Tai Odiase had a feeling about the new guy before Dikembe Dixson officially introduced himself to the Horizon League.
“The motor he had during open gyms in the summer last year, he never got tired,” Odiase said. “Just relentless. I knew he was going to be good.”
It soon became obvious to the rest of the conference.
No Horizon League freshman has scored more than Dixson did last season. The 6-foot-7 forward set a conference record with 594 points for a 19.8 average along with 7.3 rebounds per game.
The 6-9 Odiase didn’t set any records, but the junior from Homewood-Flossmoor did lead the nation in blocked shots with 3.23 per game.
Throw in redshirt freshman guard Dominique Matthews, a St. Rita product who averaged 9.7 points in nine games before sustaining a season-ending thumb injury, and coach Steve McClain could be on to something despite a 5-25 record in his first season.
“We are getting talented enough; now we have to learn to win and learn how hard winning is,” McClain said. “I don’t have a senior on this team. We don’t have leadership from guys who have won 20 games.
“We have to learn to play through adversity on the road. That is where you grow up in leadership. Young players don’t always know how hard the game is. That is the next step.”
McClain’s best players know something about hard work.
A physical specimen, Odiase has put on 30 pounds since arriving on campus and is a chiseled 235. He averaged 9.5 points and 6.4 rebounds last season and is working on a midrange game; McClain thinks he can score more simply by pounding the offensive glass.
Dixson, who lived in Freeport before attending high school in Kentucky and West Virginia, took a lot of shots and made just 36.9 percent in finishing third in the conference in scoring.
“I tell kids in recruiting, ‘Go where you can play,’ and he took advantage of his opportunities,” McClain said. “When we sat down after the season, we said, ‘You have to become a better ballhandler and you have to improve your defense.’
“He worked hard to improve those areas, and he also worked to get better offensively. You can always find the strengths. You have to go out and make weaknesses better.”
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Coach: Steve McClain (5-25 in one season; 162-140 overall in 10 seasons).
2015-16: 5-25, 3-15 Horizon League (10th).
Key losses: Paris Burns, Najeal Young.
Key additions: Tarkus Ferguson, K.J. Santos.
Best early game: at Northern Illinois, Nov. 26.
Mike Helfgot is a freelance reporter for the baiduhai.