DawgBlog

The Good:

SIU came out with good intensity and for all purposes was in the game against a much more prominent opponent for nearly the entire first half. Katie Wagner’s reverse underhanded layup –which brought out some oohs and aahs from the crowd of 787 — cut the Commodores’ lead to 39-34 with 3:10 left before halftime.

The Salukis also shot much better overall against Vandy than in their 71-45 road loss to SLU on Friday. SIU shot an even 40 percent against the Commodores compared to 26.4 percent against the Billikens.

SIU freshman point guard Katerina Garcia also returned to the court after missing four weeks with a leg injury. She played a team-high 33 points against Vandy. With Christine Presswood returning from an eye injury to play against Northern Illinois on Sunday, SIU will get as healthy as it will ever get this season.

The Bad:

SIU had a season-high 28 turnovers against Vanderbilt and has had more turnovers than its opponent in every game the Salukis have played this season (including the exhibition contests). Taking care of the ball has been one of the running problems SIU has had over the years, along with the inability to put two good halves together.

The Salukis continue to shoot poorly from 3-point range and are averaging 27.2 percent (15-for-55) from beyond the arc in the four games combined.

The Ugly:

SIU opens the season 0-2 for the first time since the 2004-05 season, when the Salukis lost their first five games in former coach Dana Eikenberg’s first year. SIU finished 3-24 that season.

6-2 junior forward Nikki Howe has played just two minutes in four games and did not appear in the game against Vanderbilt. She’s been pratcicing and appears to be healthy, so this is something to keep an eye on in the days and weeks ahead.

Up Next:

SIU will try to snap an 11-game road losing streak Sunday when it vists Northern Illinois. The Huskies beat MVC foe Bradley 86-73 in the season opener, but then lost to Western Illinois 50-48 on Tuesday. NIU travels to IUPUI Thursday before hosting SIU.

In the final dust-up before facing No. 18 Vanderbilt at SIU Arena, the Salukis got down to the basics in practice before the SIU men hosted D-II Indianapolis.

SIU went through ball-handling drills and worked on its cuts to the basket, motion offense, press breaker and transition defense Wednesday, all things the Salukis will need to do well against the Commodores. Head coach Missy Tiber interrupted practice at one point to give a lecture about personal responsibility and “doing things yourself.”

Who’s In: Oliva Lett, Eboni Crayton, LaToya Hambrick, Katrina Swingler, Stephany Neptune, Ashley Giritharan, Nneka Nwani, Teri Oliver, Katie Wagner, Nikki Howe.

Who’s Out: Renee Reed (knee), Adrianne Griffith (knee), Christine Presswood (eye), Katerina Garcia (leg).

Garcia returning soon? Garcia practiced with the team and ran through drills and plays Wednesday, but opted out of sprints. It’s nice to see her out there, but her shooting is definitely off and it will take some time before she gets that back. My guess is that it will probably be a week or two before she sees game time.

Hambrick earns starting role: I asked assistant coach Michelle Smith who was deserving of a feature this week and her choice was Hambrick, who apparently has earned a starting spot according to Smith.

Indianapolis can’t keep up with Kevin Dillard, but the Salukis only lead the Division II Greyhounds by five at the break.
SIU led UI 41-36 behind Dillard’s seven points and five assists. The sophomore point guard still hasn’t turned it over in two games. Tony Freeman had eight points to lead SIU in the first half. Anthony Booker, Dillard and Carlton Fay added seven apiece.
UI (1-0) got 11 from Darius Adams off the bench and hit 6-of-8 3-pointers in coach Stan Gouard’s return to the area. Gouard is in the John A. Logan College Hall of Fame. It also marked the return of assistant coaches Aundrey Wright (former SIU director of basketball operations) and former graduate manager Collin Lanam.

While SIU’s men’s basketball team put up the most points in the Chris Lowery era against Tennessee-Martin, the Salukis will try to repeat their defensive efforts at SIU Arena.
Division II Indianapolis (1-0) gets its game of the year tonight in Carbondale, as the Greyhounds take on the Salukis (1-0) in a few seconds here.
SIU forced UTM into 37 percent shooting Saturday night, and really got out onto the Skyhawks’ shooters. Inside, the Salukis allowed 15 offensive rebounds, but still won the board battle 36-34. SIU is deeper, more athletic, and a little better shooting team, overall, with its new depth.
Look for SIU to press a little bit tonight, and get out in transition with the basketball. The Salukis did a great job of controlling the tempo against the Skyhawks, and have the depth to play full-court if they want to.

I will host a live chat about everything Salukis Wednesday afternoon for anyone who wants to check it out.
The chat will be on our Web site (www.thesouthern.com) between noon-1 p.m. Wednesday. Bring your questions.

