Game Day Central
Date: December 1, 2008
Location: Terre Haute, Ind.
Venue: Hulman Center (10,200)
Series: Indiana State Leads 2-0
Radio: The Crock 92.7 FM
Play-By-Play: Brian Fritz
Analyst: Matt Renn
Internet: GoSycamores.com
Storylines
Indiana State (0-4) returns home to face off against Sun Belt Conference foe Arkansas State (4-1) in search of its first win of the 2008-09 season tonight at the Hulman Center. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. ET on Nellie and John Wooden Court at the Hulman Center.
The Sycamores are coming off a 75-70 loss to Big East Conference opponent DePaul on Saturday in Rosemont, Ill. The Sycamores shot just 29.6 percent from the field in the first half and turned the ball over 11 times which resulted in a 39-19 lead for the Blue Demons at the half.
However, the second half was dominated by the Sycamores, who held the Blue Demons to 29.4 percent shooting from the field and shot 52.9 percent from the field to out-score the Blue Demons by a margin of 51-36 to make the game extremely close at the end.
Sophomore Aaron Carter finished with a career-high 19 points and six rebounds to lead the way for the Sycamores. Junior transfer Rashad Reed finished with 17 points and a career-high seven assists at the point for ISU and junior transfer Josh Crawford added 13 points and five rebounds in the loss for ISU.
Arkansas State heads into Terre Haute after defeating fellow Indiana school Ball State by a score of 54-53 on Saturday afternoon in Muncie, Ind.
With the win, the Red Wolves improved to 4-1 on the season, which is the first time an ASU team has started that well since the 2004-05 season.
Junior forward Eric McKinney doubled his career highs in points (20) and rebounds (16) while recording the first double-double of the season for the Red Wolves. JeJuan Brown also scored in double figures, as he tallied 11 points to go along with six rebounds in the win for ASU.
The Sycamores and Red Wolves will renew a series that dates back to the 1947-48 season and hasn't been played since the 1948-49 season. Indiana State won both of those games and leads the all-time series between the schools 2-0.
About The Coaches
Kevin McKenna (Creighton ?93) is in his second season as the head coach at Indiana State (15-20). In his first season with the Sycamores, McKenna led the team to its highest win total since the 2000-01 season and an impressive 12-2 record at home in the Hulman Center. McKenna came to Indiana State after spending nine seasons as an assistant coach at Creighton, where he helped the Bluejays advance to four NCAA tournament appearances. From 2001-05, McKenna spent four years as the head coach (89-33) at NCAA Division II Nebraska-Omaha, where he guided the Mavericks to four consecutive 20-win seasons and three appearances in the NCAA Division II Tournament.
John Brady (Belhaven College ?78) begins his first season as the head coach at Arkansas State (4-1). Prior to taking over at ASU, Brady spent 16 years as a head coach at both LSU and Samford (281-216). Brady piled up the third most wins in LSU history with 192 and left Samford after the 1996-97 season as the Bulldog's all-time leader in coaching victories (89) as well. Under Brady's direction at LSU, the Tigers recorded six consecutive winning seasons from 2001-02 to 2006-07 while making three trips to the NCAA Tournament and two more to the NIT. The 2005-06 campaign saw LSU post a 27-9 record and advance to the Final Four for the first time in 20 years.
Scouting The Red Wolves
► Arkansas State is located in Jonesboro, Ark., and has an enrollment of 10,869 students. The Red Wolves are members of the Sun Belt Conference and play their home games at the Convocation Center (10,038).
► The Red Wolves finished with an overall record of 10-20 during the 2007-08 season and posted a 5-13 record in Sun Belt Conference play (6th West).
► Arkansas State returns three starters and seven letterwinners from last year's team. Senior forward Yima Chia-Kur is the top returning scorer at 11.1 points per game, while senior forward Shawn Morgan averaged 9.0 points and 6.9 rebounds per contest last season.
► Arkansas State (4-1) is coming off a 54-53 win over Ball State on Saturday in Muncie, Ind. Forward Eric McKinney was dominant for the Red Wolves as he led all scorers with 20 points while grabbing 16 rebounds in 29 minutes against the Cardinals. JeJuan Brown also scored in double figures, as he tallied 11 points to go along with six rebounds in the win for ASU.
