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SIU men begin practice today for Canada trip

By Todd Hefferman, The Southern

Monday, August 18, 2008 11:26 PM CDT

CARBONDALE - There will be no Midnight Madness in August, but the Southern Illinois University men's basketball team is getting on with the show a little earlier than usual this year.

The Salukis are scheduled to open the first of 10 practices today in preparation for their four-day trip to Canada. SIU will play three games in Windsor, Ontario, Canada, over Labor Day weekend.

The Salukis will play the University of Windsor Aug. 30 at 7 p.m. and again on Sept. 1. SIU will play Western Ontario Aug. 31 at 11 a.m. All three games will be played on Western Ontario's campus.

"It's fun to have practice right away," point guard Bryan Mullins said. "This will be an important two weeks for us."

Mullins, who has missed most of the live action this summer as he recovers from a stress fracture, said he would try to go today. Mullins, a 6-foot-2 senior, suffered a stress fracture in his left tibia about a month before the Missouri Valley Conference tournament. He played 36 minutes in SIU's loss to Northern Iowa, and did not play in the Salukis' two NIT games.

This summer, he has spent a majority of his time on dribbling and shooting drills.

"We're going to take it day by day," Mullins said. "As long as it feels OK, we'll keep going.

"The goal is not to be ready for Canada. It's to get ready for the season."

The Valley's Defensive Player of the Year last year, he'll be asked to help lead a heralded group of newcomers and six returners this winter.

In addition to six returning players, coach Chris Lowery will have four true freshmen, a redshirt freshman, a walk-on sophomore, and an academic sophomore on the trip north.

Senior Tony Freeman, a transfer from Iowa, has to sit out this winter but will be eligible in 2009-10. Freeman is not expected to make the trip to Canada.

The Mr. Basketball of Illinois, Kevin Dillard of Homewood-Flossmoor High School, will make the trip. Former Chicago Marshall guard Ryan Hare and McCluer North (Mo.) standouts Torres Roundtree and Anthony Booker round out the freshman class.

Brandon Allen, a 6-3 sophomore walk-on from Shawnee Community College, comes to SIU after one season with the Saints.

Nick Evans, a 6-11 center, practiced with the team last season but redshirted.

Justin Bocot, a 6-3 lefty, went to school at SIU last year but was academically ineligible for a scholarship.

A sophomore academically, Bocot could earn a fifth year if he gets 80 percent of his work toward a degree completed by the end of his senior year.

The first official practice of the 2008-09 season is tentatively scheduled for Oct. 17.

todd.hefferman@thesouthern.com

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