Nov. 6, 2007
Illinois State-Quincy Game Notes in PDF Format 
STORYLINES
► Wednesday's contest will be ISU's only tune-up before it opens the regular season Nov. 14 against Missouri-St. Louis.
► Wednesday's exhibition game marks the first competitive action with the Redbirds for first-year head coach Tim Jankovich. In his four-year stint as the head coach at North Texas, Jankovich compiled an 8-0 record in exhibition games.
► Dating back to the 1952 season, Illinois State has played to a 7-7 all-time series tie against Quincy. The two teams have never played in an exhibition game.
► After hosting UMSL in the season opener (Nov. 11), Illinois State will play four-consecutive games in the Chicago Invitational Challenge. The `Birds will host both Southeast Missouri State (Nov. 14) and UNC-Wilmington (Nov. 18) at Redbird Arena, before squaring off against Indiana (Nov. 23) and/or Xavier/Kent State (Nov. 24) at the Sears Centre in Hoffman Estates, Ill.
ABOUT THE HAWKS
► Quincy University is a private, four-year, contemporary liberal arts school located in Quincy, Ill., and has an enrollment of 1,292. The Hawks are a member of the Division II Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC).
► The Hawks return seven lettermen, including two starters, from a 2006-07 team that went 20-10 overall (12-7 GLVC). The Hawks are coming off a school record third-consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance. Quincy dropped a first-round regional NCAA Tournament decision to Grand Valley State, 85-75.
► Quincy was picked fourth in the West Division of the 2007-08 GLVC men's basketball preseason coaches poll. The Hawks received a total of 20 points.
► Quincy has already taken the court competitively twice this season. The Hawks dropped an 82-61 decision at Illinois on Oct. 31, and were outlasted by Bradley, 105-82, after taking a 47-39 lead at halftime, Sunday at Carver Arena.
THE STARTING FIVE
(1) A New Era - Wednesday's exhibition contest marks a new era in Redbird men's basketball, as head coach Tim Jankovich will take the floor competitively for the first time. Jankovich was named the 18th head coach at Illinois State March 20, 2007. Jankovich spent the past five years under current Kansas head coach Bill Self. He was an assistant under Self for one season at Illinois, before spending the last four campaigns as his top assistant at Kansas.
(2) Tale of Two Halves - Six games into the 2006-07 season, center Levi Dyer ranked ninth on the team in scoring with 2.3 points per game. At the end of the campaign, Dyer led the `Birds with 12.1 points per game and was a "no-brainer" to be dubbed as the team captain of the Missouri Valley Conference's Most-Improved Team by the league's beat writers. In the 2004-05 campaign, Dyer averaged 4.6 points and 1.7 rebounds per game, while shooting just 33 percent from the floor.
(3) "O" So Pretty - Osiris Eldridge sports a letterman-style jacket around the ISU campus, showcasing his nickname "King-O." Well, "the king" got the first jewel in his collegiate crown at the end of the 2006-07 campaign, when Eldridge was named the Missouri Valley Conference's Freshman of the Year by the league coaches, media and sports information directors. Eldridge became the third player from Illinois State to receive the conference freshman of the year award.
(4) Making Their Mark - Guard Boo Richardson and forward Anthony Slack have been teammates for three years, transferring to Illinois State from Coffeyville Community College following the 2005-06 season, so it was fitting to have the tandem each make the league's all-newcomer team with Eldridge last season. Richardson averaged 9.8 points and 4.9 assists per game for the year, while Slack averaged 9.4 points and 5.7 rebounds per contest.
(5) Get That Stuff Outta' Here - Illinois State led the Missouri Valley Conference in blocked shots last season, registering 3.26 blocks-per-game (101 total). The Redbirds out-blocked their counterparts by 12 total swats, and held the blocking advantage in 10 individual contests. ISU's 101 blocks on the season were the fifth-best single-season mark in program history.
2007-08 PRESEASON NOTABLES
ILLINOIS, ILLINOIS
There will be a plethora of Illinois natives on the Redbird Arena floor in Thursday's exhibition game between Illinois State and Quincy. The Redbirds have three players on their roster that hail from the state of Illinois, and the Hawks' roster has six natives of Illinois. Three of the players (ISU's Osiris Eldridge and Quincy's Austin Chapital and Jeff Wilson) are from the city of Chicago, while the Hawks' Josh Edmonds is from Peoria, Ill.
