Men's Basketball plays at Northern Illinois on Saturday
12/15/2011 | 12:00:00 | Men's Basketball
Dec. 15, 2011
By Tim McCaughan
SIUSalukis.com
CARBONDALE, Ill. - Southern Illinois travels to Northern Illinois this weekend for a non-conference men's basketball on Saturday at 1:05 p.m. CT.
Head coach Chris Lowery met with the media prior to his team's practice on Thursday afternoon.
Do you know (NIU coach) Mark Montgomery?
"I've known Coach a long time. He was in the Big Ten, and before that an assistant, and before that a good player at Michigan State."
What kind of offense do they run?
"It will be very similar to Michigan State, they want to get you in transition. They will run a lot of plays."
How concerned are you about rebounding against them?
"After watching film...we went to rebound (at Western Michigan), we just didn't block out. We had several balls bounce over our head. We worked this week to go block out instead of just running to the rim. That is what killed us at Western Michigan."
What do you have to do better on offense?
"The number one thing is we have to take open shots. We didn't do that in the first half like we did in the second half. We tried to penetrate when there was nothing there."
Is there anyone in particular that you are looking for to step up?
"All of them have to. They are going to have opportunities. We are doing a great job defensively on the first shot, but we gave up too many offensive rebounds. We are guarding people really well at this point. If we get more offensive plays and positives, our defense will continue to get better, especially how well we are reading things on defense at this point with a lot of new guys playing a lot of minutes."
They have turned it over a lot. Is this a team you can press full-court?
"I think you can't look at what they did against DePaul, because DePaul presses the whole game. I think you have to look at the whole thing, and see how their lineups have changed in the last three games and see how they are changing each game. When we do turn them over, we have to get positive things out of it."
How do you keep the tempo in your favor this game?
"We just have to make shots. We have dictated the tempo in each of our games, we just haven't made enough shots to be effective."
Can you give us an update on Kendal (Brown-Surles), and Dantiel (Daniels)?
"Dantiel practiced very little yesterday, he's going to try again today. Kendal, we don't know as of right now, but that is not up to us. He is eligible right now for the NCAA. Hopefully everything will be taken care of and he will be able to play."
Is Justin still suspended indefinitely?
"He is still suspended. He hasn't been charged, which is an issue that we are suspending him for something that he hasn't been charged with."
What are your impressions of Tim Toler?
"He can score, he is big, 6-foot-7 and 250. He has worked himself into better shape. A lot of his shots come from three. You would expect a guy that big to really be all inside, but he can really shoot the basketball. He took eight three's against DePaul, so that tells you that his game is really outside first."
T.J. Lindsey has done well the last two games, do you think that can continue?
"We are pleased with our two junior college guys and how they are playing. They are progressing very quickly. Moving T.J. off the ball has been good for him. Now he can concentrate on scoring and attacking the rim."
Do you think Jeff embraces being the type of player that hustles every play?
"We don't have a playing hard issue, we have a scoring the ball issue. I think some of it is self-inflicted, and I think some of it is experience, too. Hopefully, we will continue to get better at that each game. Understanding what was a good shot for him was big. He had played his whole life only worried about time and score. Now at this level, everything is important. Good possessions lead to other possessions, and I think that is what he has learned."
How badly do you think you need something to change the momentum of the season?
"I think we need some guys to get back to the team, because they are older. We are at six games, so it is not over. We have still played the fewest games. We haven't panicked, and our effort shows we haven't panicked. If you talk to the kids, they understand where we can go."
Regarding the effort of the freshmen with the toy drive...?
"They have been great, because they understand that there is more to life than just basketball, which is refreshing. They really want to embrace the city of Carbondale, and the Southern Illinois region. They have made themselves ambassadors of the university, without even knowing it. Its good for them, and its something they have created themselves, and I'm very glad they had the foresight to do that."
