Southern Illinoise University Athletics
Three Salukis voted to Arch Madness top 10 performers
03/01/2010 | 12:00:00 | Men's Basketball
March 1, 2010
ST. LOUIS, Mo. - Former Salukis Chris Carr, Marcus Timmons and Jamaal Tatum were voted among the top 10 players in the history of Arch Madness, the Missouri Valley Conference announced Monday.
Creighton's Kyle Korver -- the only back-to-back Most Outstanding Player in State Farm MVC Men's Basketball Championship history -- has been selected the top player in tournamen history by a vote of the league's fans.
In a two-month, online voting campaign sponsored by AT&T Real Yellow Pages, Missouri Valley Conference fans selected from a list of 58 State Farm MVC Men's Basketball Championship all-tournament team choices to determine the Top 10 players in Arch Madness history since the first St. Louis-based tournament was played at Kiel Auditorium in 1991.
The leading three-point shooter in Missouri Valley Conference history, Korver earned all-tournament team honors in 2000 as a freshman, when Creighton outlasted Missouri State, 57-45, in the finals.
A native of Pella, Iowa, Korver earned the first of consecutive Larry Bird MVC Player of the Year selections in 2002 and followed with an Arch Madness Most Outstanding Player performance, collecting 18 points, nine rebounds and five assists during an 84-76 victory over Southern Illinois.
A two-time All-American, Korver compiled 12 points, 10 boards, six assists and two steals against Southern Illinois in an 80-56 triumph at Scottrade Center in the 2003 Arch Madness final to claim his second Most Outstanding Player laurel.
In addition to Korver, the other top five players include Nate Funk (Creighton), Osiris Eldridge (Illinois State), Rodney Buford (Creighton) and Ryan Sears (Creighton). Funk (2007), Buford (1999) and Sears (2000) all earned Most Outstanding Player recognition for a team that won the championship, while Eldridge (2009) became only the second player in tournament history to earn Most Valuable Player honors for a team that did not take the title.
The remainder of the top 10 players feature Chris Carr (Southern Illinois), Anthony Parker (Bradley), Marcus Timmons (Southern Illinois), Rico Hill (Illinois State) and Jamaal Tatum (Southern Illinois). Timmons and Korver are the only three-time all-tournament team selections in Arch Madness history, while Carr, Parker, Hill and Tatum all collected all-tourney honors twice.
Vignettes on the All-Tournament Team members -- biographies accompany this release -- will be shown on the video board at Scottrade Center during the 2010 State Farm MVC Men's Basketball Championship on Thursday-Sunday, March 4-7. For tickets, visit www.archmadness.com or call TicketMaster at 314/241-1888.
