You’ll have to forgive Justin Bocot if he gets emotional on Senior Day when the Salukis play UNI on Saturday. The fifth-year senior has travelled through both peaks and valleys during his career at Southern Illinois, and his emotions may reflect that journey.

Bocot was part of the heralded class of 2008 that also included Kevin Dillard, Torres Roundtree, Anthony Booker, Ryan Hare and Tony Freeman. He’s the only one left of that group.

When Bocot first stepped foot on campus in the fall of 2008, he was academically ineligible, had to pay his way to attend school and could not have contact with the basketball program.

To make ends meet, the Bloomington, Ill.-native got a job with the maintenance crew at SIU Arena. He swept and buffed the gym floor, cleaned the locker rooms and the weight room, all the while dreaming of the day he’d put on a Saluki uniform.

“It was my fault, because I put myself in that position by not getting my grades in high school,” he said. “That first year, I realized things don’t come easy and you have to work for what you want.”

As a redshirt freshman in 2009, the wiry 6-foot-3 guard earned a spot in the starting lineup by late-January. In just his second-career start, he scored 28 points and led Southern past Missouri State, giving the team a key road win that ultimately help it finish fifth in the conference standings.

Justin Bocot will be honored on Senior Day on Saturday against UNI.

Bocot started 26 games as a sophomore and averaged 9.1 points, while shooting 37.4 percent from 3-point range. Statistically, that season turned out to be the high-water mark of his career.

He had a great start to his junior season with a 14-point outing against Illinois and a 17-point night against Purdue. Things were rolling along smoothly for the team and Bocot until a pivotal home game versus Creighton on Jan. 7. SIU was 2-1 at the time and had a seven-point lead late in the game against the Bluejays. Creighton rallied back and eventually won in overtime. Bocot played little. Shortly thereafter, he sprained an ankle and his playing time significantly diminished. There was a 10-game stretch where he scored just nine points. Bocot bounced back at the end of his junior season by scoring double figures in five-straight games.

Heading into this year, Bocot expected to pick up where he left off, and he had some nice games early with 10 points versus Kansas State and 15 against Clemson. He had an off-the-court matter that caused him to miss four games, and since then, he’s scored in double digits only once and lost his starting job. Bocot did make a start at Ball State last Saturday, but did not start Wednesday at Drake, as head coach Chris Lowery continues to search for the right lineup combination for his 8-21 team.

“On any given night, you don’t really know whether you’re starting or you’re playing eight minutes,” he said. “Every time I get on the floor, I try to take advantage of the opportunity. I want to do whatever it takes to help my team win and stay positive. If I’m not playing, it’s going to be frustrating, but I still have to do what’s best for the team.”

Looking back at his career, Bocot is proud that he stayed the course.

“I’m a loyal guy,” he explained. “I didn’t care that my whole recruiting class left, or that the next class that I played with everybody left. I stuck with it. I told Coach Lowery that he didn’t have anything to worry about. I’ll be here year after year.”

Bocot regrets not making an All-Conference team or being part of an NCAA Tournament squad, but adversity has taught him some invaluable lessons.

“I think my career here has changed my attitude about life,” he explained. “I’ve been through a lot. For example, I haven’t really sat on the bench very much in my career until now. It’s made me think a lot and actually helped my attitude. I don’t get mad anymore when I’m on the bench. At first, I’d get mad and complain, and now I just go with it and do what’s best for the team.”

He hasn’t lost faith in his own ability and says he hopes to play professional basketball overseas. He said he will miss Southern Illinois and its fans.

“It’s important to me that the fans know I appreciate their support of me throughout my career,” Bocot said.

In a moment of levity at the end of his broadcast yesterday, Mike Reis noted that Ball State is my alma mater. Several others asked if I had mixed loyalties in the game against the Cardinals?

Hardly.

I’ve spent the last 11 years of my career in Saluki Athletics and work closely with Saluki Basketball. It hurts to see this program on the cusp of breaking the school record for losses in a season. Losing to the Cardinals was another punch in the gut. For that reason, my trip back to Muncie, Ind., where I graduated 21 years ago, was bittersweet.

