A large sign in the Illinois State locker room reads, “PLAY FOR THE NAME ON THE FRONT OF YOUR JERSEY, NOT FOR THE NAME ON THE BACK OF IT.”
Tarise Bryson, the Redbirds’ senior guard from Decatur, has taken the message to heart. He once said, “If I designed our uniforms, I’d make sure there were no players names on the backs.”
Bryson, Missouri Valley Conference leader in scoring and steals, played for the “Illinois State” on the front of his jersey last Saturday.
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He left the hospital bed where he spent Friday night taking intravenous feeding to replace liquids lost by dehydration caused by the flu. Then, playing 30 minutes, he scored 26 points and made four steals against Indiana State.
Bryson’s gritty performance wasn’t enough to prevent a 78-71 loss. But it typified the way the team-oriented Redbirds have snapped back from last year’s 10-20 finish to win nine of their first 11 games in their second season under coach Tom Richardson, a Chicago South Side native.
Richardson, 46, grew up in the Mt. Greenwood neighborhood. He graduated from Marist High School and from St. Xavier, where he played under coach Bob Hallberg. He coached for 15 years at Chicago-area high schools, the last 13 at Nazareth Academy, where his teams had a record of 193-46.
Richardson joined Kevin Stallings’ ISU staff as a key recruiter-strategist in 1994 when Stallings took over the Redbirds.
“I was absolutely happy being a high school coach,” Richardson said. “I never aspired to coach in college. When Kevin worked for Roy Williams at Kansas, Kevin recruited one of my players, Sean Pearson. Kevin said if he ever got a job in Illinois, he’d want me on his staff.”
Richardson attributes the Redbirds’ improvementto four factors: depth, defense, improved performance by returning players and contributions by newcomers.
The Redbirds had 10 different starters in their first 10 games. Players off the bench averaged 34 points per game, 41.6 percent of the total scoring.
The Redbirds are deepest in the backcourt. Their 57 percent shooter, Shawn Jeppson, and 6-foot-3-inch, 215-pound Moline native and team rebounding leader Traves Wilson average 11.0 and 10.5 points per game, respectively, in relief of starters Randy Rice and Bryson.
Bryson, a 6-1, 175-pounder, rarely rests. He’s averaged 34.1 minutes per game, highest in Redbirds history. He derives satisfaction from feats not shown in TV highlight bites–such as his team leadership in pass deflections.
Jeppson was a blue-chip prospect at Hall High in Spring Valley. He scored a record 51 points in the Class A title game and finished fourth in 1998 Mr. Basketball voting behind Frank Williams of Peoria Manual, Cory Maggette of Fenwick and Quentin Richardson of Young.
Rice, a 6-0, 165-pound Springfield native and transfer from Wabash Valley Junior College, averages only 2.5 shots per game, but leads the team in assists as the point guard and has averaged less than one turnover per half, 15 in 224 minutes.
The Redbirds’ strong team defense is reflected in two MVC-leading stats: 9.4 steals per game and 19.4 opponents’ turnovers per game.
“Rice is our best defensive player,” Richardson said. “Bryson’s defense has improved. He usually guards opponents’ point guards. Wilson had helped a lot since he transferred from Arizona. We feel we can rotate 10 or 11 players.”
Cage honored: Bradley senior forward Eddie Cage from Lake Forest High was named Missouri Valley Conference player of the week. Cage averaged 15.5 points and 10 rebounds per game in Bradley’s MVC victories over Southwest Missouri and Creighton.
The Braves, 7-5 overall and 2-1 in the Valley, won five of their last six games. In his last seven games, Cage averaged 13.4 points and 8.1 rebounds and shot 54.4 percent from the field.