Southern Illinoise University Athletics
Men's Basketball hosts Creighton in key Friday night matchup
01/06/2011 | 12:00:00 | Men's Basketball
Jan. 6, 2011
By Tim McCaughan
SIUSalukis.com
CARBONDALE, Ill. - Southern Illinois head coach Chris Lowery met with the media on Thursday as the Salukis prepare to host Creighton at 7 p.m. on Friday.
The game between SIU (8-6, 2-1) and Creighton (10-5, 2-1) is an early test for two traditional league powers.
Complete Game Notes in PDF Format
If the Salukis beat Creighton, they will be 3-1 in the Missouri Valley Conference and match their best start since beginning the 2007 season with a 3-1 league mark. SIU advanced to the Sweet 16 that season.
What are your thoughts about the Bluejays?
"They have great size. They have a transfer eligible at the break, and he gives them another big body. The key to their team is Antoine Young, leading them in scoring at this point. (Greg) McDermott's son right there behind him. Those guys, along with Kenny Lawson, are as good as any three players on one team in our league."
Is Gene still out this week?
"We will see. We're kind of bringing him along slowly. If he can't do everything, he can't play. That's the deal we've always had -- if you can't do everything in the practice before the game, you can't play."
Does that put more pressure on Davante Drinkard?
"The pressure is off for him. He's 2-0 at this point as a starter, so there's no pressure for him. He understands what we need him to do. I think everyone else is taking up the slack, it's not just on Davante."
How important was getting that first road conference win out of the way?
"I think it was good for us to win, period. Bradley had some injuries and they were depleted, but they still had very good guard play, and for us to do what we did defensively and to take care of the ball in back to back games, hopefully that showsthat our maturity is getting better."
What has encouraged you the most about these last two games, and how you responded from a poor performance against Drake?
"I think the performance against Drake had everything to do with our lineup. We realized Davante had to start, Carlton can't play the 5, and Seck can't start at the 4. It hurt our rotation, it hurt Carlton. He had to guard guys he didn't need to guard. And our guards had to look in the mirror and see that they were bad at Drake. Coming back and really locking in defensively and playing hard, I think that was the number one thing."
You've lost the last five against Creighton. Do you think this is a chance to get the rivalry back?
"I think for five years we didn't lose to them. It flipped, and all of a sudden they won five in a row against us, and every one has been a heart breaker, a buzzer beater, overtime, and us not being able to do things at the end of a game to beat them. I think we know how to play them, but that was Dana. Now it's new with Greg, and we're looking forward to competing against them."
Can you talk about Greg's style of coaching?
"When he was with Northern Iowa it was different. He's been gone for a while. You think about how they play at UNI now -- smashmouth, very tough, very disciplined. These guys, they have a little bit more talent, because they have big guys, and they have athletes. He coaches them differently than when he was at UNI."
The last two wins, have you reached a comfort level in the rotation?
"It has nothing to do with my confidence of who's in. It has everything to do with who's running our system, who's playing hard and valuing the basketball and not turning it over. Those things lead to added playing time, and I think they realize that now."
Different people have been stepping up. Is that the way this team is going to be the rest of the year?
"We've had so many different leading scorers, and Carlton having back-to-back really good games -- that's how seniors in this program have played. We expect him to be a contributor every game. We expect him to deliver every game."
Besides the defense you guys are playing, do you see similarities in teams you've coached in the past?
"We're getting to the end of the shot clock. That's the key with this group -- we're getting to the end of the shot clock and we're making people guard us. We're finding different ways to get baskets. It's not always having to draw plays up and tell guys what to do, so that's a good sign so far."
How important is it that Justin and Carlton are out of their funk with the past two wins?
"I think that knowing that other guys will come in for you is the biggest thing. Competition will create confidence, because the harder you play, you know you're going to play longer. With us playing sometimes 11 guys, it comes down to who's in foul trouble, who's playing well, or what we're trying to do offensively and defensively."
Obviously you want Gene back as soon as possible, but do you think that will hinder the rhythm that you have when he comes back?
"I think he has to change to us. We've done things better defensively. The thing that we've emphasized the most is that you have to defend and that's how you play. He has to come back with that same mentality."
Diamond hasn't had that many minutes since his first game. What does he have to do in practice to see more minutes on the court?
He didn't play much at Drake and UNI, but he played 17 minutes at Bradley, and he had four points, two assists and no turnovers. He just has to be ready to play. In his first road game, he was not -- his first home game, he was not. The game was too big for him. He's got to learn to be ready to play. He was ready to play at Bradley, and that's why he played more. He's going to be up and he's going to be down. The good thing about it is, if the older guys keep playing the way they are, then it doesn't matter if he has a great game."
How big would it be to finish this weekend and have to home wins and be 4-1 in conference?
"The most important one is the next one. We're focusing in on Creighton, and then after Creighton we can focus on Illinois State. Protecting home court is the number one thing. We've lost way too many games in the past two years. Hopefully, we've overcome that and gotten to where these games mean more. That has to do with or seniors and our guys buying into everything we were selling them. You have to win at home, if you want to compete for a conference championship."
