By Mark Bennett
Barry Welsh is pondering the next chapter
of his college basketball career. But for now, the former Indiana
State Sycamore hopes to take classes at Western Illinois this
coming semester.
The 6-foot, 170-pound sophomore guard decided
in November to leave the Sycamore program, but completed his
fall semester courses at ISU last month. His intention is to
transfer to another college to continue playing. Welsh hasn't
decided where he'll suit up next.
In the meantime, Welsh plans to enroll at
Western Illinois, which is less than an hour's drive from his
hometown of Abingdon, where he became an Illinois Class A All-State
first-team point guard, averaging 21 points, seven assists and
six rebounds for the Commandos as a senior in 1999-2000.
Welsh could end up playing for Western Illinois,
if the blend is right. If not, he'll transfer elsewhere after
the semester ends.
"If I like it there, I might stay there
and play," Welsh said by telephone Wednesday afternoon from
his home.
He's looking for a good fit. Welsh's goal
is "just to go play more of a style that fits me. That was
pretty much solely the reason [for leaving]. I was frustrated.
I just felt like I wasn't fitting in with the style of play."
As a freshman, Welsh played in the shadow
of senior star Michael Menser. He averaged 5.1 minutes per game,
allowing Menser -- the nation's cleanest ballhandler last season
-- some brief rests. Menser is a hard act to follow for anyone,
especially a freshman. Welsh played in 25 games, hit 4 of 14
field goals and 11 of 14 free throws, but didn't get a 3-pointer
in six attempts in the 2000-01 season. He also had 10 assists
and 10 turnovers.
He had to overcome an early-season illness
and fought to regain the confidence he'd shown at Abingdon.
As the 2001-02 season began, Welsh had one
point and two rebounds in an 18-minute reserve role in ISU's
exhibition loss to the University of Indianapolis. Soon afterward,
he decided to leave.
Welsh said he departs without hard feelings
and with some lasting friendships, particularly with the other
members of his recruiting class. "Me, Matt Berry and Marcus
[Howard] are as good a friends as I've ever had, and I'll miss
my friends," Welsh said.
And the ISU coaching staff has helped as well,
Welsh said, with his transfer details. Because he played in just
one exhibition game this season, Welsh hopes to petition the
NCAA to regain his sophomore season of eligibility once he transfers.
The 20-year-old is leaving his options open,
including on whether he'll end up at another Division I school
or one in Division II.
"I'm not putting all my eggs in one basket,"
Welsh said. "I just want to play."
Around the MVC
-- Creighton forward Kyle Korver has returned from a three-game
injury absence in solid form. The Preseason All-Missouri Valley
Conference first-teamer scored 12 points in 11 minutes in the
Bluejays' 90-65 victory over Mississippi Valley State on Saturday,
and then followed up with 24 points in Wednesday night's 76-62
victory at Illinois State.
Korver injured his knee in practice two nights
before Creighton beat Indiana State 70-54 on Dec. 16, and had
arthroscopic surgery the following week.
-- For the first time since the 1993-94 season,
the MVC finished with a sub-.500 record in games against non-conference
Division I opponents. Even after Southwest Missouri State beat
Saint Louis 53-50 in the MVC's final non-conference game, the
league's final record stood at 48-53. The Sycamores won two of
their nine non-conference games.
-- Kelyn Block is now 20th on ISU's career
scoring list with 1,148 points. He needs 25 points to catch Bob
Royer (1947-49) in 19th place. Block's next chance is Saturday's
4:05 p.m. game against Evansville in Hulman Center. The 6-2 senior
is averaging 11.8 points per game this season.
-- Newcomers are making an impact for several
MVC teams. Among the conference's top 10 scorers are Northern
Iowa transfer David Gruber (15.6 points per game), Illinois State
transfer Baboucarr Bojang (14.7 ppg), Southwest Missouri State
transfer Terrance McGee (14.9 ppg) and Wichita State freshman
Randy Burns (14.8 ppg). In other categories, Southern Illinois
transfer Rolan Roberts is leads the MVC in blocked shots at 2.62
a game; Evansville freshman Jordan Watson leads in 3-point shooting
at 65.2 percent; Gruber and Roberts and first and second, respectively,
in overall field goal percentage; and Drake freshman Lonnie Randolph
is fourth in the MVC assist-to-turnover ratio at 2.27.
