The Big Easy was enjoyable, but not all that easy

ggarner

The New Orleans trip was a great experience for our players. One of the reasons players want to go to a Division I program is for the travel and the opportunity to play good teams in cities like New Orleans.

For many of our players, it was their first trip to New Orleans, where they had a chance to experience and observe different cultures. Our players enjoyed the experience.

The University Hoops Classic tournament was well organized and we had great game officials. The officials working the games were some of the best in the nation.

We had hoped to get at least two wins, but we came up with only one. Still, the experience gained by playing three good basketball teams will be very beneficial to us down the line.

We opened the tournament with a great win over a Wisconsin-Milwaukee team that is picked to win the Horizon League. We shot the ball well and did a great job of handling their press, which will be the best press we see this season. Derek Winans, Brandon Griffin and Tim Scheer all had big games.

I think it was a little unfair that we had to play a rested Indiana State team the next night. Because there were only six teams in the tournament, we had to advance through pool play and with only two games each day until the final day, there were always teams who did not play.

Indiana State did not play the first day and had four days to prepare for our game. We had a tough game with Wisconsin-Milwaukee and then had to come back and play the next night against a rested and prepared team like Indiana State and the Sycamores were able to beat us.

Because all three teams in our pool had 1-1 records after the first two games, the seedings for the final day were determined by point differential and we missed playing in the championship game by just one point.

That meant we played the home team, Tulane, on their home court in the third-place game. Tulane was a very physical team that is picked to finish second in their division of Conference USA. Tulane came out hot, hitting 72 percent from the floor in the first half, and rolled to victory.

We didn't play real smart against the very physical team, but later in the season we will be in a better position to play a team like Tulane, although I don't think we play a team as physically strong as Tulane for the rest of the season.

Brandon Griffin had a great tournament playing in his home state of Louisiana. He was the leading rebounder in the tournament and was deservedly named to the all-tournament team.

Tim Scheer came back from his leg injury to have a very good tournament, averaging over 18 points per game for the tournament. The three games in four days should really help Tim's conditioning because he had missed two weeks of practice with his injury.

Derek Winans is continuing to develop as a point guard. He made some terrific passes and was one of the top assist men in the tournament. Playing point guard will make Derek a much better overall basketball player.

It will be good to be home for two games this week. We have Oakland City tonight and Southern Illinois Saturday night. Both games begin at 7 p.m. at the Show Me Center.

We will have to guard against a letdown for the Oakland City game. We just have to concentrate on getting better every game, regardless of the opponent.

The Southern Illinois game is a regional rivalry that shows what college basketball is all about. The Salukis have another great team and we will have to play very well to stay with them, but a big, enthusiastic crowd would help a lot.

I'll see you at the Show Me Center.

Gary Garner is the basketball coach at Southeast Missouri State University