out of nowhere(ch 2k8)

[kcarr]

Welcome to the latest installment of leatherneck weekly. After another disappointing season in macomb at the university of western Illinois there is a new hope. An opportunity for change has presented itself as a new head coach has been announced. coach Carr has shown success coaching at the high school level and apparently showed the athletic director enough during his interview to be offered the job.

Coach Carr is known as a tough disciplinarian who expects tough defensive play and fundemental offense, something that has been lacking from a team full of shooters but lacking any defense. We had a chance to catch up with the coach soon after the announcement.

Leatherneck weekly: first off coach welcome to the program. After meeting with the team and seeing what they had at midnight madness what are your expectations for the season?

Coach Carr: thank you. I think this team has some real talent, especially on the perimeter but we have question marks up front. we need to find an inside presence to really be tough but i think we will be competitive among the summit league and in contention for the league championship.

Lw: we have yet to meet the rest of your coaching staff. What can you tell us about them?

Cc: Trent Hannan has shown a knack for scouting and recruiting. He will handle a lot of that workload for us and he also is a solid offensive mind and will help there. Julius Pleick is a young ambitious coach who really connects with players and excels in teaching the game.

Lw: with your emphasis on defense how do you plan to use the strengths of your current lineup.

Cc: much has been made of me, a defensive coach, taking over a team with much more offensive talent but when it comes down to it the players on the court will still be given the chance to use their skills to shine. Just because i want my players to hustle and shut down the other team does not mean i am anti-offense.

[kcarr]

Can you believe it. We are just days away from the season opener against moreheqd state. Lets take a look at this years team.
LEATHERNECK STARTERS:
pg: Tyler Clayton. Clayton is a true freshman with the athletic ability and 6'3" size to be very good. He lacks passing skills and an outside game though
sg: Joseph Bigelow. Joe is a lanky 6'4" senior who can finish at the rim and create his own shot. He is the team captain and the best player.
sf: Michal Youmans. At 6'8" michal is a mismatch for many. He is a good jump shooter but can be one dimensional.
pf: Kalu Rogers. Kalu is a senior forward who brings stability to the court. He lacks explosiveness.
c: Ashtyn Pardon. Pardon is a big body at 6'10" 245 but as a true freshman probably won't have the skills to dominate.

THE BENCH
Lynn Seagers, a sophmore shooting guard, may be the best shooter on the team. Junior forward Steve Domercant has shown flashes finishing at the rim. Senior Sam Thompson will backup both post spots and is the best post scorer on the team. Junior Jason Brady will backup the point and may get some starts if Tyler struggles.

[kcarr]

Welcome to the season opener against morehead state university. Comparing thesee two teams in terms of total talent they are similar but looking beyond that there are big diferences. both teams play a slow defensive game but morehead relies on penetration while western Illinois has better shooters. Western Illinois also has more size accross the board.

For our leathernecks to win this game pardon will have to be an enforcers and take away the lanes while our shooters have to hit their shots.

Youmans is also in a position to be key matched up with their best player and having a huge size mismatch.

Final score Western Illinois 57 Morehead State 45:
This game was much closer than the 12 point difference in the final score. It was back and forth until the last 2 minutes and with 1:55 left was tied. Tyler Clayton ended that though hitting a 10 foot jumpshot and the on the next possession driving and converting a 3 point play. A block by Ashtyn Pardon then started a fast break which Bigelow finished with a dunk and we coasted to a win. we spoke with coach Carr after the game and this is what he had to say.

"it was a great win and it was really great to see a couple young players really perform well. We will enjoy this tonight and then get ready for the next one."

Seagers was the player of the game with 17 points going 4-8 from 3 point range. Clayton had 12 points and 5 assists. Bigelow had 11 points and 2 rebounds and 2 assists. Pardon added 6 points and 9 boards. Youmans was held to 3 points all on late free throws and went 0-5 from the floor and 0-3 from 3. Warren Van, moreheads center, led then with 12 points and 5 boards. While youmans struggled on offense defensively he shined holding greenleaf to 1 point. Greenleaf had been averaging 17 a game coming into the game

[kcarr]

After pulling out a tough road win our leathernecks return home to face in state opponent eastern Illinois. Both teams came into the game 1-0 and look to be quite evenly matched. Speaking with coach Carr before the game he stressed that his tean would have to stop beye and malesa, a pair of centers that offer the panthers great front court depth. 'with our lack of depth in the front court it is going to come down to Ashtyn to take on both of their centers. This means little rest for him while always facing fresh legs against him".

Final score
western Illinois 82
Eastern Illinois 56

The final score did not even show how lopsided this game was. After his struggles last game youmans scored 13 of the games first 16 points as western jumped out to a 15-1 lead. Eastern didn't score from the field in the first 5:56 of the game and could not recover.

Youmans ended the game with 20 points and 3 assists. Seagers is still the teams leading scorer on the season adding 19 off the bench. Clayton had 13 and added 8 assists. Pardon outplayed their frontcourt with 16 points, 13 boards, and a pair of blocks while their 2centers totaled 16 and 11 with no blocks.

We caught up with the coach after the game.

Lw: congrats on the win coach.

Cc: thank you.

Lw: Lynn Seegars once again played huge, are there any plans of starting him?

Cc: Lynn has been great but i feel the spark off the bench is what he is helping us with most. While he shows up more in the stat line than some starters there is a reason we have them out there. Lynn will keep getting big minutes though.

Lw: Joseph bigelow, last years top scorer, only got 3 shots this game. Do you think that is enough?

Cc: Joseph was limited by playing the other teams top player. Also with the big lead he sat most of the second. He will get his touches when they are there for him.

Lw: a pair of freshman have really came through for you so far. Will they be able to do so again against a tough Missouri squad?

Cc: obviously with 2 freshmen starting you expect ups and downs. I just hope the good outweighs the bad in the end.

[kcarr]

After starting 2-0 Western Illinois is on the road to face 2-1 Missouri. This will be a real test for freshman guard Tyler Clayton as he matches up against Rylan Cowans, a senior averaging 18 points and 8 assists per game and projected as a 1st round draft pick.

Final score
Missouri 70
Western Illinois 48

Pardon and youmans got off to a bad start getting in foul trouble early leaving our boys unable to match up size wise in the paint and myles mayest shot 6-10 from 3 off the bench. Steve domercant led us with 8 points.

Lw: what happened out there coach? Your boys looked flat.

Cc: our kids just bought tge hype. They went in believing they had no chance and any time you think that you will be right.

Lw: after a crushing loss like that what do you say to your boys?

Cc: there is not much that can be said. We don't have time to dwell on the loss as the day after tomorrow we face ut pan America and we need to be ready for that.

Lw: good luck in that one. We will be there showing our support.