The Daily Egyptian is published by the students of SIU at Carbondale. Except during vacations and exam weeks, The Daily Egyptian is published Monday through Friday during the fall and spring semesters and TWThF during the summer semester."

Tabb's Carbondale debut a success

SIU drew 6,361 fans for its victory against Murray State Saturday, but perhaps the most anticipated game that day was played in a much smaller venue.

Family, friends, students and even a handful of Salukis flooded into Carbondale Community High School to see the undefeated Terriers' first home game, and, in particular, SIU recruit Josh Tabb.

Some people sat calmly, while those of a more raucous nature pounded the stands with their feet or stood waving their ThunderStix, anxiously awaiting the jump ball.

Tabb, though, didn't hear anyone. In fact, his home crowd had about as much effect on him as the Pinckneyville defenders did that night - none.

"I block all of it out," he said.

Anyone who knew anything about Carbondale and Pinckneyville, or for that matter anybody who saw warm-ups, knew it wasn't a question of whether or not the Terriers would win, but by how much.

And as expected, Pinckneyville struggled to keep pace with and defend its more athletic counterparts, as the Terriers opened the game with a 10-2 run.

But unlike his teammates, Tabb started slow, missing a short jumper in the lane and a three-pointer later in the same possession. And at the 3:28 mark, after a botched post feed to Manual Cass, he took a seat next to head coach Jim Miller.

His stay on the bench, as well as his rough start, would be short lived.

Tabb reentered the game about a minute later, nailing a three and two free throws, which gave the Terriers a 19-10 first quarter advantage.

To this point, Tabb had not yet resembled the former Century High School star regarded by many as one of Illinois' top high school prospects. But in a game against an overmatched Pinckneyville team, that player had to eventually resurface.

He did.

Tabb's two highlight-worthy plays came the very next quarter and gave just a slight indication of the athletic talent the 6-foot-4 wing guard possesses.

After his pass to Steven Haynes led to a steal, Tabb chased down a Panther guard and pinned his lay up on the backboard, single-handedly crushing one of few Pinckneyville fast break opportunities.

About a minute later, he ripped a Pinckneyville player and capped off the one-man fast break with a one-handed dunk, bringing both the fans and his teammates to their feet. But instead of playing to the crowd or admiring the most spectacular of his 13 points, Tabb got down in a defensive stance and knocked the ball out of bounds off a Pinckneyville guard's leg.

He would score twice more that quarter and threw the pass that led to a Michael DeWalt three-pointer falling through the net as time expired.

It's probably safe to say Pinckneyville head coach Dick Corn tried to light a fire under his team at the half, but there was no half-time speech that could have made up for the deficiencies in his team's speed and athleticism.

Carbondale outscored the Panthers 40-27 in the second half, and Tabb, along with most of the starters, sat the entire fourth quarter.

Tabb gave fans one last reason to erupt when he connected with 6-foot-2 guard Philip Fayne for an alley-oop mid-way through the third quarter.

"Phil can jump out the gym, so if you throw it up there, he'll go get it," Tabb said.

Tabb was one of four Terriers - DeWalt, Cass and fellow Century High School transfer Ray Nelson - to tally 13 points. He shot 5-for-9 from the field, and added four rebounds, two steals, two assists and a block.

"It was pretty fun," Tabb said of his home debut. "I don't really have to score a lot, so that takes a lot of pressure off me."

Though his stat line is not in the least bit jaw dropping, Tabb's pass-first attitude and willingness to play defense is.

No one on Pinckneyville's roster could have guarded him, and he probably knew that, but instead of forcing shots or abandoning the offensive system, he let the game come to him and got his teammates involved.

"That's the true characteristic of a great basketball player," Miller told the Southern Illinoisan after the game.

"He makes the people around him better."