Creighton heads to Carbondale to take on the Saluki’s of Southern Illinois on Friday night still recovering from their loss against Missouri State on Tuesday night. The Bluejays’ trip got off to a slow start as their charter plane had a crack in the windshield and they had to wait a few hours for another one to arrive to take them to Illinois.
In many people’s minds across the nation, this is THE rivalry in the Missouri Valley Conference. However, over the past few years the things have sort of cooled because of the struggles of both programs. But the game has big significance for both teams — a spot toward the top of the league in the first third of the conference season.
I would imagine fans would be more likely to follow Southern Illinois a little bit closer because of the rivalry, but that may not necessarily be the case. But to make the rivalry a little more exciting, why not get a fan to answer some questions about the Salukis and give us some insight. Steve Hampton (AnOldBandDude), who is one of the moderators of Salukitalk, took some time to get us up to speed on Southern Illinois. Here is what he had to say.
White & Blue Review: Southern Illinois is on a bit of a roll right now including the thrilling win against Northern Iowa. What has been going well for the Salukis at this point?
Steve Hampton: I think that it’s a case of people finding their roles. John Freeman is running the point as a combo guard/forward. Mykel Cleveland has started to figure things out now after going through the usual period that JUCOs seem to go through at the beginning of their first season. Carlton Fay has shot the ball MUCH better over the last couple of games, compared to early in the year. Back then, he was just awful. Jack Crowder has come off the bench with some good minutes. Kendal Brown-Surles is now coming off of the bench, too.
Also, the defense is getting better. Not to the level of “Floorburn U,” but some nice improvements have been seen. SIU held Bradley to 42 points until the last 3 minutes of the game and they were playing not to give up the 3 and to not foul and they gave up twenty-something points in those last 3 minutes. Luckily, Southern hit 16 straight free throws and still won the game.
WBR: What is the perception of the program from the fan standpoint? Is head coach Chris Lowery getting things back on track?
SH: It’s a wait-and-see attitude right now. Yes, the two wins so far are nice but I think people are looking for something more consistent. Some reachable goals are nice. Keeping the record over .500 and staying away from Thursday night in St. Louis would be a nice goal.
For some folks, nothing short of getting rid of Lowery is acceptable. They feel he’s the reason the program is in the fix that it is. And with the big contract ($750K for 3+ years remaining), he has hamstrung the university (at a time when the university is instituting furloughs for most employees) because it would be so expensive to get rid of him. Others just want to see the program win and they don’t care who the coach is.
Are things getting better? It is hard to tell yet. Yes, they are improving some this year. I think this team will have as good or better record than last year’s team and will have played a tougher non-conference schedule. And next year’s recruiting class (two high school kids and two prep school kids) seems to have some talent that can perform right away. So, it is possible that the future has some bright areas.
WBR: Southern Illinois brought in a bunch of junior college transfers and gave another opportunity to Diamond Taylor, who was dismissed from Wisconsin. Is the pressure to win that high?
SH: Diamond Taylor is a unique situation in that both his parents are SIU alums and have known Chris Lowery for a long time. Chris heavily recruited Diamond until it became evident that he was going to go to a Big Ten school. Also, Diamond’s AAU coach was Mike Mullins (Bryan’s dad), so there were a lot of SIU connections in place, even before he got into trouble. In addition, SIU still had the scholarship available for Diamond to use when he became available in September last year.
As far as the JUCOs are concerned, Southern didn’t have much luck recruiting high school kids in 2009 and 2010. Add in the fact that two more scholarships opened up when Kevin Dillard and Anthony Booker left the program. So, there were four open spots available as the spring signing period began. Had the JUCOs not come in, there probably would have barely been enough scholarship players to field a team this year. The results have been mixed. Last year’s JUCOs, John Freeman and Jack Crowder, have seemed to have found their roles and are able to contribute some quality minutes on the floor. For this year, Mamadou Seck has played well from the beginning. Cleveland seems to have found his way after struggling mightily in December. And Troy Long was brought in to be the 3-point specialist but hasn’t seemed to have found his shot at the D-I level.
WBR: Gene Teague has had some problems with his foot as of late. What is his status for the game on Friday? How do you think he will match up with Gregory Echenique if he can play?
SH: As of the end of the Bradley game, Coach Lowery said that they were hoping to get Teague back for Friday night but wasn’t for sure about it. Teague could go up and down on the ankle but had some issues with swelling when he was doing more running and such.
To be honest, I haven’t seen Echenique play yet so I can’t really comment on the matchup.
WBR: Who has been the surprise player this season that Creighton will need to look out for?
