's a line-up that worked for Illinois State ... and while Freeman might be SIU's version of Oguchi, being a 6-6 combo guard-forward with inside and outside skills is totally different from being a 6-1 guard.

With Free in the fold, the Saluki backcourt gets an extra scoring punch as I expect the 13.8 PPG to hold or even increase if he can boost his 38 percent shooting from the 3-point line and 69 percent from the charity stripe.

No matter what he brings to the court in numbers, it will be matched by the maturity that was sorely missed when Bryan Mullins went down with that stress fracture injury.

Oh yeah, a scary sideote, Freeman has a stress fracture injury history. Just saying.

I believe if Tony Freeman can average 13 to 15 points per game, easing the scoring load off Kevin Dillard's shoulders, it could mean SIU improves its win total from 13 to 16 ... and I haven't even gotten to any of the other factors, yet.

Related: Saluki guard Freeman taking advantage of year off [Daily Egyptian]

Coming Soon: God, Save The Salukis

March Madness has consumed my soul. That's what I'm about when the breezy weather comes out to play and messes with my long distance shooting on the concrete courts.

But with the SIU men's basketball team having its bubble busted sometime in November, probably when Duke's Kyle Singler turned Carlton Fay into a SportsCenter Top Play (and eventually) a poster on the wall of some Blue Devil fan's dorm room, I've got a lot more free time on my hands.

I've dipped my sports writing pen into the ink and have penned softball stories, baseball features, the occasional column and now, football.

However, despite its aging basketball facility and underachieving ball club, the Saluki men's basketball team is still the apple of my eye. And that's where this new series of featurettes begins.

There are three things the SIU Carbondale campus has become known for over the years:

1. Party school
2. Poshard's Plagiarism
3. Basketball

Like it or lump it (hat tip: Sidney Crosby), that's how it is. When I have been in Las Vegas wearing my Saluki gear, I've been stopped and asked to participate in conversations about college hoops. "How are the Salukis?" people ask. "They're always a scrappy bunch" one college b-ball fan commented. "Go Dawgs!" a certain inhebriated older gentleman yelled.

While celebrating my 21st birthday in the City of Sin, a friend of mine and I rearranged our course back to the MGM Grand and stopped in the Planet Hollywood hotel and celebrated another SIU student's 21st birthday. I had never seen this person on campus in my life, they probably had never seen me either. But it was that Saluki maroon tie that brought us together.

Again, that brings us to "God, Save The Salukis."

It kind of worked with the DePaul Blue Demons ... hey, they eventually won a game in the Big East Conference when they knocked off Cincinnati at Madison Square Garden. So I'll take solace in that.

So that's what I want to do for SIU. I don't want to see the Salukis in the CBI, CIT or any three-letter buy-in tournament reserved for the Bradleys, Evansvilles, Troys and Boise States of the world.

The Salukis only do four-letter tournaments, not three. Unless, of course, we're talking NIT. And even then, ask any SIU fan and they'll tell you Randal Falker and Matt Shaw's senior year should have ended with one last dance.

So, how will God save the Dawgs? I'm not sure yet. But you'll find out as soon as I do.

Sorry, folks: SIU isn't Gonzaga. Might not ever be.

Chris Lowery's biggest mistake might not have come on the basketball court. In fact, it appears to have come in the court of public opinion.

Back in the day, the biggest fear on the Carbondale campus wasn't plagiarism, deer or the revolving door of chancellors. It was whether or not the SIU men's basketball team was going to keep its head coach or not.

And after Bruce Weber and Matt Painter left for the greener pastures of Big Ten Country (Illinois and Purdue, respectively), the University and athletic department put its collective foot down in an effort to leave college basketball's newest rising coaching star from leaving.

Now, Lowery is among the highest paid coaches in the Missouri Valley Conference. But his comment referencing "Gonzaga money" seems to be haunting him.

It wasn't that long ago when Southern Illinois was considered to be the next Gonzaga. The Salukis, Bulldogs and Memphis Tigers were among "mid-majors" threatening "major" status. Now, it looks as if schools such as Saint Mary's and Butler have surpassed the Egyptian Hunting Dawgs in that category.

Gonzaga makes the Sweet 16, it's almost expected. It's a disappointment if the 'Zags don't make it. The former tournament darlings are now the big boys. Southern earned a No. 4 seed and a Sweet 16 appearance in 2007 ... and it's considered the greatest year in modern Saluki history. There's a difference between the expectations from fans and what the team can deliver.

