Welcome to the Summit League, Fool!

Oh roundball, how we’ve missed you.

Though you might not have known it here on PFN (and I do apologize, once again, real life and a quarterback change got in the way), basketball season does indeed begin tomorrow.

Herb Sendek and the guys take to Ned Wulk Court tomorrow night to open up the 2009-10 campaign and, despite the fact that James Harden and Jeff Pendergraph have moved on, there will in fact be a basketball season in Tempe.

And not a moment too soon, considering the way football season has gone this year.

For the first time since 2003, when your humble blogger was just wee freshman, the Sun Devils are looking to claim back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances.

On the surface, the 2003-04 team might have looked more attractive at the to pull the feat, what with that Ike Diogu fellow roaming around campus.

Despite the loss of inarguably the two most valuable pieces to last year’s success, there’s still reason for excitement and optimism at WFA this year.

And it all starts with a little Summit League action tomorrow night.

The Western Illinois Leathernecks….yes…they’re actual nickname is the Leathernecks…make their first ever visit to ASU to open the 2009-10 season.

Much like Arizona State, WIU will have to open the season after losing two key cogs in David DuBois (17.9 PPG) and Josh Rivers (9.8 PPG). The Sporting News picked Western Illinois to finish 8th in the Summit, as did Lindy’s.

But, as always, before we learn about the Leathernecks, I know you’re dying to know more about the school as a whole!

-WIU opened in 1899 as Western Illinois State Normal School. That sounds awfully familiar.

-The school earned “Best in the Midwest Colleges” honors for three consecutive years earlier this decade from The Princeton Review.

-Alvin Goldfarb is the university’s 10th president and his name is almost as cool as the nickname WIU’s sports teams bear.

-The Leathernecks purple-and-yellow color scheme comes from the “vast golden prairie strewn with purple coneflowers.”

-Even more importantly, WIU uses the US Marines’ bulldog logo as their main trademark, the only non-military academy in America that is allowed to do so.

-Notable alumni of WIU include Bryan Cox, Rodney Harrison, Gene Lamont, Rick Reuschel, Rich Seubert, and Aaron Stecker.

Now…onto the real business at hand…

-The Leathernecks finished 9-20 last year and 6-12 in conference, good enough for 8th in the Summit League. They’re coached by 2nd year bench boss Jim Molinari. He previously coached at NIU and Bradley, taking both to the NCAA Tournament

-The numbers “8″ and “1″ are near and dear to the hearts of WIU fans: the team has only averaged 8.1 wins per season since joining Division I in 1981 and averages only 818 fans per game since 2007.

-Western Illinois’ main line of experience comes from their backcourt, where PG Ceola Clark and SG David Nurse man the perimeter. Clark is a 48% shooter from outside the arc and steals machine (50 in 08-09). Nurse is deft on his feet and is probably the team’s best defender.

-WIU returns only five scholarship players this season and they’ll lean heavily on JuCo transfers Jeremy Felton and Matt Lander. Felton will man the paint with his undersized 6′7″ frame while Lander is a prototypical combo guard who will probably back up Clark.

-Before you ask your buddy, the Okafor you see is in fact related to Emeka. Sophomore F Emeka Okafor Jr. is the third cousin of the former Connecticut Huskies’ and current New Orleans Hornets center.

-One of WIU’s incoming freshman is the coaches’ kid. Billy Molinari will technically be a walk-on but averaged 19.2 PPG during his senior year in Peoria, IL.

The reality of tomorrow night’s game is that Arizona State will be taking on one of the bottom-tier teams in one of America’s bottom-tier conferences. Though I love small conference basketball more than the typical hoops fan across the country, the Summit League is pretty much bottom-of-the-barrel quality.

Welcome back, basketball season. It’s good to have you home.

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