Surprising Salukis

Rookie Coach Has Them Playing With Confidence

(St. Louis, MO) – Bryan Mullins came to Carbondale, Illinois to win games and reestablish the Southern Illinois basketball tradition. Terms like ‘Floor Burn U’ #TougherTogether are nice slogans that reflect what is going on. The surprising Salukis have won four straight games.

Halfway through the Missouri Valley Conference schedule, SIU (12-10) is 6-3 in league play and tied for second place. Since Mullins had just two returning contributors from last year’s team, he had to rebuild the roster. The Salukis have played the bulk of their season without one of those two returners, and yet the surprising Salukis are getting better every day.

Domask – Lightning In a Bottle

Freshman Marcus Domask has been a gigantic addition. The 6’6 wing was well thought of coming out of Waupun High School, but very few believed he would be contending for the Valley’s Freshman of the Year award. He was last year’s ‘Wisconsin Mr. Basketball’.

Domask does a little bit of everything, and he does everything well. While he leads SIU in scoring (13.8 ppg), he also leads the team in assists (2.8), is second in rebounding (5.2) and is the team’s top three-point shooter.

Mullins admits he thought Domask, a former three-star recruit, would be good, but he didn’t know he’d be THIS good this soon.

SIU beat writer Todd Hefferman (@THefferman) of the ‘Southern Newspaper’ says Domask has been outstanding. Hefferman says Domask can score in a variety of ways.

 

 

Last night’s six point performance was Domask’s first sub-double digit MVC scoring game. During the victory over defending champion Loyola, the Wisconsin native grabbed five rebounds and dished out five dimes.

It was the first SIU victory when Domask failed to reach ten points.

Injuries Could Have Derailed the Season

Seniors Aaron Cook and Eric McGill were scheduled to be the team’s two best players and the leaders of Mullins’ firs-season team. ‘AC’ and McGill are the best of friends and after the coaching change decided to stay put and help build the program.

Six games into the season Cook went down with a thumb injury. The surprising Salukis stood at 2-4 when Cook went down, but have not faltered. The hope was that the team would ‘survive’, and four to six weeks later Cook would return to lead them through the Valley wars. Cook has not and will not return.

Potential interior players Sekou Dembele and Stevan Jeremic are both out for the season, so SIU is playing thin in the post.

Hefferman says Mullins and his surprising Salukis have used a mix and match style of adapting. Freshmen Domask, Lance Jones and Trent Brown have stepped into key roles on a winning team.

 

 

Senior center Barrett Benson

A senior presence in post is key to SIU success. Northwestern grad transfer Barrett Benson has provided leadership, significant scoring and his rebounding has improved as the season has progressed.

Hefferman says Benson is a positive influence on the remade SIU roster. He tells us Benson believes this version of SIU basketball will be in contention all season. While Benson does have some turnover problems, his game continues to improve.

 

 

After averaging 4.8 rebounds per game prior to Valley play, Benson is averaging 6.8 during conference games.

 

Mullins – Building a Positive Culture

Bryan Mullins was a four-time All-MVC Defensive Team member as a player and Hefferman tells us the rookie coach has brought that tough defensive mind set back to Carbondale. The first year coach brought in players that know how to win and Hefferman tells us the Saluki roster is filled with players that have tasted success.

 

 

McGill – A Steadying Force

The one returning (and playing) senior is Eric McGill. He leads the team in MVC scoring and is second to Domask in assists. While a quiet individual, McGill provides confidence to his younger teammates.

McGill scored a career-high 27 points in Wednesday’s win over Loyola.

Hefferman says McGill is a quiet leader with an efficient offensive game.

 

 

Excitement in Little Egypt

Attendance is up. Enthusiasm is rising. People in Carbondale love college basketball. Banterra Center has become a place Valley teams don’t want to visit. After averaging under 4,000 fans per game during the nonconference season, they’re averaging 4,400 during league play.

Hefferman says the fan base is rejuvenated.

 

 

Our entire interview with Todd Hefferman can be found at Valley Hoops Insider Podcast on multiple podcasting platforms.

 

How Will They Finish?

Hefferman believes the Salukis who finish with five of their last nine games on the road, can definitely finish in the top half of the league, if not in the top four. SIU plays the next two on the road and they haven’t played either Missouri State or Evansville at all. In the unpredictable Missouri Valley Conference, anything can happen.

They visit Drake on Saturday and Evansville on February 5. If they can split those two games, they will still be in serious Valley contention.

The surprising Salukis are one of those ‘feel good’ stories we love to follow. Regardless of how they finish, Mullins’ first season has already been a success.

Do Good