Before the game, I walked around Ball State’s campus and reflected on my days as an undergrad. I visited my old dorm room, the library, the classrooms where I learned how to write.

The memories really flooded back when I stood at the site of the old Irving Gymnasium. It was the home of Ball State basketball during the late ’80s and a place that is now hallowed ground to Cardinal fans.

I loved college basketball and the underdog before I ever got to Ball State. As a little boy growing up in Kalamazoo, Mich., I daydreamed about leading Western Michigan to the Final Four.

When I got to Ball State in 1988, the men’s basketball team was mediocre. It was hard to get friends interested in going to the home games. More kids wore IU sweatshirts around campus than Ball State gear.

My roommate, Dave McWhorter, was a 6-foot farm boy who looked like he walked right out of the movie “Hoosiers.” He could appreciate basketball at any level, but even he would rather watch a Big Ten game on TV than go see his own school play in person. Our freshman year, we watched Ball State go to West Lafayette, where they were demolished by Purdue, 96-47.

Dave and I noticed something special about the team’s tubby, first-year head coach, though. He took a rag-tag group of players, taught them how to play with tenacity on defense and unselfishness on offense. They won eight of their last 13 games and finished the season 14-14.

Rick Majerus only coached two years at Ball State, but before he left for Utah, he gave the student body a magical 1989 season. The Cardinals started the year 5-0, including a road win at Minnesota. Majerus visited the dorms to pass out pizzas and invite students to games. He didn’t need to. Cardinal Fever was spreading like wildfire and everyone was talking about the upcoming rematch with Purdue at Irving Gym.

I remember camping out with Dave and 2,000 other students for tickets. It was cold, and Majerus insisted that we be allowed to wait inside on the gym floor. The next morning, he passed out donuts to students lined up with their sleeping bags.

The night before the game itself, I peeked in at Purdue’s practice. It was hard to believe this legendary program was in our house and that we might be able to beat them.

Tiny Irving Gym was packed with 6,000 ebullient fans an hour before tipoff. We came early because a rumor started that the fire marshal might not let everyone in.

That Purdue team, which included a freshman named Matt Painter, sat in its locker room an hour before the game, listening to a low roar from the crowd. When the Boilermakers finally came out, the building erupted. The student section was literally standing on the court. You could see fear in the Purdue players’ eyes.

The game was no contest, as Ball State fed off the energy of its rabid fans for a 70-56 win. Gene Keady was so amazed at the spectacle that he did an impromptu post-game interview with Ball State’s radio crew to praise the fans and the team.

Ball State went 29-3 that year. They were a No 9 seed in the NCAA Tournament and beat Pittsburgh, before losing by a dozen points to No. 1 Illinois.

As fabulous as the 1989 season was, the 1990 campaign was even better. Assistant coach Dick Hunsaker took over for Majerus, and the Cardinals rolled all the way to the Sweet 16. There was an incomprehensible first-round NCAA win over Gary Payton’s Oregon State team. Ball State went the length of the floor in two seconds and made a three-point play to win, 54-53, with no time remaining. The Ball State fight song never sounded so sweet as when the team mobbed Paris McCurdy on the floor after he hit the winning basket. For several years, my answering machine featured the final call of that game by Morry Mannies, the Voice of the Cardinals, who is retiring in a few weeks after 56 seasons.

In the second round, BSU pulled off another stunner, beating No. 4 seed Louisville. When the final horn sounded, it was bedlam on the campus of Ball State University. Students celebrated in the streets into the night.

Up next was the Sweet 16 game against UNLV. The Running Rebels destroyed almost every team they faced that year, winning the National Championship game over Duke by 30 points. Only one team — Ball State — ever threatened them. In that Sweet 16 contest, Ball State lost by two and missed a shot at the buzzer.

