Can the Cougars Compete?

(St. Louis, MO) – Who are the SIUE Cougars?  Many in the Ohio Valley Conference and in the midwest are waiting to find out. The Cougars are recent additions to the OVC after transitioning from Division II to Division I and are still feeling their way into ‘big boy’ basketball.

Last season the Cougars were 9 and 18 and racked up five conference wins. With the departure of Jerome Jones and  Mark Yelovich, Head Coach Lennox Forrester has turned a large part of his recruiting focus to the college transfer world. He has come up with some good players, but it is returners Kris Davis and Michael Messer (Lafayette High School – St. Louis) that could be key to this year’s second voyage into OVC waters.

The backcourt could be in good hands with transfers Doninvine Stewart (Bradley), Christian Salecich (SLU) and Cameron Craig (Coffeyville, KS) ready to go with some post high school experience.

 

The Cougars were picked to finish last in the OVC’s West Division by the league coaches and SIDs. With so many new players, the “unknown” is a big factor in that selection.

SIUE plays a demanding schedule this year. On top of the rugged OVC schedule they open at Arkansas, host Saint Louis U, travel to Oregon State and play on the road at Loyola-Chicago and Southern Illinois Carbondale from the Missouri Valley Conference.

The transition from a lower division of college basketball has not been kind to the Cougar win total nor their RPI rating. They haven’t won more than ten games in any of the last five seasons and haven’t posted an RPI under 300.

Do Good