Indiana State

2008-09 Indiana State Basketball Preview: #110

Joel Welser — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 09:57:43 -0700

Indiana State Sycamores

Overall Rank: #110

Conference Rank: #6 Missouri Valley

2007-08: 15-16, 8-10, 7^th

2007-08 postseason: none

There are plenty of questions that need to be answered at Indiana State, but the most important is regarding the point guard. More specifically, who is going to play the position? Harry Marshall is a solid slasher and a better rebounder than his 6-0 frame would indicate. But can he run the show consistently? We will find out. If not, Marshall will join Marico Stinson on the wing. Stinson is the long range shooter on the team and will do plenty of scoring inside the arc as well.

Who’s Out:

The point guard concerns stem from the graduation of Gabriel Moore. Not only did he average 4.5 assists per game during his senior campaign, but Moore led the team in points and steals. He was a great leader on the floor and was very effective at getting to the basket. Any single player is not going to do everything Moore did for the Sycamores. Making matters slightly worse is the transfer of Cole Holmstrom. Holmstrom was just a roleplayer last year, but he could have worked his way into the point guard discussion this year. Todd McCoy and Adam Arnold split starts last year and both are moving on. Neither were great scorers, but they would hit the glass hard and do the dirty work around the basket. Lamar Lee and Mike Yelovich will not be suiting up for ISU after seeing limited action in 2007-2008.

Who’s In:

This is where the point guard situation gets interesting. Ideally, the team wants Marshall off the ball where he has proven to be effective. That leaves the point guard duties in the hands of incoming freshman Tyler Cutter and junior college transfer Rashad Reed. Cutter is a smart and tough floor leader, but he is a freshman and will need some time to develop. It is Reed who is shouldering the higher hopes right away. The transfer from Vincennes University is a solid defender, a capable floor leader and has the potential to be a pretty good scorer. Incoming freshman Carl Richard and redshirt freshman Jordan Printy will add depth on the wings. Richard is a good slasher and will help in the rebounding department, while Printy will do most of his damage from beyond the arc. The newcomers keep coming with forwards Keenan Barlow and Koang Doluony and center Josh Crawford. Crawford, a junior college transfer from Oxnard College in California, should immediately bolster the front line. At 6-11, he will alter shots and he can score in a variety of ways. Add 6-10 sophomore Brant Leitnaker, who missed all of last season with an injury, and suddenly the Sycamores have a big front line.

Who to Watch:

Yet, the newcomers in the frontcourt will likely be limited to coming off the bench this year. Jay Tunnell and Isiah Martin might not have the size of Crawford, but both are quality players who are ready to play a bigger role this season. Tunnell’s versatility makes him a difficult matchup. He led the team in rebounding last year, but he will not just hang out in the paint all the time. He can step outside and hit the jumper and that really stretches out the opposing defense. Tunnell will be an important and steady influence on this team, but will not likely explode onto the national radar with eye popping numbers, but Martin might. As a freshman last year, the 6-8 Martin tallied 5.4 points, 3.8 rebounds and 1.9 blocks per contest. It is shot blocking skill that has folks in Terre Haute excited about the Chicago product. If he can manage to stay out of foul trouble, Martin will be a menace on the defensive end and, in time, could develop an offensive game to compliment it.

Final Projection:

With that shot blocking and senior leadership in the frontcourt, Indiana State hopes some toughness will follow. That is what this team sorely lacked last year and it led to a dismal 2-13 record on the road…and that was with a senior point guard. If the point guard situation is not taken care of quickly and effectively, the road record might not be much better this time around. And that would put the Sycamores on the outside of a first-round bye in the conference tournament…yet again.

Projected Post-season Tournament: none

Projected Starting Five:

Rashad Reed, Junior, Guard, DNP last season

Marico Stinson, Junior, Guard, 12.0 points per game

Harry Marshall, Junior, Guard, 10.1 points per game

Isiah Martin, Sophomore, Forward, 5.4 points per game

Jay Tunnell, Senior, Center, 7.9 points per game

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2007-08 Indiana State Basketball Preview

Joel Welser — Thu, 12 Jul 2007 09:11:37 -0700

Indiana State Sycamores

Overall Rank: #124

Conference Rank: #8 Missouri Valley

2006-07: 13-18, 5-13, 10^th

2006-07 postseason: none

Indiana State needed a change after another disappointing season that ended at the bottom of the conference. And when you want to be like Creighton, you hire a Creighton assistant coach. Coach Kevin McKenna will try his luck leading the Sycamores this year, but expecting too much of an increase in the win column right away is unrealistic. However, the team has some young talent to build around and should be a force in the Missouri Valley Conference next year.

Who’s Out:

The big loss is forward Trent Wurtz. The 6-8 forward averaged 8.5 points and 4.8 rebounds during his senior campaign, but he is replaceable thanks to some emerging talent behind him on the depth chart. The loss of guards Russell Trudeau and Adam Lottino will cause little problem during the 2007-2008 season.

Who’s In:

The Sycamores can go eight deep without any of the newcomers stepping foot on the court. Developing them for the future will be the top priority, but there is some room for a couple of the newcomers to make an impact as freshmen. Point guard Lamar Lee will be groomed for the starting role in 2008-2009 and is a physical player who should fit right in with the Sycamores. Shooting guards Aaron Carter and Jordan Printy both have some talent in front of them, but will be quality shooters off the bench. Not only can Carter knock down the long ball with consistency, he is also a great rebounder for his size. Forward Isiah Martin is not simply a 6-8 bruiser. The Chicago product can also step outside and do some major damage. His best days are still ahead of him and Martin should develop into a consistent scorer before his collegiate career is through.

