SOUTHEAST BASKETBALL STILL PLAYING THE WAITING GAME

The fact that his program has not yet signed any new players for next season does not concern Southeast Missouri State University's men's basketball coach Gary Garner in the least.

Garner, in fact, believes it is probably a good sign because the Indians are still in the running for some of their top choices who are still unsigned.

"We could have already signed some kids, and if we didn't have as many players coming back as we do, we would have already signed a couple," said Garner. "But with only a few scholarships to give, we have certain kinds of players we really need and we're hopeful of getting them.

"Looking back to the last few years with us, it's always like this. It's always going to take a while to sign kids. It's always going to be drawn out. That's just the way it is at this level of Division I."

The spring signing period, which runs through May 15, began April 12 so the Indians are not quite two full weeks into the process.

While Garner is prohibited under NCAA rules from commenting on specific recruits, the Indians appear to still be very much in the running for one of the nation's top junior-college forwards.

Jason Wilson, a 6-foot-7 sophomore at Trinity Valley (Texas) Community College -- the same school that produced standout Southeast point guard Michael Stokes -- is still reportedly seriously considering the Indians, along with TCU and perhaps Tulsa.

Southeast is also reportedly still high on the list of 5-9 guard Joel Shelton, a senior at Vashon High School in St. Louis who led his team to the Class 4A state title and was named Missouri Player of the Year.

Several other players are scheduled to visit the Southeast campus this weekend, including 6-6 sophomore forward Jamel Gooding of Southeastern (Iowa) Community College, which won this year's national junior-college championship.

Of the Indians' recruiting in general, Garner said, "I feel like it's going well, but you just never know. We feel like we're doing a good job recruiting and we're in the running for some very good players."

* It appears the Indians will now have three scholarships to dole out because Mike Sutherland, a guard who signed with Southeast two years ago and has been attending school but was not a team member due to academic reasons, will likely attend a junior college next year.