(St. Louis, MO) – Indiana State has started strong and now the Sycamores have reinforcements on the way. Greg Lansing’s team (6-2) won five straight games before splitting their last two. They begin the Diamond Head Classic on Sunday.
Lansing says he is relatively satisfied with the season, but the Sycamore defensive effort has been lacking of late. Winning six of their first eight is a good start, but he is looking for more intensity from his defenders.
As good as the Sycamores have been they have had to rely heavily on Jordan Barnes and Tyreke Key. The two guards combined to score almost 40 points per game while playing a combined 75 minutes per contest. With next week’s reinforcements on the way Lansing is not concerned about their heavy load.
Transfers Christian Williams and Cooper Neese had to sit the first semester due to eligibility issues. Lansing believes both can play significant roles on both ends of the floor. Both are guards by nature but can play multiple positions. Lansing says Williams can truly guard positions one through four.
Neese was a prolific offensive producer for Cloverdale High School and Lansing says he can score in a multitude of ways. In the new era of ‘positionless basketball’, having four talented guards is an advantage. However, the ninth year coach also says his ‘three-headed-center’ rotation has played well.
Diamond Head Classic
While Williams played 54 games at Iowa, Neese is a redshirt freshman after enrolling at Butler, but quickly transferring to INS. Their first opportunity to play in a Sycamore uniform will come Sunday against TCU.
The Horned Frogs were a preseason top 25 team and the Sycamore reinforcements will help. Lansing says TCU is a team with great talent and has a legitimate shot to play deep into March. The idea of playing a demanding schedule in great arenas is important to the Indiana State coach. While teams like TCU may be difficult to defeat, he wants his players to maximize their college experience.
The Diamond Head Classic opens the doors for more quality opponents. After the TCU game, Colorado is on tap. The Classic also provides the Sycamore family the opportunity to experience ‘paradise’. Lansing says ‘Hoops in Honolulu’ can be a great experience.
Earlier this season Lansing became the second winningest coach in Indiana State history. He passed his mentor, Royce Waltman and with 139 career wins is 42 victories behind all-time leader Duane Klueh.
With reinforcements on the way the Sycamores are ready to complete the non conference portion of their schedule and launch into the MVC wars. The ‘Trees’ should be fun to watch.
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As we near the closing of the portal window, we've reached 1900. Some of them never to play college basketball again, earn a college degree and some to play at a much lower level than they did last season.
I guess we'll be seeing this in a @RacersHoops uniform this year. Glad AJ is staying in the @ValleyHoops.