Belive me, Lowery wants to be in the Sweet 16 every year ... but it's not going to happen.

There's a common thread between Butler, Saint Mary's and Gonzaga. Actually, there's two.

1. No football.
2. Private schools.

It's a fact like the sky is blue and water is wet: private schools have more money to play with. And if they don't have football ... which is one of the most expensive sports in college football ... they're saving money. And with the success Jerry Kill (and now, Dale Lennon) and the SIU football program has built, the pigskin isn't going away.

That's the No. 1 and No. 2 reasons SIU can't be Gonzaga.

And you know what, until SIU gets an NBA player to go through it's program (i.e. John Stockton, Adam Morrison), it won't be.

Closing the curtain on Saluki basketball (for now)

The SIU men's basketball team was projected to finish second, only behind Creighton, in the Missouri Valley Conference. With an influx of new talent and a fresh outlook, the Salukis seemed poised to return to the top of the Valley, overcoming last season's shortcomings after being projected to finish first.

Alas, it wasn't meant to be for Southern, which finished a disappointing 13-18 to garner a fifth place finish in the MVC. And for the second straight year, the Salukis were knoked out of the conference tourney in their first game.

So, now what?

SIU played its final nine games without senior leader Bryan Mullins, and all the media heard was about how the team struggled without him. Understandably so. It's hard to lose your best player in the guts of the conference season.

But, um, what happens next year when Southern plays its entire season without Mullins leading the way. Sure, Iowa transfer Tony Freeman will soften the blow, but he's a senior next year.

What happens in the years after that?

There's a part of me that believes SIU will be fine. Chris Lowery didn't forget to coach overnight. Back-to-back disappointing years have fired up a fanbase to the point where some are already calling for Lowery's head.

Why?

The love for "Floorburn U" is still fresh in my mind. It was cool that there were no fouls and no whistles in practice. That in-your-face 'D' that irked opposing players, coaches and fans was great. It was fun. It was physical. It was hard work.

Now, after a couple of tough years, the Salukis have to start from scratch, according to some. Scrap "Floorburn U"? Throw in a zone? Need giants down low?

No. no. And not really.

"Floorburn U" seems to be working for Illinois and Purdue. Sure, the talent might be better on paper, but it's more about coaching said talent and getting it to buy into "The System." Yes, it gets capitalized and put in quotations. It won't be long until it's trademarked.

Zone defenses. Yuck. It looks like lazy defense to me. There's a reason Jim Boeheim has won only one national championship, and it's not because of the vaunted Syracuse 2-3 zone. Boeheim owes his life to Carmelo Anthony.

Matt Shaw, Randal Falker, Rolan Roberts, Jermaine Dearman, Seymour Bryson and Joe C. Meriweather are among the great big men to star for SIU. But the Salukis thrived because of great guard play.

Walt Frazier, Greg Starrick, Chico Vaughn, Troy Hudson, Chris Lowery (yeah, the coach), Paul Lusk, Jamaal Tatum, Darren Brooks, Stetson Hariston, Tony Young, Bryan Mullins. That's just some of the names that sparked the Salukis' offensive and defensive efforts.

Fact: SIU has faltered the last two years. Joshua Bone, Josh Tabb, Nick Rogers and Christian Cornelius should have been great contributors by now.

Bone bailed on the team after its trip to Canada. Tabb flaked, followed a lucrative offer by Bruce Pearl at Tennessee and has been buried on the bench since. Nick Rogers is still available in NCAA College Hoops 2K6, but never even laced it up for SIU. Cornelius left the team after an injury-riddled Saluki career.

It's lack of productive upperclassmen, as the wise Hartwig pointed out a long time ago in a blog far, far away, is the true reason for the Salukis' recent slump.

SIU will be carried by this class of youngsters, and only time will tell how Lowery's last two classes stack up.

However, Southern's fate will lie in the hands of its next incoming class.

The Salukis will return impact players such as MVC Freshman of the Year Kevin Dillard, Ryan Hare, Justin Bocot, center Nick Evans and forwards Anthony Booker and Carlton Fay.

But where do Kendal Brown, Drew Barham and Jordan Myers fit in? What about the three available scholarships? Where does Lowery try to balance winning now and developing for the future.

SIU prospered when it was able to redshirt players and teach them what college basketball in Carbondale and in the Valley was all about. They watched. They learned. They played. They succeeded.