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| AP/Dan
Nierling |
| Blocked: Northern Iowa forward
Aaron Middendorf (right) gets all ball as he blocks a shot attempt
by Drake's J.J. Sola during first-half action Wednesday in the
UNI Dome at Cedar Falls, Iowa. |
Those trends held true in Wednesday's MVC
games. Burns scored 16 points in Wichita State's 70-64 victory
over visiting Bradley in a regionally televised game. Bojang
led Illinois State's scoring with 13 points in the Redbirds'
loss to Creighton. Roberts scored 16 points, backing Kent Williams'
game-high 22 points, in Southern Illinois' 82-72 win at Evansville.
And McGee topped SMS with 18 points in a victory over Saint Louis.
Among the veterans who shined, senior guard
Robbie Sieverding's 18 points led Northern Iowa to a 71-56 win
over visiting Drake.
RPI oddities
-- The latest Collegiate Basketball News Ratings Percentage Index
has some peculiar numbers.
The computer power ranking system, used by
the NCAA to fill out its tournament field each year, is based
on a team's winning percentage against Division I opponents,
its schedule strength and its opponents' schedule strength.
It's not surprising that Indiana State, at
2-9, is No. 204 out of 324 teams. But some ISU foes have landed
in interesting spots. With a 13-1 record, Butler -- the apparent
state champion of college hoops -- is No. 51. Two teams beaten
by the Bulldogs are rated higher -- Indiana is No. 9 and Ball
State is No. 29.
Southern Illinois is the top MVC team at No.
54. And the only two teams the Sycamores have beaten are ranked
above them, even though ISU's schedule (the 34th strongest, according
to these rankings) is tougher. Murray State (5-5) is 124th, and
IUPUI (4-5) is 181st.
And Bob Knight's Texas Tech Red Raiders are
13th. Their record climbed to 11-1 after a 90-84 victory Tuesday
over Wyoming at Lubbock. Wyoming (9-4) beat Indiana State 72-58
at Laramie on Dec. 19. Also, Knight's record against the Big
Ten this season is now 1-0, thanks to Sunday's 80-60 victory
over Minnesota.
Misty, water-colored memories -- The deposition of IU Coach Mike Davis in the lawsuit
by former Hoosier assistant Ron Felling against Bob Knight had
an interesting passage concerning Indiana State's 63-60 victory
over the General's squad in the 1999 Indiana Classic championship
game at Assembly Hall.
Davis was an IU assistant back then and recalled
fellow assistant Pat Knight "throwing chairs and wanting
to fight all the players" after the loss to ISU. Maybe that
setback stirred up too many unpleasant memories of a 75-71 loss
to another in-state school, Butler, in 1993. Pat was a junior
guard on that Hoosier team.
Around the nation
-- Terre Haute native Griff Mills, coach of the Tusculum College
Pioneers in Greenville, Tenn., begins his first stretch of South
Atlantic Conference play on Saturday when his team hosts Presbyterian
College. Tusculum, a Division II team, is 5-6 after Wednesday's
70-65 home-court loss to Lincoln Memorial. Mills took over at
Tusculum this season after going 161-119 in 10 seasons at Armstrong
Atlantic.
-- Former Terre Haute South standout Maynard
Lewis played eight minutes for Purdue (8-7) in the Boilermakers'
79-71 loss to Ohio State in Wednesday's Big Ten opener. Lewis,
Purdue's second leading scorer at 10.9 points per game, had three
points and one rebound in a reserve role.
-- Terre Haute North product Alan Goff is
averaging 7.8 points, 3.4 rebounds and 3 assists per game for
Lehigh. The Mountain Hawks (3-9) play host to Pennsylvania on
Saturday.
Mark Bennett can be reached by telephone
at 1-800-783-8742, Ext. 377, by mark.bennett@tribstar.com or
by fax at (812) 231-4321.
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