COURT SESSION: INDIANS SET TO TIP OFF NEW SEASON

Basketball season is here again and I know our staff and players are extremely excited about getting the regular season under way Saturday night when we host Southern Illinois-Edwardsville, a good Division II team that went 18-9 last season.

I've been very pleased with how hard this team has worked in the offseason and during our early practice sessions. If the current attitude prevails throughout the season, we have the chance to be a very good basketball team.

We all have to remember, though, that we face a very tough schedule, particularly our tough non-conference road games against Bradley, Arkansas State, Southwest Missouri and Oklahoma State, as well as the neutral-site game with Southern Illinois at the TWA Dome in St. Louis.

I have appointed Bud Eley as our captain for the 1998-99 season. I appointed Bud captain because of his work ethic, his hard work on offseason conditioning and his hard work in the weight room. He has shown leadership by example and that is extremely important.

Bud is doing the things on the floor that you expect out of a leader. I thought in the game against Bulgaria, he really helped us on defense by keeping us organized and communicating with the players on the floor.

Bud needs to rebound, run the floor, find the open man and play great defense. In the game against the Dreambuilders, Bud had that type of performance with 13 points, 12 rebounds, 5 blocked shots and 5 assists.

Jeramy Biles adds a new dimension to our team. He has a tremendous knowledge of the game and really makes things happen on offense. The other players love to play with Jeramy because they know he can get them the ball.

Cory Johnson continues to shoot the ball well. Sometimes I sort of take Cory for granted. He just goes out and gets his 15 points per game and shoots with great accuracy. I have never seen a player get off a jump shot as quickly as Cory does.

Roderick Johnson has performed well in the two exhibition games. He is a talented rebounder and defender who gives us another player who can post up and score inside.

Newcomer Mike Branson is one of the best athletes on the team. He is still learning our system, but he has the tools to really help us in a lot of areas. He can shoot the three and he can go inside and score. I think you will see him getting better and better each game as he becomes more comfortable in our system.

Brian Bunche is another newcomer who is really going to help us. I tell Brian that he can be our Dennis Rodman (without the hair). He is an outstanding rebounder who can play solid defense inside.

Three of our other key players have been bothered by injuries during the early practice sessions. Demetrius Watson missed over a week of practice after suffering a concussion, but he is healthy now and ready to go. He is a very solid player who gives you everything he has each time out.

Nathan Owen missed both exhibition games with a turf toe injury, but hopefully he will be ready to go Saturday night.

My biggest concern is the nagging knee problems for Kahn Cotton. He is one of our most talented players and we need to have him healthy. He missed both exhibition games and just resumed practice Wednesday. Hopefully his knees have healed and he will be ready to go. We need Kahn in the lineup.

Demetrius, Nathan and Kahn all worked extremely hard over the summer to become better players. Another player who really worked hard to improve is Matt Morris, who really helped us late last season. He has added weight and strength and continues to shoot the ball extremely well.

It all starts Saturday night, and I am excited. Since I have been here at Southeast, I've been really impressed with our knowledgeable and enthusiastic fans.

I hope you are all ready for another season, because we need you in the seats at the Show Me Center to help us out.

Gary Garner is the head men's basketball coach at Southeast Missouri State University