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Southeast opens seasons this weekendFriday, November 13, 2009
Southeast's men officially begin the Dickey Nutt era Saturday at Saint Louis University. Southeast's women begin their fourth year under John Ishee by hosting Division II Missouri-St. Louis tonight. Both games tip off at 7 p.m. Men at SLU Southeast's men enter the season carrying the nation's longest losing streak as they finished the 2008-09 campaign with 19 straight defeats. That was part of a 3-27 record, including an 0-18 Ohio Valley Conference mark. Nutt, who previously coached Arkansas State for 13 seasons, was hired at Southeast in mid-March. He has four returning players -- none averaged double-figure points last year -- and 11 newcomers. "We know we've got a big challenge ahead of us and a lot of work to do, but everybody has been working hard and we're very excited about the future of this program," Nutt said. The Redhawks had some rough spots but also their share of bright spots in winning both their exhibition games, 75-67 over Harris-Stowe and 81-59 over Ouachita Baptist. SLU also went 2-0 in exhibition play, beating Arkansas-Fort Smith 79-51 and St. Ambrose 61-47. The Billikens are coming off an 18-14 season that saw them finish ninth in the Atlantic 10 Conference at 9-9. SLU had a young team last year and will be even younger this season with no juniors or seniors. The Bills' total of 11 underclassmen scholarship players is tied for the most in the country The Bills, under third-year coach Rick Majerus, are picked 12th in the 14-team Atlantic 10. They return three starters, led by sophomore point guard Kwamain Mitchell. Mitchell is SLU's top returning scorer after averaging 11 points per game as a freshman. He averaged 14.1 points in conference play and was named to the Atlantic 10 all-rookie team. Other returning regulars are 6-foot-9 sophomore forward Willie Reed (7.7 ppg, 4.6 rpg, team-high 40 blocks) and 6-6 sophomore forward Brian Conklin (6.1 ppg, 3.9 rpg). "They're young, but they've got good players," Nutt said. "It's a great challenge for us, but we're looking forward to it. "I told my guys, you give me great effort, great attitude and everything will take care of itself." Southeast plans to start the same unit as it used during both exhibition games. Juniors Jajuan Maxwell and Cameron Butler will be the forwards, with junior Anthony Allison at point guard, along with junior Sam Pearson and freshman Marland Smith in the three-guard set. Only Maxwell among that group was in the program last season. Women vs. UMSL Southeast's women lost 77 percent of their scoring and 78 percent of their rebounding from last season's 15-15 squad. With only four returning players -- just one a senior -- and nine freshmen, Ishee knows it's going to take time for the Redhawks to become a solid team. That was apparent in their only exhibition, Monday's 71-55 loss to a Division II Christian Brothers squad that went 11-16 last year. "We just need a lot of seasoning," Ishee said. "We have to get better in all facets." Considering how much Southeast struggled Monday, Ishee expects a major test from UMSL, even though the Tritons are coming off a 7-21 season that featured a 3-14 mark in the Great Lakes Valley Conference. "Every game is going to be a challenge for us," Ishee said. "Every possession is going to be a challenge." Comments  Note: The nature of the Internet makes it impractical for our staff to review every comment. If you feel that a comment is offensive, please Login or Create an account first, and then you will be able to flag a comment as objectionable. Please also note that those who post comments on semissourian.com may do so using a screen name, which may or may not reflect a website user's actual name. Readers should be careful not to assign comments to real people who may have names similar to screen names. Refrain from obscenity in your comments, and to keep discussions civil, don't say anything in a way your grandmother would be ashamed to read.
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It looks as if this will b a down for both programs, so fans get ur paper bags ready.
iwanttheworld;
You'll sure look funny, being the only one with a paper bag on your head. Yes, the women's team has a roster full of freshmen, and yes the men have a new head coach and loss some key players, but they're both working hard and Dickey Nutt has the men headed in a great direction. This season may not be great, but the men have some promising freshmen, Derek Thompson being one example. And the women may struggle this year, but they'll get more experience every game. If you want to just put a paper bag over your head, you might as well spare us all the trouble and stay at home....
Good luck Redhawks
SLU struggled alot worse than the 2 exhibition scores would indicate. This could be the year that Majerus has his only losing season in his career. The Billikens are real young and make way too many mistakes. It could take them mid-way through the A-10 schedule to start seeing some positive results. THIS COULD BE SEMO'S BEST CHANCE AT A WIN ALL SEASON...young Billiken team playing it's first game, coming off 2 lackluster exhibitions, not to mention being short on the roster with the NCAA jacking around and taking their time to decide if the recruit from Australia is eligible. How sick would that be for the lowest of the D1 programs to come and get a win on the road at SLU???