It was as simple as that. And while figuring out the future isn't that simple, here's hoping that it is.

It's your move, Bryan

I'm channeling my inner Shakespeare.

To play or not to play?

That is thy question.

It seems as if it is up to senior guard Bryan Mullins whether or not he plays in this afternoon's Missouri Valley Conference Tournament game against Bradley. Mullins has still yet to partake in a full practice session (to my knowledge at least) but the kid's a gamer and if he wants to play, he'll play.

I'm not sure if head coach Chris Lowery wants him to play, he seems to be taking the cautious side, which is expected of a coach who is like Mullins' second father.

In the meantime, check out the hard work I've been doing in St. Louis.

Missouri Valley Conference Tournament Guide [Daily Egyptian - Online Exclusive]
Salukis March begins under the Arch [Daily Egyptian]
Meet me in St. Louis [Daily Egyptian]
How the Salukis can become champions [Daily Egyptian]

Salukis in the City (of St. Louis)

Photo courtesy of my Blackberry

This looks something more like out of a Cheaters TV show, but I swear up and down I wasn't creeping on Coach Lowery. In fact, C-Lo gave me a nice shout-out when he saw me courtside when I walked into the Scottrade Center before the SIU men's basketball team's open practice.

As one of the few student-journalists here in St. Louis, I was surprised to see SIU open its locker room to media. Of course I took advantage of it.

Here are some of that segments snippets:

Freshman G Kevin Dillard on the fan support SIU gets when it's on the road:

"Everywhere we go our fans travel with us. And as long as we come in and take care of business, we’ll be all right."

Freshman F Anthony Booker on focus:

“We’re just focused on trying to get as many wins as we can. I’m not really focused on the crowd or anything like that. I’ve got a job to do and that is to come down here and win three games."

Senior G Bryan Mullins on the status of his foot:

“It’s OK. It’s a little sore, we’ll see. We’re going to do another practice after this, do some stuff and see how it feels then probably decide tonight or tomorrow morning."

Salukis in St. Louis [Daily Egyptian]

For more on the Salukis, stay tuned to siuDE.com, The Big Dead Sidebar and mvc.org.

The Dosage: Meet Me Under The Arch Edition

I do not care that she is married.

As long as I am looking for love, I will be convinced that Scarlett is my soul mate.

Maybe I'll find true love during my four day vacation .. er.. business trip to St. Louis for the Missouri Valley Conference Men's Basketball Tournament which begins later today.

And by true love I mean three wins for the SIU men's basketball team.

If you want a tourney preview not written by me, I suggest this bit by the Wichita Eagle, which houses Paul Sullentrop, who I feel is one of the best b-ball beat writers in the Valley.

I won't take credit for finding him, but I take suggestions when it comes to reading good writers.

But he still doesn't dress as well as I do.

Not many people do.

From Carbondale to St. Louis: The March to the Arch. SIU has got its work cut out for it and will need three wins to extend its consecutive postseason appearance streak to seven years.

If not, baseball and softball season are in full swing. [Salukis March begins under the Arch]

Saluki softball squeaks by, then smokes SEMO. No. 18 SIU took both games of its home opening series against Southeast Missouri State, beating the Redhawks 2-1 in game one, and 6-0 in game two. The Salukis are now 13-1. They're good and they're fun to watch. So far this season, I'm willing to say they are a sportswriter's dream. [Saluki softball sweeps SEMO in home opener]

Shuffling for MVC motivation

With its 72-68 win against Wichita State, the Southern Illinois men's basketball team secured the No. 5 seed in the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament and, in turn, avoided playing a play-in game on Thursday.

The Salukis' quarter-final round opponent? The Bradley Braves.

Once primed to be MVC regular season champions (according to YouTube), the Salukis beat the Braves 68-62 on Jan. 21, knocking them out of first place once and for all.

So, Saluki fans (and players or coaches), if you're looking for a motivating factor for this game, look no further than the video below.



P.S. Don't let Dodie Dunson go off.

Building A Champion: The Reserves

Finally, we've come to the end of the road for my all-time Saluki team.

To refresh your memories, let's take a look at a coaching staff led by Bruce Weber with Matt Painter, Chris Lowery and Rich Herrin (not Jack Hartman, the only guy to win a national title for SIU) rounding out the assistants.

The starting lineup has balance. It has size and strength up front with Joe C. Meriweather and Ashraf Amaya and a speedy, talented backcourt with Kent Williams, Walt Frazier and Greg Starrick.

