With his trio of starting guards ailing and no time to rest and recover, coach Travis Ford could be faced with a drastically reduced roster Wednesday night when St. Louis University visits Southern Illinois University Carbondale.
Jermaine Bishop, Mike Crawford and Davell Roby missed practice Monday and were still dealing with injuries when the team departed for SIUC.
It?s the type of situation that was feared when the Billikens entered the season with nine scholarship players. That was the result of having four players leave the program and three arrive as transfers who have to redshirt this season.
?We came out of our last game pretty banged up,? Ford said. ?Mike is doubtful and Jermaine is doubtful. We?ll see ? it will be game-time decisions ? but right now it doesn?t look good. Davell is pretty banged up, but he?s probably the closest to being able to play. But we could be without three guys possibly.?
Crawford left Sunday?s win over Chicago State in the waning minutes after hitting his head on the floor, though Ford did not classify the injury as a concussion. Bishop played on a bad ankle, and Roby has been dealing with a sore left hand for weeks.
Bishop missed a late afternoon practice Tuesday before the team?s bus ride to Carbondale, and Crawford was limited.
Ford talked about changing his starting lineup recently and never made the move, but it appears he will now be forced to alter things for the first time.
The three guards account for nearly half of SLU?s scoring, and their absence ? or limitations ? would challenge an already struggling offense. Bishop leads the team, averaging 11.6 points, and the three combine for 29.5.
SIUC coach Barry Hinson also anticipates making changes in his lineup, but for a different reason. He has not been happy with the Salukis in recent games and made it clear that he was ready to try something new.
?We gotta shake up the lineup,? he told reporters after a home loss to Sam Houston State. ?I think it?s time. We?ve got some guys that are really comfortable. I can?t imagine we?ll start the same lineup against St. Louis on Wednesday.?
Ford uttered similar words after a particularly frustrating defeat a couple of weeks ago, and the changes never transpired. But Hinson seems to be in that same frustrating stage that Ford has experienced much of his first season.
SIUC is 5-5, thanks largely to a challenging schedule that has included Arkansas, Minnesota and Louisville ? all losses. The Salukis started 14-2 last season against a much less difficult group of opponents.
This season they have had to adjust to life without guard Anthony Beane, who left the school as the program?s No. 3 all-time leading scorer.
The most recent loss to a team picked to win the Southland Conference left a sour taste with Hinson.
?I thought we disrespected their program in a tremendous way,? Hinson said. ?I thought we disrespected our fans in a tremendous way. We did not give our best effort. That is unacceptable, and that is all on (me). It?s my job to make sure we respect our opponent and respect people paying to come to games to spend their hard-earned money to watch a ballclub that plays hard.?
Hinson and Ford are similar that way. Ford has been looking for that consistent effort with a dash of attitude since the start of the season. He, too, said players had become too comfortable.
?You?re always searching as a coach when things aren?t going the way you want or you?re not playing as well as you think you can,? Ford said. ?You?re always trying to be overachievers. That goes with us right now. There weren?t a whole lot of expectations, but as we tell the guys, that?s outside the arena. In here we have high expectations.?
The degree of difficulty will increase if the Billikens are missing bodies. If none of the three could play, SLU would be left with six scholarship players and walk-ons Aaron Hines, who has considerable experience, and Markos Psimitis.
Roby has been impacted by his injury. He has failed to score in the last two games and missed all 11 of his shots. Bishop played 37 minutes on his bad ankle Sunday but had not recovered enough to practice the last two days.
Jermaine Bishop, Mike Crawford and Davell Roby missed practice Monday and were still dealing with injuries when the team departed for SIUC.
It?s the type of situation that was feared when the Billikens entered the season with nine scholarship players. That was the result of having four players leave the program and three arrive as transfers who have to redshirt this season.
?We came out of our last game pretty banged up,? Ford said. ?Mike is doubtful and Jermaine is doubtful. We?ll see ? it will be game-time decisions ? but right now it doesn?t look good. Davell is pretty banged up, but he?s probably the closest to being able to play. But we could be without three guys possibly.?
Crawford left Sunday?s win over Chicago State in the waning minutes after hitting his head on the floor, though Ford did not classify the injury as a concussion. Bishop played on a bad ankle, and Roby has been dealing with a sore left hand for weeks.
Bishop missed a late afternoon practice Tuesday before the team?s bus ride to Carbondale, and Crawford was limited.
Ford talked about changing his starting lineup recently and never made the move, but it appears he will now be forced to alter things for the first time.
The three guards account for nearly half of SLU?s scoring, and their absence ? or limitations ? would challenge an already struggling offense. Bishop leads the team, averaging 11.6 points, and the three combine for 29.5.
SIUC coach Barry Hinson also anticipates making changes in his lineup, but for a different reason. He has not been happy with the Salukis in recent games and made it clear that he was ready to try something new.
?We gotta shake up the lineup,? he told reporters after a home loss to Sam Houston State. ?I think it?s time. We?ve got some guys that are really comfortable. I can?t imagine we?ll start the same lineup against St. Louis on Wednesday.?
Ford uttered similar words after a particularly frustrating defeat a couple of weeks ago, and the changes never transpired. But Hinson seems to be in that same frustrating stage that Ford has experienced much of his first season.
SIUC is 5-5, thanks largely to a challenging schedule that has included Arkansas, Minnesota and Louisville ? all losses. The Salukis started 14-2 last season against a much less difficult group of opponents.
This season they have had to adjust to life without guard Anthony Beane, who left the school as the program?s No. 3 all-time leading scorer.
The most recent loss to a team picked to win the Southland Conference left a sour taste with Hinson.
?I thought we disrespected their program in a tremendous way,? Hinson said. ?I thought we disrespected our fans in a tremendous way. We did not give our best effort. That is unacceptable, and that is all on (me). It?s my job to make sure we respect our opponent and respect people paying to come to games to spend their hard-earned money to watch a ballclub that plays hard.?
Hinson and Ford are similar that way. Ford has been looking for that consistent effort with a dash of attitude since the start of the season. He, too, said players had become too comfortable.
?You?re always searching as a coach when things aren?t going the way you want or you?re not playing as well as you think you can,? Ford said. ?You?re always trying to be overachievers. That goes with us right now. There weren?t a whole lot of expectations, but as we tell the guys, that?s outside the arena. In here we have high expectations.?
The degree of difficulty will increase if the Billikens are missing bodies. If none of the three could play, SLU would be left with six scholarship players and walk-ons Aaron Hines, who has considerable experience, and Markos Psimitis.
Roby has been impacted by his injury. He has failed to score in the last two games and missed all 11 of his shots. Bishop played 37 minutes on his bad ankle Sunday but had not recovered enough to practice the last two days.
