Carr rejoining Eagles

[IE]

Senior forward will play tonight

Coach Rodney Watson gave senior Brandon Carr a choice: play second semester this year, or sit out before coming back next season to finish out his eligibility with the University of Southern Indiana men's basketball team.

While waiting before coming back would ensure more minutes, the allure of joining a Top 10 and undefeated team proved the more attractive option for Carr.

So, after regaining his academic standing, Carr is eligible to play tonight when the Eagles (10-0), ranked 10th in the NCAA Division II, host Brevard (5-2) at the PAC Arena. Tipoff is at 7:30.
Brandon Carr averaged 7.4 points and 5.3 rebounds.


"He's ready and he's going to play," Watson said. "I just don't know when or where."

That's Watson's new challenge: integrating a player into a rotation that he's already worked to perfect more than a third of the way through the season.

Of course the success USI has enjoyed to this point is a major reason Carr wants to be a part of it.

"It's been kind of tough being with the team every day, practicing and knowing you have to watch," he said. "It can be frustrating because I got to do everything but play in the games."

Now he can, even if he doesn't know how much. Last year Carr started all 34 games, averaging 7.4 points and 5.3 rebounds.

"He is a skilled guy," said USI's first-year head coach. "He's crafty around the basket, he's athletic, he can shoot it with decent range. He really brings a lot to the table and he's a guy I think can go and make a little bit of money playing the game some day."

With five other seniors on the team, Carr would have been one of, if not the, most experienced players returning next season.

"If I play hard and do what I'm supposed to do," he said, "I think it will be a good season for me."

Even if that means making the most of limited opportunity. Before Carr went home to Baltimore for the holiday break, Watson sat down with him and "went over the minutes."

With nine players averaging more than 15 minutes and all 11 averaging at least 12 minutes per game, there aren't many out there.

"You have to be patient," Watson said. "The team has really good chemistry right now, but we're at a point now where we're 0-0, we have 17 games left and you take them one at a time.

"Things could change, you get flu, you get injury and things happen unfortunately, you don't know."

 

[IE]

Aces' foe makes quick turnaround
Missouri State brings 10-1 record to Roberts Stadium


No longer the new guy at the Missouri Valley Conference media day back in October, Missouri State men's basketball coach Cuonzo Martin said his second year already had a different feel.

"I think it helps when you have a year under your belt to see and gauge," he said then.

Two months later, his Bears have shown enough that most gauge them as having a different look, too, after finishing last in the league during Martin's first year as head coach while going 11-20 overall a year ago.

Only an overtime loss at Arkansas last week kept Missouri State from entering tonight's game at Evansville undefeated; it's 10-1 and has been regularly receiving votes for the Top 25 poll. Yet even if they've been the darlings of the MVC thus far, the Bears have yet to win a game in the MVC itself.

Picked last in the MVC last season, the Bears won only three conference games and didn't win their 10th game overall until Feb. 4 ? against Evansville. This time around it's the Aces (6-4) predicted to finish last in the preseason poll; the teams open league play at 7 tonight in Roberts Stadium.

Missouri State's quick turnaround isn't that surprising, if you ask UE coach Marty Simmons.

"Maybe somewhat," he said of the Bears, who were tabbed as being an only moderately improved ninth-place team in the preseason MVC rankings, "but when you watch them you're not (surprised). They've beat some good teams, they've won on the road, and they're playing really well.

"When you watch them on tape, they're just playing with a lot of confidence and they're playing together."

They'll be playing without Cardell McFarland, the Bosse High School graduate who was a part-time starter as a freshman a year ago but was kicked off of the team on Sunday night after being arrested while home in Evansville over the team's holiday break.

But they'll be with Kyle Weems, a 6-foot-6 sophomore forward who leads the team at 15.3 points and 5.4 rebounds per game, as well as Eastern Kentucky transfer Adam Leonard, who is scoring 13.1 per game.

"He's a good addition, 3-point shooter" Simmons said, "and Weems is playing extremely well, with a lot of confidence compared to last year. They've got guys surrounding those two who can shoot, drive, score inside."

The style of play might even remind some of a certain aggressive defender who was adept inside and out at Purdue in the early 1990s: Cuonzo Martin.

"I watched him at Purdue and he was an excellent player there, and I've said before I think his teams are a direct reflection of him," Simmons said. "I think he's an outstanding leader and done a tremendous job of getting those guys to where they're at."

AWith the Bears at Roberts, Simmons will get a pretty good chance to gauge his own young team. While Missouri State will be trying to rebound from its first loss of the season, Simmons will be watching to see how his team takes care of the ball after a disappointing loss at Austin Peay last week that featured 24 turnovers.

"These guys wanted to compete in such a league," Simmons said of the freshmen in his playing rotation, including Colt Ryan, Ned Cox and Troy Taylor, "so we're gonna find out.

"It's exciting, nerve-wracking, all of the above. The league ? I think everybody will see ? is going to be as strong as it's ever been. It's important that you step up your level to be able to compete in this league."

 

[IE]

Missouri State kicks off McFarland after arrest



Missouri State University has dismissed sophomore guard Cardell McFarland for violating team conduct rules just days before the Bosse High School graduate could have played before his hometown fans in Evansville.

Coach Cuonzo Martin said in a news release that the violation occurred while McFarland was in Evansville during the team?s scheduled holiday break.

The team didn?t disclose the violation, but police said McFarland was involved in a Christmas Eve disturbance with a woman outside an Evansville gas station. He was arrested and charged with two misdemeanors.

?We are parting ways with Cardell and wish him well,? Martin told the Springfield News-Leader. ?It?s an unfortunate situation, but the best circumstance for our teams is to move forward as we begin conference play and work together toward our goals in the Missouri Valley Conference.?

McFarland had played in five of the first 11 games for the Bears, scoring 25 points with 7 rebounds and 8 assists. He hadn?t played the past three games, hough he had been physically cleared to play after a knee injury. He started 19 games as a freshman last season, averaging 6.9 points and 1.9 rebounds.

Missouri State (10-1) visits Evansville (6-4) to open MVC play with a game at 7:05 p.m. Tuesday at Roberts Stadium.

 

[IE]

Bears set to start Valley schedule



As Missouri State's lone senior, Justin Fuehrmeyer is qualified to give his teammates advice about Missouri Valley Conference play.

His top tip: They should realize that MSU's 10-1 nonconference record means next-to-nothing entering tonight's Valley opener at Evansville.

"The Valley is a lot different," he said. "It's a lot of games squashed into a short period and all the teams know one another."

The Bears, an overtime loss at Arkansas away from being undefeated, were the league's surprise team the first six weeks. But they have plenty to prove beginning tonight.

Notably, MSU did not win a Valley road game last season. Before any talk of contending for a title can begin, it must clear that hurdle.

"I think we're a lot better prepared for that than we were last year," Fuehrmeyer said.

Evansville would seem a good place to make a breakthrough. The Purple Aces, picked for last in the preseason poll, are one of the league's youngest teams, with only one senior.

However, forward Colt Ryan is an early candidate for Valley freshman of the year. Ryan averages 15.5 points and 5 rebounds. Sophomore forward James Haarsma averages 13.8 points and a league-leading 8.5 rebounds.

Evansville is without junior point guard Kavon Lacey, who had knee surgery on Dec. 15.

"Every game in the Valley is a battle," MSU forward Kyle Weems said. "We did a pretty good job of going 10-1. Nobody thought we would be here. Now we have to transfer that over into conference play."