SIU quarterback Chris Dieker is expected to get the sling on his left arm/shoulder off Wednesday or Thursday this week. He has not given up on playing again this season for the top-ranked team in the nation.
The Salukis (9-1, 8-0 Missouri Valley Football Conference) rose to the top of The Sports Network poll two weeks ago and moved up to second in the Football Championship Subdivision coaches poll. With a win at Southeast Missouri State (2-8) Saturday, SIU would almost guarantee itself a top-four seed and a home playoff game or two.
SIU coach Dale Lennon said Dieker, a 6-foot-5 junior, was ahead of schedule. He is due back in the second week of the playoffs, if his condition stays to the typical 4-6 week recovery schedule.

“Chris is coming along very well. What the doctors are telling him is that he’s probably ahead of schedule,” Lennon said after Saturday’s 44-24 win over Missouri State. “I don’t know if that means anything, as far as him getting back on the field sooner, but, I know it makes him a little less grumpy trying to recover from that. He can see the light at the end of the tunnel now.”
Dieker could start throwing this week, he told me last week. He has been riding the stationary bicycle and other conditioning drills to try to stay in shape. He certainly hasn’t lost his command of the offense, chances are.
Then the question comes around - do you just insert him back into the offense? Or do you stick with Paul McIntosh, who gives you a great running threat you don’t have with Dieker, but is, nonetheless, a redshirt freshman instead of a junior? Tough call. Especially if it’s in the playoffs, and the second round, potentially. Last week I was telling people I would stick with McIntosh. He’s led the Salukis to big wins against YSU, MSU and South Dakota State on the road. He makes the offense more dangerous, no doubt about it. But now, after watching other teams play this weekend, think maybe Lennon will go with experience and put the quarterback that led him to the playoffs last year back in.
SIU is in the position it’s in only halfway because of the offense. The defense has had a bigger hand, and neither McIntosh or Dieker play on defense. Maybe you go with Dieker and throw in McIntosh for a few plays. Maybe you just throw it up to Dieker, who has a stronger arm and is a better decision maker in the pocket.
Either way, SIU may go a long way in the playoffs.

And Dieker wants to be in there.
“I’m not giving up on playing until we play our last football game,” he told me.

ESPN’s 24-hour hoops marathon kicked off a few hours ago in California, as Cal State Fullerton is playing UCLA right now.
Great idea. I love the idea of throwing all these games together in a row, early, with various opponents and conferences (even two women’s games, and two potentially good women’s games) at all hours of the day. I told my wife about the event. Then I asked her to see if she wanted to wake up with the baby at 6:30 in the morning, so I could get another hour of sleep. “Well, I guess that gives you a great reason to wake up at 6:30, then, doesn’t it?”
I’m afraid it does. At that time, I can catch the end of Northern Colorado and Hawaii, and the beginning of Monmouth and St. Peter’s. I think Drexel is on a few hours later.
Tuesday is not the day for me to watch a ton of television, however. Football has interviews at around 2:45 p.m., then there’s a walk-thru for the men’s basketball team, some pregame blogging, and a 7 p.m. SIU-Indianapolis hoops contest at SIU Arena. I should be able to catch a few of the late games, which are impressive.
Here’s a quick look at the schedule, which includes a possible victory by my Hawkeyes. I saw possible because we just lost to Texas-San Antonio, at home, by 12.
7 p.m. ESPNU Tennessee vs. Texas Tech (women)
7:30 p.m. ESPN2/ESPN360.com Hall of Fame Showcase: Arkansas vs. Louisville (St. Louis)
8 p.m. ESPN/ESPN360.com Gonzaga vs. Michigan State
8 p.m. ESPN360.com Northern Illinois vs. Illinois
9 p.m. ESPNU Duquesne vs. Iowa
9:30 p.m. ESPN2/ESPN360.com UConn vs. Texas (women)
10 p.m. ESPN/ESPN360.com Hall of Fame Showcase: Memphis vs. Kansas (St. Louis)
11:30 p.m. ESPN2/ESPN360.com Dick’s Sporting Goods NIT (from Arizona State)
Hope they’re all as good as UCLA-Fullerton. With 18 seconds left, UCLA leads by one, Fullerton ball.

Well, that didn’t take long.
Two days after Creighton lost to the first ranked opponent for the Missouri Valley Conference’s men’s basketball teams, Missouri State earned the league’s first marquee victory in its battle to redeem its reputation. The Bears clipped Auburn 73-62 at JQH Arena in Springfield, Mo., while LSU got by Indiana State in a real low-scoring game.
The Tigers won 56-45 in the preseason NIT down in Baton Rouge, La.
The league gets another chance tonight to make some national noise, as Iowa State visits Drake.
SIU also returns to the court tonight, but will take on a Division II squad, Indianapolis, which is coached by former John A. Logan College standout Stan Gouard.

