Evansville basketball coach Marty Simmons knew this would be a transition year for his program, which was losing four starters and a ton of talent from a 17-14 season.
But he never imagined his Purple Aces still would be looking for their first Missouri Valley Conference victory as the halfway point of the league season arrived.
That’s the predicament in which Evansville (6-12, 0-8) finds itself Saturday at Carver Arena, where the recharged Bradley Braves (9-9, 4-4) play host to the Aces at 2:05 p.m.
“As coaches, you have a positive outlook going into the season,” Simmons said. “We felt we’d be in better position than we are. There’s no excuses here. We just haven’t played well enough to win more games.”
Of course, starting two freshmen and a sophomore instead of three seasoned seniors like Shy Ely, Jason Holsinger and Nate Garner is going to yield growing pains.
Not that those youngsters have played poorly. Colt Ryan, a freshman swingman, is the team’s top scorer, at 15.2 points per game, and ranks second in the Valley. And sophomore guard Denver Holmes also is a double-digit scorer.
But there’s no substitute for experience, no matter what the field of endeavor.
“Replacing the guys we had last year was a difficult challenge,” Simmons said. “They really understood how we wanted to play. Unfortunately, we play in a league with a lot of great coaches and teams. It’s been a learning process and it’s been difficult.
“As far as staying positive, our staff and players are doing a good job. Our players are hungry and they want to win.”
And they’ve come close of late. Until the final minutes, Evansville has stayed in its last three losses.
“It’s a team that plays very hard and has some really nice pieces,” BU coach Jim Les said. “They’re awfully close and getting closer. They could very easily come in here and beat us if we’re not ready to play. We’ve got to show the maturity that we can look past a record and look at the components of a team that is very sound, albeit young.”
The Aces have also gotten healthy in recent games as rugged forward James Haarsma (11.9 points per game, 8.2 rebounds), freshman guard Ned Cox (6.1 ppg) and junior guard Kavon Lacey (6.0 ppg) have returned from injuries.
“We’re getting close,” Simmons said. “We need everybody in games, but we need everybody in practice, too. That’s how you get better.”
That’s been the formula for the Braves, who have gone from defensive turnstiles to stalwarts on that end of the court in the past three games.
Yielding an average of 85 points per game in their previous four MVC games, BU has given up 54.3 ppg in the last trio.
“We’re capitalizing on the fact that when we hold teams in the 50s, our offense will take care of itself,” BU super-senior Sam Singh said. “As long as we take care of defense, I like our chances to win any given night. That’s something we pride ourselves on.”
Dave Reynolds can be reached at 686-3210 or dreynolds@pjstar.com.
