Over the next several days, I'll be posting previews of each team in the Valley. Today I take a look at the Illinois State Redbirds.
Illinois State
2006-07: 15-16
(6-12 MVC)
12.29 at CU
02.27 at ISU
2006-07 REWIND: Illinois State, despite having the Freshman of the Year and two members of the All-Newcomer team, finished a decidedly mediocre 15-16 overall and 6-12 in the conference. Creighton defeated the Redbirds on New Years Day 79-71 in Omaha behind 23 points and 9 boards from Anthony Tolliver on 11-11 shooting from the field; the Jays as a team set a Qwest Center record by shooting 64% for the game. In Normal, the Jays lost out on a chance to catch SIU for first place in the league as a game of streaks ended in a 65-55 win for the Redbirds. Osiris Eldridge scored 18 second-half points to lead Illinois State.
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Former Bluejay Porter Moser spent four years trying to resuscitate a moribund Illinois State program, and seemingly had recruited enough talent to earn one more season to make a NCAA tourney run. But in the increasingly competitive MVC, a 6-12 conference mark and an average RPI of 174 during his tenure were not enough to give him that chance.
In his place is Tim Jankovich, a twenty-year assistant finally getting his chance at a head coaching job. Jankovich cut his teeth working for people like Eddie Sutton and Lon Kruger, but perhaps most importantly to ISU, for Kevin Stallings at Vanderbilt. Stallings is the former ISU coach and the architect of teams that won three consecutive MVC titles in the mid-nineties.
Jankovich inherits a program that is hardly in disarray. On the contrary, the Redbirds have four starters returning, including their top three scorers. The only departing starter is Greg Dilligard, who was mostly neutralized by Anthony Tolliver in two meetings last year.
Bad news for the Jays is that Osiris Eldridge, Levi Dyer, and Boo Richardson all return for the Redbirds. Eldridge in particular killed the Jays; he averaged 9.8 ppg for the season en route to MVC Freshman of the Year honors, but he scored 46 points and pulled down 12 boards in two games against Creighton.
Levi Dyer was also a tough matchup for the Jays last year. His size (6'11") gave Tolliver fits; he scored in the paint in bunches in both games last year. It will be interesting to see how Dane Watts and the Jays' newcomers handle Dyer.
Boo Richardson is a talented, if turnover-prone, point guard who plays nearly every minute of every game (averaging a team-high 33 minutes per game in 06-07). The Redbirds depth is in the backcourt, meaning perhaps fewer minutes for Richardson.
Illinois State opens up play on November 7 against Missouri-St Louis. Their solid non-conference slate features matchups with Indiana, Cincinnati, and either Xavier or Kent State in the Chicago Invitational, and should give them a chance for a couple of solid wins before MVC play.
Jankovich's initial Redbird squad is one of the most veteran in the league, an important trait in the Valley. Its not out of the realm of possibility for them to win 20 games and contend for an NCAA berth; his real challenge will come in 07-08, when he loses five key players to graduation.
PREDICTION: 20-10, Fourth in the Valley, NIT berth.
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