Now for the bench players.

Darren Brooks is the first Saluki off the bench. It was hard to keep the two-time Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Year out of the starting lineup, but it's really easy to call him to be the first off the bench. At 6-foot-3 inches, he's got size to guard any of the three opposing guards and he's skilled offensively and defensively.

Joining him will be Jamaal Tatum, the 2007 MVC Player of the Year and the heart and soul of the Salukis in his junior and senior seasons. Whenever the Dawgs needed a bucket, they turned to JT3, who responded by either attacking the basket with an array of crossovers or draining a long jumper.

Point guard Wayne Abrams joins the backcourt as everyone knows the Weber-Painter-Lowery system needs six guards to operate at its best. Abrams was the school's assist leader before a guy named Bryan Mullins came around.

I guess I might as well add Mullins, who is only one of two players in MVC history to get 500 assists and 250 steals. Heck of a player on the court and off it. He's one of those good kids you have to have on your team.

It's time to add some more frontcourt firepower, so welcome to the court Randal Falker. The 6-foot-7-inch forward was a beast in the low-post his junior and senior seasons and was always an excellent energy player. Falker, the all-time leader in blocks at SIU, is the defensive persence the team needs down low.

I'll team Falker with Seymour Bryson. The big-man in the middle averaged 15.3 points and 12.4 rebounds from 1955 to 1959 and is only one of six Salukis to score 40 points in a game.

The third forward off the bench is Jermaine Dearman. I guess you can start with his awesome nickname, "Big Game Jermaine" and end with what he did on the court. He was the muscle on the Saluki Sweet Sixteen team of 2002 and came up with many clutch performances in his time at SIU.

That concludes the team that would absolutely crush the competition in Saint Louis.

Missing the cut: Matt Shaw, Rolan Roberts, Marcus Timmons, Chris Lowery (the player), Paul Lusk, Stetson Hairston, Tony Young, Troy Hudson.

Building A Champion: The Starting Lineup

Ladies and gentleman, I present to you the starting lineup for your future Missouri Valley Conference Tournament championship Southern Illinois Salukis.

At guard, 6-3 from Mount Vernon, Ill., Kent Williams!

Williams: 15.5 point per game average in his four-year Saluki career.

At the other guard, 6-4 from Atlanta, Ga., one of the 50 greatest basketball players in NBA history, Walt Frazier!

Frazier: 18.2 points per game in the Salukis' 1967 NIT Championship run.

The third guard in the 3G offense, a 6-4 guard from Marion, Ill., Greg Starrick!

Starrick: 1,428 points, 90.9 percent career free-throw shooter.

At forward, 6-8 from Oak Park, Ill., Ashraf Amaya!

Amaya: Fourth on the SIU all-time scoring list (1,864 points), second on the career rebounds list (1,137 rebounds).

The man in the middle, a 6-10 center from Phoenix City, Ala., Joe C. Meriweather!

Meriweather: Third on the SIU all-time rebounds list (1,005) and eighth on the scoring list (1,536)

Building A Champion: Frontcourt Thunder

The SIU men's basketball team has gotten the reputation of "Floorburn U" because of its tenacious backcourt defense.

But over the course of time, the Salukis have had standout players among the trees over the years.

Let's start with the man in the middle Joe C. Meriweather. He was tall, and good. Those are two things you're going to need out of a good big man.

Meriweather ranks third in SIU history with 1,005 rebounds, averaging 12.9 rebounds in 78 career games. In the 1973-74 season, he averaged 14.9 rebounds per game. That's 2.3 rrebounds more than the Salukis' top three rebounders this season ... combined.

Not only was Meriweather a defensive star, he scored 1,536 points in his career, ranking him eighth among all-time Saluki scorers.

Joining him in the frontcourt is Ashraf Amaya, the powerful 6-foot-8-inch forward that starred for SIU in the early 1990s.

Amaya was a best who scored 1,878 points in his collegiate career, ranking him fourth on the school's all-time list. He also secured 1,137 rebounds, good enough for second on the all-time leader list.

More than that, his name is synonymous with the SIU Arena, which some analysts consider to be "The House That Ashraf Amaya Built."

I heard it on ESPN once, I swear!

So what about Randal Falker, Matt Shaw, Rolan Roberts, Seymour Bryson, Jermaine Dearman, Marcus Timmons?

Some players will be backups. Some will be left off the team. Sad.

But stay tuned to see who makes the cut.