Southern Illinoise University Athletics
Williams Named Preseason All-Conference
10/30/2001 | 12:00:00 | Men's Basketball
Oct. 30, 2001
Southern Illinois junior guard Kent Williams was named to the preseason all-conference team by the media Tuesday, and the Salukis were picked to finish fourth in the Missouri Valley Conference.
Saluki head coach Bruce Weber and the backcourt tandem of Williams and Marcus Belcher represented SIU at the conference's annual media day event.
Illinois State was tabbed the favorite to win the conference, followed by Creighton, Indiana State and Southern Illinois.
The Salukis are coming off a 16-14 season in which they finished tied for fourth with Indiana State in the MVC with a 10-8 record.
Williams is coming off a season in which he averaged 17.6 ppg and was named second team all-conference.
Media Poll: Illinois State, Creighton, Indiana State, Southern Illinois, Southwest Missouri State, Bradley, Evansville, Drake, Wichita State, Northern Iowa
All-Conference Team: G Tarise Bryson (Illinois State), F Kyle Korver (Creighton), G Kent Williams (Southern Illinois), G Kelyn Block (Indiana State), G Luke McDonald (Drake), Player of the Year: Tarise Bryson
Bruce Weber: "I feel good about our inside people and our perimeter players. We have to blend them together. The guy who could make the biggest impact is Rolan Roberts. He is a going to be a physical force for our team. He is kind of a freak of nature."
Marcus Belcher: "The league is definitely guard-orientated, however it's hard to be a guard in this league, because of the competition between guards and the recruiting of guards."
Kent Williams: "This team can be pretty good. We have depth and experience, and there are the new guys and the guys who redshirted that will help us. Also, we have some transfers in the post that will help us balance the scoring. I need to start strong personally and try to get my teammates more involved."
"(Rolan Roberts) will be a huge impact. He came from an Atlantic 10 school and averaged 13 a game. He is tough and can score in bunches. He'll help (Jermaine) Dearman especially by drawing some double teams and opening up scoring chances for him. He'll also help open up the team game by allowing more room in the lanes for penetration and some set outside shots."
"(Tarise Bryson) is almost impossible to stop offensively. He is excellent inside and outside and his penetrating ability, (Shawn) Jeppson helps him because of his outside shooting. But because of his quickness, range and the way he moves without the ball so well, he is hard to stop."
