COLLEGE BASKETBALL: SE FACES REEBOK IN EXHIBITION

Southeast Missouri State University's men's basketball team will get its first test against outside competition tonight -- and coach Gary Garner can't wait.

Garner's Indians will take on Team Reebok from St. Louis in a 7 p.m. exhibition game at the Show Me Center. It will be the first of two exhibition contests for the Indians prior to the Nov. 17 season opener against Truman State.

"I'm really looking forward to it," said Garner of tonight's game. "Playing against each other (in scrimmages), I've never had one I liked. It will be good to go against outside competition for the first time, and it will be good to have this game to be able to evaluate on tape."

As is always the case in exhibition games, according to Garner, his mission tonight will be two-fold. First, he wants to win the game. And second, he wants to get a look at all 13 players, even if that means making some sacrifices in the areas of performance and production.

"We want to win. We always want to win. That's why they hang the scoreboard up there," said Garner with a laugh. "But we'll play everybody, and we'll make substitution decisions as the game goes on.

"If you remember last year, we lost to the Dreambuilders (in an exhibition game). You never like to lose, but looking back, that was probably good for us."

Garner will be particularly interested in getting a good look at the four players who are competing for playing time at power forward, which is currently the most unsettled of the five positions for the Indians.

Sophomores Drew DeMond, Tim Scheer and Daniel Weaver, along with junior Monte Gordon, are all in the mix at power forward. DeMond became a key role player for the Indians last year as a redshirt freshman, Scheer saw very limited playing time as a true freshman, Weaver practiced with the team but could not play in games after transferring from Memphis and Gordon is a touted junior-college transfer.

"That's a really competitive situation," said Garner of power forward. "They all do some different things well."

The other four starting positions are fairly cut-and-dried entering the season, with four returning seniors filling those spots: Michael Stokes at point guard, Antonio Short at shooting guard, Emmanuel McCuthison at small forward and Nyah Jones at center. Stokes and Short are the Indians' two returning regulars from last year.

Of the squad's other two returning seniors, Amory Sanders should get plenty of playing time at shooting guard while Matt Morris is also very much in the mix at that spot, so much so that he will not be redshirted, as had previously been considered.

"Matt would like to redshirt, but I really see him getting playing time and helping the team," Garner said.

Juco transfer Terry Rogers should be a solid backup for Jones at center and, said Garner, perhaps even challenge for a starting spot down the line if he continues to progress.

As for the other two players, redshirt freshman Damarcus Hence is battling for playing time at small forward while true freshman guard Joel Shelton continues to improve and should be a competent backup for Stokes at the point.

"I really like what I see out of Joel," said Garner. "He has natural basketball instincts. He has a real feel for the game. I think I'll be comfortable eventually putting him in there in tough situations."

Garner said competition for court time throughout the squad will be extremely fierce this year because he believes all 13 of his players are at least solid, but there will be significant time for only perhaps nine at the most.

"It's hard to play more than eight or nine players. If you do, then none of them really get enough playing time," Garner said. "I think all 13 of our players can play. We don't have one guy out there who you say can't play. That makes things really competitive."

As for tonight's opponent, Garner doesn't really know what to expect, although he is familiar with a few of Team Reebok's players most notably forward Demetrius Watson, who played on Garner's first two Southeast teams, in 1997-98 and 1998-99.

"It's always fun to play against a former player," said Garner.

Although Team Reebok's roster for the game is only tentative, one of the team's best players figures to be guard Antonio Rivers, who was a standout at Central Missouri State. Another solid performer should be forward Lance Simmons, who played at Kansas State.