Published: March 05, 2008 11:13 pm            

From the Pressbox: ISU’s gradual progress is the norm

TERRE HAUTE — If you’re an Indiana State men’s basketball fan, it was wise to step away from all things Sycamores for a few days. It was prudent to set your mind adrift and secure all sharp objects in the wake of ISU’s 83-73 loss to Missouri State on Saturday.

Yes, the loss was that bad. It was an effort, or lack thereof, that was hard to fathom, but harder to accept. ISU fans had every right to be upset, angry, disappointed … you name it.

The game embodied so much of why its been frustrating to be an ISU fan for so long.

That No. 6 seed would have been a nice bone to be thrown to those who have suffered along the way, but it wasn’t to be.

Disappointing as that loss may have been, it still shouldn’t be the prism by which the entire season is viewed.

ISU has improved — there’s a No. 6 seed to galvanize it in the eyes of the fans — but the progress was there.

“I thought we’d be higher, but we have made progress since the beginning of the season. There’s still a lot of room for improvement too,” ISU point guard Gabe Moore said.

ISU’s 14 wins at present might only be a one-win improvement from 2007, but it is the highest victory total since 2001. And ISU had a more challenging nonconference schedule this season.

ISU’s eight conference wins are far-and-away the most since 2001. ISU won just one Valley road game, yet managed to be in the hunt for spot in the top-half of the league going in the final game.

“I think we’ve made some big strides. In the past we’ve gone into losing streaks and not recovered, so to get eight wins in the Valley this year, which is more than anyone thought we’d get, is big,” ISU center Jay Tunnell said.

ISU has improved in several statistical categories, if only incrementally. The jump was in blocks, ISU has 91 blocks, more than doubling last year’s total of 42. Of course, Isiah Martin is a major reason for that as he’s blocked 55, second-best in school history.

ISU has also improved in shooting (41.9 percent from 39.9), free throw shooting (73.7 percent from 70.8), and points per game (65.6 ppg from 61.5). ISU improved its scoring by four points and has only given up one additional point off its 2007 average. ISU also improved itself ever-so-slightly in rebounding margin.

ISU fell back in scoring defense (45.7 from 44.4 percent) and 3-point shooting (33.7 from 34.4 percent).

Gradual progress isn’t music to the fans’ ears, but it’s typical for a team building its way into contention. Drake’s great leap forward to the Valley regular season championship is a freak of nature. Most programs need time to get into contention.

ISU coaches past and present know this. McKenna’s first assistant coaching stint at Creighton is a good example. From the time Dana Altman was hired in 1994, it took the Bluejays two years to get into the top half of the league and four years to get into the top two. The Bluejays didn’t win the conference until 2001. At ISU, Royce Waltman got the Sycamores into the top half in his first season, but the Sycamores didn’t move up to conference title contention until it consolidated its conference position with two straight fifth-place finishes.

Most of the teams in the conference were built this way. Under Mark Turgeon, it took Wichita State two years to get into the top half of the league and six to win the league. It took Bruce Weber four years to win the league at Southern Illinois.

Bradley didn’t break into the top half until Jim Les’ fourth season. It goes on and on.

No matter what happens in St. Louis tonight and beyond, ISU has improved. It just might not be at the pace fans would like, but it’s there.

n Evans to Gary Steelheads — Former ISU power forward Darron Evans took in Senior Night last Saturday. He said he’s taking a new job as assistant coach with the Gary Steelheads of the International Basketball League.

Evans is one of the good guys to have played at ISU since I’ve been the beat writer. Good luck to him.

Todd Golden is sports editor of the Tribune-Star. He can be reached at (812) 231-4272 or todd.golden@tribstar.com.

        

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