EVANSVILLE — The University of Southern Indiana men’s basketball team aims for a bounce-back season heading into their third year as a Division I program.
After playing in the College Basketball Invitational their first year, the Screaming Eagles struggled in their second. They finished 8-24 overall and lost in the first round of the Ohio Valley Conference tournament. It was their worst record in 49 years.
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USI now totes a mostly new roster going into the upcoming season as one player graduated and seven others went to the transfer portal. Although coach Stan Gouard has seen growing pains with his team meshing together, he likes the direction they are heading.
“We’ve got a group of guys that (have) great attitudes,” Gouard said. “They understand the mission of trying to compete for an OVC championship, and I think that’s a start. The minute you get guys here doubting what you’re trying to do is the minute you’re going to struggle. And I haven’t seen any doubt in anybody’s mind right now.”
Gouard said everybody has been sticking out over the summer so far and that each of his incoming transfers brings something to the table:
“The minute we get our big guys back in rotation, we can do some more things,” Gouard said. “We’re stuck with a lot of guard work right now.”
USI has three local freshmen walk-ons as well in Luke Davis, Josiah Dunham and Cayden Gehlhausen.
Dunham was a standout at Evansville Christian, scoring 2,373 career points (18th all-time in Indiana) and earning C&P All-Metro Player of the Year honors. Davis, also from ECS, was one of Class A’s best rebounders with nine boards per game while Gehlhausen averaged 15 points per contest at North, good for eighth in the Southern Indiana Athletic Conference.
Gouard said he can tell the freshmen have been coached well. He particularly praised Dunham for already living like “a second-semester freshman.”
“He just has an IQ that’s like no other that we had in a couple of years here,” Gouard said. “His work ethic is unreal, but he came in from Day 1 and hit the ground running. He’s one of the first guys to get here with Jack Mielke and the last guy to leave. Once he starts playing and getting some clock, I think he’s going to be very productive for us.”
USI still prides itself as a player-led basketball team. It has seven returners, including Mielke, the third-leading scorer from last winter, and Jack Campion, another multi-year starter.
The Eagles aim to find more vocal leaders and improve on defense. They ranked last in the OVC in the category after allowing 74.4 points per game. Players holding each other accountable and continuing to build the team culture are two more key goals USI wants to accomplish.
“A lot of little things that we harped on last year, they didn’t quite get done,” Gouard said. “And we’re trying to make sure we come into this summer and hit those things from Day 1.”
