I grew up on the south side of Chicago. It was pretty rough. My mom didn’t let me outside much. I pretty much just went to school. I was a straight A student first through sixth grade. Then basketball was introduced into my life around seventh . . . → Read More: In His Own Words – Isiah Martin]]>

Indiana State University Basketball Player, Isiah Martin

I grew up on the south side of Chicago. It was pretty rough. My mom didn’t let me outside much. I pretty much just went to school. I was a straight A student first through sixth grade. Then basketball was introduced into my life around seventh grade. I went to a new school. It was high school that branched off with an eighth grade program. I didn’t start playing until seventh or eighth grade. That was new to me. Everybody had always told me I needed to play because I was so tall. I wasn’t that interested in it. I always watched Michael Jordan and what not. But, my dad and mom didn’t put a ball in my hands. They didn’t force it upon me like some people would have. I just came around and started playing and I started to love it right away. My mom has been there more so than my dad, but my dad is always around. He has done more lately that he did at the beginning. I actually learned how to play from my friends from around my neighborhood. We used to pull a goal out and play on the playground. We didn’t have much room but they taught me to shoot at the square. I didn’t have a jump shot at all, at first. Just shoot at the square and that is how it all started. That’s where it all started.

I have a few cousins that play. They live in Ohio, Delaware- Columbus area. My dad played in high school. My mom wasn’t into sports, she was a model. My grandparents didn’t play. I am pretty much the first one to go somewhere for it. Do something big sports wise.

Isiah Martin

I was pretty successful in high school our team didn’t do as well as I thought we could have done. I flourished because I was the big kid. The offenses ran through me. When you say my high school’s name, Morgan Park, then you thought of me. It was fun. I still talk about those guys to this day. Morgan Park was a great stepping-stone and a building block for me. I was still just learning when I was a freshman. I played on a “far-south” team, that’s junior varsity, that’s what we call it in Chicago. My sophomore year, I was starting with four seniors. That’s when I started to flourish. I was averaging nineteen points, nine rebounds and three or four blocks per game. That was pretty much one of my best years in high school. I felt like I didn’t have any pressure on me at all. There were four seniors and I was a sophomore. I was really relaxed; I was really able to play my game. My junior year was pretty tough, I sprained my ankle the day before our first game and I missed the first six games of the season. We had started out the season ranked twenty-seventh. We went one and five without me so that season never really got rolling. My senior year I flourished a little bit more. That is how I got here.

I was recruited by Central Florida, Niagara, Southern Illinois and …Indiana State, of course. Illinois State wanted me but they didn’t have a scholarship. So they wanted me to go “prep” a year. I couldn’t do that. My mom didn’t want me to do that. I didn’t want to do that either. There were a few other low and mid- major schools. Nothing really high major, I lost those (high majors) in my junior year when I got that injury and didn’t get to play as much.

Isiah Martin

The deciding factor for me to come to Indiana State was that it is close to home. My mom has come to about ninety-five percent of my home games and eighty percent of the other games. I have family in Delaware, Ohio and Columbus, Ohio. So that’s only three to four hours from there and that’s where most of my family is. They are all able to come to see my games, so that was one of the main factors in my coming here. Coach Lansing was the one who recruited me. He was a really nice guy and he seemed genuine. He was the first college coach that my mom loved and I loved also. It was Coach McKenna’s first year and I loved the idea of building something. A new coach, with new players and just starting something new…and putting my name on it, in a way,… and I have. It is special. I thought it would be with Coach McKenna but he chose to go elsewhere… and I don’t fault him for that at all. I am not mad at him for that. Coach Lansing had stepped up and been a great leader for us. He has been a great father figure for all of us. I mean he does stuff for us. He works us hard and pushes us past our limits. That’s why I think we are able to be as successful as we are this season –and we are going to keep it rolling, hopefully.

Pre-season was hard, it was really hard. It was different than Coach McKenna. He was more of a long easy night. He was more of a long easy practice– like two or three hours of practice. With Coach Lansing he is more of an hour and half practice. Get you in and out but you have to work hard. He’s going to push you. At the beginning of the season we were skeptical. Everybody was tired and didn’t know if we liked this. It was tough but it has paid off. When we went into the Chicago tournament and came out one and two we all thought we were better than that. We all realized our heads weren’t on right. We weren’t focused on the right stuff. We finally started to buy into Coach Lansing and what he was telling us. How hard he wanted us to work and it has finally paid off. We were five and six in the preseason, now we are twenty and thirteen. Fifteen wins after preseason that is pretty impressive, I think. Twelve in the valley and three in a row. I think we are on a roll right now and I think we can keep it going. After the Chicago tournament we had a meeting with the coaches and several team meetings. We still have team meetings to this day. After the Chicago tournament we had a meeting at Jake Kelly’s house and we all had to sit down and tell each other what we thought. Honesty, what we felt our roles were and what we felt like. What each other should and shouldn’t do to help us. After we got that on the table it (the season) turned around. We were in every game. We didn’t win every game but now everybody sees how important that was.

