Interesting basketball seasons about to start

Southeast Missouri State basketball fans who have been licking their chops for the season to start won't have much longer to wait.

Both Southeast teams tip off what figure to be interesting campaigns Friday night, although with much different opening challenges.

While the men are expected to have a relative breather at home against Division II Truman State, the women hit the road to take on one of the nation's traditional powers in Texas Tech, ranked 13th in the preseason.

So, what should fans expect from Southeast's squads this season?

We'll first start with the men, who face plenty of question marks after losing their top three scorers and top two rebounders from a team that went 15-14 overall and a fifth-place 9-7 in the Ohio Valley Conference.

Not much is expected out of the Redhawks from the rest of the OVC as they tied for eighth out of 11 teams in the league's preseason poll.

But, with another tight race anticipated -- last year, the top seven squads finished within three games of one another -- the Redhawks figure to again have a shot at breaking into the upper division.

Coach Gary Garner is banking much of his optimism on a more athletic group of players that he hopes will lead to improved defense and rebounding.

When Garner had his best teams at Southeast several years ago, they were always strong defensively and on the boards. Not coincidentally, those squads were also fairly athletic.

But during this recent down period for the Redhawks -- not necessarily last year, which was respectable, but the three previous seasons -- they have been mediocre to poor defensively and have also struggled on the boards. Also not coincidentally, those teams were fairly nonathletic.

Offense shouldn't be a problem for the Redhawks because, even though fans might not realize it, some of Garner's highest-scoring teams at Southeast were during those down years, while the NCAA tournament squad of 1999-2000 represented the lowest-scoring group during Garner's previous eight seasons.

From what I've seen so far during practices, scrimmages and exhibition games, the Redhawks appear to have considerable potential, but certainly not the kind of overwhelming talent that virtually assures success.

This is no doubt an important season for Garner and his potential future with the program, since he's in the final year of his contract.

I don't think Garner needs a great season to have his contract renewed, especially considering the outlook is so bright for next year, when heralded transfers Brandon Foust and Mike Rembert -- who are practicing with the team but can't play in games -- will become eligible. And don't forget about touted former Vashon star Johnny Hill, who is enrolled in school and will be in the program next season.

Also working in Garner's favor is the fact Southeast administrators truly seem to like Garner and the class with which he runs the program -- no matter what a few Fan Speak zealots who are always on Garner's case might lead the public to believe.

I don't think the Southeast administration would consider not retaining Garner unless the season turns out to be really, really bad, which I don't think will happen, although I've learned that in sports you just never know.

That being said, I do believe the Redhawks need to win at least a decent amount of games in order for Garner to be truly safe regarding his future in Cape Girardeau.

Overall, I don't envision a great year -- although you just never know -- but I look for something in the vicinity of last season's record, give or take a few wins or losses depending on how the Redhawks fare in close games, because they should once again be involved in plenty of those.

As for the women, well, there don't appear to be many question marks surrounding fourth-year coach B.J. Smith and his Redhawks as they again shoot for the program's most successful Division I season.

Smith has done a remarkable job since coming to Southeast, compiling a 57-32 overall record and a 35-13 OVC mark. Those figures rank as the best in the conference during the past three seasons.

Last year produced Southeast's best Division I season, as the Redhawks went 22-8 overall and a second-place 14-2 in the OVC -- but the campaign finished in heartbreak with a double-overtime loss to Eastern Kentucky in the finals of the OVC Tournament, after the Colonels hit a shot at the buzzer to end regulation.

With six returning seniors who all saw considerable action last year -- led by OVC player of the year Tatiana Conceicao -- and some talented newcomers, the Redhawks appear fully loaded as they chase the program's first NCAA Division I Tournament berth.

I would be surprised if Southeast's women don't break through with their first OVC championship and NCAA Division I tournament appearance.

---

By the way, while Garner is in the final year of his contract, Southeast followers might be surprised to learn that Smith is in the same boat.

However, in Smith's case, considering the kind of success he's had, there seems to be no doubt he'll have his contract renewed, assuming that's what he wants.

---

Congratulations are in order for the Notre Dame and Saxony Lutheran high school cross country teams, which both brought home state titles last weekend.

~ Marty Mishow is a sports writer for the Southeast Missourian.