You already know their names and you'll be hearing them for years to come. Dillard, Booker, and Roundtree. The greatest recruiting class in SIU history.
"This is our era" said Lowery, "We're trying to create the best era ever, we're getting kids that want to go to the Final Four".
Lowery's recruiting was top notch but apparently UPS's delivery of Anthony Booker's LOI was not. UPS temporarily lost Booker's LOI yesterday causing some concern for the folks at Lingle Hall.
Booker, who was once considered to be a tag-along to Torres Roundtree, shot up the recruiting ranks this off season and was urged to decommit by one big name coach. Relief came today when the LOI finally arrived in Carbondale.
A former point guard himself, Lowery seemed the most excited when he spoke about Kevin Dillard. "He has a lot of flash, he can do all the 'And1' stuff," Lowery said with a smile, quickly adding that it could get Dillard in trouble if he tries to do it on the court. With the freshman Dillard and the senior Bryan Mullins at the point guard spot next year the Salukis could have one of the top PG combos in the country.
So what can Lowery do for an encore? Saluki Way will only help in the recruiting process. Lowery mentioned a players lounge, a better locker room, and an improved film room as Saluki Way features that will help in landing future recruits. Oh yeah, and winning doesn't hurt either. The Salukis figure to do plenty of that this season.
Thursday, November 15, 2007
Eikenberg inks two
Dana Eikenberg landed two big guards guards in 5-11 Olivia Lett and 5-10 Eryn Stepherson.
Olivia Lett is a big time scorer from Pana, Il. Lett was named to the class A all-state team by the Associated Press and excels in the classroom as well. Lett could qualify for a full academic scholarship, very impressive.
Eryn Stepherson is more of defensive threat, and was a member of Edwardsville's 400m relay team that won the state championship last spring.
Eikenberg has done an excellent job turning around the program at SIU and is making progress in recruiting. Eikenberg narrowly missed out on two top notch recruits who instead settled on SLU, and Wisconsin.
Coach Eikenberg is still looking to add two more players to next year's squad and she'll probably go the junior college route to fill the those spots. With a team full of freshmen this year, adding two juniors to next year's roster might not be a bad idea anyway.
Eikenberg is very entertaining to listen to and she seems like she is capable of building great relationships with recruits. Given an open mic and a chance to answer questions about her program Eikenberg was charismatic and funny, exactly the qualities that will attract quality players to an up and coming program.
Olivia Lett is a big time scorer from Pana, Il. Lett was named to the class A all-state team by the Associated Press and excels in the classroom as well. Lett could qualify for a full academic scholarship, very impressive.
Eryn Stepherson is more of defensive threat, and was a member of Edwardsville's 400m relay team that won the state championship last spring.
Eikenberg has done an excellent job turning around the program at SIU and is making progress in recruiting. Eikenberg narrowly missed out on two top notch recruits who instead settled on SLU, and Wisconsin.
Coach Eikenberg is still looking to add two more players to next year's squad and she'll probably go the junior college route to fill the those spots. With a team full of freshmen this year, adding two juniors to next year's roster might not be a bad idea anyway.
Eikenberg is very entertaining to listen to and she seems like she is capable of building great relationships with recruits. Given an open mic and a chance to answer questions about her program Eikenberg was charismatic and funny, exactly the qualities that will attract quality players to an up and coming program.
Wednesday, November 14, 2007
Signing Day
Coach Lowery will hold a press conference Thursday afternoon to comment on the '08 recruiting class. Check back for all the info on the newest Salukis and later this week we'll preview Saturday night's match-up vs NIU.
Until then, please enjoy these videos of a few high school players that SIU might have some interest in...
Also, you can talk to other Saluki fans about signing day at Salukitalk.com
Until then, please enjoy these videos of a few high school players that SIU might have some interest in...
Also, you can talk to other Saluki fans about signing day at Salukitalk.com
Tuesday, November 13, 2007
MVC Tournament to stay in STL
Good news for Saluki fans, the MVC tournament will stay in St. Louis through at least 2011. This deal also includes an option to keep the tournament in STL through 2013.
File this under "if it's not broke don't fix it."
Last year's MVC Tournament was an overwhelming success and this year's tournament should rival those figures even if the conference isn't quite as good as it was last year. As of right now SIU looks like the only at-large caliber team and this could be a one bid league if SIU wins the conference tournament. As long as the MVC Tournament can mirror last season's success each year I doubt you will hear any complaints at the league office.
