Illinois States Marcus Arnold became the fourth Redbird freshman to be named to the Missouri Valley Conference All-Freshman Team in the last five years Tuesday, while sophomore Vince Greene earned honorable mention all-conference honors.
This is a great honor for both of these young men, head coach Tom Richardson said. Each was instrumental in our successes this season, but they will play an even more prominent role in the years to come. Hopefully, both Marcus and Vince, will continue to work hard, improve and build off this honor to eventually become two of the top 10 players in the league.
Arnold started 18 of the Birds 27 games this season. The 6-foot-8 forward from Chicago, Ill., averaged 8.1 points and 3.4 rebounds per game. He scored double-figures in 12 games and really came on during the conference season. In league play, Arnold averaged 9.2 points and 3.3 boards per tilt.
For the year, Arnold also shot 49.4 percent from the field and is only 13 made field goals away from owning the freshman field goal percentage record at Illinois State.
Greene leads the Redbirds in points, assists and steals. Also a Chicago native, Greene averaged 12.2 points per game, while totaling 123 assists and 47 steals. He started 25 games, including all 18 league games.
In conference play, Greene shot 47.5 percent on treys and 55.6 percent from the field. His field goal percentage in league games ranks No. 4 in the conference and he is the only player under six-feet in the top 15.
Both Arnold and Greene return to action on Friday, as the Redbirds face Drake for the third time in 20 days in the first round of the 2003 State Farm Missouri Valley Conference Tournament in St. Louis, Mo. Tip-off is slated for 6 p.m., with the winner to face No. 1 seed Southern Illinois on Saturday.
