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Posted: Thursday October 31, 2002 4:37 PM St. Louis Billikens
The following preview is provided by Blue Ribbon. For the most thorough preview available of the upcoming season, order the 2002-03 Blue Ribbon College Basketball Yearbook, on sale now at 1-800-775-2518. Team Preview | Blue Ribbon Analysis
Brad Soderberg’s patience was rewarded last spring. The year before, after filling in admirably as interim head coach at Wisconsin, Soderberg logically assumed he would be hired to succeed his former boss Dick Bennett, who, citing burnout, abruptly resigned early in the 2000-2001 season. Soderberg had done an excellent job keeping the Badgers together after Bennett left, guiding them to the NCAA Tournament. But when it came time for someone to take over for Bennett on a permanent basis, the job was given to former Wisconsin-Milwaukee coach Bo Ryan. That left Soderberg without a job, but he was fortunate enough to hook on with Lorenzo Romar’s staff at Saint Louis, where he spent last season. Less than a year later, the Saint Louis administration saw what the Wisconsin administration could not–that Soderberg was more than capable of running his own program. When Romar took over at Washington, his alma mater, Soderberg was quickly hired to succeed him. Soderberg inherits five starters from a team that finished 15-16 overall and 9-7 in Conference USA a year ago. That was the Billikens’ best conference record since national freshman of the year Larry Hughes led them to a 10-6 mark in 1997-98. Soderberg’s first off-season as Saint Louis coach wasn’t as leisurely as it could have been. Three players left the program. Two recruits signed when Romar was head coach are also gone, including 6-11 freshman Ryan Hollins, who asked out of his scholarship and transferred to UCLA. That forced Soderberg and his staff to scramble a bit, but after signing three players–the last in early July–and bringing in Villanova transfer Reggie Bryant, who will be eligible next season, the Bills were sufficiently restocked.
A summer trip to Spain and France, where his team would play three games, proved invaluable to Soderberg, who was able to use the time to install his system. Among the five returning starters, the most heralded is second-team All-C-USA guard Marque Perry (14.1 ppg, 2.7 rpg, 3.3 apg), a 6-1 senior. Perry is the first returning all-conference player for the Bills since 1994-95, when Erwin Claggett and Scott Highmark returned after earning league honors in the old Great Midwest Conference. "Marque can go from zero to 60 faster than most," Soderberg said. "His ability to stop and rise above people in the lane is what helps make him such a good scorer. That mid-range game is something that’s sort of gone by the boards for today’s players." Perry is a master at making plays, and isn’t afraid to have the ball in his hands at crunch time. His three-pointer with four seconds left tied the score against then-No. 2 Missouri, which eventually pulled out a 69-67 win. His penetration created game-winning shots for Ross Varner against Washington and Chris Braun against Houston. In the Bills’ season-ending game against Tulane in the C-USA Tournament, Perry’s 3-pointer would have sent the game into overtime had it not been launched a fraction after the buzzer sounded. "Marque will be a marked man this year, but he’s up to the challenge of being in the cross hairs," Soderberg said. "The freedom that he will have in our system to move around the court should make it more difficult for people to defend him." The oft-injured Perry’s worth to the Bills was illustrated last year by a 10-game span when he was either out of the lineup or hampered by physical problems. Saint Louis was 3-7 in those games, a stretch that ruined its postseason tournament chances. The Billikens’ backcourt took a hit in the off-season when last year’s second-leading scorer, Jason Edwin, and reserve point guard Randy Pulley left for academic reasons. Both transferred to junior college. Perry will be joined in the backcourt by 6-2 junior Josh Fisher (6.3 ppg, 2.2 rpg, 3.3 apg), who was granted another year of eligibility during the summer. Fisher had been penalized two years of eligibility after leaving Pepperdine to follow Romar to Saint Louis. A lengthy appeal by Saint Louis to the NCAA finally earned Fisher back one of those lost seasons. Perry, generally considered the Bills’ best passer, can play either guard spot, but he’s likely to man the point most of the time. His best game of 2001-2002 came at Tulane, when he piled up 15 points, five rebounds, nine assists and six steals. Fisher wound up second on the team in assists and led the Bills in steals (46) for the second straight season. "Josh has developed into one of our best leaders," Soderberg said. "He could be one of the guys to help Marque with the scoring load, because he can make perimeter shots and get to the basket." Another guard who will contribute heavily is fifth-year senior Drew Diener (7.9 ppg, 2.8 rpg). A year ago, the 6-5 Diener led Saint Louis and was seventh in C-USA in three-point percentage (.423. He also paced the Bills’ in 3-pointers made (52). "Drew has a good feel for the game, is competitive and plays to win," Soderberg said. "He has a knack for getting open by using screens, which should be helpful to us." Diener is a familiar name around Conference USA. Deiner’s brother, Drake, is a sophomore