Salukis​ ​trend down​ ​In​ ​83-72​ ​loss​ ​to​ ​Valpo

The​ ​old​ ​saying​ ​that​ ​a​ ​team​ ​"did​ ​not​ ​make​ ​it​ ​off​ ​the​ ​bus"​ ​when​ ​it​ ​gives​ ​poor​ ​effort has been​ ​shredded​ ​by​ ​the​ ​up​-and​-​down​ ​nature​ ​of​ ​the​ ​Saluki​ ​men's basketball​ ​team.​ ​

Not​ ​only​ ​are​ ​the​ ​Dawgs a​ ​win​-one​ ​(Evansville​ ​last​ ​Thursday),​ ​lose​-one​ ​(83-72​ ​loss​ ​to​ ​Valparaiso​ ​last​ ​Saturday afternoon)​ ​team​ ​record​-wise; they are​ ​up​ ​and​ ​down​ ​within​ ​single games​, ​too.

Last​ ​Saturday,​ ​SIU​ ​led​ ​by​ ​as​ ​many​ ​as​ ​seven​ ​points​ ​(27-20)​ ​with​ ​7:52​ ​left​ ​in​ ​the​ ​first​ ​half. But​ ​by​ ​5:56,​ ​Valparaiso​ ​surged​ ​ahead​ ​(28-27​)​ ​and​ ​then​ ​went​ ​on​ ​a​ ​15​-2​ ​run​ ​to basically​ ​put​ ​the​ ​game​ ​out​ ​of​ ​reach​ ​for​ ​the​ ​Dawgs.​ ​

Did​ ​the​ ​Saluki​ ​players​ ​get​ ​back​ ​on​ ​that metaphorical​ ​bus?​ ​SIU head coach Barry​ ​Hinson​ ​said​ ​he​ ​could​ ​see​ ​that​ ​bus​ ​pulling​ ​up​ ​to​ ​Valpo​ ​Arena​ ​for unloading​ ​the​ ​day​ ​before.

"I​ ​saw​ ​this​ ​coming​, ​and​ ​I​ ​threw​ ​the​ ​whole​ ​team​ ​out​ ​of​ ​practice​ ​yesterday​ ​(last​ ​Friday)," an​ ​upset​ ​Hinson said.​ ​"It​ ​didn't​ ​help.​ ​And​ ​we​ ​got​ ​what​ ​we​ ​deserved."​ ​

What​ ​the​ ​Dawgs​ ​"got"​ ​was because​ ​of​ ​a​ ​lack​ ​of​ ​defensive​ ​intensity​ ​most​ ​of​ ​the​ ​game. This​ ​lack​ ​of​ ​intensity​ ​was​ ​team-wide​, ​but​ ​Hinson​ ​was​ ​especially​ ​incensed​ ​by​ ​the​ ​play​ ​of his​ ​big​ ​men.​ ​Their​ ​offensive​ ​production​ ​was​ ​minimal​ ​(except​ ​for​ ​Kavion​ ​Pippen's​ ​14​ ​points),​ ​but their​ ​defensive​ ​intensity​ ​was​ ​even​ ​worse.

"Their​ ​big​ ​guys​ ​killed​ ​us​ ​(28​ ​total​ ​points),"​ ​Hinson said.​ ​"Ours​ ​went​ ​seven​ ​for​ ​21​ ​from​ ​the field​ ​and​ ​had​ ​just​ ​four​ ​rebounds."​ ​Quite​ ​a​ ​differential​, ​indeed,​ ​but​ ​​two​ ​of​ ​the​ ​best​ ​defensive​ ​Dawg​s, Thik​ ​Bol​ ​and​ ​Jonathan​ ​Wiley, ​are​ ​out​ ​for the​ ​season​ ​with​ ​knee​ ​injuries.

But​ ​Hinson​ ​has​ ​a​ ​point​ ​about​ ​where​ ​a​ ​lot​ ​of​ ​the​ ​Saluki​ ​basketball​ ​problems​ ​lie:​ ​in​ ​his players'​ ​own​ ​heads.