No player on BSU’s team averaged even 12 points per game that season. There were no stars, just a bunch of kids wholly committed to the system and winning. By the way, if you want to see a sweet dunk, check out this video of a Chandler Thompson throw-down from the game against UNLV.

So what’s the point of this trip down Memory Lane? It’s an illustration of the power college athletics has to bring happiness to peoples’ lives. It unifies students from all walks of life. It brings fans together for a few hours to forget their troubles and be entertained. Ball State basketball was a special part of my life during a time when I had no money and no idea of what the future would hold. I will always treasure those memories.

Those three NCAA Tournament wins in 1989 and 1990 are the only NCAA wins in Ball State history. The accomplishments of BSU Basketball pales in comparison to Southern’s rich history. Saluki fans have witnessed 10 NCAA Tournament appearances, including three Sweet 16s. Older fans remember the 1967 NIT title.

Just because SIU and Ball State are classified as mid-majors, playing in the shadow of the Big Ten, it doesn’t mean their fans should accept second-class status, however. As SIU proved from 2002-07, sustained excellence is possible at this level.

Right now, Saluki Basketball is hurting, but it won’t stay that way indefinitely. Everyone I work with in Saluki Athletics recognizes the value of a basketball program that can produce moments that unite us, entertain us and emotionally bind us to the school we love.

Saluki Basketball will be back. Don’t give up hope.

1. The NCAA doesn’t keep track of two-game statistics, but it’s probably safe to say that 24-of-26 made 3-point shots against Southern Illinois in the last two games is a record.

2. Neither Indiana State or Creighton was shooting the ball very well before playing Southern. That begs the question, was it just a freakish coincidence or is SIU’s 3-point defense that bad?

3. There’s truth in both statements. Watch any 3-point shooting contest in which the shooter is, obviously, unguarded. Have you ever seen anyone make close to 90 percent? Me either. The 3-point line was established in 1980, and it may be another 30 years before some team breaks ISU’s record.

4. At the same time, the majority of 3-pointers by Indiana State and Creighton could be classified as wide-open looks — clearly the result of breakdowns on defense.

5. The remarkable 3-point shooting by Southern’s opponents is a recent development. SIU’s 3-point defense was yielding only 34 percent heading into the Indiana State game. The Salukis actually had the fourth-best defensive percentage in the MVC at the time.

6. ISU and Creighton exposed the Salukis’ D. SIU’s defense is predicated upon the strength, toughness and experience of its guards. The guards have to stop dribble penetration. They have to anticipate where the ball is going out of a trap and recover. They have to fight through screens. Right now, the guards aren’t very good in any of these areas.

7. So why don’t Southern’s guards execute these concepts the way Darren Brooks, Stetson Hairston, Tony Young and Bryan Mullins of yesteryear used to? Part of it is the lack of size on the current roster. Brooks, Hairston and Co. were built like linebackers. They manhandled people. Opposing coaches constantly complained to the refs about how physical SIU’s guards were.

8. Here are the weights of Southern’s current back court: Justin Bocot (170), Kendal Brown-Surles (170), Jeff Early (185), Kourtney Goff (180), T.J. Lindsay (175), Diamond Taylor (180). They aren’t winning many physical battles. In contrast, here are the weights of the aforementioned guards: Brooks (205), Hairston (220), Young (190), Mullins (190). Those guys were built like tanks.

9. Another obvious factor is experience. SIU’s starting back court of Goff, Lindsay and Early are all in their first season of Division I basketball. Brooks and Hairston were role players during their first season, but they developed amazing chemistry on offense and defense during the course of four years together. Today’s group doesn’t have that luxury.

10. The team’s best defensive guard is freshman Josh Swan, who physically looks similar in body-type to Brooks and Hairston. Unfortunately for Southern, he has missed the last six games with a foot injury and is likely done for the year. He was playing nearly 20 minutes per game, and not because of his offense.

You’ll have to forgive Mamadou Seck if he seems a bit tired from time-to-time. The 24-year-old Saluki senior has his hands full these days.

