The Sports Desk Speaks On The Future Of Saluki Basketball

There were five sports writers in my living room watching last night's game between the Southern Illinois Salukis and Creighton Bluejays.

Imagine the scene featuring more college hoops knowledge than you could shake a stick at sitting on three couches.

So, we decided to pick the brains of some of these hoop heads and see where they think the SIU men's basketball team is headed.

"The SIU men's basketball team is not dead. While they lost last night, it appears as though players are beginning to figure out their roles a bit better.

Gene Teague came into his own last night with a career high 14 points, while Anthony Booker provided some firepower as well with 11 points and seven rebounds. Justin Bocot looked good, and probably had the block of the season, and Kevin Dillard continued his steady play.

If they can get Tony Freeman more shots, this team will be just fine."  

-- Stile T. Smith, Daily Egyptian Sports Editor (2010-Present)

"SIU could have folded several times last night, and to be honest, I expected them to do so, but there were three signs that have me thinking the arrow is pointing upward for SIU.

The Salukis committed only 11 turnovers, shot a respectable 40 percent from the 3-point line and Creighton shot only 33.3 percent in the second half. 

On the other hand, Southern's starters combined to shoot two free throws, both came off the fingertips of Justin Bocot.  Tony Freeman only took three shots from the field.  Carlton Fay only pulled down one rebound.  Fay is listed at 6-8, 225.  Based on size alone he should find more than one rebound.

In conclusion, Saluki basketball isn't dead, evidenced by the signs of life it showed last night."

-- Luis C. Medina, former Daily Egyptian Sports Editor (Spring 2009)

Not dead, but they're stuck in a hole in the ground, and the dirt has risen to waist level. The loss against Creighton did not put any more dirt in the hole, mainly because the Bluejays have seemed to be our personal undertaker the last few seasons.


Gene Teague and Justin Bocot seem to be turning it around. But Carlton Fay and Nick Evans have regressed to their freshman level of play. Not what SIU needs at the time.


Hopefully, they can pull themselves out of the rut soon, or they'll be six feet deep.


/end really tortured grave theme

-- Ryan Voyles, Daily Egyptian Sports Editor Fall 2009 (you can read more of him here at his blog

Yes, the Qwest Center is always a tough place to play, but Creighton is not nearly as good as they used to be. Clearly, SIU is not as good of a program either, and this was a clash of teams trying to get back to greatness.


The sense of urgency showed in the game, and you expect two mediocre teams to have a close game because they are both mediocre. This will be the same thing when two of the better teams play, and it will also be close when two of the lesser teams play.


The Salukis played well in the game offensively, and it was good to see them improve and have a lot of fight in the game. The bigs were good especially Gene Teague, yet, they dug too big of a hole and could not comeback. This defense needs to improve, and the offense still commits some silly turnovers.


They should beat Evansville on Saturday night, and if they give the last-place Purple Aces their first Valley win, then they have reached a new low.

-- Johnny Sole,WSIL WSIU Radio, TBDS Blackhawks writer