Isiah Martin

It feels good, establishing a background for the team. When I get in I just want as much as I can to help the team. I want us to be successful at the end of the day. I’m not the type to complain or be selfish. I have always tried to be a team player my whole life and I don’t think that should change now that I am in college. Whenever I get a chance, I try to make the best of it… do what I can do, I block shots, rebound, shoot if I’m put in a position I can score.  Those few games like Drake, when we were on the road, I knew when Myles (Walker) got in foul trouble he wasn’t having a good game. I just came in. I know how to play basketball. I’ve done it for the last eight or nine years of my life. It has been number one in my life these past nine years. One and two with school. I know how to play the game. I know what I need to do to help my team win. I know what I can do to make my team win. Bring energy, defense, score when I can—rebound. I mean just do the right thing.

We all hang out a lot outside of basketball. That’s what brings us together on the court. We have each other’s back on and off the court. If we’re not on the court… you can call one of the team and they are with six teammates and if you call someone else they are with the other seven teammates. We are always all together. That’s the way we have been able to mesh and become more of a family.

I am a criminology major. I am an internship away from graduating. I will be finished in May but then basketball takes up all my time so I will not get a chance to do my internship until the summer. I will probably do the ceremonial walk in May and get my diploma sometime this summer. I will hang around

Isiah Martin

here with the fellows probably all summer. Work-out and keep them motivated. Hang-out. Get the last little bit of college life I can. I was thinking about next year staying around and helping out with the team or something. I want to play basketball as long as I can –so I may just work my butt off this summer. Try to see where I can go overseas. I’ve had a few looks I am not sure from where but can’t do any talking right now. Hopefully, I can get a nice little spot over there and come back here and make it into the league one day. I feel like I have a lot of goals I haven’t reached yet but I will.

To relax I usually lay in bed watching movies. Dewayne (Lathan), Rasheed (Reed), from last year, and I live together. We don’t have cable. We didn’t think it was important to get because we are never home. We each have about two hundred movies. So after practice we go home pop a movie in and chill. Sometimes, I will play poker with a couple of friends. When I am not in the gym shooting that’s pretty much what I do, shoot, play poker and watch movies. I use to be a big horror buff but now I am an action/suspense guy. One of my favorite movies of course is “Love of Basketball”. Recently I saw the “Adjustment Bureau”. It’s pretty much amazing I love that movie. It’s a nice story line, its drama with a little suspense. I change it up a lot like I said I have over two hundred movies.

My favorite color is blue. Favorite music, I listen to a lot of different stuff, I like RAP a lot but I am an R&B guy. I like a healthy mix of both. Favorite foods I eat anything you put in front of me. You wouldn’t believe it but I can’t gain the weight. I am happy I have maintained two-fifteen (215#) this whole season. Every other season I have fluctuated between two-o-five (205#) and two-ten (210#). I have been able to maintain this year. I eat anything you put in front of me. Steak is probably one of my favorite foods… steak and mashed potatoes and gravy.

Isiah Martin

Going into the Missouri Valley Tournament I knew we had come close. We had come too far, twelve and six in the conference. We had beaten every team except Evansville and Wichita. We got to get them back in the first and second round. We knew we could beat anybody if we played defense. Our offense is going to come… we are too talented on offense not to score. Our defense is something that is bases on pride, we have to work on it to be good. We know we’ve worked our tail off on defense all year. Coach told us that if we defend then we can beat any team we play. So we took that to heart and we believed. We sat down and locked up some teams. That’s why we’re ready to do something that ISU hasn’t done but a few times. Every boy’s dream. My dream didn’t come until later seventh or eighth grade. People ask how long I have dreamed about this I say about ten years. It’s an amazing feeling. It’s just great to be able to leave your name on something. Me and JP (Jordan Printy) and Aaron (Carter) and Coach Lansing have been here from the beginning. All our work has paid off. We have made it to the tournament now. It’s not over we don’t need to get complacent or anything. We still have doubters out there, people who think we are a one and done team. We need to prove people wrong.