I already did a story on half of coach Missy Tiber’s recruits, which can be found here: SIU women’s hoops reveals part of recruiting class

The rest were revealed Monday in a press release:

Pete’s Analysis: Tiber’s 2010 class is ranked in the top 150 of the country, which bodes well for the future of the program. Critics may complain that the “150″ isn’t all that much to get excited about, but considering where the program is right now SIU fans will take what they can get.

There is some size in this class, although not great size like a 6-4 or 6-5 post player, but it does address SIU’s concerns in that area. If 6-2 junior Nicole Howe returns next year, then the Salukis could go high or low to match any opponent.

With a forward, center and four guards in this class, Tiber appears to be addressing SIU’s lack of depth at the guard position, while simultaneously hoping to improve the team’s overall quickness and athleticism. 2010 will be an important year for the program, as it will be the measuring stick for which improvement will be judged.

Raquel Miller
6-2 • forward
Hometown: Jackson, Tenn.
High School:Liberty Tech
AAU Team: Memphis Elite

Notes: ESPN Hoopgurlz No. 73 forward… averaged 9.0 points and 5.0 rebounds as a junior last year in her first full year playing varsity basketball… didn’t play much as a freshman and missed all of her sophomore year after undergoing surgery.

Coach Tiber on Miller: “Raquel Miller is an athletic four sport player. She is long and moves very well. She has good post moves and can also extend to the three point line very comfortably. She fits the mold of a typical forward in our program.

Raquel is a smooth shooting lefty and moves up and down the court effortlessly. As Raquel gets stronger, she has the other tools necessary to develop into a great NCAA DI player. What I like about Raquel is that she has a very high ceiling for improvement. She missed her sophomore season due to illness, and on a daily basis she works hard to make up for the time lost.”

Olivia Patterson
5-0 • point guard
Hometown: Cibolo, Texas
High School:Byron P. Steele II
AAU Team: South Texas Hoyas

Notes: Named first team all-district and all-region as a junior, helping lead her team to its second-straight trip to the Texas Class 4A state semi-finals… as a sophomore, named academic all-district and all-district honorable mention… in 2006 (14 and under) and 2007 (15 and under) named to Basketball Congress International All-America Team.

Coach Tiber on Patterson: “Olivia Patterson is small but very fast and athletic point guard. She has excellent ball handling skills, can make every type of pass, and is a pesky on ball defender that will set the tone defensively against the opposing point guard.

Her ability to get the basket will open scoring opportunities for others. Most of all she brings a winning mind-set in that she comes from a highly successful high school program coached by Kari Wallace. Steele High School just doesn’t lose and Olivia has been a huge part of that.”

CiCi Shannon
6-3 • center
Hometown: Hazel Crest, Ill.
High School: Homewood Flossmoor
AAU Team: Illinois Wolverines

Notes: Collegiate Girls Basketball Report No. 31 center and No. 160 overall… All-Star Girls Report No. 268 overall… as a junior at Homewood Flossmoor High School averaged 9.0 points, 12.0 rebounds and 3.0 blocks per game.

Coach Tiber on Shannon: “CiCi Shannon is a tremendous pick-up for our program. With her size and length, she has the ability to cause disruption for the opposing teams. What really impresses me about CiCi is her mobility.

Watching her this summer and fall, I recognized that she would be a great fit in our up-tempo style. She beats her man down the court on every possession, and with her high school team she wins every sprint. CiCi can score around the basket and has a jump shot to 15-footer. I am excited to watch CiCi mature under the guidance of post coach Michelle Smith. CiCi is a great athlete and has a huge upside.”

Wichita State, Bradley and Illinois State had big victories Sunday, but the Braves took a blow in their win over Idaho State.
Senior guard Dodie Dunson, the Braves’ third-leading scorer last year at 10.1 points per game, broke a pair of bones in his left forearm after crashing to the floor on a drive to the basket with 12:28 left in the game. BU coach Jim Les announced after the game that Dunson was scheduled for surgery Tuesday and is likely lost for the season.
Dunson had a team-high 16 points in Bradley’s 74-69 win in Peoria. Junior guard Andrew Warren matched him, while junior point guard Sam Maniscalco added 13. Guards Chris Roberts and Dyricus Simms-Edwards had 12 apiece for BU, which next hosts Wofford Nov. 22.
Wichita State beat Fairleigh Dickinson at Koch Arena, while the Redbirds beat SIU-Edwardsville on the road.
SIU (1-0) next hosts Division II Indianapolis Tuesday night at 7:05. Former Saluki director of basketball operations Aundrey Wright is now an assistant with the Greyhounds.