Men's Basketball hosts SIUE on Wednesday night

Dec. 8, 2015

CARBONDALE, Ill. - Southern Illinois (8-1) hosts sister school SIUE (1-7) on Wednesday night in a non-conference matchup at SIU Arena. The Cougars have five new starters this year under first-year head coach Jon Harris. The Salukis have won all seven previous meetings between the schools. Fans are encouraged to bring a new toy to donate to the Toys For Tots campaign that will benefit needy children in Southern Illinois.

SIUE (1-7) at Southern Illinois (8-1)
Date	Wednesday, Dec. 9., 2015
Time	7 p.m. CT
Location	Carbondale, Ill., SIU Arena (8,339)
Game Notes	Southern Illinois
Tickets	Buy On-Line
Radio	Saluki Sports Network
Watch	ESPN3
Live Audio	CBS All-Access
Live Stats	Stat Broadcast
Social Media	@SIU_Basketball

Coach Hinson Transcript

How deceiving is SIUE's record?
"There are a couple of things for us and we talked to our guys about this yesterday. This is a rival in our local area. We recruit against these guys. They have four players on their team that we recruited. They beat us on a kid who is their leading scorer. He chose to go there instead of SIU. We have an opportunity to go 9-1. If that is not motivation, then I don't know what we can do to motivate our guys."

How do you guys continue to play with an edge and a chip on your shoulder?
"I think that we have to practice like we do every day. We just met as a staff and I used this term last week. I said that we were going to practice like we were 1-6, instead of 6-1. We are going to practice like we are 1-8 today instead of 8-1. We are going to get after them. Everybody has asked what has caused this turnaround. When we got back from the Missouri Valley Tournament last season, I made up my mind that we were going to go after these guys as hard as we can to make sure that they wanted to be a Saluki and that they wanted to be here. A bulk of that took place once school started. We have not backed off one bit. We have the opportunity to get better today. I know we haven't played the toughest schedule in the country, but I do think we have played a tougher schedule than we did last year. I know you hate the cliche, but we are taking it one game at a time. When you have the opportunity to do something that no other team has had the chance to do since 1992, that should be enough motivation just to win."

Are you surprised at how fast Mike Rodriguez has adjusted to this level of play?
"I think he's in a transition period. He is getting better as we go. When he gets into the middle of the lane, and he hasn't quite figured it out that they aren't going to call every bump foul. When he penetrates, he has to figure out that he does not have to shoot the ball. I still think that he is going through the transition period, but Mike is exactly who we though he would be. He is a pass-first guard. He is a young man that is really concerned more about others than he is himself. Consequently, you see the difference in our team. We are plus four in assists-to-turnovers, and we weren't even close to that last year."

What impresses you about SIUE's two 6'10 players?
"I think that first thing that impresses me is the way that (head coach) Jon (Harris) has them playing. When I look back at records, I can see that some of these guys have played a lot of games on the road. SIUE has played a tough schedule this year. We would have a record similar to theirs if we had played the same schedule. I think that Jon has them playing hard. I've seen them play four different defenses and we are preparing for all types.

What does SIUE do best defensively?
"I think that one of the things they do best is that they rebound the basketball. Their offensive rebound numbers are far greater than ours. That is a big weakness of ours right now. We have to do a better job of that. Offensive rebounding to me has nothing to do with size. Defensive rebounding a lot of time does, but not offensive rebounding. Offensive rebound is all about heart and wanting to get the ball."

What have you seen from your guys that are causing a lot of turnovers?
"I think that we have a couple of guys on the floor, specifically Anthony (Beane) and Mike (Rodriguez) that have a knack for stealing the basketball. I am not too happy with our field goal percentage defense right now. Even with Saturday's defense, the field goal percentage was at 46 percent. At the same time, we held a team averaging 81 points a game to 63 points. It is a give and take. One of the things with the shot clock is that you have so many more possessions. For us to hold a team to scoring in the low 60's, I think is pretty impressive. There are two areas that really concern me right now, our field goal percentage defense and rebounding. When you play basketball, you have to be able to guard and be able to rebound the basketball. Our numbers are getting better, but they have to continue to get better."