STARTING ANEW
Despite having just one freshman on the roster, Illinois State will welcome four newcomers to the mix this season, as first-year head coach Tim Jankovich signed junior college transfers Emmanuel Holloway and Brandon Sampay to the program; additionally, sophomore transfer Sead Odzic will be eligible in mid-December and freshman guard Alex Rubin was the lone member of ISU's 2007 recruiting class.
SITTING IT OUT
Along with Holloway, Sampay, Odzic and Rubin, two other Division I transfers joined the Redbird basketball program during the offseason, as 6-foot-5 Oregon guard Chamberlain Oguchi and six-foot Austin Peay State guard Landon Shipley both transferred to ISU. Each sit out the 2007-08 season, and begin their eligibility at Illinois State in the 2008-09 campaign. Both Oguchi and Shipley are currently practicing with the Redbirds.
THE NEW STAFF
Jankovich hired three assistant coaches that boast a combined 40 years of college coaching experience. He hired 18-year state of Illinois coaching veteran Rob Judson, who had spent the past six years as the head coach at Northern Illinois. Prior to his stint with the Huskies, Judson spent the previous 12 years as an assistant coach at Northern Illinois (1989-91), Bradley (1991-96) and his alma mater, Illinois (1996-2001). Anthony Beane, who was an assistant coach at ISU under former Redbird head coach Tom Richardson (2000-02) was also hired after a four-year stint at Saint Louis. Jankovich bolstered his Chicago recruiting ties with the hiring of Paris Parham, a well-respected high school coach in Chicago's Public League. Parham, who was ISU sophomore Osiris Eldridge's high school coach at Morgan Park, also boasts 10 years of college coaching experience.
JANKOVICH NOT ALONE
Tim Jankovich is part of a Missouri Valley Conference single-season upheaval that has five new head coaches, the most since five new MVC head coaches took over for the 1978-79 season. Jankovich is joined by first-year head coaches Keno Davis (Drake), Marty Simmons (Evansville) Kevin McKenna (Indiana State) and Gregg Marshall (Wichita State).
GIVING THANKS -- FOR THE WINS
During its 109-year history, Illinois State has compiled a 51-31 (.622) record in the month of November. The Redbirds have played just two games against ISU's six scheduled November opponents this season. Indiana defeated Illinois State in the first-round of the 1988 preseason NIT, and the `Birds tallied an 88-46 win over Chicago State in the 2000-01 season opener at Redbird Arena.
REDBIRDS IN MARCH?
Illinois State head coach Tim Jankovich brings nearly 25 years of college coaching experience to Normal, and many of those campaigns have extended well into the postseason. In the last five years alone, Jankovich has coached in 12 NCAA Tournament games, and two of those teams made trips to the Elite Eight. Last season, Jankovich helped Kansas get within one game of the Final Four.
WHAT'S BACK?
Illinois State welcomes nine returning letterwinners to the fold in 2007-08, including five of its top-six scorers. Senior center Levi Dyer, an honorable mention All-Missouri Valley Conference selection last season, returns after averaging a team-best 12.1 points-per-game, including a sizzling .480 three-point field goal percentage. Senior guard Boo Richardson, who was named to the Valley All-Newcomer team, was the 2006-07 team leader in minutes played (1,035) and assists (153). Senior Anthony Slack joined Richardson on the MVC All-Newcomer squad, and is the Redbirds' top-returning rebounder. He averaged 5.7 caroms-per-contest last season, to go along with 9.4 points-per-game. Reigning Valley Freshman of the Year Osiris Eldridge returns for his sophomore campaign in 2007-08. Eldridge averaged a team third-best 9.5 points-per-game, and scored in double figures in six of the final 10 games last season.
NEWBIES MAKE THEIR MARK
Last year, three Redbirds (Boo Richardson, Osiris Eldridge and Anthony Slack) represented ISU on the MVC's All-Newcomer Team, marking the first time since 1988-89 that three players from the same team made the unit.
