International Flavor
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Southeastern Illinois College men's basketball has long been known for its uniqueness and success. This year is no exception.
Coming off a 15-11 season, including an 11-5 record in conference play, the 2011-12 Falcons are a rich blend of mid-American and Thailand-style basketball. Josh Ervin, second-year head coach for the Falcons, believes it's a formula for success.
Among the freshmen on this year's squad, 21-year old Dominic Sriwichian from Thailand stands out --literally. At 6'8" and 235 pounds, he plays center for the team. Sriwichian, who is bilingual, played for Thailand's National Champion Bangkok Christian High School as a senior and was named All-Conference.
Sriwichian became a U.S. citizen in 2009 and is pursuing a career in international business management. "Majoring in business management at SIC is the first step towards realizing a life on the global stage of import-export merchandising, professional consulting, and human resources," he said.
Sriwichian wants to begin his career in the United States and then move back to Thailand, taking with him an advanced education and several years of on-the-job experience.
The big center comes to Southeastern by way of Scott Stewart, former starting point guard for University of Florida and international pro player for 10 years, and Stott Carter, former assistant coach at Texas A&M Corpus Christi, who is now with Eastern New Mexico University. SIC's Ervin has ties to Texas A&M Corpus Christi, where he started all four years as point guard for the Islanders, helping the team to its first NCAA Tournament appearance. Both men knew of Sriwichian's athleticism and competitive character and highly recommended him.
Well-traveled in over a dozen countries, Sriwichian plans to attend the 2012 Summer Olympics in London to watch the U.S. basketball team compete against the best in the world. In the meantime, he will concentrate on his role as center for the SIC Falcons, working on coming together as a team and improving as a player.
"Coach tells us constantly that hard work beats talent any day," expressed Sriwichian. "I even have it on my Facebook page. I believe it. We play big with a lot of heart and hustle," he added. "It's not the size of the dog that matters; it's the size of the fight in the dog that makes the difference."
Ervin stressed that four sophomores serve as the core of the team. Dominique Hagans, Quintrel Morris, Teon Beckett, and Mike Walker form the nucleus of what Ervin feels will be a competitive year for the Falcons.
A big part of the "core of four" Ervin speaks so highly of is team captain Dominique Hagans, who plays point guard for the Falcons.
A graduate of Lafayette High School in Lexington, KY, Hagans is 6'3" and 184 lbs. As a senior at Lafayette, he was named All-City and All-Region, averaging 16 points, six assists, and five rebounds per game. A business major at SIC, Hagans anticipates signing with the Eastern Kentucky University Colonels in the very near future, where he will complete his four-year degree in business following his two-year degree at Southeastern.
Hagans, who hopes to own and operate a business one day, feels that basketball keeps him firmly grounded. "Playing basketball is my passion and helps me stay out of trouble. It keeps me level-headed and allows me to focus on the good things in life, like making good grades," said Hagans.
Hagans has nothing but good things to say about the education he is receiving at SIC. "My teachers here are great and help me stay focused and on top of things," expressed Hagans. "Even my online English instructor, Dr. Catherine Packard, keeps me actively involved in the class and constantly communicates with me to make sure I'm learning and having a meaningful educational experience," Hagans said.
The sophomore point guard believes Southeastern has a good shot at winning the conference and doing well in post-season. "It won't be easy, but with this group of talented athletes and our coaching staff that knows how the game is played on a national level, we will be strong contenders," he said.
Already 3-1 in pre-season action, the Falcon formula appears to be working. "Our pre-season schedule is extremely difficult. Playing strong teams on the road early, like Vincennes, State Fair College, Missouri Valley, Moberly, Three Rivers, and Lincoln Land, allows us to get battle-tested quickly for conference play starting in January," said Ervin.
Like Hagans, Ervin believes the Falcons will be a contender in this year's Great Rivers Athletic Conference, along with powerhouses Wabash Valley and John A. Logan. "With the return off the injured list of shooting guard Mike Walker in December and our focus on guard play, shooting, ball handling, rebounding, and defense, we should be in the mix by the time post-season rolls around," said Ervin.
The Falcons travel north to play in the Lincoln Land Invitational Nov. 18-19. The team's next home game is Thursday, December 1 against Aim High Prep. Game time is 7:30 p.m. at Joseph Deaton Gymnasium.