Southern Illinois University
Illinois St.
Men's Basketball hosts Illinois State on Wednesday in Blackout Cancer game
01/10/2017 | 4:00:00 | Men's Basketball
The Salukis have won six of the last seven meetings versus Illinois State at SIU Arena. The only loss during that span was in 2013. Last year in Carbondale, Leo Vincent came off the bench to make 6-of-7 shots from 3-point range and score a career-high 24 points. The Salukis trailed by 12 points in the second half, but closed the game on a 22-10 run to win 81-78.
Head coach Barry Hinson met with the media prior to Tuesday's practice.
Do you have a sense that this team is improving as a 3-point shooting team?
I think any team when they're making shots, they're pretty doggone good. You go back to the SIUE game, we were pretty good that night. You're not going to shoot 70 percent often during the the season. Whenever you're making shots, you're extremely energized on the other end of the floor defensively.
Illinois State will be a great challenge for us, because obviously, they are the best defensive team in the league and one of the best defensive teams in the country. I'm looking at their NCAA stats, it's phenomenal where they're ranked defensively. For us, very rarely do you play in your own facility where you're the underdog. We understand that, but at the same time, it's a great opportunity for us to find out, where are we in this league? Right now if the 10 coaches were here, it's a two-horse race between Illinois State and Wichita State.
How do you attack their defensive length?
It's not just attacking but you have to finish because they do a great job of blocking shots around the basket. With the exception of Paris Lee, who I feel is their best player, everybody on the floor is interchangeable parts. You're looking at 6-6 to 6-11 all the time. That's the advantage they have over a lot of programs at the mid-major level, is they've got athleticism and length. Not only do they do that on the defensive end, my gosh, they shoot the ball really well. They have four guys shooting 40 percent or better (from 3-point). We don't have that.
What type of defense do they play?
For the most part they play man. They play a little bit of zone here and there. They like to press — a hot-cold press. Paris Lee is so good at stealing the basketball. I know I sound like a PR agent for these guys, but I really am. I'm excited for our league. I think Illinois State is an NCAA Tournament team. I have no problems promoting that. Our league has two teams capable of playing in the NCAA Tournament, and I think they're one of them.
Do you feel like you're catching them at the right time, having won three-straight?
I'll tell you what our guys are doing right now. They're giving me everything they've got. We're not the prettiest girl at the prom, but we're pretty good dancers right now. You kinda wanna boogie with that girl right now. She's moving pretty good right now. We've got guys that are buying in. They're just giving me everything they've got. I couldn't be any prouder of the group of young men. They're representing us extremely well during the ballgames, off the floor, they're playing their tails off. I'm kind of like a proud peacock, I've got my feathers strutted out a little bit. We're finally getting to the point where I can chew 'em like an old piece of leather and they sit there and take it constructively, and come out with that fight attitude.
How much has Jonathan Wiley gotten better defensively on the perimeter?
I normally don't read the paper this time of year for obvious reasons, but I read your article on the hybrid spot and I thought you were right on. I think he's a true hybrid and I thought it was extremely well-worded. I thought your analysis just fit him to a T. He's helped us with length defensively, he's helped us with rebounding. Jonathan is getting more comfortable scoring off the dribble. Jonathan has to get more comfortable with me. He hasn't figured me out. Out of all those guys that are playing, nine of them got me figured out, and one of them doesn't. As soon as he figures me out, I think he's going to have a much better time. Jonathan and I had a good visit this week. I have great confidence in him and he's getting better and better, but he's got to figure me out, because I ain't changin'.
What can you tell us about Armon Fletcher's foot?
Armon practiced yesterday, briefly. He went in for a layup, came down on his foot, and immediately went down. It was extremely painful for him and we took him immediately out of practice. Up until that time, he ran, winced a couple times, there wasn't a whole lot of cutting. We put him in a live scrimmage situation, and that's when it happened. As soon as he's ready to go and tells me he can play without pain, we're going to put him out there.
