MACOMB, Ill. -Â Fighting Leatherneck men's basketball continues their nonconference schedule at home Saturday evening (Nov. 22) when they play host to Southeastern Louisiana at 7 p.m. inside Western Hall. The game follows WIU football's final game of the season versus Indiana State at Hanson Field, which kicks off at 1 p.m.Â
LEATHERNECKS VS. LIONS SERIES HISTORY: Western Illinois leads the all-time series 5-1… The program's only loss to Southeastern Louisiana came last season when WIU dropped its game in Hammond, La., 62-52… The Leathernecks five victories over the Lions all came prior to 1980... The first ever meeting between the two programs occurred on December 13, 1948 in Hammond, La. with the Leathernecks winning 67-56.
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@WIUMENSHOOPS LAST TIME OUT: The Fighting Leathernecks cut their nine-point deficit to one late in regulation this past Monday night (Nov. 17), but the UIC Flames were able to hold on to their lead and defeat Western Illinois, 67-64, in Chicago. WIU fell to 0-2 on the season after the loss while UIC improved to 1-1. Junior J.C. Fuller led the Leathernecks in scoring with 14, and added five rebounds, four assists and a block to his stat line. Recording a career-best nine assists was sophomore Garret Covington. The Edwardsville, Ill. native also scored seven points, had two steals and only turned the ball over once. UIC was led by junior center Jake Wiegand who finished with 28 points and grabbed 11 rebounds.
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WIU IN ESPN'S DAILY RPI/STRENGTH OF SCHEDULE (as of Nov. 21):Â Western Illinois has an RPI (Rating Percentage Index) of 342 in ESPN's Daily RPI, and a SOS (Strength of Schedule) of 273. Joe Lunardi and his team of Bracketologists have replicated the Ratings Percentage Index (RPI), one of the tools used by the NCAA Selection Committee to evaluate teams. Lunardi & Co. update it daily, and have included additional ratings, providing readers with original data for every Division I team, available only on ESPN.com.
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WHERE WIU OPPONENTS RANK IN ESPN'S DAILY RPI (as of Nov. 21):Â 91. Memphis, 97. Oral Roberts, 171. Denver, 179. Akron, 182. UIC, 185. North Dakota State, 231. Southeastern Louisiana, 236. IUPUI, 263. South Dakota, 273. Fort Wayne, 298. William & Mary, 300. Pacific, 301. Cleveland State, 302. Idaho, 303. Omaha and 309. South Dakota State.
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WELCOME DELO: Western Illinois head men's basketball coach Billy Wright announced the addition of De'Angelo Bruster to the Fighting Leatherneck family Saturday (Nov. 15). Bruster, who goes by Delo and is a native of Overland Park, Kan., signed a National Letter of Intent to play basketball at WIU beginning next season and is in the midst of his senior season at Quality Education Academy (Winston-Salem, N.C.).
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COACH WRIGHT ON DELO:Â "De'Angelo is a true point guard who had led both his high school and AAU programs to championships. He has a great feel for the game and understands how to make others better. "De'Angelo has a sincere passion to win and has a great work ethic to go along with that passion. We are really excited to add him to our basketball family."
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EXHIBITION VICTORY: The Western Illinois men's basketball squad earned an 82-48 victory in its lone exhibition of the year over Cornell College (Iowa) on Nov. 8 under first-year head coach Billy Wright. The Leathernecks never trailed as they used a 32-6 run to open the contest, and went into the midway point with a 47-20 advantage. The second half was much of the same with the Leathernecks out scoring the Rams 35-28. All of the players that dressed played, and 11 players scored. Mike Miklusak led WIU with 14 points, while both Garret Covington (12) and J.C. Fuller (10) both finished in double figures. Seven different players also made up the team's 19 assists, and the same 11 players that scored all recorded at least one rebound. Besides leading the team in scoring, Miklusak also grabbed eight rebounds, which tied for the team lead. Tyson Reynold also pulled down eight boards while Tate Stensgaard finished with seven rebounds.
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PRESEASON RECOGNITION: Western Illinois men's basketball sophomore guard Garret Covington, the league's reigning 'Newcomer of the Year', was tabbed preseason All-Summit League First Team on Oct. 8 as announced by the league office. As a team, the Fighting Leathernecks were picked to finish seventh in the league with 151 votes. The preseason poll and all-league teams were voted on by the league's head coaches, sports information directors and select media members.
