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Will Carius
Rachael Keating

Jeter, WIU Men’s Hoops 2020 Journey Begins Thursday

Western Illinois opens its 2020-21 season at No. 3 Iowa.

Who | Western Illinois (0-0) at Iowa (2-0)
When | Thursday, Dec. 3 at 7 p.m. 
Where | Iowa City, Iowa (Carver-Hawkeye Arena)
TV | Big Ten Network
Twitter | @WIU_MensHoops 

Opening Tip 
The Rob Jeter era at Western Illinois begins with a major test in No. 3 Iowa, or as the history books will show, the highest-ranking opponent WIU has faced in the last 20 years and possibly ever. 

Quick Hits
- Jeter was named the Leathernecks' head coach in March of 2020 and most recently served as an assistant at Minnesota
- Western Illinois went 5-21 a season ago, with 11 games decided by six points or less
- The Leathernecks lost their top three scorers in Kobe Webster (17.1 PPG), Zion Young (13.2), and Ben Pyle (12.3) 
- Western welcomed 14 newcomers to the team, highlighted by Division III All-American Will Carius (Monmouth College) and First Team NJCAA All-American Justin Brookens (Iowa Lake CC)
- The series against Iowa dates back to 1944

Western Illinois vs. AP Top 25 in the last 20 seasons 
L, 66-94 vs. No. 12 Illinois (2003-04)
L, 79-102 vs. No. 20 Indiana (2005-06)
L, 64-77 at No. 22 Kansas State (2007-08)
L, 55-77 at No. 8 UCLA (2007-08)
L, 61-66 vs. No. 15 Missouri (Cancun Challenge / 2010-11)
L, 55-59 at No. 17 Michigan (2011-12)
W, 69-67 at No. 17 Wisconsin (2015-16)*
L, 50-82 at No. 15 Purdue (2016-17)

*WIU's first and only victory over a ranked opponent 

(Fourteen) New Kids on the Block
In addition to a new coaching staff, Western Illinois also welcomed 14 to its 2020-21 roster.  

Freshmen: Braden Lamar (Las Vegas, Nev. / Bishop Gorman), Robert Jeter IV (Woodbury, Minn. / East Ridge), Marcus Watson (Chicago, Ill. / Morgan Park), Ramean Hinton (Chicago, Ill. / Curie) and Matthew Wade (Milwaukee, Wis. / Golda Meir) 

Transfers: Tamell Pearson (Chicago, Ill. / UAB); Justin Brookens (Milwaukee, Wis. / Iowa Lakes); Cameron Burrell (Chicago, Ill. / Highland); Rod Johnson Jr. (Sun Prairie, Wis. / Chattanooga); Adam Anhold (Janesville, Wis. / Highland); J.J. Flores (Lake in the Hills, Ill. / Highland); Colton Sandage (Bloomington, Ill. / Vincennes), Will Carius (Bettendorf, Iowa / Monmouth), and Erik Talton (DeSota, Texas / Weatherford).

The Connections 
Rob Jeter & Chad Boudreau - coached together at the University of Milwaukee from 2005-16, where Boudreau served as an assistant on Jeter's staff … the Panthers won the Horizon League Championships in 2006, 2011, and 2014, and qualified for six postseason tournaments during the 11-year stretch

Highland Community College - Boudreau spent three seasons as the head coach at Highland and Kyle Heikkinen was his assistant … together, they led the Cougars to three consecutive Arrowhead Conference titles with undefeated conference records in 2019 and 2020 … Cameron Burrell, Adam Anhold, and J.J. Flores are Highland alums who played under Boudreau 

Morgan Park - Nick Irvin headed to WIU after coaching one of the most successful boys' basketball programs in Illinois history … Morgan Park was also home to Leathernecks' Tamell Pearson, Cameron Burrell, and Marcus Watson Jr. … Irvin won at least 20 games in all 12 seasons at the helm of the program, with two separate, back-to-back IHSA Class 3A state title runs in 2013-2014 and 2017-18 … Burrell and Pearson were members of the 2017 and 2018 Morgan Park state championship teams

Father / Son - In Rob Jeter's 20-plus year career, he has never competitively coached his son, Robert Jeter IV, until now. The two begin their Leatherneck journey together, and the 2020-21 season also marks the beginning of Jeter IV's collegiate career. 

One Last Ride 
Seniors Anthony Jones and Jake Weyhrich are the lone returners from Western's 2019-20 roster. Last year, in his first season with the team, Jones led the Leatherneck bench with 5.0 points per game in 24 appearances, while Wehyrich played limited minutes in six. 

The Third and The Fourth 
There are 16 father/son duos in NCAA Division I basketball. The Jeters joined the list ahead of the 2020-21 season -- their first at WIU. 

School | Head Coach | Son            
Boise State | Leon Rice | Max Rice
UConn | Dan Hurley | Andrew Hurley
Detroit Mercy | Mike Davis | Antoine Davis
Illinois | Brad Underwood | Tyler Underwood
Iowa | Fran McCaffery | Connor/Patrick McCaffery
Liberty | Ritchie McCay | Luke McCay
Memphis | Penny Hardaway | Jayden Hardaway
Michigan State | Tom Izzo | Stephen Izzo
USC Upstate | Dave Dickerson | Dave Dickerson III
Southern | Sean Woods |  DeSean Woods
Syracuse | Jim Boeheim | Buddy Boeheim
Texas Southern | Johnny Jones | John Jones
Utah | Larry Krystkowiak |  Luc Krystkowiak
Western Illinois | Rob Jeter III | Rob Jeter IV
Western Kentucky | Rick Stansbury | Noah Stansbury
Wright State | Scott Nagy | TJ Nagy

A Scorer
WIU grad transfer Will Carius has covered all three divisions the NCAA has to offer and arrived in Macomb with 1,277 career points after stops at Northern Michigan (DII) and Monmouth College (DIII).

2016-17 | Northern Mich. | 33 FGM | 16 3FG | 106 PTS
2017-18 | Northern Mich. | 108 FGM | 34 3FG| 344 PTS
2017-18 | Monmouth | 226 FGM | 27 3FG | 664
2018-19 | Monmouth | 49 FGM | 7 3FG | 163 PTS 

Carius also brings with him 566 career rebounds, 85 assists, and 59 steals. 

Scouting the Opposition 
Iowa ranked No. 3 in the AP Coaches Poll, its highest preseason position in 65 years … finished the 2019-20 season with an overall record of 20-11, 14-2 at home … returned a large percentage of its production from last year: scoring (81%), rebounding (76%), assists (77%), steals (83%), and blocks (67%) … Luka Garza was named National Player of the Year by six major news outlets … currently 2-0 on the season with victories over North Carolina Central (97-67) and Southern (103-76) 
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