SEASON OUTLOOK
Panther Basketball Media Guide aaa 2009 Season Outlook Having tasted success and played for a berth in the NCAA Tournament last season, Eastern Illinois enters its most anticipated campaign of the program’s Ohio Valley Conference era (1997-present) striving to complete what head coach Brady Sallee called a “two-year journey” in the summer of 2007. With the Panthers returning all five starters and 11 of the 12 players that scored points during their breakout campaign, they’ve been tabbed the preseason favorite for the first time as an OVC member. Eastern posted at least one victory against every league team last season, finishing in a three-way tie for second place in the final standings. Seeded fourth in the OVC Tournament after coming up on the short end of multiple tiebreakers, the Panthers not only posted their first postseason victory since 1995, but also knocked off the two-time defending tournament champs – Southeast Missouri – to reach the title game during their first appearance on the grand stage in Nashville. OVC Preseason Poll Even though EIU has been tabbed the preseason favorite, the top half Team (1st Place Votes) Poll Points 1. Eastern Illinois (6) 149 of the league remains a competitive 2. Murray State (8) 144 challenge. The top four teams in the 3. Southeast Missouri (3) 129 preseason poll – Eastern, Murray 4. Tennessee State (3) 124 State, SEMO and Tennessee State 5. Jacksonville State 88 – all received at least three first-place 6. Morehead State 83 votes. Murray, in fact, led the way with 7. Tennessee Tech 66 eight first-place nods after defeating 8. Eastern Kentucky 59 the Panthers in the OVC Tournament 9. Austin Peay 32 10. UT Martin 26 championship game last season. Sallee is confident that his veteran team can complete the journey and return to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1988. However, he recognizes that this year’s trip around the league will be anything but a joy ride. “I think we have some new challenges this year, in so much that the expectations are 180 from what they were in years past,” the fifth-year coach says. “We’ve got to guard against the entitlement issues. Just because we were a good team last year and have everybody back, we can’t just count on everything happening the way it’s supposed to. But at the same time, we’ve got to go into this season fully expecting to win the conference and reach the NCAA Tournament. Clearly, that’s going to be a goal. That’s what our team wants to do. That’s the unfinished business part of the way last year ended.” The Panthers are looking to improve on a lackluster 2-7 non-conference mark. Moreover, the first of EIU’s 19 victories didn’t come until Dec. 1 last season. While the November schedule of a year ago was arguably the toughest in the OVC, Sallee realizes that for the program’s profile to improve a better showing in non-conference play is a must. “At the end of last year, we talked about the next step that needs to be taken in our program,” he says. “We need to go out and beat some of those teams on our schedule out of conference. Last year we struggled to get ourselves going, but once we did, we were as good as anybody. That’s definitely going to be something that’s important to us, getting off to a good start. The important thing is to be playing good basketball though. And ultimately we march into our conference slate ready to do what we we’re supposed to do. That’s the way I’ve set up the out-of-conference schedule, to challenge and prepare us for the OVC.” Eastern’s success in close games was a major reason why it was able to reach 15 conference wins. The Panthers played in a program-record five overtime games, all in OVC play, posting a 4-1 record in those extended affairs. Eleven of EIU’s 19 victories came in games decided by 10 points or less. Eastern was 11-8 overall in such contests, but an even more impressive 11-5 versus conference foes. Sallee says his team learned how to win close games the last couple years. “If you go back two years and look at this team, when the core of it was sophomores and freshmen, we played in a lot of close games and lost them. I think we were within two to three points in five different games. That could have changed the season into a 15- or 16-win campaign if they had gone our way. We made the progression last year where we won those games, and that was the difference in the record. Now
we look for the next step where we can go out and no matter whom we play or where we play, we’re the best team on the floor. And put that effort out night in and night out. “Even last year you started seeing a team that didn’t get caught up in the highs and lows of a game, but played a pretty steady brand of basketball. They started understanding that defense and rebounding were a big part of what we are talking about doing. That continued progression will hopefully lead to not necessarily easier games, but maybe ones where we do not have to draw up 18 plays at the end of every game just to try to get out of there with a W. Again, I’ll come back to the veteran group that we’re going to play with this year. That experience will and has to pay off for us.” Eastern’s roster is not only loaded with veterans, featuring 10 upperclassmen, but is also a versatile unit. The freshman class – shooting guard Madeline Kish, forward Chantelle Pressley and point guard Pilar Walker – only contributes to the versatility. But it originates with the returning players. Star forward Rachel Galligan can score with her back to the basket and consistently knock down 15-to 18-foot jump shots. The two-time First Team All-OVC selection also shot 86 percent at the free throw line. Fellow post player Maggie Kloak made the biggest improvement of any Panther last season and averaged just under seven points per game. Samford head coach Mike Morris called Galligan and Kloak two of the best post players in the league. Late in the season, Sallee began to play them together at the same time. “I tell our team they’re in control of playing time, I just evaluate and put our best players out on the floor,” Sallee says. “Through the season, Maggie stepped up and was one of our better players. She’s one of the better post players in our league. We’re fortunate to have two young ladies that are really, really good on the low blocks. I look at it as another way to be versatile in what we do. Playing Rachel and Maggie together will be one lineup that we use a lot.” Eastern’s versatility might have been best demonstrated by the seasonending stat sheet. The Panthers had five players make at least 20 3-pointers and five players finish with double-figures in blocks. Guards Dominique Sims, Ellen Canale and Ashley Thomas accomplished both feats. As a team, EIU led the league in 3-point percentage and broke the program’s single-season blocked shots record. “I think we