Everyone knows about the grind of a college basketball season, but Seck has even more on his plate than the average student-athlete.

For starters, the computer science major is taking 16 credit hours so that he can complete his degree this May. On top of that, he and his wife, Gretchen, have an eight-month old baby boy — Mohammed.

Having an infant at home has been a life-changing experience for Seck. He’s become the epitome of a sleep-deprived parent.

“At the beginning, I couldn’t even sleep, because I was not used to the noise,” he said. “It’s way better now than three or four months ago, though.”

In between classes, studying and practice, Seck takes naps in the men’s basketball locker room. He helps Gretchen out as much as possible, but admits that because of his rigorous schedule, his wife bears a heavier load in caring for the baby.

“I have changed diaper maybe five times — I’m not really good at it,” he laughed. “I can shower the baby. I like doing that and playing with him.”

Mamadou and Gretchen met two years ago while both were students at Southeastern Illinois College. In keeping with his Muslim faith, Seck had never taken a girl out in public before. That changed when he met his future wife.

“For the first time in my life, she was a girl who I felt I could go anywhere I want to go,” the Senegal native said. “She’s different.”

Gretchen was born in the Philippines but is an American citizen. They were married at a mosque in Carbondale on Jan. 12, and Mamadou beams when he talks about her.

“I noticed that she was different than other girls,” he explained. “She doesn’t drink, she doesn’t smoke, she doesn’t go out and do all this crazy stuff, and she’s really smart.”

When they first started dating, the couple had some trouble understanding each other’s English. Mamadou speaks with a heavy French accent.

Mamadou Seck leads SIU in scoring, rebounding and assists

It didn’t stop them from doing all the normal things young couples do, like going out to eat, to the movies, and one of their favorite activities together — hiking.

Since the baby arrived, dates consist of an occasional meal out.

“We don’t have time to go to the movies anymore,” he said.

Seck said his original plan was to return to return to Senegal after graduation, but now he intends to either play professional basketball or go to grad school. Part of the reason he wants to stay in the States is because Gretchen does not speak French and prefers to live in the U.S.

“I came here to get my degree, play basketball and when I’m done, go home,” he said. “The situation has changed a little bit, and as they say, adapt to the situation.”

For now, he’s in no rush to make a decision. The Salukis’ leading scorer, rebounder and assist-man has four more regular-season games to play, plus the conference tournament. He has the full support of his wife and son, who attend every home game.

Seck isn’t sure if little Mohammed will follow his footsteps into a career in basketball.

“He likes kicking a ball with his head,” Seck said.

One thing Mamadou does know is that his dreams and aspirations have come true during the past few years — he’s had a successful career in basketball, he’s nearly obtained his college degree, and he has a family that loves him.

Who needs sleep?

1. After tonight’s loss to Missouri State, Southern has its back against the wall in its quest for a top-six seed in the Missouri Valley Conference tournament. With four games remaining, it needs to leapfrog two teams out of the pool of Drake, Evansville and Northern Iowa.

2. That means SIU will probably have to win three games, and possibly all four of its remaining conference games. Both Evansville and Northern Iowa have beaten Creighton, which counts in their favor in a potential tie-breaker.

3. If SIU doesn’t make the top six, it will look back on the overtime loss at home to Drake, and tonight’s two-point defeat at the hands of the Bears, as the turning points in its season. You just can’t afford to lose multiple home games.

4. Jeff Early’s three fouls in a 39-second span of the first half tonight was a crushing blow. After a slow start, you could feel the tide turning in Southern’s favor just before he exited. The play in which he was whistled for two fouls (one was a technical) could have been called either way. It was a collision in the open floor.

5. Both head coaches pulled out all the stops, each using a zone defense to throw the other off stride. Missouri State held SIU scoreless for more than six minutes in the first half with its zone. The Salukis got a couple key turnovers from their zone, although it also surrendered a pair of 3-pointers.

