Coach of the year awards rarely go to guys with teams with middle-of-the-pack finishes.
If they were, then Indiana State's Kevin McKenna would merit consideration for one this season for holding together a group riddled by injuries that might cripple other teams.
The Sycamores find themselves tied with Bradley and Creighton for fourth place in the Missouri Valley with two league games to play. They've won eight league games in spite of playing most of the conference season without two of their best players and the last four games without a third.
“They're undermanned,'' Bradley coach Jim Les said, “but they have a group that has bonded together.''
Overall, McKenna's team is 16-11 heading into Saturday's BracketBuster game at Green Bay. The Sycamores then will finish the regular season with a Wednesday game against Illinois State before hosting Missouri State on Feb. 27.
A split of those games could keep Indiana State out of the conference tournament's play-in round, a spot the Sycamores seemed destined for when they lost their top two scorers, Harry Marshall and Dwayne Lathan, in a Feb. 3 win over Illinois State.
Marshall suffered a leg injury while Lathan, who had played sparingly in the previous six games with a leg injury, broke three bones in his hands. Their absence, along with the late December season-ending knee injury of guard Jake Kelly, deprives the Sycamores of three players who combine to average almost 35 points a game.
The injuries have left McKenna with eight players, none of whom average more than 9.9 points per game. But Indiana State split the four games it has played since Marshall and Lathan were sidelined.
“The eight guys we do have held up well,'' McKenna said. “We've actually played well in three of the four games, but we could use those guys back, for sure.''
The Sycamores lost at Wichita State, a game in which they squandered a double-digit second-half lead. They also lost at Creighton. They bounced back to post home wins over Drake and Bradley, the latter coming Tuesday in overtime.
In the Drake win, Indiana State set a school record by committing just three turnovers. After that victory, McKenna talked about the approach he and his players have tried to take given the circumstances.
“We have a glass half-full type of outlook,'' he said. “I don't think you look at our guys and feel a sense of panic. I think they have a sense of confidence and a team feel that we're going to find a way to get it done.
“Even though we haven't done it every time, our guys have battled. I've really been proud of their effort, especially given our situation missing some players.''
The good news for the Sycamores is that reinforcements might be on the way. Marshall and Lathan are due to be re-examined this week, and McKenna said there is a good chance that both might be able to play in the conference tournament.
“That's the plan and what the doctors have been talking about all along,'' McKenna said. “We'll see. They're talking about developing some kind of braces for both of them.''
Scramble for position
One-third of the first 75 games in league play this season have been decided by five points or fewer. Heading into the last week of the regular season, only three teams appear assured of avoiding the play-in round.
That could make for a wild four days in St. Louis next month.
“What's so scary is that in this league, the teams that finish second to eighth could be decided by three possessions,'' Illinois State coach Tim Jankovich said. “At the end of the year, we'll all be saying, ‘If if wasn't for this one possession here, or had we been able to get that possession there, things would have been totally different.'
“We're all in that same boat.''
Contact the writer:
679-2298, steve.pivovar@owh.com
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