"We​ ​can't​ ​handle​ ​success,"​ ​Hinson said.​ ​"Our​ ​biggest​ ​opponent​ ​is​ ​in​ ​our​ ​own heads.

"We​ ​have​ ​zero​ ​leadership.​ ​We​ ​thought​ ​we​ ​knew​ ​who​ ​that​ ​leader​ ​could​ ​be,​ ​but​ ​we're obviously​ ​still​ ​searching​ ​for​ ​that​ ​guy."

One​ ​new​ ​candidate​ ​might​ ​be​ ​junior Armon​ ​Fletcher. Fletcher​ ​had​ ​a​ ​career​-record​ ​32​ ​points​ ​and​ ​14​ ​rebounds​ ​in​ ​the​ ​loss​ ​to​ ​Valpo.​ ​He​ ​was clearly​ ​ready​ ​to​ ​play.

"Fletcher​ ​was​ ​the​ ​one​ ​positive​ ​coming​ ​out​ ​of​ ​this​ ​game,"​ ​Hinson said.​ ​"We​ ​saw​ ​a​ ​side​ ​of him​ ​we​ ​haven't​ ​seen​ ​before.​ ​I​ ​hope​ ​his​ ​intensity​ ​spreads​ ​to​ ​the​ ​rest​ ​of​ ​the​ ​team,"

Tyler​ ​Smithpeters​ ​(10​ ​points and four​ ​rebounds)​ ​was​ ​the​ ​only​ ​other​ ​player​ ​besides​ ​Fletcher and​ ​Pippen​ ​to​ ​score​ ​in​ ​double​ ​figures.​ ​But​ it's not just ​points​ ​scored​ ​that​ ​Hinson​ ​is worried​ ​about​ ​with​ ​this​ ​team.

"We​ ​gave​ ​a​ ​0-3​ ​team​ ​hope​ ​in​ ​the​ ​first​ ​half​ ​when​ ​we​ ​stopped​ ​playing​ ​defense​ ​and​ ​let them​ ​get​ ​up​ ​14​ ​at​ ​the​ ​break,"​ ​Hinson said.

A​ ​team​ ​with​ ​a​ ​leader​ ​would​ ​have​ ​found​ ​some​ ​way​ ​to​ ​stifle​ ​any​ ​opponent's​ ​reversal​ ​of momentum.​ ​That​ ​means​ ​finding​ ​a​ ​defensive​ ​stopper.​ ​Where​ ​will​ ​that​ ​stopper​ ​come​ ​from?

Among​ ​the​ ​Saluki​ ​guards,​ ​it​ ​was​ ​thought​ ​that​ ​Sean​ ​Lloyd​ ​might​ ​be​ ​a​ ​candidate - and​ ​he has​ ​a​ ​times​ ​been​ ​one.​ ​But​ ​consistency​ ​is​ ​what​ ​Hinson​ ​wants​ ​in​ ​the​ ​leadership​ ​role.​ ​That consistency​ ​has​ ​been​ ​somewhat​ ​thwarted​ ​by​ ​injuries​ ​and​ ​illness.​ ​(Aaron​ ​Cook​ ​was​ ​sick​ ​at Valpo.)​ ​It​ ​has​ ​weakened​ ​the​ ​squad.

But​ ​it​ ​is​ ​what​ ​it​ ​is.​ ​The​ ​depleted​ ​squad​ ​is​ ​what​ ​Hinson​ ​has​ ​been​ ​dealt​ ​by​ ​fate.​ ​Let's hope​ ​SIU​ ​will​ ​be​ ​dealt​ ​a​ ​better​ ​hand​ ​the​ ​rest​ ​of​ ​the​ ​season.​ ​Last​ ​night​ ​as​ ​they​ ​played​ ​Bradley​ ​in Peoria​ ​and​ ​this​ ​Saturday​ ​they​ ​meet​ ​the​ ​Illinois​ ​State​ ​Redbirds​ ​at​ ​Saluki​ ​Arena​ ​(5​ ​pm).