Southern Illinoise University Athletics
Men's Basketball travels to Evansville
01/28/2011 | 12:00:00 | Men's Basketball
Jan. 28, 2011
By Tyler Wooten
SIUSalukis.com
CARBONDALE, Ill. - Southern Illinois (10-11, 4-6) will play at Evansville (11-9, 5-5) at 7 p.m. on Saturday at Roberts Stadium. Tne game will be televised on WSIU-TV as well as Lakeshore PBS in the Chicagoland area.
Head coach Chris Lowery met with the media before Friday's practice.
Q: "How badly do you need a win this weekend?"
"We need to play well and play well for the entire game -- all 40 minutes. Our inconsistencies have been 20 or 30 minutes of good basketball, then 10 minutes of bad basketball with enough to get us beat. We need to win the next game. We don't need to hit the panic mode and make them panic some. It's our next conference game and we're going to play hard and we're going to try to win."
Q: "Do you feel the team is pressing too much right now, perhaps making them do things they wouldn't normally do?"
"I don't think so. I think it's the fact that we feel really good about our up-front guys, and we've kind of thrown them in a hat with our guards. Whichever one plays well is who we're trying to play. In any level in any sport you have to have consistency from all parts involved, and that's what we're still trying to find from our guard rotation."
Q: "Are you considering playing John (Freeman) a little more than usual?"
"I don't think so. We have to look at some other things because he's got to do more. You can't average three shot attempts a game. That's been a big problem for him, he has to be more aggressive from beginning to end."
Q: "Were you pleased with Gene's (Teague) performance?"
"I was pleased, but he played too much, considering the fact that he hadn't played more than 10 or 15 minutes previously. Carlton (Fay) being in foul trouble meant he had to play extended minutes without a break. Fourteen (points) and seven (rebounds) is great, but when Gene can get in the right rest situations, he doesn't miss six shots and he doesn't have five turnovers if we can get him out of the game."
Q: "Last time against Evansville you held Colt Ryan to a season low, but Pieter van Tongeren went off for 18 points; so what will be the defensive focus this week?"
"I think it's still the same, their guards are their strength. They had a freshman (Jordan Jahr), who had barely played against us, get 16 and 14 at Indiana State, which kind of took van Tongeren out of the game and they played really small. We expect them to do the same against us -- play about 6-5, 6-6 for extended periods of time at the four and five."
Q: "Are you thinking of other possibilities for guard rotations?"
"We're just trying to figure out ways to get our other guys in. Troy (Long) has to find a way to do things other than shoot, and I think trying to look at him as a backup 1 will help us more, because we have to have guys in there that will take care of the ball and not throw it away. Even though John is safe, he doesn't give us some of the things that a true point guard can give, which is speed and the ability to break people down."
Q: "What is Mykel's (Cleveland) role now?"
"Well, the last few games he's struggled. He had actually been playing very well up until these last few games. As a coach we were starting to figure him as our point guard. He was playing well in the system, his turnover ratio was 3:1 before those two games, and now it's gone backward."
Q: "What are the guards saying about the inconsistency in play?"
"At this point, it's film -- it doesn't matter what they say. You watch film and you see the mistakes they make and you talk to them about it. Those are not mistakes where they're being out-talented. They're bad decisions, throwing the ball to the wrong place and not knowing where they need to be. That's the mental approach to getting ready to play a game. We felt we were extremely well-prepared for Illinois State and it showed in the first half, just like with Wichita State. It comes down to the mental mistakes that we made in those games."
Q: "Is that the biggest problem?"
"I think so. When you're not having a guy that can consistently be your point guard, that's a huge part of any team. That was a huge part of our success in having a guy we know was going to start every game at that position and know everything that we need to do. I think Cleveland can do it, but he has to overcome some things mentally to get better."
Q: "Do you expect them to play a 2-3 zone against you in this game?"
"I don't know what they're going to do. I expect more people are going to press us now after seeing what happens when we get sped up. I think they will, but like I said, they're going to play really small against us and try and go at us that way."
Q: "Is going on the road a good thing at times to get away from some of the distractions at home and focus?"
"We've been prepared in our last few games to start them, and that's the distinction of a team that is still trying to find itself. We still have some first year guys that are trying to play some significant roles in what we're doing. Obviously next year is next year, but learning on the fly is important for some of our guys, but their learning process has to speed up."
Q: "You mention that a lot is on you -- what do you need to do better as a coach?"
"The one thing that I have to do better is to get them to talk more. As a point guard, you can never shut up, you have to talk all of the time. When we have our struggles is when our guards go silent, and I think you see it as a fan watching them. When they're playing well, they're talkative and they're doing everything that they need to do. But when we're not, they're quiet and they look helpless. And obviously I have to do a better job of coaching those guys up in those times. Right now, I think that Carlton and (Mamadou) Seck are doing the best job of doing that. Seck is slowly turning into our leader, but everybody understands that everything runs through Carlton. He's the leader in the locker room, they do what he says, but there are times when they're not going to be in, like the last game. Foul trouble limited his playing time and it was Seck that finally said, 'Okay, it's time to go men.' And he did it himself. It's up to me to get those guys better and to get them talking more in tough situations."
Q: "Carlton said before the year that he isn't all that much of a vocal leader -- have you seen a lot more of that this season?"
"It has transitioned and transformed a lot, because he went from never saying anything to talking at halftime, talking after the game, and he says a lot of things I don't have to. That's a sign of good leadership when I can come in and say, 'Hey, he is exactly right guys. That's exactly what we need to do.' And he's not coach-speaking, either -- he's talking as a player to another player. They listen when another player is talking to them."
Q: "Does this team have that 'killer instinct?"
"They don't. When we're playing well, we're good; but when adversity hits we're not mature enough right now to say, 'It's just a couple of points,' or 'It's just a turnover here.' You have to overcome that with steady play, and you have to play with no fear, and I think we played scared the first five minutes of that second half against Wichita."
Q: "Have the older guys gotten to the point where every game is a must-win game?"
"No, but I think they know that each game is closer to their last, since they're seniors. They're starting to count down, as opposed to them being 'must-win.' It starts putting more pressure on it when you start thinking 'must-win,' but when they start thinking like, 'This is my last time at Evansville,' you want to try and do your best."
