Southern Illinoise University Athletics
Men's Basketball Holds Media Day
10/13/2003 | 12:00:00 | Men's Basketball
Oct. 13, 2003
By Seth Whitehead
www.SIUSalukis.com
CARBONDALE - There's no denying it.
Kent Williams, Jermaine Dearman and former Southern Illinois University men's basketball head coach Bruce Weber will be missed.
After all, they were the face of SIU basketball over the last four years.
They led the Salukis to unprecedented success and exposure, including back-to-back NCAA tournaments, back-to-back Missouri Valley Conference championships and a Sweet 16 appearance.
There was even an MTV documentary for crying out loud!
But Saluki fans take comfort -- it's not the end of the world.
Far from it.
New head coach Matt Painter and a mix of experienced veterans and talented newcomers plan on keeping the good times coming -- even if the so-called experts are sure to have lower expectations for the Dawgs in 2003-2004 minus the "Big Three."
"We feel very good about this season," Painter said at SIU's annual media day Monday. "Obviously when you lose Kent and Jermaine -- guys who have scored close to 3,500 points combined -- there is going to be a little bit of an adjustment. But I think we've got a lot of experience. We have a lot of guys who have played in big-time games."
SIU has six players with NCAA tournament experience and four players remaining from the 2002 Sweet 16 team. Not many MVC schools can say that. And many of those players may have just scratched the surface of their potential in the shadows of Dearman and Williams.
"We feel very good about coming into the season with these guys," Painter said. "And we think these guys are anxious to step up their roles and prove that they are big-time players in their own right."
It's clearly a new era of Saluki basketball. And believe it or not, fans get to see this new era kick off in less than a month. The Salukis start practice on Oct. 18 and open the exhibition season at home on Nov. 6 against Athletes in Action.
One of the guys expected to fill the void -- junior guard Stetson Hairston -- is chomping at the bit.
"It's been a long two months with a bunch of individual workouts and conditioning," Hairston said. "We're ready for it to get over with and get some action, competing and beating up on each other."
Hairston is one of three returning starters, along with junior guard Darren Brooks and senior center Sylvester Willis.
With Dearman and Williams graduated, Brooks and Hairston are both expected to pick up a lot of the scoring slack. It's something they are prepared to do.
"It's going to be new for college," Brooks said of the responsibility of being a go-to guy. "But in high school both of us were the men on our teams, so I don't think it's going to be too big of an adjustment. It's nothing we can't handle."
Returnees Brad Korn and Bryan Turner should also get more shots, giving SIU 3-point threats at forward and guard, respectively. Josh Warren proved to be a scoring machine at times last season in the paint. Conditioning is his only obstacle. Warren and Willis should team up to give SIU adequate-or-better production at center.
A real wild card is Jamaal Tatum, a highly touted freshman guard that could give the Salukis one of the most feared backcourts in the Valley depending on how fast he develops. Tatum is constantly described as lightning-quick and has been hyped as the best recruit the Salukis have landed since Williams.
That kind of tag might get to most kids, but the affable Tatum is keeping things in perspective.
"Initially I think there may have been a little bit of pressure," Tatum said of the comparisons. "But I've taken a lot of that off myself by just telling myself that I've got to go out and do what I can do and not do anymore. I can't try to be a hero.
"We've got two proven scorers in the backcourt that can do a lot of things. They can defend, score, pass -- they can do a lot. I don't really feel a lot of pressure at all."
Other newcomers include freshman big men Randal Falker (6-7) and Jamaal Foster (6-9), who could give the Salukis much-needed inside help in Dearman's absence.
"Foster's a long, lanky kid," Painter said. "He's a skill kid who I think has a heck of an upside. I think he's a sleeper. Not a lot of kids are sleepers anymore because of all the advanced scouting services and everything with the internet. But I think he's a kid that's really going to surprise some people.
Foster will definitely need to bulk up, however.
"Once he gets another 20 pounds on him I think he's going to be a beast in our league," Painter said.
Falker's strength -- rebounding -- is also one of SIU's chief concerns.
"Falker is an exceptional athlete," Painter said. "He can really rebound the basketball. He's probably the best rebounder we've recruited. He just has a knack for the ball and chases rebounds. He can really run the court. The thing with him is how he picks up on our offensive and defensive systems as compared to the high school game."
It is likely that one of the two new big men will have to redshirt, however, due to a numbers crunch.
Also new to the mix are redshirt freshman Ryan Walker and Tony Young. Fans may know these two best from their MTV documentary performances, but they will now have a chance to show their skills on the basketball court. Both can light up the scoreboard.
Last -- but certainly not least amongst the newcomers -- is JUCO transfer LaMar Owen.
Owen gives the Salukis a player that can solve what Painter called one of the biggest problems facing last year's team -- guarding smaller, quicker power forwards.
"We've struggled against Mike Suggs of Bradley," Painter said. "We've struggled to guard (Matt) Schneiderman of Northern Iowa and Jamar Howard (of Wichita State) -- all the 6-4 guys that play forward."
"Everybody always says, 'Well he can't be a forward -- he's 6-4.' But a lot of 6-4 guys play forward in our league. We kind of hand-picked him and were lucky to get him because he was recruited by a lot of people. We feel very good about what he will bring to our program."
Owen -- who had a standout two-year run just down the road at Southeastern Illinois College in Harrisburg -- is a lot smaller than Rolan Roberts, but he brings a similar defense-first mentality to the court.
"Probably my best attribute is guarding people," Owen said. "The guys right now have been messing with me about blocking shots, because I haven't really let anybody dunk on me yet. That's all I've been doing is blocking other people's shots. Hopefully that will be another asset."
All parties agree that SIU should have better athleticism with the newcomers on board -- especially in the frontcourt.
The obvious concerns are rebounding and finding a couple players willing to take the clutch shots that Dearman and Williams were taking -- and often making -- over the last four years.
"I know we have the guys here that can play," Painter said. "I know we can compete in this league and stay in the top half of the league and compete for the title. But do we have a couple guys that can make plays like that? That's probably the biggest question mark right now because they just haven't been in that situation. So it will be interesting to see how the season unfolds and how we do in tight games, because in 80 percent of the tight games in the past couple of years we won them."
And despite winning back-to-back league titles, folks are sure to underestimate this group due to who has left rather than who has stayed or arrived.
"Obviously, Wichita State is going to be picked by almost everybody to win it (the MVC)," Painter said.
"And they should be. They've got a lot of guys back, and coach (Mark) Turgeon is a heck of a coach. Dana Altman has done an unbelievable job getting Creighton to the NCAA's five straight years. Bradley has a lot of talent. SMS has four starters back, and they really can defend. So this is going to be a very open run to the conference championship.
"But we have a lot of athleticism. We have a lot of kids that have been here before. And I like our chances. I like this group. We have very good chemistry.
"If we get some guys to step up and be go-to guys, I think we'll have a very good chance to be in the top half of the league and compete for the conference championship.
Is that something I'm predicting? No way. But I like this group and I like our leadership and our chemistry and I think we'll be very competitive."
