| |
LOCATION: Cape Girardeau, MO
CONFERENCE: Ohio Valley (OVC)
LAST SEASON: 20-9 (.689)
CONFERENCE RECORD: 15-3 (2nd)
STARTERS LOST/RETURNING: 3/2
NICKNAME: Indians
COLORS: Red & Black
HOMECOURT: Show Me Center (7,000)
COACH: Gary Garner (Missouri '65)
record at school 34-22 (2 years)
career record 282-185 (16 years)
|
ASSISTANTS: Tom Schuberth (Miss. State '80)
Anthony Beane (Kansas State '94)
Keno Davis (Iowa '95)
TEAM WINS: (last 5 years) 13-8-12-14-20
RPI (last 5 years) 215-258-223-198-115
1998-99 FINISH: Lost in conference final.
ESPN.com Clubhouse
|
It's almost like Southeast Missouri State is starting over again. Call it the post-Bud days. William "Bud" Eley was one of the few centers who became a dominant force in the Ohio Valley Conference in the last decade. The 6-10 Eley will be missed in Cape Girardeau, but not at other stops around the league. Last season, Eley (15.4 ppg, 10.7 rpg) led the OVC in rebounding, blocked shots (75) and field-goal percentage (.596). "Bud Eley and Carlos Rogers (former Tennessee State player) are the only two legitimate centers who stood out in the OVC in the last 10 years, players with that kind of size to them," said first-year Tennessee-Martin coach Bret Campbell, who spent the previous seven years as an assistant at Austin Peay. There have been others with that kind of size, like Tennessee Tech's Lorenzo Coleman, who didn't put up the scoring and rebounding numbers Eley and Rogers did. Eley, chosen the OVC Player of the Year, got some hard looks from NBA teams, but is now playing in Istanbul, Turkey. Indians coach Gary Garner isn't kidding himself. He knows Eley will be hard to replace. It's not often a true center lands in the OVC.
|
Blue Ribbon Analysis |
|
BACKCOURT B+ BENCH/DEPTH C+
FRONTCOURT B- INTANGIBLES B+
Replacing a player like Bud Eley is a difficult task for any team, but Southeast Missouri coach Gary Garner handled it the best way possible. Garner's solution: recruiting. Garner landed one of the Ohio Valley Conference's top recruiting classes, and how quickly these players can adjust to Division I basketball will be the key to the Indians' success or failure. With a group of guards that is deep and talented, Southeast Missouri will play an up-tempo style and sticky man-to-man, pressure defense. Roderick Johnson is a proven power forward, and several players will attempt to replace Eley. "We probably lost more than anybody, us and UT-Martin," Garner said. "Just about everybody else has their stronger players back. I think the league will be better." Don't count the Indians out, though. With the recruiting class that Garner landed, plus the backcourt talent, the Indians should be one of the teams in the hunt to catch Murray State this season. |
"I think he was the best player in the league," Garner said. "It's definitely a big loss, needless to say." After failing to be drafted, Eley went to several NBA camps and tryouts. "We thought he might get drafted late in the second round," Garner said. "He was going to take the best offer he could get and wound up in Istanbul. I think he got a pretty good deal. There's always the opportunity that he could come back to the NBA." Meanwhile, the Indians will move ahead without Eley and two other starters: 6-0 guard Cory Johnson (10.5 ppg, 1.9 rpg) and 5-10 point guard Kahn Cotton (8.4 ppg, 2.6 rpg, 83 assists). Southeast Missouri could struggle to match its 20-victory season of last year when the Indians came within a few seconds of reaching the NCAA Tournament. In the OVC Tournament final, the Indians watched Murray State's Aubrey Reese make a running, one-handed shot at the buzzer that lifted the Racers to a 62-61 victory and into the NCAA tournament. "It will be hard to duplicate (last season) with as many new players as we have," Garner said. "I like these players, but it will be hard to duplicate last season." Seven newcomers will be on the roster this season and will join four returning players. Both returning starters are seniors: 6-6 power forward Roderick Johnson (12.2 ppg, 5.9 rpg) and 6-6 small forward Mike Branson (10.7 ppg, 4.3 rpg). Johnson was the Indians' second-leading scorer and rebounder last year and the perfect player to complement Eley in the frontcourt. "Roderick is a strong kid," Garner said. "He plays around the basket and has good post-up moves. He shoots the ball decent up to 15 feet, but the strength of his game is inside." Garner knows the two senior starters need to produce if the Indians are going to match last year's success. "Branson plays more out on the floor and shoots the three pretty good," Garner said. "He's a pretty complete basketball player. He's pretty athletic. We think both (Johnson and Branson) will have a very good senior year." Drew Demond, a 6-7 redshirt freshman, missed last season after tearing his Achilles tendon during the spring track season of his senior year at Hononegah High School in Rockton, Ill. Demond can back up