SEMO hoops needs to get 'Smart' at the offensive end

With his team struggling mightily at the offensive end of the floor so far this season, fourth-year Southeast Missouri State men’s basketball coach Brad Korn has pleaded with his players for one of them to step up and seize the ability to produce.

“We’re trying to get some more seasoning,” Korn said recently of his young team, “where now we can step up and have that go-to play, and that go-to guy.”

The Redhawks (1-6) will host NAIA program Missouri Baptist (6-2) today at the Show Me Center at 3 p.m. (ESPN+).

Korn felt prior to this season that junior guard Aquan Smart could evolve into that “go-to” role, and his latest outing showed that, perhaps, Korn was on to something.

Smart had his best game of the season in a blowout defeat at Kansas City on Thursday, but that is relatively speaking because his season has not gone well to this point.

“We talk about character a lot in this program,” Korn said. “That doesn’t mean that you are always perfect.”

Smart is connecting on just 28 percent of his shots this season, including a stunning 15 percent from 3-point range. However, had had a critical 3-pointer late in the win over Central Arkansas, before ultimately hitting the game-winning shot.

Against Kansas City, he matched his season-best five rebounds to lead SEMO while hitting 4 of 9 shots in 26 minutes to score a team-best 13 points.

“His approach to practice,” Korn said of Smart, “is what a kid with high character, a guy who is about the team and all of those other things, is. He came with the right attitude and didn’t drop his head.”

SEMO desperately needs Smart, or any other player, to find some productivity at the offensive end.

The 44 points scored in the 30-point loss to Kansas City was the least productive offensive output for a SEMO team since losing 80-40 to Morehead State on Jan. 14, 2010.

Of the 361 NCAA Division I programs in the country, the Redhawks rank 351st offensively (60.6 points per game).

SEMO missed 18 of its 19 3-point attempts against Kansas City (it ranks 313th in the country in that category) and continued to struggle at the free-throw line.

The Redhawks rank 357th nationally in free throw percentage.

“It is a really, really hard game if you can’t score the ball,” Korn said on Thursday. “We’re getting free throw attempts. We’re coming really close on free throws. We’re missing lay-ups and we can’t make more than one (3-pointer).”

Injuries have not helped the Redhawks at either end of the court.

Senior center Josh Earley was injured early in a recent loss at Chattanooga and grabbed just two rebounds in 15 minutes on Thursday.

Junior forward Kobe Clark has missed the last four games with a lingering knee injury that was initially suffered last January, and junior guard Dylan Branson hasn’t played all year after enduring a stress fracture in his foot.

“We look too much like silos out there,” Korn said. “Just too much of one guy doing one thing and another guy doing one thing, offensively and defensively.”

Coming home

Former Jackson High School standout Nick Wasilewski is a sophomore forward for Missouri Baptist and has contributed to his team’s strong start.

The 6-foot-6 athlete is averaging nearly 12 minutes off the bench and has played in all eight games while pulling down 12 rebounds.