at DePaul, and his cousin, Travis, is a sophomore at Marquette. Soderberg is hoping 6-4 sophomore swingman Floyd McClain can become an important part of the rotation. McClain missed all of last season while recovering from knee surgery. He also underwent ankle surgery in the spring. McClain, who averaged 2.0 points and 1.2 rebounds while limited to 21 games as a freshman, needs work on his shot, but he’s an athlete who can slash to the basket. After Edwin and Pulley left, Soderberg and his staff had to go find a guard. It took a while, but they finally signed 6-2 freshman Anthony Drejaj in mid-July. Drejaj was still available then because he was a late qualifier. He averaged 14 points, five rebounds and four assists as a senior for Seton Hall Prep in West Orange, N.J. "[Drejaj] has good size and the type of frame [190 pounds] to be successful in Conference USA along with the ability to score and defend," Soderberg said. "He will help raise the intensity level of our entire team with his style of play." The Bills’ frontcourt will be anchored by 6-10 fifth-year senior Chris Braun (7.6 ppg, 4.3 rpg). Braun can score inside and out, and he’s also a shot blocker. He turned back 21 a year ago and is 10th all-time on the Billikens’ blocked shot list with 57. "Chris has the capabilities to be a special player when you look at his size combined with his agility and shooting ability," Soderberg said. "Players with those assets are hard to find." Kenny Brown (7.0 ppg, 6.2 rpg) will help Braun inside. The 6-9, 250-pound senior led the Bills in rebounding and blocked shots (27) last year while shooting 46.8 percent from the field. Soderberg hopes Brown can become more of a scoring threat this season. "Kenny relishes the opportunity to bang and compete," Soderberg said. "If he can provide us with consistent offensive presence in the lane, he will do a major service for this team. He just needs to convert a higher percentage of his touches in the post." The Bills’ fifth returning starter is 6-7 junior Chris Sloan (3.7 ppg, 3.2 rpg), who has started 40 times the last two years. He’s a blue-collar type player who has become Saint Louis’ defensive stopper. Junior Ross Varner (3.5 ppg, 2.6 rpg), 6-7, had an inconsistent debut season after transferring from Pepperdine and coming off a two-year Mormon mission. Varner started strong, but fell into a shooting slump in January. Early in the season, Varner made a game-winning three-pointer against Washington. He wound up hitting 8-of-18 threes (44 percent). After losing Hollins and another freshman recruit, Nick Kern, Soderberg had to recruit some help in the frontcourt. He found it late in the recruiting process. Justin Johnson, a 6-8 freshman from Merrillville (Ind.) High School, was a fortuitous acquisition after he was released from the scholarship he signed in November, 2001 with Kansas State. Needing guards after two players transferred, K-State released Johnson in the spring. Soderberg was only too happy to take him. "Justin is a skilled big man who has been coached well and drilled in the fundamentals," Soderberg said. "He has a good feel for the game. He can both pass and shoot, which fits into our offensive system." Last season, Johnson averaged 14 points and eight rebounds for Merrillville. In June, Saint Louis was able to sign 6-9 Izchak Ohanon, who played for Hapoel Jerusalem in Israel and must await the NCAA’s standard review of international players to determine the length of his eligibility. Soderberg hopes to have Ohanon available for the conference season at the latest. Ohanon can run and take the ball to the rim in traffic. "Izchak has the potential to be a starter for us," Soderberg said. "He can shoot it from the perimeter, handle it out on the floor and pass it." Saint Louis was lucky to have Soderberg on its staff after Romar bolted for Washington. With head-coaching experience at the NAIA level and three-quarters of a season running Wisconsin after the departure of Bennett in the 2000-2001 season, Soderberg was more than ready to tackle the Saint Louis job. He promises to run an exciting system that starts with a motion offense and features tough defense and an emphasis on rebounding, which had been a Saint Louis weakness. The Bills were last in C-USA in rebounding (-3.5) a year ago. Soderberg inherits an experienced starting five that carved out a winning record in C-USA a year ago. Despite losing three players and two recruits, Soderberg and his staff were able to sign enough players late in the recruiting process to ensure that the Bills’ starters will have capable backups behind them. Can Saint Louis build off its winning conference record? If so, someone will need to step up to help Perry with the scoring load. Newcomer Ohanon could help fill that role, and so could veteran big man Braun. The Bills will also have to adjust to a new coach, though the transition should be considerably easier because Soderberg was on staff a year ago. Saint Louis’ August trip to Europe also allowed Soderberg a head start implementing his system. Though Soderberg isn’t quite sure how good the Bills can be, he likes his chances with an experienced team. "I don’t know if this is a championship caliber team at this point even with all our veteran players," Soderberg said. "That would be saying quite a bit. But I’d rather have seven upperclassmen than seven freshmen and sophomores."
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