The Chicago State Cougars are a transition school. They are just getting used to playing in Division one college basketball.  After floundering in mediocrity for much of their existence in NAIA they had a good season reaching the final four and that was enough in today’s world to give them the impetus to try and jump in the deep water.  And with a new conference looking for programs (especially from a huge market like Chicago) to join their little world in the Midwest they even got an affiliation with a league way sooner than expected.  Too much too soon has to be their creed after skipping over even the lower Divisions to think they had a shot at big time basketball.  Even though they do not play in a major conference, the Mid Continent proved a little bit too hard to handle for this used to be NAIA school.  Some of the players on this roster are used to playing in the NAIA and are definitely over their heads against this new Competition.  It is no wonder that this program struggled to a dismal 4 and 25 overall record and finished dead last in their new conference.  And the Mid Continent isn’t exactly the Big Ten.  Well, it’s not even the Mid-Con anymore as they changed their moniker to the Summit League this summer. 

Coach Bob Hallberg has tried to make the transition easier by staying on and leading the Cougars into this new brand of basketball.  He knows that this team must improve it’s talent if it is to compete even in a mid-level (and that is being kind) conference like the Mid Continent.  The victories that the Cougars enjoyed were not exactly over the Kentucky’s or Indiana’s of the country.  As a matter of fact the Cougars toughest game they scheduled all year was against Big Ten power Illinois.  They of course were blown out by 36 but they hope to be able to not only get more games against major Competition but be able to compete in a few years.  The out of conference losses mounted early and often.  After giving visiting Texas Tech a scare at Dickens Athletic Center.  The 2500 seat arena can be loud and boisterous and a heck of a home court advantage when it is filled up.  Of course that did not happen often but with Texas Tech in town and the first game of the year there was hope and it was filled with fans wearing green and white.  It was also filled when the popular Cinderella team the Butler Bulldogs came calling.  It was not even closed to being half filled at the end in the 23 point loss and most went home very early.  The Cougars ended up this miserable season at 4 and 25 with a 3 and 11 conference record in a year that at least they could say they were a Division One program.  The best thing is that not only did the Cougars not have any seniors on their roster but all of these guys are coming back. Well maybe that’s a good thing? 

One player stood out on this team of misfits. Junior forward Mike Eversley brings his hulk like body to the front court.  Not very tall at only six foot six, Eversley is thick and tough.  He more than takes up space in the paint, he is like a one man wall.  He bangs with everybody and gets the job done.  No way talented enough for this level, Eversley gets by on sheer determination and desire.  He teams with Billups to give the team toughness underneath but like the rest of the team is not quite ready for prime time.  This Chicago club really defines the term Second City. 

 Sophomore point guard Darron Brittman is also a very capable player. A cat quick defender who is as good as they come at taking the ball away from his opponents.  This Chicago kid lead the team in steals and will pickpocket the best of them.  He is so good at pressuring the ball on the dribble that teammates have given him the nickname Ali Baba.  Brittman will continue to improve offensively but is already as good as you can get on the defensive end.  Brittman is also not big (5 foot ten 170) so Hallberg had to play a small back court which he had no problem with.  Hallberg loves playing three guards at a time and at times there were three guys on the court under six foot.  You have to play the best talent you can but obviously this caught up with the Cougars over the course of time. 

The Cougars have a group of other players who showed glimpses of potential throughout this year.  Juniors Ken Dancy and Ken Cyrus understand the game and will be used again this year often but are carryovers from the NAIA teams.  Neither is athletic enough for this level.   Best amongst these might have been sophomore Charles Perry who paired with Brittman to form a formidable defensive combo. Perry can score and is a good leader and they rotate who runs the team so the other one can score. He is 5’11 too as this team’s lack of size overall is omnipresent.  Another undersized Chicago kid is in the mix as well as 5’10 Sherrod Arnold will battle for minutes.  He transferred in from the Illini and can score so will get minutes.  Maurice Thornton is only 5’11 but can shoot from long-range and this team needs all of that they can get. 

Up front there the lack of size is noticeable with the 6’5 tank that is Eversley actually playing center at times.  Dancy, who realistically is way too small for a power forward, should move to the 3 this year with some new big guys coming to Chi town. Sophomore Leorando Drake is transferring in from Indiana State and has size at 6’9.  Terry Bradley is a solid player who can score and board a little.  Bradley goes 6’7 and may have been the most improved player from last year and showed great potential down the stretch.  Fellow Sophomores Shawn Bell and Stanley Jones also got minutes and were alright and could push for minutes.  They are a little more athletic than the Tank but Bell is leaving for greener pastures through the new portal.  Jones goes 6’7 but barely got off the JV squad which only played ten games last year.  The only guy on the roster with real size is Laurent Crawford.  This Windy City kid is 6’11 is athletic and was an all-city player.  He came to the Cougars via both Cincinnati and UTEP but never even got on the court with those teams.  He started here for a few games after becoming eligible but then disappeared.  Hallberg will not comment on this but there are rumors he is coming back and the team will gladly take him back as after all 6’11 is 6’11 and this kid can play. Coach Hallberg will continue to rotate different players trying to find some talent and size.  He supposedly has two more seven footers coming into town this year so this program infamous for being the smallest D-1 program in the country last year might just be the opposite this year.  But will that win them anymore games?   

The Chicago state Cougars came to Division 1 college basketball knowing they were going to be over matched and struggling for wins.  A little success at the other levels preceded them but hey were in no way prepared for the shock of losing 25 games.  They will try and regroup and find some talent to go around a few bright spots on their roster.  Coach Gary Hallberg was a master at playing small lineups and making them winners in the NAIA.  He will continue to try and do that here but is bringing in some big cats to build this program around.  The Windy City loves their basketball and for a moment small little Dickens Gym was filled to the brim and the Cougars could not lose there. That was NAIA competition and this is the big bad Summit League of Division One and now even that gym is being replaced as they build the new Jones Convocation Center (how about we just call it the JCC) which holds over 7000 fans.  Heck, that is asking quite a lot from a team that could not fill up Dickens which held just over 2500 but there is hope. That is such a beautiful word filled with so many different vices for anyone wanting to use them.