Younger Salukis aim for another MVC title, NCAA tournament bid

~ Lowery has no seniors on scholarship heading into his second sesaon.

CARBONDALE, Ill. -- Despite having no seniors on scholarship, Southern Illinois coach Chris Lowery doesn't expect his Salukis to have trouble adjusting from young apprentices to a group capable of grabbing the regular-season conference title and NCAA tournament berth for a fifth year in a row.

Lowery, the second-year coach, said the Salukis learned well under two-time Missouri Valley Conference player of the year Darren Brooks and four-year starter Stetson Hairston, the tandem that graduated after guiding Southern to a 27-8 overall mark last season.

"Our kids have really done a good job of being understudies in the past and then stepping up and taking different roles and not trying to replace the name that was such a big name the year before," Lowery said during the league's recent media day.

When it comes to absorbing "the small things that we teach on a daily basis" -- everything from leadership to making plays when the shot clock runs down -- Lowery said this season's Salukis "have done a tremendous job."

MVC coaches, media and sports information directors have tapped Southern to finish third in the league, behind Northern Iowa and Creighton. The lower expectations may be pinned largely on Southern's loss of Brooks and Hairston, who were part of 104 victories that set a school record over a four-year span.

Brooks averaged a team-high 15 points and Hairston 9.4 last season for the Salukis, who over the past four seasons have gone 55-1 at home, including 36-0 against conference opponents.

Now looking to pick up the slack is Jamaal Tatum, a 6-foot-2 junior guard named to the preseason all-MVC team. Tatum was a second-team all-conference pick last season after averaging 12.3 points and sinking a team-high 71 3-pointers for the Salukis, who lost to Oklahoma State in the second round of last season's NCAA tourney.

Joining him in the backcourt will be 6-foot junior Tony Young, another solid perimeter shooter who was selected last season to the all-MVC bench and defensive teams.

Southern's frontcourt will include 6-7, 225-pound sophomore forward Matt Shaw, who midway through last season emerged as a starter and averaged 6.4 points and 3.6 rebounds in 17.4 minutes a game, earning a spot on the league's all-freshman team.