CARBONDALE (WSIL) -- Southern Illinois University men's basketball is preparing for their conference opener against Evansville.
At 6-0 it's been a great start to the season.
This team has really bought into SIU Men's HEad Basketball Coach Bryan Mullins.
So I thought we'd dig deeper and learn more about the Salukis early success and about thieir next opponent, the Evansville Purple Aces.
The Salukis are diving for loose balls. They show toughness. If your're not playing, you're on your feet cheering. It's a culture. Where's that tenacity come from?
"Coach Bryan," SIU sophomore guard Ben Harvey said. "He instilled it all in us. We're used to playing hard, working hard. Doing anything to win and that's kind of what it all boils down to. Doing anything we can to win."
This team is coachable. Against North Dakota Bryan Mullins addressed turnovers. Said they have to clean it that area up. Against Butler they didn't commit their first turnover until 4:27 left in the first half.
"It's an extremely coachable group," Mullins said. "Still a long way to go with blocking out, defensive things, offensive things, but the guys they understand what it takes to win, they are just learning to do it right now. They all want to do it, they are understanding how hard it is to do on a consistent basis, a possession by possession basis and they are trying. We are not there but they are continuing to take the right steps."
"Coach knows what he is talking about ,so we try to take that and run with it," SIU sophomore guard Lance Jones said. "Listen to everything he says. Try to be sponges and soak in everything he says because a lot of people don't have coaches that played the point guard position and had the ball in their hand like that and valued the ball as much as he did playing so we just try to take what he says into consideration and see it in our game."
There are no easy games in the Missouri Valley Conference. Coach Mullins expects a fight from Evansville.
"They are going to do a lot of things," Mullins said. "We have to play extremely well if we want to get one win out of this series. Offensively they run great stuff and they've got five guys on the floor that can make threes. And they've got quick guards that get down hill and get to the paint and defensively they are tough and physical. You can tell Coach Lickliter is embracing that. into his players and his players are receptive. They play great man to man defense and for us we have to be ready to go on the 27th and match their intensity and match their physicality."
Playing the same opponent back to back days won't be easy.
"It's not something you look forward to but it is something have to do and we are going to find a way to motivate each other and motivate ourselves and try to get the sweep like we did against North Dakota," Harvey said.
"Last year I wasn't really prepared," Jones said. "I didn't know what to expect heading into the Valley season but throughout the season my confidence gained tremendously and I've been able to use that to my advantage. Going into this year I feel I am going to try and do that and be confident in others and bring my teammates up with me."