A Tale Of Two Halves
One look at Saturday's box score against DePaul and you can see how the game was drastically different from the first to the second half. The Sycamores shot just 29.6 percent from the field in the first half and turned the ball over 11 times which resulted in a 39-19 lead for the Blue Demons at the half. However, the second half was dominated by the Sycamores, who held the Blue Demons to 29.4 percent shooting from the field and shot 52.9 percent from the field to out-score the Blue Demons by a margin of 51-36 to make the game extremely close at the end.
Mr. Consistency
Sophomore Aaron Carter is quickly asserting himself as one of the most consistent Sycamores on this year's squad. Carter, who had four double-digit scoring efforts in 30 games as a freshman last season, is the only Sycamore to post double digits in points in each of the team's four games. He opened the season with 15 points at Northern Illinois and then scored 12 points against North Texas and 10 points against Murray State in two-straight home games. However, he saved his best performance for DePaul as he collected a career-high 19 points to go along with six rebounds. Helping his scoring consistency is his performance at the free throw line, where he is 14-for-17 (.824) on the season and a perfect 10-for-10 in his last three games.
Barlow Provides A Boost Off The Bench
Redshirt freshman Keenan Barlow had a career night against Murray State on Wednesday and gave the Sycamores a much-needed boost off the bench. The Indianapolis, Ind., native played a career-high 22 minutes against the Racers and collected a career-high 11 points and five rebounds in just his third game in an ISU uniform. Barlow was particularly proficient from long distance, as he scored nine of his 11 points from behind the arc (3-for-4) while adding an assist and a steal on the night.
An Impressive Debut For Crawford
At 6-11, junior transfer Josh Crawford will no doubt pose a problem for opposing defenses for Indiana State this season. He gave Northern Illinois fits with his size and prowess in the paint in the season opener, as he scored 13 points and pulled down a game-high seven rebounds against the Huskies. He also made his presence felt on the defensive end, as recorded three blocked shots while altering several others in 29 minutes of play in his debut with the Sycamores. He followed that up with 16 points, six rebounds and four blocked shots against North Texas on Sunday to average 14.5 points, 6.5 rebounds and 3.5 blocks in his first two games in an ISU uniform.
A Balanced Scoring Attack
The Sycamores have shown an ability to share in the scoring duties this season based on their performances in the team's first three games of the season. Against Northern Illinois four players finished in double figures, led by Rashad Reed's 21 points on 5-of-8 shooting from three-point range. That became a trend for the Sycamores in their second game of the week on Sunday against North Texas, as once again four players tallied double-digit scoring efforts. Freshman Carl Richard led the way against the Mean Green with a career-high 17 points while Crawford posted another solid effort with 16 points and four blocked shots. On Wednesday against Murray State, three players scored in double figures led by Tunnell's 12 points and redshirt freshman Keenan Barlow's career-high 11 points.
Sycamore Block Party
Last season, Isiah Martin led all Missouri Valley Conference players in blocked shots with 59. This season, he has some help as junior transfer Josh Crawford currently leads the league with 12 blocks in his first four games in an ISU uniform. ISU has swatted 19 shots combined as a team, with Martin adding four and Jay Tunnell, Jordan Printy and Carl Richard each adding one to help the squad lead the league with an average of 4.8 blocked shots per game.
Dialed In From Long Distance
In Wednesday night's game against Murray State, the Sycamores made a season-high 12 three-pointers score 36 of the team's 61 total points. Redshirt freshman Keenan Barlow led the way with a 3-for-4 effort to end up with a career-high 11 points, while fellow redshirt freshman Jordan Printy, senior Jay Tunnell, junior Rashad Reed and sophomore Aaron Carter each added two treys against the Racers.
Welcome To The Show
Several Sycamore rookies saw their first action in a Sycamore uniform in the team's season opener against Nortern Illinois on Nov. 18. In all, six players made their debuts at Indiana State during the game while four players made their collegiate debuts: Keenan Barlow, Tyler Cutter, Jordan Printy, Carl Richard. Two of those newcomers, junior college transfers Rashad Reed and Josh Crawford, both scored in double figures with 21 and 13 points respectively.