6. If you had told me in November that after 25 games, the Salukis would be going on their 13th different starting lineup, and that the lineup would feature four junior college players, including a walk-on, I would not have believed it. That in no way is a knock against the JUCO kids. In fact, how can you NOT like what they have done?

7. Mamadou Seck is the best JUCO player the program has recruited in the last 10 years. He’s the best scorer, rebounder and passer on the team, and it would be nowhere without him.

8. Jeff Early plays guard, but he’s really a forward disguised in a guard’s body. Regardless, he’s the heart and soul of this team with an energy level that never stops. He reminds me of a recent Saluki JUCO player named LaMar Owen, who was a fan favorite for his hustle play six years ago.

9. T.J. Lindsay is the Newt Gingrich of Saluki Basketball. Every time you count him out, he makes a comeback. After getting benched for two games, he made three clutch 3-pointers in the second half tonight. He’s a 38 percent 3-point shooter, while his teammates combine to make only 25 percent.

10. Kourtney Goff is not only a JUCO, but a walk-on to boot. No, you don’t want him shooting the J, but he does everything else well, including play defense and distribute the ball.

The Saluki Shakers may not be the main attraction when fans attend a men’s basketball game at SIU Arena on game night, but that hasn’t stopped them from gaining national recognition.

The Shakers recently competed in the Universal Dance Association college nationals in Orlando, Fla. January 13-15, where they brought home 7th place in poms and 12th in hip-hop.

Preparations for the competition began back in August, said Megan Campbell, one of the three team captains.  Instructors from the UDA came to Carbondale to teach the team a poms and hip-hop routine that the Shakers spent months perfecting.

In order to qualify for the competition, the Shakers sent in a taped performance of the routine they planned to use in order to receive a bid.  Divisions are broken up based on the level of each school’s football programs, either Division IA for large schools and Division I for smaller schools like SIU.

Saluki Shakers captains

Campbell said they used football and basketball home games to test their routines, making sure they have them down perfectly and continue practicing four to five days out of the week during the year.

“I’ve been on the team three years and this is the best team I’ve been on so far not only by our finish at nationals but as a whole,” Campbell said.

Shaker’s coach Tawmi Conley, who in her 13th season, said being a competitive team that competes on a national level helps not only recruit new members to the team, but retain them as well. 

“I just think that’s what a lot of them look forward to, it’s kind of their ‘Super Bowl’ and I think that everything we do leads up to our national competition,” Conley said.

Conley said this year’s squad is smaller than previous years with just 12 members, and the team has a high level of dedication.

Fundraising efforts are vital for the Shakers success.  While uniforms are provided, the Shakers must raise their own money for their trip to nationals.  Fundraisers include candle sales, their popular yearly calendars and clinics for little girls like the one that was held today at Davies Gym for girls ages Pre-k through fourth grade.

At the clinic, participants learned a routine that they will perform along with the Shakers at halftime of the men’s basketball game on Wednesday versus Missouri State.   

“Just to know that we are role models to little girls and to spend the day with them and make their day means the world to all of us and to see that we can make an impact on their lives,” Campbell said.

1. Tired. The Salukis looked flat-out whipped during the past week, both physically and emotionally. The result was ugly losses by 43 points at Wichita State and 20 at Illinois State.

2. It’s not uncommon for teams to hit a wall of fatigue this time of year, especially on the road. If you look at the results of the last eight days in the MVC, the home team has won 12 of 14 games. The only road winners were Creighton (at Drake) and Missouri State (at Bradley).

3. Chris Lowery has mentioned the difficult three-day trips to Creighton and Wichita State. It’s true. Travel conditions clearly played a factor in these games. Really good teams, however, find ways to overcome fatigue. To win on the road in late January, it takes mental toughness and a few breaks, and the Salukis had neither against the Bluejays, Shockers and Redbirds.

4. A good example of mental toughness can be seen in the late January road results of SIU’s 2007 Sweet 16 team. There was a 17-point loss at Evansville, followed by a critical, one-point win at Creighton. In the Creighton game, SIU rallied from a seven-point deficit with 10 minutes to go, as Bryan Mullins hit the game-winning shot at the buzzer. In this year’s Creighton game, the Salukis trailed by four points with 12 minutes remaining. They fell apart and lost by 19.