Who to Watch:

Gabriel Moore is the star of the Sycamores. The senior point guard led the team in scoring, assists, steals and free throw shooting. Moore can hit the outside shot, but it is his aggressiveness that makes him so dangerous. He will get to the basket and either find the open man or take an easy basket himself. The worst case scenario is getting to the charity stripe where Moore shot 80.5 percent on a team high 4.3 attempts per game. A couple of talented sophomores will be on the wings. Marico Stinson and Cole Holmstrom have almost identical numbers across the board. Holmstrom, at 5-10, spends more time on the perimeter, but Stinson is the more efficient shooter from everywhere on the floor.

Final Projection:

Jay Tunnell and Adam Arnold developed into an effective frontcourt. The junior duo combined for 15.0 points and 11.6 boards last year. At 6-6 and 6-8, neither is intimidating on the defensive end, but bigger things are expected from the frontcourt duo now that they are upperclassmen. Mick Yelovich and Todd McCoy round out the depth chart in the paint. Yelovich, who only averaged 7.8 minutes in 24 contests last year, has the best size on the team and getting some production out of the 6-10 senior will add some much needed size off the bench. The MVC is down, but not far enough down for Indiana State to find the top. The potential is there for a top five finish in the conference, but building momentum for the future will be the most important thing for Coach McKenna.

Projected Post-season Tournament: none

Projected Starting Five:

Gabriel Moore, Senior, Guard, 11.5 points per game

Cole Holmstrom, Sophomore, Guard, 9.2 points per game

Marico Stinson, Sophomore, Guard, 9.4 points per game

Adam Arnold, Junior, Forward, 6.0 points per game

Jay Tunnell, Junior, Forward, 9.0 points per game

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Creighton Assistant Takes Indiana State Job

Press Release — Thu, 29 Mar 2007 14:19:47 -0700

OMAHA, Neb. -- Longtime Creighton men's basketball assistant coach Kevin McKenna has been hired as the head men's basketball coach at Indiana State University. McKenna, who is in the CU Athletics Hall of Fame for his play from 1977-81, returned to his alma mater to serve as an assistant coach from 1994-2001 and then again from 2005-07.

McKenna replaces Royce Waltman, who did not have his contract renewed after this month¹s Missouri Valley Conference Tournament.

IPFW showcases strength in comeback, immaturity in loss

Dan Vance — Sun, 19 Nov 2006 18:35:36 -0800

IPFW's season has really been like a rollercoaster, just without so many ups and with downs that would plummet a ride at Six Flags into the core of the earth. They had a chance to change that Sunday night (November 19) when they hosted Indiana State, themselves just coming off a stiff loss at the hands of IU. But instead, they couldn't keep up the momentum of a monumental comeback and let their weaknesses leak out in a 67-61 loss. IPFW had a hold of things early, going up 13-8 with a lot of momentum on a Tyler Best to Quintin Carothers back door play that led to a bigtime dunk. They pulled ahead again (and for the last time) on a DeWitt Scott three-pointer midway through the first half. And then they saw setback after setback kill most of their hopes before the halftime buzzer even sounded. But after that buzzer is when the Mastodons showed that afformentioned strength by slashing away at an Indiana State lead that had grown to 15 in the second half. After slashing away at that lead, IPFW pulled within nine points on one of two late Pat Lepper three-pointers. They kept chipping away until about the three and a half minute mark when they let their adrenaline die during a media time out, a critical and infant mistake for a team searching for stability. Senior Tyler Best, who scored eight of his 10 points in the second half, highlighted that lack of energy by missing a wide open layup just after the timeout. A minute later, Trent Wurtz put down a dunk for Indiana State that completely took IPFW out of the game emotionally. And instead of trying to change that, they let backfiring situations get to them moments later when Wurtz and Carouthers were both forced to come out of the game (Wurtz for bleeding, Caruothers for having blood on his jersey). Coach Dane Fife spent half the time yelling at the trainer and the other half complaining to the referees, which is only going to (if anything) take you furhur out of control of the game. When Carouthers did come back in the game a minute and a half (or so) later wearing #52, it was almost as if he had lost his mojo along with his usual jersey. His only offensive play of note was a sloppy turnover that was only part of what cost IPFW down the stretch. Carouthers led IPFW with 14 points, but had 12 of them in the first half. ISU even shot free throws in a fashion that can nearly be descirbed at horrific down the stretch. The Sycamores missed 7 of their last 10 free throws in the game, including a stretch missing 5-of-6 in the final minute all while leading 64-58. And IPFW did nothing. Instead, they tried too hard to play in the post, an obvious Mastodon weakness. Despite solid second half play from Best and Jaraun Burrows, who totalled 14 rebound and 20 points as a pair, the bigs just did not seem as focused and controlled. The Mastodons also shot too many three-pointers (7-for-25 in the game), while ISU shot only two long range shots in the second half. Strike three? The Mastodons did not push the ball on transition and played half court offense way too much. And oh yeah, senior captain Justin Hawkins played just 12 minutes in the entire game including sitting the whole second half. If anything, IPFW displayed immaturity by going away from their strengths. And that, above all else, is likely what cost them an important game.