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DIRECTOR OF BASKETBALL OPERATIONS:Â Dodie Dunson, a former standout basketball player at Bradley, joined the Western Illinois Athletic Department as Director of Basketball Operations this past summer and officially began his duties on August 1. Dunson oversees the day-to-day operations of the men's basketball program, recruiting visits, team travel, video exchange, direct summer camps, supervise student managers, and oversee academic progress of the student-athletes.
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THE RETURNERS: Western returns only six players from a season ago. Remy Roberts-Burnett enters his fourth season at WIU and is one of two seniors on the team. Roberts-Burnett battled injuries again last season, only allowing him to play in 15 of the team's 30 games. The rest of the five returners are each entering their second season. Senior Mohamed Conde played in 24 games, averaging 3.6 points and 2.9 rebounds per game. Like Remy, junior Tate Stensgaard battled injuries but played in 27 games and averaged 6.2 points and 3.6 rebounds per game. The other returners are sophomore Garret Covington, Jabari Sandifer and Mike Miklusak. Covington returns as the league's 'Newcomer of the Year' after leading the team in points per game (14.3) and grabbing 4.7 rebounds per game. Sandifer played in all 30 games and led the team in assists per game (3.1), while Miklusak only missed the season opener and averaged 5.2 points and 2.9 rebounds per game.
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THE NEWCOMERS: The Leathernecks have nine new players for the 2014-15 team. Five freshman, two of which are walk-ons, and four JUCO transfers. The five freshman are: Kam Rowan (Champaign, Ill./Champaign Central), Kendall Rollins (Indianapolis, Ind./Pike), DeVante Mayes (Peoria, Ill./Peoria Central), Dalan Ancrum (Round Rock, Texas/Westwood), and Jalen Morgan (Indianapolis, Ind./Pike). The four transfers are: Jamie Batish (Melbourne, Australia/Sandringham College), Tyson Reynold (Queens, N.Y./South Florida Prep), J.C. Fuller (Sioux City, Iowa/East), and Jalen Chapman (Bronx, N.Y./Eagle Academy).
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THE 2014-15 SCHEDULE: Western's schedule features a total of 27 games, 14 at home and 13 on the road... Head Coach Billy Wright on the team's schedule: "We have put together a schedule that I believe not only challenges our team but also offers a good competitive balance. I was looking for opponents who had been to the postseason, because if we want to get back to that level, we have to test ourselves against opponents who have recently competed in the postseason. I also wanted to get as many home games as possible for our fans and our students. With 14 regular season home games, plus one home exhibition game, our fans and our students will have plenty of opportunities to show their support."
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NEW COURT IN WESTERN HALL: The playing court inside Western Hall under went a renovation this past summer. Not only does the court for Leatherneck basketball have a new look thanks to a donation from the family of a Western Illinois Athletics Hall of Fame member, it will carry a new name as well. Athletic Director Tommy Bell announced the Western Hall playing court is now known as the LeRoy A. Ufkes Court, honoring the 1996 Hall of Fame inductee. The Leathernecks received a generous donation by Joan Ufkes and the late LeRoy Ufkes. LeRoy Ufkes was a long-time contributor to the WIU Athletics Department. A lifelong resident of nearby Carthage, Ufkes and his wife Joan (a 1954 graduate of Western Illinois University) have supported the Leathernecks for more than 25 years.
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UNDER NEW LEADERSHIP: Billy Wright returned to the Fighting Leathernecks men's basketball program as Western Illinois Director of Athletics Tommy Bell announced the hiring of Wright as the Leathernecks' head coach. Wright was introduced at a press conference on April 15 in the University Union. Wright spent five years (2009-13) at WIU as an assistant then associate head coach. After working at Ball State last season, he will take over as the 20th overall head coach in Western men's basketball history, and fifth in the program's Division I era. It marks Wright first collegiate head coaching job.
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RETURNING ACADEMIC SUCCESS:Â Western Illinois landed four men's basketball players on The Summit League's Winter/Spring Academic Honor Roll of the 122 WIU student-athletes on the list. To be eligible for the Academic Honor Roll, a student-athlete must have at least a 3.0 GPA and use a year of eligibility. The three returning players included: Garret Covington (Law Enforcement & Justice Administration), Mike Miklusak (Management) and Jabari Sandifer (Management).
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WHAT IS A LEATHERNECK?:Â Western Illinois holds the distinction of being the only non-military institution to officially have its nickname derived from a branch of the military service. The school began use of the Marine Corps' official nickname, "The Fighting Leathernecks", in 1927 when then-athletic director and head baseball, basketball and football coach Ray "Rock" Hanson was granted permission by the U.S. Navy, based on his status as a Marine hero, to use the Marine's official seal, bulldog mascot and nickname.
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