College Basketball Season Begins

Number 2 Baylor, Number 9 Duke, and the Number 3 UConn women are just a few of the teams that have canceled games because of the virus.

The NCAA is trying to play the season after last season’s March Madness championship tournaments for both men and women were canceled in March at the start of the pandemic. 

SIUE Opens Wednesday

SIUE men's basketball Head Coach Brian Barone will take things as they come during the 2020-21 season, which opens Wednesday against Saint Louis at the Billiken Classic.

"We were going to Youngstown, Ohio, six days ago," Barone said. "I brought the guys in and explained that we have to worry about ourselves. We have got to be better at the end of the day than we were to start the day. We know we're getting on a bus, and we're going to go play somebody. They have embraced this week."

The "Find A Way" philosophy, as Barone calls it, has served him well throughout his life and his career.

"I haven't been able to properly verbalize what 'Find a way' has done for me," Barone said. "It is something inherently within me, which I truly believe in. I don't know that it is the same for everybody. In this particular time, the entire world has to find a way to live. At the end of the day, we have to find a way to come together and move forward collectively.

"It's freeing when you have that mentality," he continued. "You know that whatever is in front of you, you have to attack it. For me, if I we can attack it with a group of guys, and administration and a staff collectively, then we have a chance."

The Cougars enter the 2020-21 season having lost three starters and with a roster which contains seven newcomers.

"It's the start of a build with what we thought was going to be our normal first-year recruiting class," Barone said. "The thing I am excited about is our level of play has increased, but we still need time. They have only been together since July 5th. Two weeks ago was the first time I had all 12 guys on the court at the same time. I am excited about the build, but they need that time."

Junior Cam Williams (St. Louis) is the Cougars' leading returning scorer. He was third in scoring last season at 9.6 points per game. He appeared in 30 games while starting 19 and was third on the team in minutes per game at 24.2. Senior Mike Adewunmi (Dallas, Texas) paced SIUE in rebounds, averaging 5.1 per game. He was fourth in scoring at 8.2 points per game. The only other senior on the roster is Iziah James (Chesapeake, Virginia) who made 29 appearances last year in his first year with the Cougars.

Sophomore Shamar Wright (Memphis, Tennessee) saw his role increase as his freshman year progressed. He scored in double figures nine times and led the Cougars against EKU with a career-best 20 points.

SIUE's highly-touted recruiting class includes Division I transfer Sidney Wilson (Bronx, New York) who appeared in 50 games in two seasons at UConn and was a top-75 recruit out of high school; Courtney Carter (Memphis, Tennessee), who was a National Junior College Player of the Year; Philip Pepple, Jr. (Shoreline, Washington) who averaged 12.4 points and 8.4 rebounds as a sophomore at Casper College and freshman Ray'Sean Taylor (Collinsville, Illinois), Collinsville High's all-time leading scorer and an Illinois All-State selection.

"We very athletic and long," Barone said of his roster. "We have guys who can score in a variety of ways. We have guys who can make shots. We have guys who can attack the rim and guys who can be dynamic in defensive schemes. We have a group of guys who really enjoy playing. They like getting out on the court."

Barone preached patience as practices continued.

"The phrase 'it's OK' has come out of my mouth more than ever in my coaching history," he said. "It's ok that you're not on the same page, and it's ok that you're not clear on what we're doing. But it is a fine line because you want to push them, but you have to let them know that this is a unique situation. There are times we can't even go five on five."

"We need to play together and be able to be coached while controlling our emotions," Barone said. "Last year I erred on energy, effort and enthusiasm. Now we have to take the next step and learn to play together through the emotion. We have to listen and hear one another and not let our emotions get the best of us. We just have to really focus on the next play. This is especially important when you don't know what's going to happen tomorrow. If you can do that you can control what you control better."

The Cougars' opening weekend at the Billiken Classic also will feature a first-ever matchup with SEC-member LSU and a contest against the University of Health Sciences and Pharmacy in St. Louis.

Bam Adebayo Agrees to Five-Year Deal

Bam Adebayo has agreed to a five-year, $163 million extension with the Miami Heat, the National Basketball Association team and his agent said Tuesday. The deal will be the richest contract in terms of total value in Heat history. Adebayo averaged 15.2 points, 10.2 rebounds and 5.1 assists this past season, numbers matched only by two-time reigning MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo of the Milwaukee Bucks.