While taking a look at the final Saluki statics from last year a few things stuck out.
1. Southern won 29 games. A very impressive season.
2. Jamaal Tatum took nearly 400 shots and Tony Young took almost 300.
3. Clemmons only took 82 shots despite being the first player off the bench most of the season.
4. Bryan Mullins took 184 shots and averaged 6.3 points, 3.5 assists, and 2 rebounds a game.
The statistics for Bryan Mullins don't do his season justice. Any mention of Mullins sophomore year must include his buzzer beating jumper to beat Creighton on the road and his All-First team defense.
Now that we've mentioned his accolades lets face the fact that Mullins will have to shoulder a MUCH larger offensive load in his Junior year. He will have to score 10 points every game and some nights 10 won't be enough. Getting to rack for easy buckets will be his best bet as bigger defenders will be afraid to leave Falker and Shaw open down low.
Aside from attacking the basket Mullins will also need to pop the three point basket more often this year. He shot a very respectable 37% (28 of 76) from downtown his Sophomore year so there is reason to believe that he will be able to account for some of Tony Young's 3 point production (58 of 153, 38%).
Josh Bone's season got off to a slow start because of a foot injury in the preseason. His stats from last year are largely irrelevant because of his injury and because the Salukis did not depend on him for much scoring off the bench. What is relevant is Josh Bone has one of the sweetest jump shots I have seen from any SIU player. Bone's defense will determine his playing time but his dynamic offense can win games. Does Bone want to be a star? He'll get the chance.
Wesley Clemmons played 16 minutes as a sophomore last year and that number could easily increase to increase to 26-28 minutes in his junior season. Clemmons showed us flashes of brilliance last year. As an upperclassmen in Chris Lowery's system "flashes" of great play will no longer be acceptable. Clemmons must develop a steady hand if he wants to be a star for SIU next season.
Other candidates who will have a chance to fill the stat sheet include Christian Cornelius, Carlton Fay, Brandon Wood, and possibly Justin Bocot. Overall it would seem that it will be a group effort replacing the 700 shots that JT and TY took last year. Shaw and Falker will score more often. Falker really came on strong in the post at the towards the end of last season. Tony Boyle will hit more mid-range jump shots and could develop into a scoring threat off the bench.
So who wants to be a star for SIU? No individual player looks to seize the starring role for the 07-08 season... and that might not be a bad thing. The Dawgs will have a balanced offensive attack and once again rely on their defense to win games. Looking back at Southern's Sweet 16 run its safe to say that the defensive game plan has worked fairly well. Expect to see a more of the same in the upcoming season.
