By Mark Bennett
The chance to use 6-foot-9, 240-pound Terence
Avery and 6-8, 245-pound Djibril Kante together in the starting
lineup could be a significant advantage for Indiana State this
season.
For the three previous seasons, the Sycamores
often used a smaller, quicker lineup. In the past, Matt Renn,
a 6-6 combination of a guard and a forward, played the "four"
position (power forward), and Kante worked the pivot. Avery filled
in for Kante off the bench. Now that Renn is gone, Kante and
Avery are senior starters for Coach Royce Waltman.
That added size might be necessary tonight,
when the Sycamores (0-1) try to bounce back from Sunday's 70-54
loss at Illinois-Chicago against a large team from Valparaiso
in ISU's home opener at 7:05 in Hulman Center.
But to fully take advantage of that Kante-Avery
duo, Waltman wants Kante to get more scoring opportunities than
he had Sunday. Kante shot just three times in 27 minutes, and
two were somewhat rare 3-point attempts. He finished the night
with six points, to go with four rebounds, two assists, a steal
and a blocked shot. Meanwhile, Avery hit 5 of 8 shots for 10
points. Waltman would like to see Kante's shot totals reach that
level too.
Kante and the Sycamore ball-handlers aren't
to blame, Waltman said.
"In this particular case, I think it's
more the coaching staff changing the structure of the offense
to where it gets the most out of Djibril," Waltman explained
as he watched the Sycamores practice Monday. "I think he's
trying to find his spots, I think the guards are willing to give
it to him. But with Terence in there, we just haven't been able
to maneuver him. It's really hard to have two big guys in there
at the same time and get them both opportunities around the basket."
The Sycamores, even the coaches, are still
adjusting to life without Renn and his point guard buddy Michael
Menser.
"Djibril may be playing the four this
year, but he's a completely different kind of player than Renn.
And we've got to find ways to use his strengths. And we haven't
done that, letting him get three shots the other night,"
Waltman said. "Now he doesn't need to get a ton of shots,
but he certainly needs more than three."
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| Tribune-Star/Joseph
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| Got you: Indiana State's
Kelyn Block (left) and Terence Avery (right) close in on Illinois-Chicago's
Cedric Banks during Sunday's game at Chicago. |
Kante's shot total wasn't ISU's only problem
at Chicago. The Flames guards drove past the Sycamores for baskets.
And when the Flames missed those shots, they raced inside, grabbed
the rebound and put it back in the basket. Illinois-Chicago outrebounded
ISU 41-29, and 19 of the Flames' rebounds were offensive. UIC
got off 68 shots, compared to 50 by the Sycamores.
Waltman used all 11 available players to try
to slow down UIC, including three freshmen (point guard Lamar
Grimes and forwards Jake Sams and Jerod Adler) and a junior-college
transfer (Batiste Haywood) in their first Division I game. Of
the four, only Grimes managed to score -- he had eight points.
"We've just got to find one or two freshmen
that can get in there and help us," Waltman said.
So Waltman's lineup could likely lean toward
more veteran players. He started Sunday's second half with Kante,
Avery, senior guard Kelyn Block, who led the team with 15 points,
and sophomores Marcus Howard and Matt Berry. And that group could
likely start tonight against Valparaiso, Waltman said.
They'll try to change some things -- get more
shots for Kante, and get more rebounds.
"It was our first game, we had a lot
of new guys," Block said, "and [Sunday] they kind of
got what college basketball is all about. They've got to pick
up their place. And the other guys have to get everybody on the
same page."
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