5. The first thing to go when you are tired is your shooting legs. Let’s take a look at the last three road games against Creighton, Wichita State and Illinois State. The Salukis combined to shoot 36 percent from the field, 27 percent from 3-point, and a jaw-dropping 46 percent from the free throw line. They were also out-rebounded by an average of eight per game.

6. The one player who seems to still have some energy is Jeff Early. In those three games, he’s led the team in scoring at 9.0 points per game. The guys Southern relies on to make 3-pointers were ice cold. T.J. Lindsay was 0-for-7 and Kendal Brown-Surles was 1-for-6.

7. After Tuesday’s game at UNI, Southern plays four of its last six conference games at home. That should be a nice advantage if the team can get its mental approach right.

8. That’s the danger right now. If the Salukis mentally check out, they could go into a tailspin. It happened last year. The 2011 team was also 3-3 to start the conference season, but finished 2-10.

9. Speaking of Northern Iowa, I noticed that of the 16 players on the Panthers roster, 10 have redshirted or are in the process of redshirting this year. That’s a remarkable number and a good strategy for a team that doesn’t have star-quality players.

10. So what will it take to finish in the top six of the Missouri Valley Conference this season and avoid the dreaded Thursday night play-in game? I believe it will require at least an 8-10 record. For Southern Illinois, that means winning four of its last seven games. The teams that are vying with SIU (4-7) for the coveted sixth-place spot right now are Evansville (5-6), Northern Iowa (4-7) and Indiana State (4-7). The Salukis play four games against those teams, so they control their own destiny.

You won’t hear stories about Antonio Bryer missing class because he slept through his morning alarm after a late night. And you won’t hear stories about him struggling to get his schoolwork done between practices and basketball road trips.

The 20-year-old freshman forward is driven. Just ask his roommate and teammate, freshman guard Josh Swan.

“What impresses me about Tone is his work ethic,” Swan said. “You can’t get him off track on anything. When he says he’s going to do something, he’s going to get it done. If he needs to wake up early in the morning and go work out or go shoot or go to his class and get everything done, then he’s going to do it. There’s no playing games with him.”

Bryer’s maturity shouldn’t come as a surprise. After averaging 14 points and 10 rebounds a game as a senior at Norview (Va.) High School in 2010, he didn’t receive as much interest from Division I schools as he hoped. To improve his chances, he opted for a year of prep school and spent last season playing for Fishburne Military Academy in his home state of Virginia.

Many of his teammates at Fishburne accepted Division I scholarships, including Saluki center Harry Whitt.

At Fishburne, structure was a central part of every day, from marching in formation to the proper dress attire. Coming from that background to SIU, Bryer had little difficulty dealing with the responsibility of managing his time on his own.

“Coming from a military school,” he said, “I’m used to stuff being really structured and waking up early, so it was a smooth transition coming here and having to do it by myself.”

That military discipline runs in the family. Bryer’s father is retired from the Navy where he served for 20 years, and the younger Bryer said joining the Navy at some point is something he hasn’t ruled out.

However, while Bryer may appear serious, he still likes to have fun. He and Swan can turn into a comedic duo when they’re with their friends.

“People can’t tell when we walk around,” Swan said, “but when people actually come and hang out with us in the room or when we go eat or something, all we do is make everybody around us laugh.”

Antonio Bryer

Bryer said the mental aspect of the game has always come easily to him, and most people around the program agree that he has the ability to develop into a very good player for the Salukis. In order to do that, he’s trying to improve his speed and add some bulk to his 6-foot, 7-inch frame. He is currently listed at 205 pounds.

“I just want to get my feet faster so I can play a little more on the perimeter and get my body weight up,” Bryer said.