This team is ready. We are all back here. Happy to see each other and ready for practice. We don’t like being apart. In my four years here every time we get a break… we go home for a week and after three days we’re calling each other. It’s like there is nothing to do here and we miss each other. We come back early and everyone is ready and we are ready to work hard. We know the team we are probably going to get is playing right now. Big East and the Big Ten, whoever it is, we know they are playing right in their conference. We have to

Isiah Martin

be ready for them. They are playing games every day so our practices have to be as hard as the games, that is what Coach just told us. They are getting tested every day right now. So we have to test ourselves everyday against each other. So, when we get in that fight we are ready to win.

ISU has been a good fit for me, education as well as basketball. It has been a great experience. ISU and this little town, Terre Haute… I never would have thought it would give me what it has given me. I have grown as a person these four years. It’s just been amazing. I don’t want to believe that it is almost over but it is. I am ready. It has shaped me. I have become a man and I am ready for the real world. Not a job, just yet, but a life after college.

I would tell a recruit looking at ISU that on the outside I know it doesn’t look like much but this is probably one of the best places you could come for basketball. If that’s what you want to do is play basketball then this is the place you want to come. It’s Indiana, you should just check the tradition and the history. The coach is amazing and the teammates are like no other. Like Jake Odum, Ketchell, Steve (McWhorter), the young guys Lucas and Logan (Eitel). All of them are young and they are going to be great building blocks for this team. I would tell them I am jealous of them getting their next four years here with these guys because they are amazing. They are my brothers.  These people will have been in and out of my life, Gabe (Moore), Harry (Marshall), Josh (Crawford), Rasheed (Reed), Mic (Yelovich), Jay (Tunnel) everybody that has been in and out of this program. I still talk to them to this day. I don’t ever want to think that it will stop because this is a brotherhood. This is like a fraternity, but I feel like it is stronger than that…it’s amazing, I don’t want it to end.

Family…my dad’s name is Jeff,  my mom’s Kelley and I have 2 younger sisters. One sister, Jaime, is a sophomore, she plays basketball at Iowa. She’s had a great career so far. It’s fun watching her play and my younger sister, Jenna, is a 7th grader this year. She’s big into . . . → Read More: In His Own Words – Jordan Printy]]>

Family…my dad’s name is Jeff,  my mom’s Kelley and I have 2 younger sisters. One sister, Jaime, is a sophomore, she plays basketball at Iowa. She’s had a great career so far. It’s fun watching her play and my younger sister, Jenna, is a 7^th grader this year. She’s big into dance. She’s got all these dance competitions that are fun to go to and watch her. I’m real close to my family, –talk to them all the time.

My mom ran track one year at Iowa and my dad played basketball in high school and played at a junior college close to home for 2 years. Sports have always been a big part of our lives. My sisters have had a pretty big career too. We’re all pretty close. We’re a pretty close family.

I’ve always pretty much been just basketball.  In high school that’s the only sport I played.  Middle school I did run track and stuff like that but mainly its always been basketball. I do like to golf in my free time.

I joined the Martin Brothers AAU team out of Iowa. I joined that after my freshman year in high school. We had some tournaments that summer and I started getting some letters and more recruiting after that. So I’d say college recruitment really picked up my sophomore year of high school.

At first I was getting letters from lot of all the Iowa schools, Iowa, Iowa State, UNI, Drake, then recruitment started branching out a little bit and then my college offers ended up being from here (Indiana State) and them Indiana State, Evansville, Drake, Wright State, and Wyoming were my five major offers. Then decided to come to ISU.

Coach Lansing actually recruited me and I knew a little about him from when he was at Iowa. He recruited me and I really liked what he had to say. I came down for a couple unofficial visits and liked all the guys, liked the program . That was actually when Waltman was still here but I just saw myself fitting in and I wanted to play in the Missouri Valley plus I thought it was a good fit for me.

I’m in social studies education… that’s my major. I wanna keep playing as long as i can then the plan is to coach either at the college level or teach and coach at the high school level. so that’s  what I want to do.

Life is busy you know.  I room with Aaron Carter. I lived in the dorms my first two (2) years and then Aaron and I got an apartment last year. Life’s fun, it’s a lot of fun, real busy but I wouldn’t trade it for anything.

Do I have friends outside of basketball? Yeah. I’ve met a lot of people on campus. I’ve got a couple good friends that are in my classes for my major so, yes, I’ve met a lot of good people since I’ve been here.

I just like some “chill time”. I listen to a lot of hip-hop and rap, R-n-B. My favorite probably would be Drake. I mean, we’re so busy with practice and classes… so mainly I just hang out with either the guys on the team or I spend time with my girlfriend. She goes here now too.  We went to the same high school and then she ended up transferring here. She actually dances for the Pacers so its cool… I get to go to a lot of Pacer games.