Reed For Three
Sycamore fans may get used to hearing Rashad Reed's name called a lot this year, especially with his prowess for shooting three-pointers. Reed was dialed in from long distance in the team's season opener against Northern Illinois and made 5-of-8 three-point attempts to finish with a team-high 21 points. Not only did Reed shoot well against the Huskies, but he has shot well since taking the floor at ISU. Reed connected on 4-of-7 shots from behind the arc in the team's fist exhibition game against Albion for 12 of his game-high 13 points and followed that up by shooting 3-for-5 from long distance for nine of his 14 points in the team's second and final exhibition game against Division II St. Joseph's College (Ind.).
Get That Outta Here!
Albion College found it very hard to score points in the paint against the Sycamores in the exhibition opener, as the team had 11 of its shots blocked by ISU defenders. Sophomore Isiah Martin, who led the Missouri Valley Conference last season with 59 blocked shots as a freshman, collected six by himself to start the season strong. Freshman Koang Doluony added three swats of his own thanks to his wingspan of over seven feet while junior Josh Crawford and Carl Richard each added a block apiece.
Taking Advantage of Mistakes
Last season, the Sycamores forced an average of three more turnovers from their opponents than they gave up at home. Based on the team's exhibition game against St. Joseph's, that trend may continue for the Sycamores this season. ISU forced 25 SJC turnovers and turned those miscues into 41 of the team's 93 points.
Martin Tops In Blocks
During his freshman season, Isiah Martin surprised many people with his ability to block shots and change shots in the paint. Martin ranked first in the conference in total blocks (59) and blocks per game (1.9) last season while ranking 54th nationally in blocks per game (1.9). In addition, his 59 blocks set a new ISU freshman record and were the second-most in a single season at ISU by any player.
The Man Everyone Looks To
Indiana State fields one of its youngest teams in years in 2008, with forward Jay Tunnell serving as the team's lone senior leader. Tunnell has played in 90 career games, with 84 starting assignments, while averaging nearly nine points and five rebounds per contest in his three seasons with the Sycamores. During his career, he's recorded four double-double performances, including 14 double-digit scoring efforts during the 2007-08 season. In addition, Tunnel has scored 767 points in his career with the Sycamores which leaves him just 233 points shy of becoming the 31st player in school history with at least 1,000 career points.
Honoring A True Sycamore Legend
Prior to the start of lSU's first exhibition game against Albion College, the floor at Hulman Center will officially be named the Nellie and John Wooden Court in honor of the legendary coach and his late wife, Nellie. Prior to achieving legendary success as the head coach at UCLA, Wooden began his collegiate coaching career and served two years as head men's basketball coach, baseball coach and athletics director at Indiana State from 1946 to 1948. While earning his master's degree at Indiana State, he compiled a 44-15 record as basketball coach while leading the Sycamores to post-season tournament appearances each year and two conference championships. In addition, coach Wooden will also be inducted into the Missouri Valley Conference Athletic Hall of Fame in March.
The Dream Season ... 30 Years Later
This season marks the 30th anniversary of Indiana State's historic 1978-79 season that saw the Sycamores advance to the Final Four of the NCAA Tournament and eventually to the National Championship game. In order to get there, the Sycamores had to defeat today's opponent, DePaul, in the Final Four. Led by consensus First-Team All-American and future NBA Hall of Famer Larry Bird, Indiana State compiled a 33-1 overall record, including a perfect 29-0 record during the regular season with the only loss of the season coming in the championship game to Michigan State 75-64. The current Sycamores will wear commemorative patches on their uniforms and will wear throwback 1978-79 jerseys in selected games during the season to celebrate the anniversary.
Mahurin Signs On The Dotted Line
With just one senior on this year's roster, Indiana State men's basketball head coach Kevin McKenna needed to fill just one spot for next year's team. He filled that spot with the addition of local star RJ Mahurin (Rockville, Ind./Rockville HS), who signed a National Letter of Intent with ISU to continue his education and basketball career. Mahurin, a 6-foot-8 forward, has scored 1,404 points in his career for the Rox and is just 118 points away from becoming the top scorer in school history heading into his senior season. During his junior season, Mahurin led the Rox to a sectional championship and a spot in the regional finals with a 23-4 overall record. He averaged 25.6 points, 6.8 rebounds and 4.2 blocks per game, which earned him Honorable Mention All-State honors from the Associated Press and led to him being named the Tribune Star's Wabash Valley Player of the Year. Mahurin was also named the team's MVP and was an All-Wabash River Conference Selection.
