Building a Bear Culture

(St. Louis, MO) – Winning basketball requires talent, athleticism, strategy and culture. For Missouri State coach Paul Lusk those things seem to be coming together for this year’s team.

Lusk was part of successful teams as a player at Southern Illinois where he played for legendary Saluki coach Rich Herrin and as a coach under probable hall of famer Gene Keady and with rising coaching star Matt Painter at Purdue.

Lessons learned in Carbondale and in West Lafayette are informing the way Lusk is building the Bear program.

The last two recruiting classes have brought a significant talent upgrade over what Bears’ fans have seen in recent seasons, but equally important to Lusk is the character make-up and chemistry on this edition of Bears’ basketball.

Sophomore Chris Kendrix played summer basketball with the Christian outreach program, Athletes In Action and the entire team competed with teams in the Bahamas.

Lusk says Kendrix’s opportunity and the team’s chance to practice, compete and bond were significant in building the right kind chemistry. Something he learned about playing for Herrin at SIU.

 

 

Now in his sixth year in Springfield, Lusk has had uneven success at the Missouri Valley school. With a record of 71 and 90, Lusk’s teams have won 20 games one time and finished at .500 or above only twice, but this year’s pieces seem to be meshing during this offseason.

Lusk says his time at Purdue, and watching successful coaches like Ben Jacobson at Northern Iowa, taught him to recruit the type of players that fit the culture he’s trying to create in Springfield.

One player that fits perfectly is the feisty Ryan Kreklow, who came to MSU without the guarantee of a scholarship.

 

 

Interestingly, Painter told me two seasons ago, that he had strayed from paying attention to those cultural values and it cost his team some success. Painter and Lusk would tell you culture and chemistry might be just as important as talent.

The Bears have much to prove this year, but during this offseason, the team believes they are headed in the right direction.

Do Good