SEMO Basketball – Progressive Steps

Building Blocks are Secure

(St. Louis, MO) – Southeast Missouri’s Brad Korn has a deeply challenging job. Like all Division 1 coaches, he’s battling a cororvirus affected season, but as first-year coach he is also trying to place the first building blocks into his program.

He wants to make sure the building blocks are secure.

SEMO is 3-6 heading into tonight’s game with Belmont. The reassembled Redhawks have played four overtime games during their first nine contests and every game has been a nail-biter. He is getting to see how his players perform under pressure.

Dealing With the Pandemic

While admitting the pandemic has been difficult for every basketball program, Korn knows his team has had its own unique challenges. Hiring a staff, recruiting new players and installing a new system have all been uniquely challenging during a covid-19 impacted season.   

Korn says his life is filled with adjustments. 

“It’s a challenge for anybody in this environment. We’re all going through this thing the first time,” said Korn. “Every day is a new and evolving day. We didn’t have a summer session and not having a carryover with a brand-new staff so everything is brand new. We really didn’t get started until September.”

Recruiting became a unique experience for all basketball coaches. Korn says he and his staff were looking for the kinds of players that would fit their style of program. He believes his staff put together a mature group of players.

“I don’t want guys that don’t want to be here for the right reasons,” said the former Southern Illinois player. “They are a very mature group. We don’t have to spend a whole lot of time with off court issues. Now they get to do what they want to do, which is play basketball and we get to do what we and to do, which is coach basketball.”

Building Blocks Are Secure

Some first-year coaches schedule in such a way as to pick up some easy wins to help enthusiasm and pad a record. Not Brad Korn. Instead, the former Kansas State assistant created a schedule that would both challenge and instruct. Players needed experience against good competition, and he needed to see how his players would react.

“We had opportunities to play some other games, but I didn’t want games where we went out and won by 40. That doesn’t do anybody any good,” said Korn. “We needed to go out and test yourselves and see where everybody’s at. Our kids have been extremely resilient. Every single one of our games have come down to one or two possessions.”

The Blend is Working

‘Culture’ is THE buzzword in college basketball circles. Korn believes more in building blocks or pillars. During our summer interview with him, he outlined SEMO’s five pillars of character, passion, accountability, unity and thankfulness. When recruiting players he was looking for young men that could emulate those values.

“A person on our team has to embody all five of those characteristics for the long run,” he emphasized. “Anyone can do it for the short term. This was the main thing we looked at in recruiting. I think you can see that in the way we play. It is a player driven program. A place where you want to go and enjoy the game.”

Point guard DQ Nicholas is the kind of player Korn is building around. Nicholas was a Rick Ray hold-over who started 19 games last season. Korn loves the way his 6’1 guard plays and practices.

“I love the way that he plays and competes. I like his spirit and who he is as a person and his character,” gushed the coach. “He works hard and comes up and watches film. He’s trying to improve his game and the mental part of his game. He is a great athlete and has great speed and can get to the rim. He plays remarkable defense and is a true ‘two-sided’ guy.”

Nolan Taylor has bounced from Pepperdine to Cal Poly and now at SEMO. Korn says Taylor’s journey has included injuries and coaching changes. He was a good fit for the Redhawks.

“We needed an experienced guy,” said Korn. “He is a very down to earth guy and very mature. Exactly what we needed in that position. He has been probably one of our steadying influences since they (other newcomers) don’t know what to expect.”

Player Ownership

Nine members of the Redhawk roster played collegiately somewhere else and have found a basketball home in Cape Girardeau. Korn believes that helps his players value their current basketball family and to understand how privileged they are to play in the Ohio Valley Conference.

“We’re still learning what guys can and cannot do,” he shared. “A lot of these guys this is their last stop. When you know this is your place then you have ownership in the program. They have  a little more buy in.”

Seven players are receiving over 20 minutes of playing time per game. Ten average 9.4 minutes or more. Korn says his team is ‘player driven’, meaning, they work on the five pillars and they encourage one another. Four players, Chris Harris (16 ppg), Eric Reed Junior (11.1), Taylor (10.8) and Nicholas (10.6) average double figures in scoring.

Nebraska transfer Nana Akenten leads the team in rebounding (5.8 per game). Reed is making 50% of his long-distance attempts. (Second best in the OVC) Scoring isn’t the problem. The Redhawks average 72 points per game. Korn admits their defense (yielding 74.2 points per game) needs some work.

Covid Looming

College basketball programs are pausing. Games are postponed. There is a huge unknown about this season. Korn says covid concerns causes each game to become that much more important.

“We’ve talked about it quite a bit. Now as the season has progressed, if we shut down for a couple of weeks, your season could be over,” says the rookie coach. “It hasn’t applied pressure it has implied that everything does matter. You may not get another opportunity and if it’s your last opportunity and you have a ‘what if’, then you have to live with that regret. It comes back to that pain of discipline or pain of regret.”

Korn’s SIU roots, his time with K-State coach Bruce Weber (who he speaks to often) point to a solid foundation. The Redhawks’ current competitiveness indicates that the building blocks are secure.

Do Good