have some new players in this rotation that will force us to play different ways at times. And then we’ve got good old steady, which was that group of starters [Megan Edwards, Lindsey Kluempers, Canale, Sims and Galligan] that know how to play in our system and run our system very well. I like the fact that we can go bigger when needed, we can go smaller when needed. We’re not just locked into one system or style necessarily. Again, this group is veteran enough to understand the differences and how we have to play according to who’s on the floor.” One of the few disappointing aspects of the 2007-08 season was that Galligan was not selected as the OVC Player of the Year. She led the league in points per game for the entire season (18.5) and conference play (20.5), but was runner-up to Ashley Hayes of Murray State. While both players were very deserving, the numbers suggested Galligan was more important to her team’s success. While Galligan was EIU’s only player with a double-figure scoring average, MSU featured four. Additionally, Galligan averaged 11.5 field goal attempts per game, compared to Hayes’ 16.3. “Rachel is a special young lady and she understands why she wasn’t the Player of the Year,” Sallee says. “She understands how it happened, whether it was right or wrong. But at the end of the day, it didn’t take anything away from her year or the type of player she is. And believe me when I tell you, she’s going to use that as motivation. Every team we play in our league, her thought is they didn’t vote for her. And she’s going to use that every night. “Being the Player of the Year doesn’t really matter to her anymore. She wants to lead this team to an NCAA Tournament. There isn’t a coach who looks forward to playing against her or has the answer to stop her. Our challenge is to build on that and understand that coaches will come with new game plans to try to slow her down. Not only will she be ready for it, but our team will be ready for it.” Eastern is ready for its new place and profile in the Ohio Valley Conference. The real question is, is the rest of the league ready for such a veteran and versatile unit?
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we look for the next step where we can go out and no matter whom we play or where we play, we’re the best team on the floor. And put that effort out night in and night out. “Even last year you started seeing a team that didn’t get caught up in the highs and lows of a game, but played a pretty steady brand of basketball. They started understanding that defense and rebounding were a big part of what we are talking about doing. That continued progression will hopefully lead to not necessarily easier games, but maybe ones where we do not have to draw up 18 plays at the end of every game just to try to get out of there with a W. Again, I’ll come back to the veteran group that we’re going to play with this year. That experience will and has to pay off for us.” Eastern’s roster is not only loaded with veterans, featuring 10 upperclassmen, but is also a versatile unit. The freshman class – shooting guard Madeline Kish, forward Chantelle Pressley and point guard Pilar Walker – only contributes to the versatility. But it originates with the returning players. Star forward Rachel Galligan can score with her back to the basket and consistently knock down 15-to 18-foot jump shots. The two-time First Team All-OVC selection also shot 86 percent at the free throw line. Fellow post player Maggie Kloak made the biggest improvement of any Panther last season and averaged just under seven points per game. Samford head coach Mike Morris called Galligan and Kloak two of the best post players in the league. Late in the season, Sallee began to play them together at the same time. “I tell our team they’re in control of playing time, I just evaluate and put our best players out on the floor,” Sallee says. “Through the season, Maggie stepped up and was one of our better players. She’s one of the better post players in our league. We’re fortunate to have two young ladies that are really, really good on the low blocks. I look at it as another way to be versatile in what we do. Playing Rachel and Maggie together will be one lineup that we use a lot.” Eastern’s versatility might have been best demonstrated by the seasonending stat sheet. The Panthers had five players make at least 20 3-pointers and five players finish with double-figures in blocks. Guards Dominique Sims, Ellen Canale and Ashley Thomas accomplished both feats. As a team, EIU led the league in 3-point percentage and broke the program’s single-season blocked shots record. “I think we have some new players in this rotation that will force us to play different ways at times. And then we’ve got good old steady, which was that group of starters [Megan Edwards, Lindsey Kluempers, Canale, Sims and Galligan] that know how to play in our system and run our system very well. I like the fact that we can go bigger when needed, we can go smaller when needed. We’re not just locked into one system or style necessarily. Again, this group is veteran enough to understand the differences and how we have to play according to who’s on the floor.” One of the few disappointing aspects of the 2007-08 season was that Galligan was not selected as the OVC Player of the Year. She led the league in points per game for the entire season (18.5) and conference play (20.5), but was runner-up to Ashley Hayes of Murray State. While both players were very deserving, the numbers suggested Galligan was more important to her team’s success. While Galligan was EIU’s only player with a double-figure scoring average, MSU featured four. Additionally, Galligan averaged 11.5 field goal attempts per game, compared to Hayes’ 16.3. “Rachel is a special young lady and she understands why she wasn’t the Player of the Year,” Sallee says. “She understands how it happened, whether it was right or wrong. But at the end of the day, it didn’t take anything away from her year or the type of player she is. And believe me when I tell you, she’s going to use that as motivation. Every team we play in our league, her thought is they didn’t vote for her. And she’s going to use that every night. “Being the Player of the Year doesn’t really matter to her anymore. She wants to lead this team to an NCAA Tournament. There isn’t a coach who looks forward to playing against her or has the answer to stop her. Our challenge is to build on that and understand that coaches will come with new game plans to try to slow her down. Not only will she be ready for it, but our team will be ready for it.” Eastern is ready for its new place and profile in the Ohio Valley Conference. The real question is, is the rest of the league ready for such a veteran and versatile unit?
Q Season Outlook Q
10
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