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SIU men could visit New York

By Todd Hefferman, The Southern

Saturday, June 14, 2008 11:32 PM CDT

The Southern

MARION - Southern Illinois University men's basketball coach Chris Lowery made an appearance at Kokopelli Golf Club Saturday.

The Salukis' fifth-year coach introduced his eight newcomers and the returning members of the squad in front of about 15 people. Lowery also said SIU has been invited to play in the 2K Sports College Hoops Classic benefiting Coaches vs. Cancer.

The Salukis will host two opponents, still be determined, and if they win both games, will advance to Madison Square Garden Nov. 20-21 for the semifinals and third-place or championship game. SIU will host the first two games between Nov. 10-14.

Lowery said SIU, UCLA, Michigan and Duke would host early-round games for the tournament. SIU would likely meet Duke in the semifinals if both are victorious, he said.

UCLA landed the nation's top recruiting class, according to Rivals.com. The Salukis' class has been mentioned as one of the nation's top groups by Rivals.com, ESPN.com and CSTV.com.

Lowery called it the program's best ever in a release last year, when it only included guard Torres Roundtree, forward Anthony Booker and guard Kevin Dillard. Dillard was named Mr. Basketball of Illinois.

SIU has eight newcomers this season, most of which could see some action on the team's trip to Canada over Labor Day weekend.

Guards Roundtree, Justin Bocot, Dillard, Ryan Hare, Tony Freeman and Brandon Allen were introduced to the crowd. All but Freeman and Allen are true freshman, although Bocot will be a sophomore, eligibility-wise, with the chance to earn a fifth year if he's on track to graduate.

Freeman, a junior transfer from Iowa, will have to sit out this season per NCAA regulations. Allen, a 6-foot-3, 195-pound walk-on from Shawnee Community College, could add to SIU's guard depth. He was a freshman at Shawnee last season.

"Our guard play has always been critical to our success, and we think our guard play is back," Lowery said.

Booker, a 6-8 freshman from McCluer North (Mo.) High School, and 6-11 center Nick Evans were also introduced. Booker was ranked as the nation's 29th best high-school player by Rivals.com. Evans redshirted last season.

SIU has two games left to find, Lowery said. The team will announce its schedule later this summer.

todd.hefferman@thesouthern.com / 351-5087