The Illinois State mens and womens basketball teams will combine on a joint effort in their first public appearance of the 2002-03 season for the annual Red-White Scrimmage at Redbird Arena, on Thursday night.
The Redbird womens team, which features 10 returning letterwinners, including seniors Steph Reichle and Stacey Nickerson, and five newcomers, will tip-off the event at 7 p.m. Junior Taren OBrien, the teams leader in points and assists last season, and Missouri Valley Conference All-Newcomer selection Katie Donovan also return.
Ex-junior college stars Zora Skrabalova and Erin Keeney give the Birds more athletic ability and height up front. The return of 2001 freshman star Jaci McCormack from an ankle injury figures to bolster the Redbird offense.
Head coach Jenny Yopp has specific goals for the scrimmage.
Defensively, we want to put pressure on the basketball and show our improvement in rebounding, said Yopp. Offensively, we want to see a real effort at showing patience in executing our offensive system.
The mens team, which will begin its scrimmage around 8 p.m., fields six letterwinners, including second-team All-Valley selection Baboucarr Bojang, and seven newcomers. Sophomore Gregg Alexander, who was selected as a member of the All-Valley Freshman Team in 2001-02, also returns, while Trey Guidry and Neil Plank, transfers from North Carolina State and Wisconsin, respectively, will also take the floor for the Redbirds.
Head coach Tom Richardsons nationally-ranked recruiting class of Marcus Arnold, Chris Burras and Dana Ford will also make their Illinois State debuts. Richardson always looks forward to this annual event.
The guys are always excited about playing in front of our fans, Richardson said. The Red-White game is a great event, because of the anticipation and excitement that surrounds it. In addition to giving our supporters a sneak peek, it also gives us an opportunity to evaluate our players in an game-type setting with officials.
Admission for the event is free.