SH: The best Saluki newcomer this year is Seck, a 6-7 forward who has shown some physical abilities to play the 4 spot but could still guard the big 3 guard, as well. He was the one who guarded Kwadzo Ahelegbe and Andrew Warren over the last couple of games. Davante Drinkard is the one high school freshman in this recruiting class. He flew under the radar as a senior because he broke his foot earlier in the season. He has some skill but is still pretty raw. He has played more this week since Teague is still recovering from the ankle issue.
WBR: No one on the roster has been to an NCAA Tournament with Southern Illinois. Are seniors Carlton Fay and Justin Bocot playing with more of a purpose this season to try and take them there? Who else is stepping up to carry this team?
SH: Really, until the last couple of games, neither senior has been carrying the team. If you follow SIU basketball at all, you’ll know that you just don’t know what you’re going to get from Justin. Some nights, it’s double-digit scoring and a number of highlight-reel shots. Other nights, he could be 0-for-6 with 4 turnovers. The game at Bradley showed us the good Justin; he made several baskets early to get the team going. You just never know. And Fay has not been shooting the ball very well so they really haven’t been consistent leaders on the floor. You’d like to think that the game-winning shot over UNI would help him with his confidence in the future. Time will tell.
A note on Justin. Although he is listed as a senior, he can come back next year if he continues to be on track to graduate on time, as he was a Prop 48 qualifier when he first came to Southern. And, as far as we know, he is on track to graduate on time.
WBR: SIU Arena went through a massive renovation in the offseason. What was done during the face lift?
SH: A lot. About $30 million (out of a total $80+ million project that included a new football stadium and support building) was spent on remodeling the Arena. All of the “Reese’s pieces” chair seats were replaced with maroon ones. All the wooden bleachers (replaced with bench seats with backs) are gone and a concourse was created with new food areas and restrooms. A new scoreboard with a video replay system was installed and that has made the internet video stream much, much better. There are now fewer seats than before (8,600 compared to 9,400 before) but I think it’s a more comfortable arrangement.
My favorite part is the inside wall of the new concourse is covered with pictures of Saluki basketball photos (both men and women) going back to before Walt Frazier through Mike Glenn, Chris Carr and Ashraf Amaya, Kent Williams, Jermaine Dearman and Bryan Mullins. It’s pretty cool to see that history.
WBR: The rivalry between Creighton and Southern Illinois has seemed to cool a bit over the past few seasons as both programs have struggled. Do Saluki fans still hate Creighton as much as they have in the past? What kind of shirts will show up at this game?
SH: The shirts will still be there. In fact, the main bookstore in town has some new ones available this year. I, myself, will be wearing my “I STILL H8 CR8ON” shirt tomorrow night when I watch the game on TV. Obviously, there isn’t the craziness like there was in the Korver/Funk/Williams/Mullins years. The rivalry isn’t as strong because people just aren’t as enthused about the program right now. I think that as both programs continue to improve, the rivalry will come back.
WBR: For those who have never been to Carbondale before, where do you recommend Bluejay fans to go before the game?
SH: I could tell you to go to Buffalo Wild Wings but you can get that anywhere. I like to tell people about the local eateries. The stuff you can’t get anywhere else. For me, I am a pizza guy. My picks would be Quatro’s and Pagliai’s. They are the two best. It’s mostly deep-dish, though not in the traditional Chicago-style (tomato sauce on top). I like the Meatlovers Special at Quatro’s and Pagliai’s makes its own sausage that’s pretty good on a thick and chewy pizza. Both are near the Strip and are a few blocks from campus. If you’re into BBQ, you’d want to check out 17th St. BBQ in either Murphysboro (the original location) or Marion (near the interstate). Mike Mills has won awards all over the country, especially in Memphis, for his BBQ and the ribs are hard to beat.
WBR: What is your final prediction? What will Southern Illinois need to do to fend off the Bluejays in Carbondale?
SH: It’s really hard to tell what’s going to happen. Of course, this isn’t your older brother’s Creighton team as our old friend Dana has moved to the Land of the Duck. But needless to say, Greg McDermott and Chris Lowery know each other well. This game won’t have the intensity of the old games (Korver v. Williams senior year; ESPN Gameday) but I’d like to think that some of the old SIU Arena magic is still out there.
Southern will need to be able to guard Creighton’s big folks well and also be able to continue to find the open looks for Carlton Fay. I think the Salukis will be able to keep the tempo at a point where the game will be close. As Saluki broadcaster Mike Reis has been fond of saying over the last 8 to 10 years, “First one to 50 wins”.
SIU 59, Creighton 55.