NARROWING DOWN A ROTATION
Head coach Tim Jankovich said at ISU's annual media day that he would like to narrow his regular rotation down to eight or nine players, assuming he has a full healthy team. Narrowing down that total may be easier said than done, as ISU returns seven players that logged at least 8.0 minutes-per-game, and welcomes three newcomers to the mix that are all expected to make significant contributions early in their respective careers.
PRESEASON PROGNOSTICATIONS
With nine returning lettermen, including four starters, and nearly 80 percent of its scoring and 63 percent of its rebounding returning from last season, the Illinois State men's basketball team enters the 2007-08 campaign as one of the league's most experienced teams. As a result, the Redbirds were picked to finish fifth in the Missouri Valley Conference Preseason Poll, conducted by the league coaches, media and sports information directors. ISU's fifth-place tally is its highest preseason prognostication since the 2002-03 season, when the Redbirds were picked fourth overall.
DYER, ELDRIDGE NAB PRESEASON HONORABLE MENTION PLAUDITS
In the 2007-08 MVC Preseason Poll, senior center Levi Dyer (12.1 ppg) and sophomore guard Osiris Eldridge (9.5 ppg) were each named honorable mention All-Valley selections. The league appointed five preseason all-MVC players, and recognized five honorable mention players. Dyer was voted captain of the Valley's "Most Improved Team" last season, and Eldridge earned the league's Freshman of the Year honor.
HOME SWEET HOME
If Illinois State's won-loss record in recent years translates over to this season, the Redbirds could be in for some early success in the 2007-08 campaign. ISU has a combined 30-13 record at Redbird Arena over the past three seasons. The `Birds have five of their first seven games at home.
VANDELLO NAMED SCHOLAR-ATHLETE OF THE YEAR
Junior Mike Vandello was the recipient of the Doug Collins Male Scholar-Athlete of the Year award at the State Farm Student-Athlete Academic Excellence banquet in Redbird Arena Oct. 21. Vandello was a member of the AFNI Honor Roll and the Dean's List both semesters last year, with identical 4.0 grade-point-averages. He appeared in 27 games during his sophomore season and recorded career-highs of eight points and eight rebounds against Sacramento State. The junior from Bettendorf, Iowa, has a 4.0 cumulative GPA in biological sciences.
JUST "BOOT" IT
One thing is obvious when examining ISU head coach Tim Jankovich's offseason procedures: his teams will be physically prepared to play and in shape when practice begins each October. Jankovich implemented what he dubbed "Boot Camp" in the first week of October (during individual workouts), putting his team through a 45-minute set of nonstop wind sprints, defensive slides and jumping drills. The camouflage T-shirts the players wore during the process read "ISU Boot Camp 2007." The program was something that Kansas head coach Bill Self implemented on an annual basis during Jankovich's tenure with the Jayhawks.
MORE ON "O"
Osiris Eldridge figures to be a catalyst in Jankovich's up-tempo, attack-style offense in his sophomore campaign. He ran away with 2007 MVC Newcomer of the Year honors after averaging 10.8 points-per-game in the second half of the season, compared to just 8.1 points-per-contest in the first 15 games.
DIVERSITY IN SCORING
Illinois State had six players with 200 or more points last season. Levi Dyer (375), Boo Richardson (304), Anthony Slack (292), Greg Dilligard (291), Osiris Eldridge (295) and Dom Johnson (249) all reached that plateau. The last time the Redbirds had six players score 200 or more points in a season was during the 1997-98 campaign.
FROM A DISTANCE
Illinois State ranked second in the Valley in three-point field goals made (7.52 pg) last season. The Redbirds connected on eight or more three-point field goals in 15 games, including a season-best 14 treys against Texas-Arlington Dec. 2. Illinois State's 233 three-point field goals set a single-season record, and were the most since the 1997-98 squad recorded 220 threes.
DISHING THE ROCK
Point guard Boo Richardson ended last season averaging 4.9 assists-per-game, which is the highest average by a Redbird since Jamar Smiley notched 6.4 assists-per-game during the 1997-98 season.
AN UNFAMILIAR TREND
After being eliminated by Indiana State in the first round of the State Farm Missouri Valley Conference Tournament last March, the Redbirds missed out on a bid to secure a .500 or better overall record that would have ended a string of losing campaigns in four of the previous five years. In the previous 36 years of being a Division I program, ISU has had just seven losing seasons.
