Today I attended a press conference at SIU where Chris Lowery talked about next year's team as well as other topics.
Here are some interesting points that were made by Lowery.
-SIU fans will be rewarded with lots of good home games this year including Indiana and Butler.
-ESPN's college game day has contacted SIU but nothing is official.
-He thinks the game at Murray St. will happen this year but SIU is still waiting on Murray to work out their scheduling conflicts
-He would like to see the "text messaging ban" on talking to recruits lifted
-On the SLU vs SIU rivalry, a contract has not yet been signed to renew games past this year at this time.
-On SLU possibly coming to the MVC "The conference is perfect as it is".
-Lowery does not think that the loss of Tatum and Young is as drastic as Creighton's loss of Funk and Tolliver.
-He expects to see better defensive rebounding from the guard position because Clemmons and Green are bigger physically than Tatum and Young.
-Lowery also thinks that the increased rebounding from the guard position will lead to more fast breaks and a better transition game.
-Lowery calls Jamaal Tatum's chances of catching on with an NBA team "very good". He talked to JT's agent and it sounds like the New Jersey Nets have the most interest. The Nets have invited him to play summer league ball. Also, Tatum has received an invitation to the Atlanta Hawks veteran camp which Lowery said is rare for a first year player.
The non-conference schedule looks very difficult to me and in my opinion could be one of the best non-conference schedules in the country.
The Salukis better be ready to play early. After the home opener against Northern Illinois they head off to Anaheim to play in a televised Thanksgiving tournament including teams like USC, Mississippi St, Tulane, and Miami (Ohio). USC could be a top 10 team and a matchup with uber freshman OJ Mayo would be worth the price of admission. Indiana will have its own stud freshman, Eric Gordon, who will pair with DJ White to be one of the best 1-2 combos in college basketball. Butler will almost certainly be a top 25 team and with the return of three starters including AJ Graves; Butler will be a handful when they visit SIU Arena. Get your tickets early.