Basketball is a way of life and then you’ve got assignments, homework and projects that catch up with you. It is a lot of work, but but I’ve learned over the years how to balance ball and books. You know it’s fun though.

Was my injury frustrating? It was. It was frustrating cause you know it happened early I think it was in the 5^th or 6^th game, and it was a pretty bad high ankle sprain and I had a little hairline fracture there too. So it set me back quite a bit and then once I was  able to come back it still was frustrating because I still wasn’t a 100% you know. My movement and athleticism, all that kind of stuff was affected but I just had to keep getting treatment and work. You know just work thru it now its finally better. These last couple weeks its really starting to feel good again but it’s something that just kinda lingered on you know. I mean I came back, it was healed pretty good but it wasn’t 100% and then little tweets and little stuff like that kept setting me back. I don’t think I came back too soon but it’s one of those things where if you didn’t let it get all the way to 100% you know here or there it’s gonna bug you thru out. It’s good now. It’s doing real good. Brad (Yeargin), he did a great job with me all year. It’s just doing treatment and exercises and stuff like that, so it’s been good.

It felt pretty good the other night (at UNI). I had most of my family there. The family still lives in the Cedar Rapids area and it’s about an hour from UNI so I had quite a bit of them, probably 20-30 family members there. Also some friends, that I know, that went to UNI. So it’s always fun to go back home and play in front of them … especially when we’re playing well and we win. So it was good.

This is actually my 4^th year since I red-shirted my 1^st year so yes the time has definitely gone fast.

From last year to this, I think it was a smooth transition just because you know all the guys. We knew Coach Lansing obviously from being here and we all respect him and know how hard he works so we try to do the same for him. The difference… it’s a lot of the offense. It’s a lot of motion and just a lot of playing off your basketball instincts. I think it gives us a lot of freedom on offense and I think over the year we’ve definitely improved on it. Its’ been pretty smooth.

The change in offense I think it fits my game better. I think I’m more a motion player, the spread offense, I don’t have anything against it but I prefer the motion and the running up and down more.

The Missouri Valley tournament… we’re excited for it. I mean, we think we’ve been playing well and getting better just the thing we’ve gotta keep doing. Just improving everyday until the tournament and then go down there (St Louis) and try to make some noise.

Depth of the team makes a difference. It does. I mean the last game against UNI in the last minute of the game we had Lucas Eitle in there, Koang was in. Lucas hit a couple of big free throws for us. Coach always talks to us about how he feels like he can go down the whole bench and throw a guy in and we’ll be fine so it has definitely helped us out. Yeah, definitely, like you said we’re deep and coach isn’t afraid. He trusts everybody. He’s not afraid to throw one of the guys down at the end of the bench into the game… so its been good for us.   It’s been a big advantage for us all year. I think is our depth just helps practice too. The guys that don’t get a lot of game time they fight everyday and they work hard in practice too so its been good.

After school? I don’t know, I mean, I’ve thought about it a little bit but I just wanna focus on finishing this year out and next year just enjoy it.

If anyone asked me about coming to Indiana State I would definitely be positive and encourage it, because I’ve had a great experience so far. You know with the basketball team being like my family here… I mean I’m kinda far from home, it’s about 5 hours but I think I adjusted well and I think the group of guys we have here are really close. I like all the coaches and then on the education part of it …you know its been great as well, I think that Indiana State has a really good education teacher program here and my experience in that has been great so far too. A lot of good experiences. I’ll be doing my student teaching next fall so I’ll be out in some of the Terre Haute schools teaching a little bit and then just working towards my degree next fall. So,ISU’s been good I would encourage it.

My mother and father are still together. I have an older brother and older sister. My brother in high school played basketball the first two years. He was the number one guard in the state. He got caught up with his friends and girls, so he stopped playing basketball. I didn’t . . . → Read More: In His Own Words – CARL RICHARD]]>

Carl Richard

My mother and father are still together. I have an older brother and older sister. My brother in high school played basketball the first two years. He was the number one guard in the state. He got caught up with his friends and girls, so he stopped playing basketball. I didn’t seriously start playing until about my sophomore year in high school. My father wasn’t a constructive basketball player. He didn’t play on school teams but he did play on club teams. He wasn’t really skilled. All he did was rebound. That was his thing. He lead all the leagues he played on in rebounds. My mother didn’t get into sports. My sister was a cheerleader.

