Voice in the Wilderness

(Edwardsville, IL) – Like John the Baptist, Jon Harris is trying to be a voice in the wilderness to lead the Southern Illinois Edwardsville basketball program to the promised land of college basketball.

John the Baptist’s message was one of preparation and so is Harris’. The first year head coach is no novice to training young basketball players, but he is on his first head coaching assignment. His job is to establish a culture of excellence and team work. His assignment won’t be easy.

As members of the improving Ohio Valley Conference, the Cougars face a daunting task. The battle for name recognition isn’t even easy. Saint Louis University visited Vadalabene Center on Tuesday and still many in the St. Louis area don’t realize SIUE is a D1 school. Even in ‘southern Illinois’, the school’s name is more associated with that other SIU down in Carbondale.

Tuesday’s game pitted the established Billikens (although coming off a down season) against a re-tooled SIUE squad that has new coaches and six brand new players.

Harris who played at Marquette and coached under fellow Illinois native Counzo Martin at Missouri State, Tennessee and California is trying to mine the local region for players and respect. Tuesday’s game allowed Harris’ team the chance to play a home game against a larger regional school, all under the watchful eye of Fox Sports Midwest cameras.

A near sell-out crowd saw a better version of Cougars in the opening minutes. Freshman Carlos Anderson collected eight points in the first seven minutes and SIUE had an early eight point lead. The war of attrition took hold and Saint Louis’ greater depth began to wear down the younger Cougars.

All the while, the quiet confidence and even handed competitiveness of the man who came ‘home’ to make a difference, kept his team engaged. They endured a desert-like shooting stretch and fell behind by 10 points, but the resilient baby Cougars held on.

A 3-point basket by Burak Eslik gave them the lead with 12:33 left in the game, and led by three (50-47) with 7:18 to go, but three empty trips in a row, led to a 14-3 run by Jim Crews’ more veteran team and ended the home squad’s upset hopes.

The 70-60 final sore was academic, but the flashes of good things to come encouraged the first year coach. A great home environment and resiliency gives Harris something to build upon.

 

The Cougars (1-1) have two games before Thanksgiving. Saturday they play at IPFW and November 24 they host Campbell. Nationally ranked Butler awaits a Cougar visit on November 28.

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