As the season goes on for Illinois State?s basketball team, so do the heavy amount of minutes being piled up by the starters.
Coach Tim Jankovich is well aware of the situation.
?Some teams historically have been able to do that,? said Jankovich. ?It?s not the best-case scenario by any means, but it has been done and can be done. I hope that we?re able to decrease that somewhat.
?I don?t mind 30 minutes -- and 32 minutes is a great amount for a starter -- but not too much over that.?
Emmanuel Holloway and the other starters aren?t begging for a rest. They?ll play for as long as Jankovich asks when ISU takes on Missouri State at 2:05 p.m. Sunday in a Missouri Valley Conference game at Redbird Arena.
The Bears (8-9, 1-5 Valley) are the first league team the Redbirds (15-2, 4-2) have played before. ISU rallied from a 15-point deficit to take a 72-69 overtime victory in the Valley opener on Dec. 28 at Springfield, Mo.
Through six Valley games (two went overtime), four ISU players aren?t getting much rest.
Osiris Eldridge is averaging 35.5 minutes with Lloyd Phillips at 35.0. Take away the Bradley game where back spasms limited him to 16 minutes and Champ Oguchi is at 33.8, while Holloway checks in at 31.7.
?Coach knows when to give us our breaks, right before media timeouts,? said Holloway. ?He has a good rotation with Alex (Rubin) and Sead (Odzic) coming in. We?re definitely conditioned because of our practices and boot camp definitely trained us to be more mentally (ready) and physical.?
The only starter not in the 30-plus minute club in Valley action is post player Dinma Odiakosa (25.0). Top reserve Brandon Sampay, who usually spells Odiakosa, is playing 19.6 minutes, followed by Odzic (14.7) and Rubin (9.7).
Freshman forward Kellen Thornton played 10 minutes at Indiana State last weekend because of foul trouble for Odiakosa and Sampay. Guards Brandon Holtz and Landon Shipley and freshman forward Jeremy Robinson haven?t seen action the last three games.
?I?m not giving up on anybody. I?ve been encouraging everybody to stay with it and their chance may come,? said Jankovich. ?When you get an opportunity, take advantage of it and then more opportunities come for you.?
Scoring is not what Jankovich looks for when a reserve comes into the game.
?The first prerequisite of playing, a starter or sub, is to be able to guard your position effectively and be able to take care of the ball,? he said. ?If you do those things then you?re a positive regardless of anything else.?
When putting together the team last spring, Jankovich thought ISU?s depth would be fine. But that was before junior forward Bobby Hill tore his ACL in June and freshman guard Kenyon Smith was declared academically ineligible in October.
Hill has resumed practicing the last couple weeks, but the knee is not 100 percent and he appears likely to be redshirted. Smith, who couldn?t play or practice with the Redbirds, transferred to Lincoln College for second semester.
The Redbirds won?t get much sympathy from Missouri State, which has been hit harder by injuries than any Valley team.
The Bears? players have missed 40 games because of injuries. Also, sophomore forward Will Creekmore missed the first eight games while waiting to become eligible after transferring from Boston University.
?You just have to stay the course,? said Missouri State first-year coach Cuonzo Martin. ?Eventually your guys will see you are competing. You can?t get down about it. Everyone wants to win games, but in the process you?re developing men. You have to keep pushing.?
Coach Tim Jankovich is well aware of the situation.
?Some teams historically have been able to do that,? said Jankovich. ?It?s not the best-case scenario by any means, but it has been done and can be done. I hope that we?re able to decrease that somewhat.
?I don?t mind 30 minutes -- and 32 minutes is a great amount for a starter -- but not too much over that.?
Emmanuel Holloway and the other starters aren?t begging for a rest. They?ll play for as long as Jankovich asks when ISU takes on Missouri State at 2:05 p.m. Sunday in a Missouri Valley Conference game at Redbird Arena.
The Bears (8-9, 1-5 Valley) are the first league team the Redbirds (15-2, 4-2) have played before. ISU rallied from a 15-point deficit to take a 72-69 overtime victory in the Valley opener on Dec. 28 at Springfield, Mo.
Through six Valley games (two went overtime), four ISU players aren?t getting much rest.
Osiris Eldridge is averaging 35.5 minutes with Lloyd Phillips at 35.0. Take away the Bradley game where back spasms limited him to 16 minutes and Champ Oguchi is at 33.8, while Holloway checks in at 31.7.
?Coach knows when to give us our breaks, right before media timeouts,? said Holloway. ?He has a good rotation with Alex (Rubin) and Sead (Odzic) coming in. We?re definitely conditioned because of our practices and boot camp definitely trained us to be more mentally (ready) and physical.?
The only starter not in the 30-plus minute club in Valley action is post player Dinma Odiakosa (25.0). Top reserve Brandon Sampay, who usually spells Odiakosa, is playing 19.6 minutes, followed by Odzic (14.7) and Rubin (9.7).
Freshman forward Kellen Thornton played 10 minutes at Indiana State last weekend because of foul trouble for Odiakosa and Sampay. Guards Brandon Holtz and Landon Shipley and freshman forward Jeremy Robinson haven?t seen action the last three games.
?I?m not giving up on anybody. I?ve been encouraging everybody to stay with it and their chance may come,? said Jankovich. ?When you get an opportunity, take advantage of it and then more opportunities come for you.?
Scoring is not what Jankovich looks for when a reserve comes into the game.
?The first prerequisite of playing, a starter or sub, is to be able to guard your position effectively and be able to take care of the ball,? he said. ?If you do those things then you?re a positive regardless of anything else.?
When putting together the team last spring, Jankovich thought ISU?s depth would be fine. But that was before junior forward Bobby Hill tore his ACL in June and freshman guard Kenyon Smith was declared academically ineligible in October.
Hill has resumed practicing the last couple weeks, but the knee is not 100 percent and he appears likely to be redshirted. Smith, who couldn?t play or practice with the Redbirds, transferred to Lincoln College for second semester.
The Redbirds won?t get much sympathy from Missouri State, which has been hit harder by injuries than any Valley team.
The Bears? players have missed 40 games because of injuries. Also, sophomore forward Will Creekmore missed the first eight games while waiting to become eligible after transferring from Boston University.
?You just have to stay the course,? said Missouri State first-year coach Cuonzo Martin. ?Eventually your guys will see you are competing. You can?t get down about it. Everyone wants to win games, but in the process you?re developing men. You have to keep pushing.?