I started getting attention my very first varsity game in my junior year. We played against Eisenhower; I had eighteen and thirteen, something like that. I received my first college letter.  I thought basketball was just fun. I didn’t think I could do anything with it. I received my first college letter and  I was like, “Oh wow”. I thought,” I can actually play somewhere”. We won state my senior year. We were having a pretty good season. It seemed to me that my teammates couldn’t get me the ball where I needed it. I don’t know if they didn’t know how or if they just didn’t want to. There was one game that I had thirty points and maybe fifteen rebounds. That was my highest points I made in one game and we lost. I think it clicked right then that, “ maybe we should just get him the ball and good things will happen”. None of my points were coming from them passing me the ball. They were just from offensive rebounds, me getting the board, me pushing coast to coast. Then it clicked and we ended up winning State. They just got me the ball and they found out that I am not selfish.

Carl Richard

I received a lot of scholarship offers. I committed to ISU when I had six or seven offers. After we won State I received a lot of them. I was primarily recruited by Coach Lansing.

I enjoy playing basketball. I enjoy the team atmosphere that came along with basketball. When I dunked on someone the first time I really enjoyed it. Nothing tops it. When I came here people were pumping my head up saying you are going to do this and you are going to do that. I have seen myself getting better every year. When I got to college it was a completely different game. I realized that everybody jumps as high as I do. You have to find an edge. My freshman year I didn’t have an edge. All I could really do, the reason I play the way I do, is because I can rebound a basketball. That is what I rest my hat on. Based on percentages I didn’t shoot the ball very well. I couldn’t get lay ups, people were blocking me. It was rough, it was real rough. My confidence took a real hit. At the beginning of my sophomore year, my confidence had built back up over the summer, and then it happened again. I knew I was better than this and then it was the luck of the draw. We had a few players go down and he (Coach McKenna) called my number. He saw that I could deliver and from then my confidence skyrocketed.

Coach Lansing has demanded the most from me. When he first recruited me I was a four and he is trying to turn me into a three. It is taking some steps. “Rome wasn’t built in a day”, is what I always say. I couldn’t shoot the ball on the outside very well, so I had to learn to do that. I didn’t really have a post-up game. I just could jump. Then I had to get post moves. I want to be an inside-outside player. I had to work on my handles. I basically I’ve had to reshape my whole game. I was a raw player, just pure athleticism. Coach Lansing has tried to develop me some skills.

My cousin (Dwayne Wade) and I have two completely different games. He is more of a “slasher” and I’m a spot-up shooter and like to drive on occasions. He has told me what I need to work on to get to the next level. At the end of the day it is just basically me putting in hard work. I know what I need to do. My ball handling right now is the only thing separating me from being an overseas player or an NBA player.When I first got here I was like 180 pounds… now I am around 220 pounds. The weight I put on makes a complete difference. Before I came here I never lifted a weight in my life. In the off-season I enjoy the weight room. During the season I don’t even mind it because I know it helps. I tell the freshman coming in the best gift they ever gave me was that weight room. Without it I would be a skinny “four” getting pushed around, now I am doing the pushing.I am studying criminology. I haven’t really thought what I want to do with that yet. I have looked into it and there are a few things I can do with it. But right now I’m playing basketball. I feel like I want to develop my skills, I want to do this with my life. My father always told me that it is a whole lot easier to wake up and do something you enjoy. I enjoy playing basketball.My grades are pretty good. When I first started in my freshman year over the summer I made two A’s. Coming into the year it was a totally different class than the summer classes. It was kind of shaky at first but I found a balance between basketball and books.

I hang out with Odum a lot. We live together. It’s usually just him and I… we go play a game a lot. I occasionally go watch other people play basketball because I love the game. That’s just something I enjoy. I play the game and work out. I am friends with everybody on the team. I kick it with other people plus I am friends with people on other teams we play. A lot of my friends do what I do.

When I graduate from school I want to play basketball. Ideally, there’s about an eighty (80%) percent chance I will probably end up overseas. If I can get my ball handling right the sky is the limit.  I really believe that in my heart. I feel like you have to believe.

My freshman year was so rough. I feel like in my freshman year I got my shot blocked more than anyone else in the NCAA. I started to stay away from the base line.  I decided to go middle and just jump up in the air and say you aren’t going to block this. My jump shot is kind of flat but it goes in.