Johnson at the power-forward spot and also play small forward. "He's a good athlete," Garner said. "He ran track and was a broad-jumper in high school. I think he'll come in and help us." Branson started all 29 games last season and was the team's second-best three-point percentage shooter, making 38 of 100, and was second in three-pointers. He shot 45 percent from the field. The Indians must find a point guard to replace Cotton, the starter the last two years. Garner has two players who will try to fill the void. Fred Abraham, a 6-0 sophomore, was Cotton's backup last season. Abraham (2.9 ppg, 1.4 rpg, 35 assists) gained plenty of experience last season, playing in 26 games and averaging about 12 minutes. Garner landed an outstanding recruiting class, rated the 39th-best nationally by Hoop Scoop Online, and one of those recruits will vye for the point-guard job. That candidate is Michael Stokes, a 6-0 junior transfer from Trinity Valley (Texas) Community College who averaged 17.6 points, 6.0 assists and 3.0 rebounds last season. He was most valuable player of Texas' Region 4 and was chosen to the all-tournament team in the NJCAA national tournament. "Cotton was a senior, but Fred Abraham averaged 12 minutes and played in all the games," Garner said. "It wasn't like we put him in at the end of the game. We played him in the first half and he gained some good experience. We think Michael Stokes will be an outstanding point guard. He's a true point guard, a good ballhander and good defensive player. He shoots the three OK." Another member of the recruiting class, 6-2 junior Antonio Short, looks to move into the shooting-guard slot. Short earned second-team All-America honors at Moberly (Mo.) Junior College, where he averaged 19.5 points last season. Short, however, will have competition for the job from Amory Sanders, a 6-1 transfer from Three Rivers (Mo.) Community College. Sanders averaged 15.3 points, 2.1 rebounds and 2.3 assists in junior college a year ago, earning all-conference and all-region honors. "Short is 6-2, has a strong body and is a very good athlete," Garner said. "He can shoot the three and take it to the hole. He's a true two guard." Garner said Sanders can play the point or two guard. "He does have point guard skills, but I think he's better at the two guard," Garner said. "He shoots the three exceptionally well." Yet another newcomer, Emmanuel McCuthison, can play small forward or shooting guard. McCuthison averaged 15.0 points and 7.5 rebounds at Lincoln Trail (Ill.) Community College. With his returning players and newcomers, Garner believes the backcourt will be the team's strength. "I like our guards a lot," Garner said. "Our perimeter players will be fairly good." The frontcourt is a little less settled. It's not easy to replace a player of Eley's caliber. Brian Bunche, a 6-8 senior center, and Nyah Jones, a 6-11 junior-college transfer, will try to fill some of the void left by Eley's departure. Bunche played in 28 games last season and averaged 3.4 points and 3.1 rebounds. Garner likes Bunche for his grit and toughness. "He's played some (power forward) for us," Garner said. "Brian is strong. He's a really good rebounder and very good defensive player. He's a very tough kid. He's our Dennis Rodman." Jones played his freshman season at Duquesne, then transfered to Meridian (Miss.) Community College. Jones, who averaged 7.0 points and 4.0 rebounds in junior college, originally signed with Missouri, but was granted his release and went to Southeast Missouri. It's been a long road to Cape Girardeau for Jones, and Garner is glad he finally landed in Indian country. "He's a fairly skilled 6-11 player," Garner said. "We're hoping for big things from him." Three freshmen round out the recruiting class. Tim Scheer was a three-time all-state player at New Haven (Mo.) High School, where he averaged 23.5 points and 11.5 rebounds last season. He set a school record with 2,024 career points. DeMarcus Hence, a 6-6 forward, was an all-city player at Memphis Fairley High School, where he gained some invaluable experience in a tough Memphis city league. "We think both of them will be very good players," Garner said. Mike Sutherland, a 6-5 freshman, is a swingman who was an all-state player at Lutheran North High School in St. Louis. Three walk-ons complete the roster: 6-7 junior center Jason Koester, 6-2 junior guard Matt Morris, and 6-1 sophomore guard Ryan Thomas.
 | The 19th edition of Blue Ribbon College Basketball Yearbook is on sale now. To order, call 800-828-HOOP (4667), or visit their web site at
http://www.collegebaskets.com
|
| |
Conferences
America East
ACC
Atlantic 10
Big East
Big Sky
Big South
Big Ten
Big 12
Big West
Colonial
Conference USA
Independents
Ivy League
MAAC
Mid-American
Mid-Continent
Mid-Eastern Athletic
MCC
Missouri Valley
Mountain West
Northeast
Ohio Valley
Pac-10
Patriot
SEC
Southern
Southland
Sun Belt
SWAC
TAAC
WAC
West Coast
|