Austin (Weiher's) numbers have been better. How does he fit in with Bola (Olaniyan) coming back?

"I think one of the things that Austin does for us is you have to guard him anywhere. I don't care if he's outside the arc or inside the arc. You've got to guard him. When we're struggling in rebounding we need Bola in there. Austin, right now, his weakness is defense and rebounding. His assets on the offensive end sometimes outweigh what he can do on the defensive end."

What would you say the biggest improvement has been from game one to now?

"I thing we're sharing the ball well. I think everyone has figured out what everyone else can do. I think when you look now and compare to how we've made assists in the past I think everyone is more comfortable. You look at the first few games Michael was hitting people in the face and the hands. That's the truth. Bola's coming down the lane and no one's ever thrown him the ball before. Michael is hitting him in the face because he's not expecting it. Now, I think our guys trust each other and they expect when a guy penetrates to shape up and shoot because they're getting the ball. I think that's where we've improved as much as anything."

What have you thought of Rudy Stradnieks' play and where would you like to see more out of him?

"I think the thing that I'm pleased with more than anything is his attitude. His attitude has no correlation with playing time. This kid is as excited at the start of the game as he is at the end of the game regardless of playing time. I think he's got a chance to be special. We knew he was going to struggle, all freshmen struggle, sorry that's just the way it is. There's a point in time where it will click and he'll gain confidence. We just haven't had an opportunity to get him in there. Even though against North Texas we had a little gap there we didn't feel comfortable because these guys shot so many threes to make a mass substitution."

You mentioned yesterday on your show how Brad Autry has brought a lot of energy to the team. How has he helped you focus on one game at a time?

"I don't know if he's helped me with that. I think 35 years of coaching helps me with that. Specifically, with what happened here the past three years. I just went back to the basics with that. I can't be worried about what's surrounding me instead of what's in front of me and worrying about the things that I can control. I was asked at media day what the expectations were for this season and I said I think it's time to have a winning season. That's the only thing that I've looked ahead for. That's the absolutely only thing that I've seen in the future that's a big deal to me there's nothing other than that. I think this program needs to have a winning season. We haven't had one since 2008. We're certainly on track to do that but we're not even there yet. We've got to have a winning season. To me, that's the only thing that I focus on outside of winning one game at a time."

How do you feel like the team feeds off of Brad's energy?

"One thing that's helped me with coach Autry, coach McGee and coach Beane is that I'm not the Energizer Bunny, I don't have to be the energy guy every day in practice. That's helped me a tremendous amount. For whatever reason we haven't had that and I felt like every day when I came into practice I had to be that guy. Now I don't feel that. I can't even begin to tell you how much that helps me as a head coach because I can focus on coaching, watching film, scout reports and stuff like that. I'm really more energized than I've been in a long time. I think a lot of that has to do with the role that the assistants have had. I don't mind telling you, I challenged my assistants, my players and myself. I couldn't be happier."

What do you need to do help your field goal percentage defense? The team is challenging a lot of shots.

"Yeah we are. I think a lot of that has to do with the fact that we've played some really good teams that shoot the ball really well. We just beat a team on the road by 30 and this was one of the best offensive teams in the country and that was in the top-30 in field goal percentage and top-30 in points per game. I was proud of that game. It will be interesting to see what we do at home. I think we've gained a lot of energy and I think our crowd's energy will be a lot better than what it's been and I think the energy will go up."

Have you had a season where you've done a home-at-home in the same season?

"I've done that quite a bit. For future reference, we'll do that a lot in the future. Everybody needs home games. It's real simple to me, you need a home game and we need a home game. Let's play a home and home the same year. I don't have a problem with that at all. We will continue that trend."