This year we’ve have had our ups and downs. Some games we play fantastic. Some games we play fantastic and lose, like Notre Dame. I feel like we played good at Notre Dame. There was a stretch in the game, when I went out in the game early in the first half, we were up when I went out. We dug ourselves a hole when I went out and we just couldn’t come back from it. I feel like we were right there. That’s a top team in the Big East. Then there are games like Wyoming. We have had stretches where we have been good. Like our six and one win streak. We have had stretches where we have been bad. Not necessarily bad — we just didn’t win games. I don’t think we played bad in all the games we lost. There were a few that we did (lost) just because of confidence issues. I feel like we can compete with anybody in our league on any given night. I feel like going into the tournament we are going to be the most dangerous team to

play against. In order for us to be the team we want to be we are going to need Lathan to perform. We have to find a way to mesh with him. He has to buy into the same concept as the rest of us. We need him (Lathan). He is a key component to this team.

I am indecisive with all the ups and downs. I feel like I knew what we are supposed to do when we were winning. I knew things that were helping us win. Besides our defensive intensity I feel like nothing has flipped. Like some days our offense isn’t going to flow as well as other days. The only thing you can really control is your defense. I think that’s the only thing that slips. We have won six or seven and lost four or five. We have fallen victim to letting our offense affect our defense. If I come out and miss four or five shots all I am going to be thinking about is missing those shots and other people do that too. We need not let that happen.

I think we are going to win out. I think we will go to the conference tournament with our head in the clouds. Not in the clouds… just feeling really good about ourselves, high confidence. I feel like we are going to make a deep run in the tournament.

Coach Lansing is the reason I chose ISU. He is kind of close to the family. So it is kind of like – I’m riding with him. Then he got the head job so it was kind of like “whoa hoo”. If anyone is thinking of coming to ISU to play basketball then I would tell them that Lansing is a great coach. It’s a great team atmosphere. I feel like this is the style of offense that a lot of people want to play. Nobody is put to any restrictions, like you can do what you are good at. Coach Lansing will let you.

Growing up, I was always played sports, I was into baseball and basketball especially. Playing basketball really hit around third grade I started playing on a local AAU team, for Bobby Moore. The Terre Haute Wildcats, that really got me kick started, that was big. I still love Bobby Moore to . . . → Read More: In His Own Words – Jake Odum]]>

Growing up, I was always played sports, I was into baseball and basketball especially. Playing basketball really hit around third grade I started playing on a local AAU team, for Bobby Moore. The Terre Haute Wildcats, that really got me kick started, that was big. I still love Bobby Moore to this day and the players on that team. RJ (Mahurin) was actually on that first AAU team back in third grade.  We have two other kids that were on that team playing baseball here at ISU now. I think eight out of ten of us are playing Division-1 sports now. From that team right there… from third to eighth we made a solid case of unity. We really learned how to play team basketball. That is where it originated, how I approach the game of basketball.  Hard work and you get what you put in. I feel like if you put hard work and time into something you can be whatever you want to be and however good you want to be. I started off at that (AAU) and then went on to Woodrow Wilson and played three years there. I kind of got a chip on my shoulder when I went there because they we all about Terre Haute North. I was all about Terre Haute South so I decided I needed to work hard. I lived on the tennis courts over there playing basketball since my house was a couple of blocks away.  I was there every day before and after practice, before school shooting on the courts. I moved on to high school…. Coach Saylor is a great coach. He put me in a system where I was able to develop my game. He had me in different areas, distributing and scoring. He taught me many things that I still use today in the game out here in the college level. I didn’t realize what he was doing back then but now that I have been through four years of high school and two years here (ISU) I realize what kind of path he put me on in high school.

I realize that there are definitely some distractions playing in my hometown. I had to pull myself from that. You are going to lose some friends. You are going to have a bunch of people want to be your friend that should not be your friend. You just have to stay in reality when you are in your hometown. Now that we are doing well everybody’s talking about us. We really haven’t done anything yet. We are at twelve and eighteen. We have plenty more to do. The main thing about distractions is stay down to reality and not catch on to all the hype that our fans are bringing on to our program right now.

I realized when I was at Terre Haute South that you have to distance yourself from people that might be a little jealous and might want to bring you down. Because you are doing something that they might not be doing. That is just something you realize and you recognize growing up. I have parents that are good and they taught me well when I was growing up. I have had that since I was a young age.

During the whole year last year I wanted to play. That’s just how I am in basketball. I just thought I could go out there and compete with anybody.  Now that I am playing this year as a freshman, it’s (red-shirting) the best thing I ever did.  I am glad the coaches talked me into doing that. It has really helped developed my game, comparing me now to last year. I wasn’t ready to play physically or mentally. It is a very challenging game here at the college level compared to high school. The red-shirt year is huge and I think it is going to benefit Jake Kitchell this year. For him to come out and be a freshman next year it is going to be big.