"BIG VALLEY"
If Illinois State's Levi Dyer continues to fill it up like he did at the conclusion of 2007 league play, at 6-foot-11, he might be dubbed as Big Valley. Dyer led the conference in three-point field goal percentage in league games shooting at a 51.7 percent clip, more than six percent higher than his closest competitor. He was also fourth in scoring for Valley contests with 15.4 points-per-game. For his three-year career, Dyer has a 42.5 three-point field goal percentage, which is the fifth-best mark in the ISU annals.
LEADER OF THE PACK
While he has been in the league for just one season, forward Anthony Slack returns for his senior season, and represents the Valley in a very significant category. Slack is the MVC's active career-leader in field goal percentage, as he shot at nearly a 59 percent clip (.584) from the field in 2006-07. Slack's next closest competitor is Wichita State's Phillip Thomasson, who connected on nearly 57 percent (.569) of his field goals last season.
USS ELDRIDGE
It wasn't the Philadelphia Experiment, but at 6-foot-3, freshman Osiris Eldridge must have been teleporting himself into rebounding position during Illinois State's 2007 league games. In fact, Eldridge led the Redbirds with 5.7 caroms-per-game during ISU's 18 conference match ups.
PICKIN' UP THE SLACK
Junior forward Anthony Slack was the 2006-07 Redbird team leader in steals with 43. Slack is only the third non-guard position player to lead ISU in steals over the last 20 seasons. He joined Dan Muller, who had 39 steals during the 1997-98 season, and Tony Holifield, who finished with 44 steals during the 1987-88 campaign.
IN FOR THE LONG HAUL
Boo Richardson averaged 33.4 minutes-per-game last season (1,035 total minutes), which is the second-most minutes averaged in a career for an ISU player. Only Tarise Bryson's (1998-2002) 34.1 minutes-per-contest have topped Richardson's 2006-07 mark. Richardson played at least 38 minutes in five games last season. Richardson was also just the 14th player in Redbird history to start at least 31 games in the same season.
LEADING THE CLASSES
Last season, Illinois State's junior class (now seniors) was a key figure in the team's statistical success. Combined, the class (Levi Dyer, Boo Richardson, Anthony Slack, Dom Johnson and Julius Moor) scored 1,227 of ISU's 2,068 total points (39.5 points-per-game), accounting for nearly 60 percent (.593) of its scoring. The five players averaged 14.0 rebounds-per-game (434 total caroms) and 9.8 assists-per-contest (268 assists), accounting for 59 percent of the team assist total. In addition, the quintet shot a combined 42 percent from the floor.
DEFENSIVE SPEAKING
When Illinois State won games last season, it was generally a close-game, and a stellar defensive effort by the Redbirds. In ISU's 15 wins, it held the opposition to 59.6 points-per-game. In the Redbirds' 16 losses, they allowed 68.8 points-per-game for their opponents.
DYER STRAIGHTS
Despite his atypical 6-foot-11 frame, Levi Dyer has proven to be lethal from beyond the three-point arc. Heading into the 2007-08 campaign, Dyer has now made a triple in 20-consecutive games. It is the longest streak by a Redbird since Trey Guidry went 21 straight games with a three-pointer to end the 2002-03 season and open the 2003-04 campaign.
230 GAMES WITH A TREY
ISU enters this season with at least one made three in 230 straight games. The last time ISU didn't sink a trey was an 82-43 loss at Creighton on Dec. 12, 1999.
TWO IN TWENTY
In Illinois State's 85-66 win over Lewis (Dec. 19, 2006), Boo Richardson scored 20 points, and Anthony Slack poured in 22 points. It was the first time that two Illinois State players had scored at least 20 points in the same game since Feb. 5, 2005, when Trey Guidry (24 points) and Vince Greene (20) reached the plateau in a 69-62 win over rival Bradley at Redbird Arena.
THIRTY SOMETHING
Senior guard Dom Johnson became the first Redbird to score 30 or more points in a game since Trey Guidry tossed in 30 points at Creighton on Jan. 22, 2005. Johnson torched Florida State for 32 points on 12-for-23 shooting. It was the most points by a Redbird since Tarise Bryson scored 38 in the 2001 National Invitational Tournament game at Purdue.