If his work in the classroom is any indication, he should be able to push himself to accomplish his goals on the court as well. Bryer posted a 3.83 GPA in his first semester at SIU, and that work ethic seems to be contagious.

“It rubs off on me,” Swan said. “Especially being my roommate. I hear him wake up at 7-something in the morning, and he has to get something done. Then I want to get up and go get something done, try to get all my work done, get my things turned in early and be on time.”

Let’s play fill in the blank.

The Southern Illinois women’s basketball team’s win over Missouri State Thursday was ______.

It’s hard to decide what word best describes the win. So many choices are equally fitting.

Let’s start with improbable.

SIU wasn’t supposed to win this game based on statistics, rankings or history.

The Lady Bears were the preseason pick to win the Missouri Valley Conference and the Salukis were picked last. In fact, SIU hadn’t won a MVC game in its previous 24 tries, tying a conference record.

MSU has a veteran roster featuring three players with All-MVC honors on their resumes, including 2010 Valley Player of the Year Casey Garrison. The Salukis have one of the youngest teams in the league and started four freshmen against the Lady Bears.

The Bears certainly looked to have the deck heavily stacked in their favor, but the Salukis beat the odds.

Another word that comes to mind is special.

Just ask junior guard Teri Oliver how special it was.

Oliver surpassed 1,000 points for her career and tied a school record with seven 3-pointers in the game. But to Oliver, those milestones didn’t mean as much as beating the Bears.

“Personally, if it doesn’t come with a win against Missouri State, it doesn’t matter,” Oliver said. “Yeah I am in the scorebook, the record book or whatever. But we beat Missouri State. That is all I can say.”

Prior to Thursday, Oliver was the only player on SIU’s roster to have played on the winning side of a MVC game. The rest of the players on the SIU roster, especially those who suffered through last season’s 0-18 Valley campaign, will no doubt look back on this one fondly and remember how good it felt.

How about relieving?

Avoiding the distinction of becoming the only team in Valley history to lose 25 in a row was certainly a relief. The proverbial monkey is off the team’s back.

Winning just one game, especially over a team of Missouri State’s caliber, takes off a lot of pressure.

“It takes our confidence level on a scale from one to 10 from a five to a 957 million, billion,” Oliver said. “(Missouri State) is the team to beat and we did it. We finally did it.”

Another word that fits is encouraging.

Southern’s win over the Bears was its first win in a tight game. The Salukis previous three wins were all by comfortable margins and SIU has lost six games in which they have either held a lead or a tie in the final minutes of regulation.

Missouri State closed to within three points with under a minute to play Thursday night, but the SIU players didn’t lose their cool.

“I felt like we were not going to lose. We came this far and there is no backing down,” said freshman guard Cartaesha Macklin. “They were going to have to stop us, but we were not going to be stopped.”

Head coach Missy Tiber said she noticed that her young team is growing more confident, even before the win.

“When you have so much youth, they truly don’t understand sometimes. They think they are going hard, but sometimes they are not,” Tiber said. “To me, that was a big difference in our kids, mentally. I think they now understand what they have to do to prepare every single game. Not just how we prepare them for the Xs and Os, but emotionally how they have to come to the court.”

One word that doesn’t belong in that blank is fluke. The Salukis look like they are getting better with every game and appear capable of adding to that MVC win total.

*************************

Tiber said SIU’s 78-68 loss to Wichita State Saturday was not a step backward after Thursday’s win.

“I don’t think we lose any confidence,” she said. “I think we probably gained confidence with this game, just knowing that we were right there down the stretch with a chance to win this thing versus the first-place team in our league.”

Southern played just as hard against the Shockers as they did against Missouri State, they just didn’t hit as many shots. Conversely, Wichita State was far more efficient from the field and the free throw line than the Lady Bears, yet SIU was still within four points in the final three minutes.

Unlike previous close losses, the Salukis didn’t fumble the game away, as much as Wichita State stepped up and made big plays.

“There is a reason they have won nine-straight and they are undefeated in the league at this point,” Tiber said. “If they are the best, then I like where we’re at and where we are going.”