Physically I have probably grown an inch to an inch and a half since I have gotten in school. I have gained about ten to twelve pounds. You can’t really tell it. I have definitely gotten a lot stronger,…unbelievably stronger actually. Mentally it is a hard game especially compared to high school. It is more draining and challenging. You have to be able to play possession for possession. In college basketball you can’t have any mental lapses and have possessions where you can’t get a good shot. Or a quality possession where the ball moves around the floor. So for the red-shirt year helped me mentally. It helped me realize that by watching players like Harry Marshall and Reed. It definitely helped me mentally for this year.  Being ready to compete for thirty minutes every night.

Being red-shirted for a year you have to pick up the offense.  With Coach McKenna’s offense it really takes you about a year to learn.  I was learning that all last year. I was running the second groups offense when we would play against the first group. I still had to learn the plays and stay with it all through last year. That goes both ways. This year, I am out there and have to know where everybody is on the floor. I probably know the plays a little more detailed this year but, as far as knowing the plays my red-shirt year compared to this year… I know the plays pretty well inside and out.

When I was younger and playing with Bobby Moore, he was a great coach, he made me see the floor and that’s one of the key things in basketball. To see the floor and see what everyone is doing– you can see what is going to happen.  That has helped me out in the college game. When I can see the floor as well as I do then I can see the plays as they are developing then I know what plays are going to be run. I can see it in my head more and that is what helps me in my steals. I don’t get a lot of “on ball” steals. All my steals are “off ball” steals. I am reading a play and I kind of know what is going to happen and where each guy is going to be and I try to beat them to the spot. That is how the game slows down in my head out there on the floor.

I am still learning, I try to learn something new every day. Growing up my dad would ask me what did I learn in school today. I would always say nothing. He would always make me try and do the best. Try to learn something every day. Even the smartest people in the world can learn something. Not just on the basketball floor but in life in general that can turn into something on the basketball floor.  Even though I think I am pretty intelligent on the basketball floor there is always something to learn. There is always something I can do better to help my team win or to do better on the floor.

I am working my hardest to improve my overall game. I have some weaknesses. I need to stay in the weight room, even in the off-season, more than I have been. I need to work on my shot. My “on ball” defense has been slacking I need to step that up. Everything can get better but those are the ones I need to focus on.

My mentor has been transferred to Coach Lansing. All my mentors growing up have been my coach. I bought into their offenses and their programs and what they were trying to do. I think that is the only way to have a good team is to listen to the coach and to be kind of a coach on the floor. That is what I have been trying to do with Coach Lansing. He is the head coach but he wants me to be the coach on the floor. I try to translate what he is trying to say in the huddles to how the team plays out there on the floor.

Coach Lansing was the first college coach to really start recruiting me. He was real laid back cool guy. I was really glad he got the job here. I couldn’t ask for a better coach. We definitely jelled. I think that is because he trusts me. That’s a big thing. That really helps me with my confidence on the floor as a freshman. When the head coach puts the ball in my hand and expects me to make a play and he knows I can do it. That really gives me confidence. That makes me want to learn from him and pay attention even more. It has surprised me that I am playing as much as I am… but I am a kind of guy who has always played with a chip on my shoulder. I feel like I was under recruited going through high school…so, I kind of play with a chip on my shoulder. I just try to play harder every time I get on the floor.

The team has grown tremendously this year. We have taken a couple of bad losses. Up in Chicago to start the season, lost again at Ball State… which was a disappointment after they beat us here. Embarrassed us here in Hulman Center last year. We’ve picked it up. We are seven and two in conference. Like I said before we haven’t done anything yet but we are on the right track. I don’t look too far ahead in the future because we have this season to pay attention to. But, the future is looking good for ISU basketball.

I think the local favor here is huge. It has brought more fans out to the crowds. I have played with and against RJ and the Eidels my whole life. Me, RJ, Rene, Eugene on the Terre Haute Wildcats playing against the Terre Haute Jammers who the Eidels played for back in third, fourth and fifth grade. It will show more when we are older and we are all playing together. The Eidels are not getting much playing time.  I think they should be in even a little more. It will show later on in our careers along with (Rhett) Smith and Justin Gant. Those guys know how to play the game and they play the game the right way. That’s kind of the mentality we are trying to bring out to the floor this year is “play the game the right way and share the ball”. If you do that it is hard to stop even if you don’t necessarily have a star player. We have five players playing as one. You can’t have one player better than five.

I would tell anyone looking at ISU to come here. It’s a great place to be. Terre Haute is a good city. We are getting more support. It’s a great place to be and the program is moving up and the future looks good for us. As far as any recruits coming in we would be glad to have you and get ready to keep winning games.

