As the weather slowly begins to fade from Summer to Fall here in Southern Illinois the 07-08 season has begun to draw near for Saluki basketball. Tuesday afternoon was SIU Media Day and players and coaches were available to answer questions for local media. Below are some quotes and a summary of the interviews.
Want to listen to all the interviews in their entirety? Tune in to the Saluki Hoops Season Preview Show on 91.1 WDBX on Sunday at 10am. We'll have a full preview of both the Men's and Women's basketball teams, interviews with Chris Lowery, Dana Eikenberg, Saluki players, and finally we'll go around the MVC with our preseason picks for the Valley.
Today on Saluki Hoops we'll recap the Men's interviews and later this week we'll check back in with Dana Eikenberg and the Women's team.
Wesley Clemmons seems ready to make the transition from bench player to starter.
When asked about changes in his game for this year he said he "is ready to be more of a scoring threat". Over the offseason Wesley said he "worked on his pull-up jumper, creating space from his defender, taking the ball to the bucket, and finishing around the rim".
When asked about his busy off season Randal Falker described it as "fatiguing" but also believed that all his work over the summer has improved his game. Randal said he worked very hard on his shooting this summer, particularly his free throw shooting. He said his goal is to shoot 75% from the free throw line this season. Falker led the Salukis with 221 free throw attempts last season and made only 54%. If he can bump his percentage into the 70% range that could be a difference maker in close games against good teams this season.
Carlton Fay described the initial transition from single A high school basketball to playing against Shaw and Falker as "mind blowing". He also added that Shaw and Falker have helped him prepare for the season with advice on conditioning. When asked about what made him choose Southern he said wanted to "go somewhere he could win" and being comfortable with the coaching staff and players made it "a real easy choice".
Nick Evans said his goal is to improve in every aspect of the game and contribute in any way that he can. To prepare for the season he said he "basically lived with Coach Kline" working out on the football field every morning, lifting weights, and playing pickup ball.
Coach Lowery answered the obligatory Tatum and Young question by saying "We don't put pressure on people by saying, 'Hey you've got to be the next guy,' but guys know that there are four guards in the lineup with two open positions to start. That's competition enough to get guys to improve their games to be a starter, or to be a role player- whatever role you have to fill".
This year's team will have more size at the guard spot so I asked Coach Lowery about the team using that size to create more transition offense. Lowery said that this year they will be "bigger and more physical and that should mean that we can sneak more points in transition and become a better rebounding team".