St. Louis is located in a central location for the conference which helps sell tickets to all of the member schools. Most importantly for the Salukis, Carbondale fans can go from their driveway to Union Station in 2 hours.
Besides, with an awesome nickname like "Arch Madness" how could you change the location?
Share your thoughts on the location of the conference tournament at SalukiTalk.
File this under "if it's not broke don't fix it."
Last year's MVC Tournament was an overwhelming success and this year's tournament should rival those figures even if the conference isn't quite as good as it was last year. As of right now SIU looks like the only at-large caliber team and this could be a one bid league if SIU wins the conference tournament. As long as the MVC Tournament can mirror last season's success each year I doubt you will hear any complaints at the league office.
St. Louis is located in a central location for the conference which helps sell tickets to all of the member schools. Most importantly for the Salukis, Carbondale fans can go from their driveway to Union Station in 2 hours.
Besides, with an awesome nickname like "Arch Madness" how could you change the location?
Share your thoughts on the location of the conference tournament at SalukiTalk.
Sunday, November 11, 2007
Exhibition Wrap-up
The Saluki men finished up exhibition play with a 97-51 win over Lincoln Memorial today.
Brandon Wood showed significant improvement from the first exhibition game. Wood had 11 points, 3 rebounds, and 3 assists in 24 minutes of play. It might be more important to note he only had 2 turnovers in 24 minutes. Wood said he felt more comfortable and showed it with an explosive tip-in dunk.
After the game Lowery said that he was "very pleased" with Christian Cornelius who had 11 points, 4 rebounds, and 3 assists in 22 minutes. Cornelius looked much more comfortable in this game and Lowery stuck with him even when he was tired and was calling for a breather during the first half. Conditioning might be an issue early on but putting faith in Cornelius now could pay big dividends later in the season.
Josh Bone was injured while diving for a ball in practice this week but Lowery said that he probably could have played today.
Carlton Fay was a little off shooting the ball today but shooting won't be a concern for Fay. He did have 3 assists and just 1 turnover and Lowery said that "he could be special on both sides of the ball" citing his ability to take a charge and his willingness to give his body up. The areas for Fay to improve on include close outs and his overall quickness getting to the ball.
Dion Coopwood played tough defense and hit 4 of 5 shooting. Lowery envisions using him in a similar role as he used former walk on Austin Brooks. It is important to have that extra guard if there are additional injuries combined with players in foul trouble. In that case, Coopwood could come in and play a few meaningful minutes.
Tony Boyle scored 10 points and grabbed 6 rebounds in his return from a broken hand. Boyle still needs to work on limiting his fouls but he showed that he's healthy and ready for the season to start.
Brandon Wood showed significant improvement from the first exhibition game. Wood had 11 points, 3 rebounds, and 3 assists in 24 minutes of play. It might be more important to note he only had 2 turnovers in 24 minutes. Wood said he felt more comfortable and showed it with an explosive tip-in dunk.
After the game Lowery said that he was "very pleased" with Christian Cornelius who had 11 points, 4 rebounds, and 3 assists in 22 minutes. Cornelius looked much more comfortable in this game and Lowery stuck with him even when he was tired and was calling for a breather during the first half. Conditioning might be an issue early on but putting faith in Cornelius now could pay big dividends later in the season.
Josh Bone was injured while diving for a ball in practice this week but Lowery said that he probably could have played today.
Carlton Fay was a little off shooting the ball today but shooting won't be a concern for Fay. He did have 3 assists and just 1 turnover and Lowery said that "he could be special on both sides of the ball" citing his ability to take a charge and his willingness to give his body up. The areas for Fay to improve on include close outs and his overall quickness getting to the ball.
Dion Coopwood played tough defense and hit 4 of 5 shooting. Lowery envisions using him in a similar role as he used former walk on Austin Brooks. It is important to have that extra guard if there are additional injuries combined with players in foul trouble. In that case, Coopwood could come in and play a few meaningful minutes.
Tony Boyle scored 10 points and grabbed 6 rebounds in his return from a broken hand. Boyle still needs to work on limiting his fouls but he showed that he's healthy and ready for the season to start.
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