Their story is no different from the stories of thousands of other college basketball players who were overlooked, dismissed or forgotten while playing high school ball.
They, too, grew up watching the likes of Indiana, Illinois and Kansas. The big-name programs seemed to be on television all the time and the young players dreamed of putting on those uniforms.
“I think we all grew up watching big-time basketball and dreaming of playing for teams like that,” said Southern Illinois guard Kent Williams, a native of Mt. Vernon, Ill.
Jermaine Dearman certainly did. While growing up in Indianapolis, Dearman watched the Hoosiers.
“I wouldn’t have minded playing for any big school,” Dearman said.
Circumstances–too small, too slow, too flaky, too whatever–dictated otherwise and they ended up in Carbondale.
Now the players who weren’t deemed good enough to warrant the attention of the so-called “major” college basketball programs will rub elbows with the game’s royalty.
Southern Illinois, owners of 28 victories, including wins over a coaching legend and a power conference regular-season champion last weekend, will play in the NCAA East Regional on Friday night in Syracuse, N.Y.
The task that faces the Salukis certainly is daunting. First they must beat a Connecticut team that is the second seed in the East Regional. The reward for that would be a meeting with either Maryland, the top seed in the region, or Kentucky, which owns more NCAA tournament victories than any school. The winner of Sunday’s East Regional title game goes to the Final Four.
Although it is certainly an intimidating challenge for any team, it is also another opportunity to show the big boys what they missed.
“I think I got overlooked a lot in high school,” said Dearman, who scored 25 points to lead the Salukis to a 77-75 victory over No. 3-seeded Georgia on Sunday. “I tried to put myself out there to be seen by big-time college scouts by playing AAU. They kind of overlooked me. But [SIU coach Bruce] Weber saw something in me.”
Southern Illinois center Rolan Roberts, who played three years at Virginia Tech and knows what big-time college basketball is like, was supposed to be the bell cow last weekend and lead the Salukis. But it was Dearman who paced the team in scoring in both games.
How different would Sunday’s game had been if Georgia had Dearman to add to its rotation instead of a bench that had the look of mortal fear at the prospect of entering the game?
Or what if Dearman had been available to Bob Knight–the coach of the team Dearman grew up watching as a child–when the Texas Tech unit he had on the floor in Friday night’s opener had trouble throwing the ball in Lake Michigan and seemed incapable of creating a shot on its own?
Weber describes Dearman as a “free spirit,” which may explain why the big-time programs overlooked him. Today’s coaches, many of whom have been described as “control freaks,” don’t take too kindly to free spirits.
“When we recruited him in AAU he was inconsistent; his lifestyle was inconsistent,” Weber said. “He had great test scores, but he didn’t have the grades, so people questioned if he was going to make it.”
Weber knew the administrative staff at Warren Central High School in Indianapolis, which vowed to work with Dearman to help him qualify. Weber gambled and–like his decision to take in Roberts after he had been suspended at Virginia Tech–it paid off.
“[Dearman] has talent, he can run, he can jump,” Weber said. “His skills are a little erratic. But when he gets determined, like he did [Sunday], he’s a big-time talent.”
With his braided hair flowing in the breeze while he drives to the basket, Dearman is certainly someone who is noticed on the court. Weber said he sometimes thinks Dearman is more concerned about getting his hair just right than his game. But with some constant prodding, the junior is getting there.
“I hope this helps him mature, because he’s made major progress,” Weber said. “He had a stretch of double-doubles during the middle of the year that carried us. We think he should do that all the time.”
Dearman had one of life’s lessons thrust upon him before his first NCAA tournament game Friday night. He and Roberts were late for practice Tuesday. After starting every game this season, both were on the bench for the start of Friday’s game.
“It was a fair decision,” Dearman said. “We had to face the consequences. I had to do some running after practice. I knew I had to concentrate and be ready to play because I knew my team needed me.”
This weekend Dearman will not be wearing a Connecticut, Maryland or Kentucky jersey. That’s OK with him, because if he had gone to a major program, maybe he wouldn’t be the player he is today.
“I didn’t want to go anywhere and sit for one or two years and not get a chance to play until my junior year,” he said.
“Coach Weber gave me the opportunity to play right away. We’re here and playing with the best of them now. We’re all on the same playing level and anything can happen.”