Davante Drinkard has repeatedly faced adversity in his life, and each time he’s come out stronger on the other side. From losing his father, to breaking his foot, to becoming academically ineligible after his freshman year at Southern Illinois — Drinkard’s young life has seen more than its share of hardship.

When he was a sophomore in high school, Drinkard’s dad was tragically killed in an automobile accident. Orlando Drinkard, who worked his way up from driver to owner of an Atlanta trucking company, left behind a wife and four children. Davante remembers the words his father told him not long before his death.

“He told us that tomorrow is not promised, and you have to live each day like it’s your last,” Drinkard recalled.

Davante has tried to live out that advice as a tribute to his father, who he called the best friend and coach he’s ever had.

Drinkard’s family moved from Atlanta to the small town of Toccoa, Ga., near the South Carolina border, at the start of Drinkard’s junior year. He quickly established himself as the area’s top basketball player and had numerous Division I scholarship offers to choose from.

Instead of taking one of the offers, Drinkard decided to wait until after his senior season, to see if he could improve his options. At first, it looked like a great decision, as he scored 28 points in one game and grabbed 18 rebounds in another. Then, in the team’s ninth game, Drinkard went up for a defensive rebound and came down awkwardly on his right foot. Not only did he tear ligaments in his ankle, but he broke a metatarsal bone and chipped his heel bone.

Suddenly, college coaches stopped calling him. Only one school continued to show interest. He signed in the spring of 2010, officially becoming a Saluki.

Davante Drinkard dunks over Clemson's Bernard Sullivan.

“Any time I would jump or land on my foot, it was excruciatingly painful,” he said. “I was spraining my ankle about every week in practice because it hadn’t healed all the way.”

Nevertheless, the 6-foot-9 center impressed the coaches with his size and strength — so much so that he played in every game last season, averaging a modest 1.5 points and 1.5 rebounds.

“The game was so fast, and I had hardly played in two years,” he said of his freshman campaign. “I didn’t have confidence in the foot. I was still scared to jump and afraid about how I would land.”

The combination of college basketball and college classwork was more than Drinkard was able to handle, though, and his grades suffered. He blamed himself for winding up academically ineligible to start the 2011-12 season.

“It was never that the workload was too challenging for me,” he explained. “It was just me being lazy and making freshman mistakes, like sleeping in or being late to class. I had to grow up, be a man and do the work.”

He did precisely that during the last semester, surpassing a 3.0 GPA to re-gain his eligibility. Meanwhile, he made strides on the court, as well.

“I had time where my body was actually 100 percent, to get better, get stronger and develop my game more,” he said. “The main thing is my confidence is much higher. I’m more physical at establishing position, finishing around the rim and playing smart.”

Having beefed up to 233 pounds, Drinkard has shown flashes of big-time post play. He had a career-high 10 points and five rebounds against SIUE. Versus Clemson, he blocked three shots. In the conference opener at Bradley, he made 6-of-7 field goals and established a new career-best with 12 points, including a trio of powerful dunks.

“I’m a physical player,” he said. “I’ve always played with a football mentality.”

Although he’s still only 19 years old, Drinkard is no longer the youngest player on the team and feels he has a responsibility to mentor the club’s five freshmen.

“I was a free-spirited kid, but I had to grow up,” he acknowledged. “People are looking at me now and I feel like I have to set an example for the younger guys.”

Not a day goes by when Drinkard does not miss his father, who he said, “was everything to me.”

“I could always look up in the stands, and no matter how loud the gym was, I could understand what he was telling me,” Drinkard said. “It was tough trying to play ball without having that guy there to lead you on and show you what to do. Even though he’s not in the bleachers, it’s like he’s still here with me. I think of it that way. He’s there at every game helping me, and I always want to play as hard as I can.”

Drinkard said he models himself after the man who taught him to “always have faith in yourself, respect for you opponent and play as hard as you can. He was a real southern gentleman, and respect was something that was always established in our household.”