Justin Bocot- When I asked Bocot about why he chose SIU, he said the Saluki coaches were in on him early and that was a major factor in his decision. This was a common answer from first year players, and shows that Lowery and his staff are doing a great job of identifying talented players early.
Bocot said he worked on getting physically stronger over the last year. He's confident in his jump shot and ability to get to the hole; while listing defense and boxing out bigger players as areas that he is working to improve.
Ryan Hare- Decided to come to SIU because he felt the Salukis played the type of physical basketball that he wanted to play, and he also wanted to stay fairly close to home. Hare says he is comfortable playing anywhere on the court but sees himself playing mostly the "2" or "3" positions at SIU.
Wesley Clemmons- Admitted the Salukis were short on guard depth last season, but said that will not be an excuse this season. Clemmons says that if players are tired they'll come out of the game and there will be another talented player ready to come in and play hard. Clemmons feels that all everyone is getting along well, and that the team will be able to do a good job playing together early, even with all new additions.
Anthony Booker- When asked about why he chose SIU, Booker said he was a "late bloomer" but Lowery was in on him before he was recruited by others and that was a big reason why he became a Saluki. Booker admitted that other schools tried to coax him away from Southern, but he was already confident that he had made a good decision.
Booker was glad to have the experience of matching up with bigger players in
Check back later this week to listen to Bryan Mullins talk about his new role on the team, and hear Kevin Dillard and Torres Roundtree talk about their first impressions of Saluki basketball.
