Redhawks provide sneak preview

~ Southeast displayed its new look at a scrimmage Saturday morning

Dickey Nutt considers Division I rookies Anthony Allison and Cameron Butler to already be leaders on Nutt's first Southeast Missouri State men's basketball team.

Allison and Butler showed Saturday that they also just might prove to be among the Redhawks' most productive players this season.

The two transfers were the most impressive performers as Southeast held a morning intrasquad scrimmage in front of about 75 fans at the Show Me Center.

"Those two right now are our leaders," Nutt said following the officiated contest that featured a 15-minute first half and a 12-minute second half. "Any time your leaders are your hardest workers, you've got a chance."

Southeast Missouri State coach Dickey Nutt speaks with his players during Saturday's scrimmage.

Allison, a 5-foot-11 junior point guard who played the past two seasons at Missouri State-West Plains Community College, scored 14 points to help lead the Red team past the White squad 41-34.

Allison hit a 3-pointer and two jumpers from a few feet inside the arc, finished some strong drives to the basket and dished out several nice assists.

"I'm just looking to distribute, run the team, be a true point guard," said Allison, an all-region pick last year at MSU-West Plains when he averaged nearly 13 points and more than three assists per game.

Nutt felt the signing of Allison was a big one. Nutt, who spent 13 seasons as Arkansas State's coach, had followed the native of Marianna, Ark., since he was in ninth grade.

"He can do a lot of things," Nutt said. "He's a very good player."

Allison said it was good to have game-type situations in front of a crowd.

"It was nice to get the fans a dose of what they're going to see," Allison said.

And that would be?

"We're going to be a defensive team that gets after it. Rebounding, taking good shots," Allison said.

Butler, a 6-6, 220-pound junior forward, led all scorers with 18 points while playing the first half for the Red and the second half for the White.

Butler primarily did his damage inside, but also stepped away from the basket to nail a 15-footer.

"It felt real good to be out there," Butler said. "We saw good effort, good energy.

"There's a lot we have to work on, but we're all new. Coach Nutt has us going in the right direction."

Butler spent his first two seasons of college basketball at Division II Southern Arkansas, where he averaged 6.1 points and 4.0 rebounds.

But Butler never gave up on his goal of playing Division I hoops, so he spent last year at National Park Community College in Arkansas, where he did not play basketball but got his academics in order for Division I eligibility.

Butler, from Malvern, Ark., said he had followed Nutt's career at Arkansas State. After Nutt got the Southeast job, Butler contacted him. That led to Nutt offering Butler a scholarship.

"He's explosive around the basket," Nutt said. "It shows you his level of commitment. He had to fulfill a lot of [academic] obligations before he could be eligible to play Division I."

Allison and Butler each scored 12 first-half points as the Red built a 32-15 lead before holding off a late charge.

Junior forward Jajuan Maxwell, among just four returning Southeast players, led the White with 11 points.

Nutt said he was pleased with several things about the scrimmage that came after a week of practice, especially the fans in attendance.

"I thought the effort was great. The attitude was perfect. The execution was just fair," Nutt said. "We had one tough week of practice. This was like a test. I'd probably give it a C-minus.

"But I want to thank the fans for a great turnout. That means so much to the players."