Southern Illinois' Chris Lowery

[Guest BasketBull.]

http://siusalukis.cstv.com/sports/m-baskbl/mtt/lowery_chris00.html

Spend a few minutes talking to Chris Lowery, and you quickly realize how determined he is to take Saluki Basketball to even greater heights. Though SIU has been to five-straight NCAA Tournaments, Lowery believes there is still room to grow the program. He wants Southern Illinois to be mentioned in the same breath as the top college programs in America.

Lowery talks about "acting like a high-major program" by playing quality opponents whenever possible. He dismisses all the preseason hoopla surrounding his team by simply saying, "this is where we expect the program to be." And he's not a bit concerned about the pressure of high expectations, noting, "Our kids are tough. That's what makes our program so special."

You see, Lowery, Saluki basketball and winning have been intertwined since he first set foot on the campus as a player in 1990.

In his nine seasons as a Saluki player, assistant coach and now head coach, ALL of his teams have advanced to postseason play.

[highlight]In two seasons as head coach at Southern Illinois, he has compiled a 49-19 record, won two Missouri Valley Conference championships and taken his team to the NCAA Tournament both times.[/highlight]

[highlight]Now 34, he was the youngest head coach in the NCAA Tournament in both 2005 and 2006.[/highlight]

In fact, in 2005, he was the youngest coach to ever win [highlight]Coach-of-the-Year honors in the Missouri Valley Conference.[/highlight]

It all started 16 years ago when Lowery, as the team's starting point guard, began a stellar playing career that featured two NCAA Tournament berths and two NITs from 1990-94.

A product of Evansville, Ind., Lowery scored 1,225 career points and dished out 391 assists at SIU, which still ranks fourth in school history on the career assists chart. The Salukis were 86-37 (.699) during his four years.

On April 9, 2004, he fulfilled a dream. Lowery returned to his alma mater and was introduced as the 12th men's basketball head coach at Southern Illinois University in the 91-year history of the program.

Prior to landing the head coaching job, Lowery spent [highlight]three seasons on Bruce Weber's staff at both Southern Illinois and Illinois. [/highlight]

He helped the Salukis to a 52-15 (.776) record and two trips to the NCAA Tournament, including a run to the Sweet 16 in 2002 and back-to-back Missouri Valley Conference championships. He went with Weber to Illinois in 2003 and helped guide the team to a Big Ten title and a trip to the Sweet 16.

[highlight]Lowery is regarded as one of the top, young recruiters in college basketball.[/highlight]

[highlight]"(He) has the innate ability to light up a room with his smile and demeanor," ESPN analyst Doug Gottlieb said. "No wonder so many great kids want to play for him."[/highlight]

Lowery said working for Weber helped prepare him for the opportunity to be a head coach at a young age.

"I saw how Coach Weber implemented an entire program at Illinois, and I watched more than I spoke," he said. "I know we have to work hard to continue at this pace of success, though."

"Chris was an important part of our staff at SIU and Illinois, and instrumental in much of the success we have had at each school," Weber said. "He's a terrific young coach."

Lowery began his coaching career as an assistant coach at Rend Lake Community College in Ina, Ill. for two seasons. He then coached at Missouri Southern State College for three years, helping the Lions to a 30-3 record and an NCAA Division II Final Four appearance in 2000.

Prior to his coaching tenure at Southern Illinois, Lowery spent one season as an assistant at Southeast Missouri State under Gary Garner.

Lowery is the third-youngest head coach in school history, behind former Saluki coach and NBA Hall-of-Famer Harry Gallatin, who was 31-years-old when he was named head coach in 1958, and William McAndrew, the founder of Saluki basketball, who was 26 when he took the reigns of SIU's first squad in 1913.

"He has the integrity, class, work ethic and intelligence to be an outstanding head basketball coach," former Saluki Athletics Director Paul Kowalczyk said on the day Lowery was hired.

Lowery was born on July 7, 1972 in Evansville, Ind. and attended Harrison High School. He graduated from Southern Illinois in 1995 with a bachelor's degree in physical education.

 

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27-6 (15-3), 1st Missouri Valley

West Region - No. 4 Seed

AP Top 25: 14. Southern Ill.

USA Today/ESPN: 15. Southern Ill.

Arkansas L 53-61

Minnesota W 69-53

[highlight]Virginia Tech W 69-64 [/highlight]

Louisiana Tech W 50-36

Saint Louis W 65-56

(16) Wichita St. W 73-68

(13) Butler W 68-64

[NormalBull]

If Lowery goes anywhere this year, he will go to Minnesota.  They have him targeted as their top candidate.  I doubt Doug will be able to get him to USF.

Normal

[Guest BasketBull.]

They just hired a football coach, so maybe they don't have much left to spend on a bball coach.

[Guest JulmisteForPrez]

If Lowery goes anywhere this year, he will go to Minnesota.  They have him targeted as their top candidate.  I doubt Doug will be able to get him to USF.

Normal

:rainy

Your're raining on our parade.

[JoeBulls]

I could sleep well if Lowrey was hired.

He seems to be a winner.

Very young though.

[Guest JulmisteForPrez]

I could sleep well if Lowrey was hired.

He seems to be a winner.

Very young though.

Young can be a good thing in the right case.

[Guest BasketBull.]

As we all know well enough, it's not easy to get on the top 25, not to mention being seeded #4 at the NCAA's.

He's proven that he can do the job well.

After knowing the connections between our AD and Lowery, I'd say he's a viable candidate on USF's official search list.

This has 25% chance of happening.

I would be very happy with the move.

[USFan]

Very young though.

Coach K was 33 when he was hired at Duke.

Not a bad investment, no?

[Herman_Momart]

Please hire this guy.  I would match whatever anyone offered him and use Tampa and the Big East as my selling points.  But I dont like the fact that he is from indiana, played on Southern illinois and is being lured by minnesota.  I woud say tampa and the big east would be a way better sell to a recruit from anywhere, but it seems this guy is probably proud to be in the mid west and can probably sell the crap out of his vision and idea.  May be a tough get, but would be a great one.    

[DontPushMe]

this would be an awesome hire, i dont see it happening but man this would be great