Rooting for the Redbirds & the Valley
(St. Louis, MO) – Dick Luedke loves Illinois State basketball and the Missouri Valley Conference. The 33-year veteran of Redbird basketball is good friends with coaches, broadcasters and writers throughout the Valley. But he does have his opinions.
He’s not wild about Carbondale, Illinois, but enjoys seeing broadcaster Mike Reise. He fiercely wants the Redbirds to defeat their ‘War on 74’ rivals the Bradley Braves, but rooted for BU during last season’s NCAA Tournament. Luedke is still surprised at the lack of victories by last year’s Redbird squad.
Broadcasters love the games, the people and the competition. Dick Luedke loves Illinois State memories the most.
Illinois State’s team under performed from a wins and losses standpoint last season. The talented Redbirds were picked to finish second in the Valley and wound up seventh. The 17-win season was the lowest total during the Dan Muller era. It was categorized by last second losses, inconsistent play and uncharacteristically poor shooting.
Luedke says he was baffled by the Redbird season.
Fresh Start & Fresh Talent
Illinois State may have had the most talented ‘red-shirt’ squad in America last season. San Jose State transfers Keith Fisher III, Jaycee Hillsman and Eastern Kentucky transfer Dedric Boyd were all very productive players at their former schools.
Those three will be the nucleus of this year’s squad. Luedke says the key to this coming season will be how quickly those three can adjust to the time off and to the rest of the team. He mentions that Fisher was looked at as a team leader last year, even though he never suited up for a game.
The Missouri Valley Conference has a distinct ‘family’ feel. The coaches get along, the broadcasters feel like a fraternal order and there is an ‘us against the world’ mentality in the MVC.
However, recent ‘in-house’ signings of Matt Chastain (from Loyola) and assistant coach Marcus Belcher (from Indiana State), had me wondering. Is coach Muller could be becoming ‘the villain’ of the Valley? Luedke explained that the Belcher signing involved no intrigue and that the two head coaches (Muller and Greg Lansing) handled the situation with real grace and communication.
He goes on to say he loves connecting with his fellow broadcasters. He’s not wild about Carbondale, but thinks Springfield, Missouri is a great place.
He’s a Valley Guy
Dick Luedke loves Illinois State and represents them on his broadcasts. However, he knows the value of an honest evaluation of the team and their performance is a must. He is excited when they win, and disappointed when they lose, but Luedke doesn’t sugar-coat poor play. He believes honesty actually allows him to tell the Redbird story and promote the school more effectively.
While Illinois State fans may not like that Bradley advanced to the NCAA Tournament, Luedke says he always roots for Valley teams when they aren’t playing the Redbirds. Luedke sites Valley officials and other programs as ones to be supported and celebrated.
Dick Luedke loves Illinois State basketball and football. Dan Muller described him to me as one of kindest men he’s ever known. Luedke, SIU’s Reise, Bradley’s Snell, Missouri State’s Art Hains and UNI’s Gary Rima have been Valley fixtures and the true ‘Voices of the Valley’ for decades.
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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.
