Southeast Missouri State basketball teams begin practice

~ The men and women both began practice this week

The Southeast Missouri State men's and women's basketball teams held their first practices of the season Sunday and Monday, respectively, and coaches Dickey Nutt and Ty Margenthaler are focused on different facets of the game for their teams to improve on.

Nutt said the focus is on turning his team into a defensive-minded one before he held his second practice of the season Monday at the Show Me Center, while Margenthaler knows his team's biggest improvement needs to be on offense.

"I think we're going to be a better defensive team," Nutt said. "I think we're going to be able to score the basketball. It's going to be an exciting team to watch because they're really athletic. And above everything else our chemistry's good right now. I know it's still early yet but just being together over the summer, this is a close-knit team, and I'm really looking forward to this season."

Nutt said all 16 players are capable of contributing this season, and the depth will help him hold players accountable.

Jarekious Bradley, Josh Langford, Nino Johnson, Antonius Cleveland, Darrian Gray, Jamaal Calvin, CJ Reese, Paul McRoberts and Caleb Woods all return. JJ Thompson, who sat out last season due to transfer rules, will be a key contributor this season. Newcomers are TJ Thomas, Marcus Wallace, Ladarius Coleman, JT Jones, Isiah Jones, Aaron Adeoye and Trey Kellum.

Adeoye was declared eligible this week and will not have to sit out the season after transferring from Western Kentucky. Nutt said he should find out in the next few weeks if Kellum will be able to play this season or have to sit out after transferring from Florida A&M.

"Last year we had a lot of good offensive players, but we had some deficiencies on defense," Nutt said. "Some of our better players -- and I'll tell them to their face -- but some of our better offensive players, were not as good defensively.

"I think this year we can certainly hold them a lot more accountable because we have people that can replace any particular person. If [someone's] not getting it done defensively, we can replace them. These guys understand that you're going to guard somebody. You're going to play team defense or you're probably not going to play because you can be replaced."

Nutt's squad finished 18-14 and 8-8 in the Ohio Valley Conference last season, and were knocked out of the OVC tournament by eventual champion Eastern Kentucky.

Margenthaler's team, which has fallen short of making the conference tournament in each of his first three seasons, focused on competition and unity over the summer.

The players picked three leaders who then held a draft for the players they wanted on their team -- an idea that Margenthaler got from talking with football coach Tom Matukewicz -- and the teams competed in everything from weight room activities, individual basketball activities and community service, and Margenthaler believes it brought his players closer together while bringing out their competitiveness.

"Everyone was more into it," senior guard Yelena Rosado said. "We just got after it. It was a totally different way of basketball this year."

"That was something that we've been lacking a little bit, just competing and winning or losing," Margenthaler said. "They really took ownership with that and it really showed us who was going to step up and be leaders, who maybe is not that leadership role, so that's kind of what we found out as coaches."

Returnees to the women's team are Rosado, Allyson Bradshaw, Connor King, Olivia Hackmann, Brianna Mitchell, Hillary Lively. Ashton Lutrull and Jade Holly missed last season due to injury and Jasmine Robinson sat out due to transfer regulations.

Erin Bollmann, Kaley Leyhue, Deja Jones, Hannah Noe and Imani Johnson are newcomers.

Margenthaler, whose team finished 10-19 and 6-10 in the OVC last season, is changing the offense this season.

"We're going to be a little more structured, a little more continuity offense with a lot more ball screens," Margenthaler said. "We feel like our guards are our strength this year, so we're trying to get them to the basket more, so [they do] not have to read so much and think a whole lot, but just put them into position to be successful."

Both teams will participate in the second Redhawks Basketball Madness on Sunday at the Show Me Center. The free event, which starts at 8 p.m., offers fans a look at the teams before the season begins.

The Southeast men open the season with a couple of exhibition games at the Show Me Center -- Missouri Baptist on Nov. 3 and Fontbonne on Nov. 8.

The Redhawks begin the regular season against Loyola Marymount and San Diego in Los Angeles on Nov. 14 and 15, respectively.

"The things we did wrong last year we're starting off correcting all of them now so that we can be a better team in November versus a better team in March," sophomore guard Antonius Cleveland said.

The Southeast women play an exhibition game against Missouri Valley on Nov. 6 at the Show Me Center.

The Redhawks' opens their season at home against Alabama A&M on Nov. 14.

"I feel like we've already raised the bar so high," said Lively, a senior guard. "You know, I hate to compare everything to last year, but it's just crazy how much things have changed in just the short amount of time we've been together. ... For the short time that we've been together I feel like we're going to be unified. That's going to be a big strength. We're going to be together. We're going to have communication. We're going to bring the heat on some teams. I feel like they're going to be surprised."