SLU's Reed closes in on record for blocked shots

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St. Louis University center Willie Reed stands on the brink of school history tonight when the Billikens face Wisconsin-Green Bay in the quarterfinals of the College Basketball Invitational at 8 p.m. at Chaifetz Arena. Not that he really cares.

Reed is two blocked shots from breaking the school single-season record of 68 set by Kelvin Henderson in 27 games in 1979-80. Tonight is the Bills' 33rd game. (The blocked shot has been an official stat only since 1975-76.) Already this season, Reed and his teammates ? mostly Jon Smith and Cory Remekun ? have set a team record for blocks. Last season, Reed had 40 blocks, and his two-season total of 107 puts him 29 shy of the career record.

"Ultimately, it's whatever I can do to help the team," Reed said. "I'm just doing what I have to do to put us in position to win."

Reed said blocks are mostly a result of athletic ability, and he likes it when a block is on someone coming down the lane because it's easier to keep it bounds. That's the goal of shot blockers, to keep the ball inbounds and direct it to a teammate rather than hit it out of bounds, so the team can get possession. But sometimes, he admits, a nice solid swat into the stands can send a message to the other team.



"I've sent some pretty good message blocks," Reed said.

He recalls one in the closing seconds of last season's second game with Dayton. SLU was up by eight points, but he felt the block was still important.

"It said they weren't going to get an easy basket, even at the end," Reed said. "We were going to play defense the whole game."

SLU (21-11) plays a Green Bay team that beat Akron in the first round. Troy Cotton scored 36 for the Phoenix (22-12), with 17 in the final 5 minutes, 20 seconds. He had nine 3-pointers in the game. The winner of tonight's game advances to the CBI's semifinals Wednesday. If SLU wins, that game would be at Chaifetz Arena.

 

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UWGB needs to slow Reed in CBI

It's a running joke that the National Invitation Tournament champion will celebrate being crowned 66th-best men's basketball team in the country.

By the same logic, the winner of the College Basketball Invitational will be ? well, something a little too close to No. 100 to be worth mentioning.

Make no mistake, though. Going on the sort of run it would take to capture the CBI title would mean something to the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay ? and its four senior contributors in particular.

"That's definitely our objective and our goal," senior forward Randy Berry said last week. "We want to win this thing."

Each victory extends the college basketball careers of Berry, center Pat Nelson, forward Cordero Barkley and guard Troy Cotton, whose 36 points drove Wednesday's first-round win over Akron.

Tonight, the Phoenix (22-12) will need Berry and Nelson to step up against a Saint Louis team that likes to grind out defensive games and lean on 6-foot-9 center Willie Reed in the post.

"He's just really athletic," Nelson said. "I've heard that he'll put you in the rim if you give him an opportunity, so you've got to make sure you keep your body on him and be physical with him, because the game can be won and lost down low."

The Billikens (21-11) get 11.8 points and 7.9 rebounds per game from Reed, who combines with sophomore guard Kwamain Mitchell (16.2 ppg) to lead the offense. They also start 6-foot-8, 240-pound Cody Ellis (10.8 ppg) ? one of two freshmen starting along with three sophomores ? and get big minutes off the bench from 6-7 freshman Cory Remekun and 6-6 sophomore Brian Conklin.

"They're a really big team," Berry said. "They're also young, so I think we can take advantage of that in ways. They've got an all-conference guard. We'll have our hands full. We've just got to go in there and out-tough them."

Win, and UWGB will be one victory away from the best-of-three CBI championship series ? likely the only chance the Phoenix seniors have for playing one more game at the Resch Center.

Lose, and their college basketball careers are over.

"It's an odd feeling," Nelson said, "but I love playing in the big games. I love playing in the games where you have that adrenaline rush.

"When you think it's your last game, you've definitely got that feeling. So, you go out there and, every play, just give it your all."

 

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UWGB update: Senior G Troy Cotton scored 36 points as the Phoenix downed Akron 70-66 in a first-round CBI game on Wednesday ? UWGB's first postseason win since 1994. "He's one of the best shooters I've ever played with," senior F Randy Berry said of Cotton, who hit nine 3-pointers. "He was really on fire." ? No one else scored more than eight points against Akron, and PG Rahmon Fletcher's struggles continued. He missed 7 of 8 field-goal attempts, including all five from 3-point range, after going 1-for-10 in the Horizon League Tournament loss to Detroit. ? Not including neutral-site games, the Phoenix has won four of its last six on the road.



Saint Louis update: The Billikens beat Indiana State 63-54 on Tuesday to advance to today's quarterfinal. ? Saint Louis ranks 11th in the nation in scoring defense (59.8 points per game). "They're an athletic team, defensive-minded team," UWGB C Pat Nelson said. "With Majerus, that's what his style has been for a long time." ? A Sheboygan native who graduated from Marquette, Majerus never has had a losing record while totaling 11 NCAA bids in four head-coaching stops. ? The Billikens' roster includes eight freshman, four sophomores, one junior and no seniors.