Redhawks make fans forget 0-10 start

That 0-10 start to the season for the Southeast Missouri State men's basketball team?

Right now it seems like ages ago as the Redhawks have made an impressive turnaround.

Saturday's thrilling 78-75 win over visiting Eastern Illinois was the Redhawks' fourth straight Ohio Valley Conference victory.

The Redhawks' rally from a 17-point second-half deficit also moved them into a three-way tie for second place in the 10-team OVC. Southeast is 5-11 overall and 4-2 in league play.

Sure, it's still early with 12 conference games left, but for a program down in the dumps the last few years this is certainly rarefied air.

At this point, with Tennessee-Martin and Jacksonville State both 0-5 and buried in last place, it seems almost certain that Southeast will make the eight-team OVC tournament for the first time since the 2006-07 season.

That would be a notable feat in itself, but the Redhawks have set themselves up for a much higher conference finish, especially because things appear so wide open from at least about the fourth through eighth spots.

The Redhawks continue to display plenty of character and toughness under second-year coach Dickey Nutt. They wouldn't have come all the way back to win Saturday's game without those attributes.

What's especially impressive about the way the Redhawks are playing is that they are doing it without huge contributions from any of their five new recruits for this season -- Nick Niemczyk and Nate Schulte were contributing heavily before being lost to injuries -- something I never would have thought possible.

But others are picking up the slack.

Junior forward Leon Powell has been as good as advertised after missing last season with a knee injury following his transfer from junior college.

Powell is among the OVC's top players, and he would really be something if he could start hitting his free throws. I wouldn't doubt that he improves at the line soon because he's got a nice shooting stroke.

Senior guard Anthony Allison has been consistent; sophomore guard Marland Smith has come on after a major shooting slump during the 0-10 start; senior forward Cameron Butler has been solid while showing incredible toughness to battle through painful foot problems; and junior guard Marcus Brister and walk-on junior forward Rae-Vonn Banks have provided solid minutes off the bench.

But in my book, Southeast's co-MVP -- along with Powell -- during its surge is redshirt freshman point guard Lucas Nutt.

Nutt, the coach's son, has provided a steady hand running the offense and has established himself as a scoring threat. He has three performances of 15 points or more during the past five contests.

I don't know if it's coincidence or not, and maybe Southeast would have been doing this anyway, but the Redhawks have played their best basketball since suffering injuries that looked like they might doom the season.

Not that the Redhawks wouldn't love to have Niemczyk and Schulte available -- hopefully they'll come back at full strength next year, when Southeast should really make a major push toward the top of the OVC -- but I think the fact the roster has been thinned has allowed the team's primary players to get plenty of minutes, get in a groove and develop strong chemistry with each other.

Whatever the Redhawks are doing, it's working as they have won the first two legs of a four-game OVC homestand.

Thursday's third leg will be a huge challenge as Morehead State -- second in the OVC last year behind Murray State and picked to finish second this season -- and superstar Kenneth Faried come to town.

Faried, a relentless 6-foot-8 senior forward, leads the nation in rebounding and double-doubles. Faried, who has drawn comparisons to Dennis Rodman, is projected as a potential first-round NBA draft pick.

Beating the Eagles would be a significant upset, but at least Southeast has plenty of confidence and momentum on its side right now.

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I wrote last week that Charleston junior guard Greg Tucker is starting to draw attention from Division I basketball programs and Southeast is interested.

Tucker attended Saturday's game at the Show Me Center and talked with Southeast coaches following the contest.

I know Austin Peay has expressed interest in Tucker, who will probably be recruited by many more schools before his prep career ends.

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The Austin Peay men's basketball team made a statement Saturday in its quest for the OVC regular-season title, stunning host Murray State 66-64 in a game nationally televised on ESPNU.

Defending OVC regular-season and tournament champion Murray State had held the nation's fourth-longest home-court winning streak of 25 straight games.

Austin Peay remained the OVC's only undefeated squad in league play with a 5-0 record.

Murray State and Morehead State, overwhelmingly predicted to be the top two teams in the OVC, both have two conference losses.

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Tony Samuel is the kind of guy who's easy to root for -- he's personable and always deflecting credit to others -- so it was great that he won one of college football's top honors last week.

Samuel became the first Southeast coach to win the Eddie Robinson Award, which honors the Football Championship Subdivision (formerly Division I-AA) national coach of the year.

Based on the type of turnaround season the Redhawks had, it's not surprising Samuel captured that prestigious award.

And it's also not surprising that Samuel once again refused to take credit, instead calling it an award for the entire program.

Samuel might be in line for another national award this week during the American Football Coaches Association convention.

Samuel recently was named AFCA Region 3 coach of the year, which makes him a candidate for the organization's national coach of the year.

Whether or not Samuel wins , the hot topic regarding Southeast fans is if he's going to continue to lead the Redhawks' program.

Samuel's five-year contract expires Jan. 31. While most people expect him to return -- myself included -- there has not been any official announcement.

Stay tuned on that one.

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The team that beat Southeast in the FCS playoffs went on to win its first national title.

Eastern Washington rallied from a 19-0 second-half deficit to stun Delaware 20-19 on Friday night.

What makes the Eagles' championship even more impressive is that they were without All-American running back Taiwan Jones after he suffered a broken foot in the quarterfinals.

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The University of Missouri football team likely would have entered next season ranked among the nation's top 10 since the Tigers had only five senior starters on this year's 10-3 squad.

MU still could be rated that high, but the Tigers certainly face a big challenge after star quarterback Blaine Gabbert declared for the NFL draft. Gabbert is expected to be a first-round pick.

Marty Mishow is a sports writer for the Southeast Missourian.