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Salukis eye MVC tournament championship

Last season, SIU dominated the Missouri Valley Conference in a way that had not been seen in 20 years.

The Salukis went three months before losing their first conference game en route to a 17-1 finish, and their third consecutive MVC regular season crown and NCAA tournament appearance.

But at media day Monday, the Salukis set their sights on something that has eluded them the last nine years.

"We gotta win the MVC in St. Louis," said 2003 conference player of the year Darren Brooks.

The Salukis haven't brought home an MVC tournament title since 1994-95 and the departures of three starters -Bryan Turner, Sylvester Willis and Brad Korn - won't make this season's quest any easier.

Turner played just two seasons at SIU, after transferring from Mineral Area Community College. But Willis and Korn were both five-year players and were plugs in the Salukis system.

The trio averaged a combined 20.9 points and 10 .7 rebounds, but their numbers are no indication of how instrumental they were in last year's historic season.

"They couldn't have done it without those two guys," Lowery said. "We've had better post players with Jermaine Dearman and Rolan [Roberts], but what they did in the league was far superior."

The Salukis' strengths this season lie in their athleticism, depth and backcourt.

When Brooks pulled out of last summer's NBA draft he cemented what could be the best backcourt in the MVC, rejoining running mates Stetson Hairston, Jamaal Tatum and Tony Young.

Lowery said he will wait until practice gets underway before he decides what five players to plug into the starting lineup - that is, except for one person.

"As of right now Darren's starting," Lowery said. "Darren has earned that right to do that. He's the best player in the league."

SIU's weakness could be its inexperience up front after seniors Josh Warren and Lamar Owen. The Salukis have four forwards - Randal Falker, Jamaal Foster, Matt Shaw and Tony Boyle - who have not played a minute of college basketball.

Lowery doesn't know who will play significant minutes this season, but the 6-foot-7 Falker and 6-foot-9 Foster are likely choices because of what they bring to the floor.

"Mainly rebounding and inside scoring, what we lacked last year from our big men," Brooks said. "They're really going to come in and help us a lot."

The inexperienced back-ups could lead to a slow start but Lowery expects early playing time to aide in their development by the time SIU begins its conference schedule.

"We'll have gotten those young guys enough experience where they're able to help us be successful," Lowery said.

While SIU could get caught up in trying to duplicate last season's MVC finish, Owen said Lowery reminds the team of goals it wasn't able to achieve last season.

"He's knows we're a great team, and we had a lot of success last year, but what we didn't accomplish, we can accomplish this year," Owen said.