Published: December 06, 2008 12:19 am         

ISU men prepare for their brutal 3-game stretch

TERRE HAUTE — Perhaps three games in three days at Louisville’s Marques Maybin Classic will give the Indiana State men’s basketball team on-the-job training to fight through its issues of toughness and execution?

Or …

“I just told Deryl [Cunningham, ISU assistant coach], we need 10 days of practice, not three games in three days based on what we really need to do with this team. But the games are there and we have to be prepared to play them,” ISU coach Kevin McKenna said.

The historic stakes are high for 0-5 ISU. A loss against No. 11 Louisville will equal the worst start in school history. A loss to Lamar 24 hours later, will put ISU in uncharted waters it never hoped to enter.

What’s more germane to the Sycamores is the here-and-now and what has put them in the position they’re suffering in to begin with. ISU has been outrebounded in every game so far and the Sycamores have not come close to a full-game effort on either the offensive or defensive sides of the ball.

ISU has been getting more physical in practice, including a drill during Friday’s practice where each Sycamore had to sacrifice their body to take a charge. ISU has also practiced diving after loose balls, and during some drills, it puts a grooved cap on the rim to simulate odd rebound bounces.

“I think we’re doing a better job as a staff explaining things, breaking things down, letting guys what we’re looking for on particular plays. Guys are starting to read things better,” McKenna said. “Once we get to the point where they know what we’re looking for on a play … then we’ve got something.

“Right now, they’re not even sure why we’re running things the way we’re running them. Last year we had a senior point guard and an experienced team that could adjust. This year, we’re kind of on the fly with an inexperienced group that doesn’t know our stuff all that well. But they’re trying and we’re working at it.”

The last team ISU needed to draw first in the Marques Maybin Classic (named for Louisville’s 12th-leading scorer who was paralyzed in a motorcycle accident in 2003) was the host school.

The Cardinals (2-1) run a press defense, they have a big, physical and fast team, and they can rebound. Louisville had three players averaging six or more rebounds, including leader Terrence Williams at nine boards per game, and gargantuan freshman Samardo Samuels (6-foot-8, 240 pounds) who snares six per game. Samuels also leads the Cardinals in scoring at 17.7 points.

“We’re not in a position to play a fast-paced game yet. We have to stay away from that. We need to be patient, be strong with the basketball, understand the pressure’s coming, and be strong when it does. Basically, we just have to make a basketball play, that’s what it boils down to,” McKenna said.

Oh … Louisville has also had six days to brood since it was upset by Western Kentucky 68-54 in Nashville, Tenn. last Sunday.

ISU played a Big East team within one possession into the final minute last Saturday at DePaul, but Louisville is a different breed of Big East cat.

“We need to slow them down, but we need to push when we have opportunities. We want to get into our plays, make them play defense, stuff like that,” ISU point guard Rashad Reed said.

ISU also has to prepare for three games in three games, a circumstance the Sycamores haven’t faced since 2004’s Rainbow Classic. After the 2 p.m. game today against Louisville, ISU will play Lamar (5-1) at 6:30 p.m. Sunday, and Ohio (3-1) at 4:30 p.m. on Monday.

“It’s tough preparation-wise for each team, there’s not a lot of turnaround time, but everyone else is dealing with it too,” McKenna said.

• Reed twists ankle — Reed, ISU’s leading scorer at 14.4 points per game, twisted his ankle right before the end of Friday’s practice, but he thinks he’ll be OK.

“I just twisted it a little bit. It isn’t too swollen. It’s just real sore right now. I’ll be all right,” Reed said.

Also, ISU center Brant Leitnaker had his knee taped and did not participate in Friday’s practice.