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Southern Illinois Edwardsville Basketball: 2021-22 Cougars season preview

By Harry Schroeder

MURRAY, KY - FEBRUARY 09: Shaq Buchanan #11 and Darnell Cowart #32 of the Murray State Racers defend against Tyresse Williford #5 of the SIU-Edwardsville Cougars in the first half of the game at CFSB Center on February 9, 2019 in Murray, Kentucky. Murray State won 86-55. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images)
MURRAY, KY - FEBRUARY 09: Shaq Buchanan #11 and Darnell Cowart #32 of the Murray State Racers defend against Tyresse Williford #5 of the SIU-Edwardsville Cougars in the first half of the game at CFSB Center on February 9, 2019 in Murray, Kentucky. Murray State won 86-55. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images) /
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SIU-Edwardsville Cougars (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images)
SIU-Edwardsville Cougars (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images) /

Brian Barone begins his third season at the helm of the Southern Illinois Edwardsville basketball program, but it is really his first ‘normal’ coaching season, and it should be the Cougars’ best season in quite a while.

Barone was promoted to the head coaching position prior to the 2019 season. Transitioning from assistant to head man, is anything but normal. Then came the Covid-Campaign of 2020-21. SIUE was ravaged with stoppages, delays, and then a torturous finish to the season by playing 19 games in 42 days.

Last year’s nine-win team picked up seven of those victories during the ‘death march of 2021. Barone’s young Cougars faced large obstacles but grew up under the strain. Now with some additional talent added to the roster, and growth and development from a ‘normal’ offseason, Cougar fans can expect an improved product on the Vadalabene Center floor.

There are proven returners and an exciting local product that missed all of last season and perhaps the best recruiting haul of Barone’s brief tenure in the Ohio Valley Conference. The son of legendary coach Tony Barone, he has lived his entire life around the game of basketball and has a passion for building a program rather than simply looking for a ‘quick fix’ to a wins and losses problem.

Injuries and the Coronavirus decimated anticipated the expected progress last season. With a little luck, Southern Illinois Edwardsville will step up in the OVC standings this season. Barone wants to build from the inside out and with players that fit the culture he is building in Edwardsville, Illinois.

This is a key season in that building process.