NORMAL -- Vince Greene wants Illinois State basketball fans to remember him 10 years from now as a player who proved people wrong.
"A lot of people never thought I could do the things I did," said Greene, who ranks seventh in school history with 406 career assists and only the seventh Redbird to have 400 or more assists. He is also the current active leader in the Missouri Valley Conference.
Gregg Alexander wants fans to remember him for other things.
"I just want to be remembered as a guy who gave his all and played hard every time out," said Alexander, who is the school's all-time leader in 3-point field goals made with 219, ranks fifth in 3-point field goal percentage at 40.9 and 38th in scoring with 1,006 points.
Trey Guidry wants folks around ISU to think about how this year's team helped turn things around after two straight losing seasons.
"There is a lot of tradition with ISU basketball," said Guidry. "We didn't want to be the third straight. We wanted to turn things around and get things headed back in the right direction."
Guidry, Greene and Alexander close out their regular-season careers tonight in a 7:05 league game against Creighton at Redbird Arena.
ISU has a 17-11 overall mark and an 8-9 conference record, while Creighton is 19-10 and 10-7, respectively. The Redbirds, who have lost five in a row to Valley opponents, defeated the Bluejays, 82-77, in overtime at Omaha earlier this year.
Creighton needs a victory for a chance to finish third in the league standings. A loss would send the Bluejays to fourth or fifth place.
"I can't say enough about our three seniors," said ISU coach Porter Moser. "For those guys to have gone the things they have and still have the team in the position it is, speaks a lot. It's to their credit that we are where were are.
"Vince Greene has probably come the farthest. He's playing with such positive emotion and doing so many things that are helping us. He is really hitting his stride right now."
Greene should finish as the school's all-time holder for career free throw percentage at nearly 90 percent. He also holds the mark for consecutive free throws at 57 and ranks fourth nationally this year with a 92 percent clip.
"A lot of people didn't think I could play at this level because of my size," said Greene, who is among 38 players in school history to score over 1,000 points. He ranks 36th with 1,026. "But I proved them wrong."
Greene also ranks sixth in 3-point field goal percentage in his career at 40.7. Greene, Guidry and Alexander have combined for 3,193 points, 557 baskets from 3-point range and 751 assists in 318 games.
"All three have been a major part in us winning this year and helping us rebuild the program," said Moser. "It will be tough to see them go because we have come so far this year with them.
"It had to be tough on them to go through a coaching change, but they never waveried. They remained positive and did the things we asked them to do."
Moser said Alexander is among the most hard-nosed players he's coached.
"Gregg is always the guy, who is out-hustling and out-working everybody else," added Moser of Alexander, who is 38th on the school scoring list with 1,006. "He has hit some timely shots for us during his career."
Guidry ranks 28th on the scoring list with 1,161 points in only three years. He also rates third in 3-point field goals with 204 and seventh in 3-point percentage at 39.8.
"Trey has had some big games for us," said Moser. "He's the one guy on our team who can really light it up. We believe he is one game away from really getting on fire."
ISU, which has already clinched the No. 6 seed and the 8:35 p.m. Saturday game in the league's postseason tournament, will be out to put a halt to Creighton's four-game winning streak.
"They are probably playing as well as anybody in the league," said Moser. "They are the only team to beat Wichita State on their home floor. We have to worry about getting momentum going into the conference tournament.
"One game can do it for you. One game can get you back feeling great about yourself and getting some momentum. It's all about confidence."
Senior guard Nate Funk leads the Bluejays with a 17.9 scoring average. He is tied at the top with Northern Iowa's Ben Jacobson. Funk scored a Valley high 35 points a few weeks ago. He also leads Creighton in rebounding with 5.1 per game.
"Nate has been so consistent," said Creighton coach Dana Altman. "He's our leading scorer. He's our leading rebounder and our best defender. We've asked him to do those things every night and he's responded."
"A lot of people never thought I could do the things I did," said Greene, who ranks seventh in school history with 406 career assists and only the seventh Redbird to have 400 or more assists. He is also the current active leader in the Missouri Valley Conference.
Gregg Alexander wants fans to remember him for other things.
"I just want to be remembered as a guy who gave his all and played hard every time out," said Alexander, who is the school's all-time leader in 3-point field goals made with 219, ranks fifth in 3-point field goal percentage at 40.9 and 38th in scoring with 1,006 points.
Trey Guidry wants folks around ISU to think about how this year's team helped turn things around after two straight losing seasons.
"There is a lot of tradition with ISU basketball," said Guidry. "We didn't want to be the third straight. We wanted to turn things around and get things headed back in the right direction."
Guidry, Greene and Alexander close out their regular-season careers tonight in a 7:05 league game against Creighton at Redbird Arena.
ISU has a 17-11 overall mark and an 8-9 conference record, while Creighton is 19-10 and 10-7, respectively. The Redbirds, who have lost five in a row to Valley opponents, defeated the Bluejays, 82-77, in overtime at Omaha earlier this year.
Creighton needs a victory for a chance to finish third in the league standings. A loss would send the Bluejays to fourth or fifth place.
"I can't say enough about our three seniors," said ISU coach Porter Moser. "For those guys to have gone the things they have and still have the team in the position it is, speaks a lot. It's to their credit that we are where were are.
"Vince Greene has probably come the farthest. He's playing with such positive emotion and doing so many things that are helping us. He is really hitting his stride right now."
Greene should finish as the school's all-time holder for career free throw percentage at nearly 90 percent. He also holds the mark for consecutive free throws at 57 and ranks fourth nationally this year with a 92 percent clip.
"A lot of people didn't think I could play at this level because of my size," said Greene, who is among 38 players in school history to score over 1,000 points. He ranks 36th with 1,026. "But I proved them wrong."
Greene also ranks sixth in 3-point field goal percentage in his career at 40.7. Greene, Guidry and Alexander have combined for 3,193 points, 557 baskets from 3-point range and 751 assists in 318 games.
"All three have been a major part in us winning this year and helping us rebuild the program," said Moser. "It will be tough to see them go because we have come so far this year with them.
"It had to be tough on them to go through a coaching change, but they never waveried. They remained positive and did the things we asked them to do."
Moser said Alexander is among the most hard-nosed players he's coached.
"Gregg is always the guy, who is out-hustling and out-working everybody else," added Moser of Alexander, who is 38th on the school scoring list with 1,006. "He has hit some timely shots for us during his career."
Guidry ranks 28th on the scoring list with 1,161 points in only three years. He also rates third in 3-point field goals with 204 and seventh in 3-point percentage at 39.8.
"Trey has had some big games for us," said Moser. "He's the one guy on our team who can really light it up. We believe he is one game away from really getting on fire."
ISU, which has already clinched the No. 6 seed and the 8:35 p.m. Saturday game in the league's postseason tournament, will be out to put a halt to Creighton's four-game winning streak.
"They are probably playing as well as anybody in the league," said Moser. "They are the only team to beat Wichita State on their home floor. We have to worry about getting momentum going into the conference tournament.
"One game can do it for you. One game can get you back feeling great about yourself and getting some momentum. It's all about confidence."
Senior guard Nate Funk leads the Bluejays with a 17.9 scoring average. He is tied at the top with Northern Iowa's Ben Jacobson. Funk scored a Valley high 35 points a few weeks ago. He also leads Creighton in rebounding with 5.1 per game.
"Nate has been so consistent," said Creighton coach Dana Altman. "He's our leading scorer. He's our leading rebounder and our best defender. We've asked him to do those things every night and he's responded."
