By Mark Bennett
The team's senior leader is out for three
weeks with a knee injury. Fifteen conference games remain. It's
time for everybody else to -- as sports jargon goes -- step up
and play harder.
The Indiana State Sycamores are in that situation.
But as ISU prepares to play its second game without guard Kelyn
Block at 7:05 tonight in Hulman Center against Missouri Valley
Conference-leading Northern Iowa, Sycamore Coach Royce Waltman
won't likely be chanting that phrase -- "step up."
That process should have begun with the start
of practices in October, Waltman figures. He saw some progress
in his Sycamores (3-9 overall, 1-2 in the MVC) as they beat Evansville
45-40 on Saturday. But Waltman isn't expecting miracles in Block's
absence.
"I'm not a big believer in 'somebody's
going to ride in on a white horse and save us,' " Waltman
said Wednesday. "If they weren't there before [Block's injury],
they aren't there now."
Instead, what helped Saturday against Evansville
was some added production from Sycamores who absorbed some of
Block's minutes and duties. Freshman guard Lamar Grimes had season-high
totals in several categories, including points with 11 and minutes
with 39. He also had four rebounds, four assists, four turnovers,
a blocked shot and a steal.
The 18-year-old from Chicago wasn't riding
a white horse. But his four field goals -- all coming on excursions
into the lane by a 6-foot, 175-pound point guard -- came in handy
in a low-scoring game, especially without Block's attempts to
penetrate the opposing defense and score.
"He did a good job. He turned a few over
and maybe forced a few things," Waltman said. "But
with Kelyn not in there we need someone who's going to go make
a play, and Lamar tried to do that."
Such deeds will likely be needed again tonight
against surprising Northern Iowa (8-4, 3-0), fresh off an 85-79
overtime victory over Creighton. That same Bluejay team beat
ISU 70-46 last month. But last Saturday, the MVC's lowest scoring
team held Evansville -- then the conference's best shooting team
-- to a paltry 40 points. Since then, Northern Iowa has replaced
the Aces atop the Missouri Valley field goal percentage charts.
First-year coach Greg McDermott's squad is shooting 47 percent.
Grimes knows he and the Sycamores will have
to well, play even better defense again.
"We have to play good defense, and the
offense will take care of itself," Grimes said before Wednesday's
practice.
In some plays reminiscent of their 1999-2000
MVC regular-season championship team, the Sycamores triggered
some of their scoring plays with steals -- five by guard Marcus
Howard -- and blocked shots -- four by center Djibril Kante.
"That led to some quick baskets for a change," Waltman
said.
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| Tribune-Star/Joseph
C. Garza |
| To the hoop: Indiana State
freshman Lamar Grimes (10) drives through the Evansville defense
during the Sycamores' win last Saturday in Hulman Center. |
Those might be a little tougher to come by
tonight. Northern Iowa, armed with the MVC's leading scorer in
Robbie Sieverding, also leads the conference in assist-to-turnover
ratio with a clean 1.02 mark. The Panthers are the only conference
team with more assists (175) than turnovers (171). Sieverding
is one of four Northern Iowa seniors available for backcourt
duty.
"Anytime you have guards with experience,
they just don't turn the ball over," Waltman said.
Grimes is working his way toward that level.
He has 21 turnovers and 21 assists in 12 games, while averaging
5.3 points and 2 rebounds per game. But learning to defend opposing
guards is the biggest transition from life as a high school star
at Chicago Gage Park to NCAA Division I competition.
"That's been the hardest to adjust to,"
Grimes said. "All the players are so much better than in
high school. But I think I'm coming along."
He found that out right away. In an opening
night start in his hometown, Grimes and the Sycamores lost 70-54
at Illinois-Chicago, as some of his old high school rivals drove
past the Sycamores for layups. "It was a frustrating moment,"
Grimes recalled.
But actually, Grimes' defensive progress wasn't
his coach's only concern. Waltman has also wondered at times
if his young guard was enjoying himself.
"He's a good player, but he tends to
play without emotion. And there's been a lot of good players
do that. But that bugs me," Waltman said after Saturday's
win. "I like the guys to play with enthusiasm and exuberance.
What they don't understand is, it helps not only themselves but
other people. And I think he's trying to do that.
"I don't know that I want him to be a
leader," Waltman added, "but I'd like him to at least
show that he likes basketball."
Before Wednesday's practice, Grimes grinned
and acknowledged that he likes college basketball.
"I'm having fun, and particularly the
last game," he said. "You have to have fun, and getting
a win is even better."
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