My Dad played basketball in high school. He actually has the rebounding record for most in a game in high school. He had twenty-six (26) or something like that. He claims that is what he got in the season but, he’s just being modest. My brother played… he was really good . . . → Read More: In His Own Words – Aaron Carter]]>

My Dad played basketball in high school. He actually has the rebounding record for most in a game in high school. He had twenty-six (26) or something like that. He claims that is what he got in the season but, he’s just being modest. My brother played… he was really good in high school. He has a lot of records in high school. He played at the University of Southern Indiana for four years. He was recruited by I U and schools like that. So he was pretty good.  My sister played volleyball in college down in Tennessee.  One of my uncles played college basketball at Oakland City. It’s in the blood a little bit, I guess.

My family is great. They are very supportive. My Mom and brother come to every home game. My Dad comes when he can. Just yesterday, Sunday, some of my high school teachers and athletic director came to the game. That was pretty neat. My whole family came up. They are really supportive. I love them.

I am a marketing major with a minor in sports management. I should graduate in May. I have to take fifteen (15) hours to get my diploma. I’m looking forward to that. It is kind of bitter sweet. I will be out of college and into the real world but it’s time to grow up.

It is surprising how fast college life goes. It flies, it seems like yesterday we were just freshmen.  Little naïve freshmen not knowing what college life is all about. Not knowing what it takes to make it in college athletics. It has gone by fast but I have learned a lot and I have grown a lot, both as a freshman and a basketball player.  It has been really fun.

Indiana State was the first college I received mail from. I was so happy. I was a sophomore in high school and I received a big packet from ISU. That was my first one; they were recruiting me the longest. They were recruiting me really hard. I liked all the coaches and the guys I would be coming in and playing with. I signed under Waltman. Coach Lansing and Coach Gerrard recruited me and they stayed when McKenna got hired. That was a big deal for me, having coaches I was familiar with… that I could play for. That is basically why I came here. It was a tough decision but I think I made the right one.

I do have a life outside of basketball. I have friends and stuff. Basketball consumes most of your life during the season. It is not my life. I still like to do other things and focus on school quite a bit. Just hanging out and try to enjoy myself. My teammates and I go see movies and play poker,… do things like that. Just play video games. It is mostly with my teammates. I have friends who go to other schools. We see each other whenever we can. When we are on campus, our teammates are together all the time. It is great because I love all the guys.

Right now I haven’t thought too much about the future. I am trying to focus on basketball. I want to do business somehow but I don’t know what kind of entry level position I can get. I would say it would be somewhere around Indianapolis. That is a bigger city and I would have more opportunities. I know several people in Indianapolis so hopefully that will work out.

Last year I wasn’t getting to play a lot early on during the season. It was frustrating and I tried not to let affect me. I tried to go into practice every day hard and make the most of it. I knew I would get an opportunity sometime and when I did I’d take advantage of it. I think I did last year. This year started off pretty much the same way. We were losing some games and we were all pretty frustrated. I wasn’t getting to play as much as I would have liked.  I wasn’t letting it get to me too much because I knew I would get my opportunity eventually and I did. We have just been playing really well and it has been really fun.

The team you see now is a lot different than when we started the season back in November. I think it is for the better.  We have learned to play together more.  We play as a team; we play loose and with confidence.  I think that’s key.  I think it’s a result of a lot of things, the coaches they are coming in here and bringing in energy. They are intense in practice and they get us going. All the guys are drawn together and playing together really well. We enjoy playing and we want to play as well as we can for each other and the coaches…not just for ourselves.  I think when we finally figured that out and when we became a little more selfless it started helping us out a lot. It is a little bit of the style. The style of offense and defense we are running.  Definitely because we are winning, everything is more enjoyable. Even the food tastes better when you are winning. We have been on a roll. We have been enjoying it and having fun. We are still working hard. We have intense practices. Today (Monday) was kind of laid back because it was right after a game; we were just doing some shooting and stuff. Tomorrow we will come in here and get after each other. It will be pretty intense but it will be good.

What surprises me about this team is how well we did when players went down. Like last year, we did pretty well, we held our own. But this year we are tied for second in the conference. Nobody would have expected that with losing our two (2) top scorers. I think that just goes to show how deep we are and how tough our guys are. Everybody was getting experience when those guys were out – people were just playing more. They were getting experience and getting confidence. Now they are back that’s key because those guys that are coming off the bench have that experience and that confidence under their belts so they can come in and help us.

It is always cool to be on sports center. I was getting texts saying I just saw you guys on sports center and all that. That’s really cool. There are not a lot of people from small colleges that can say that. To get notoriety that’s really nice. We can’t let it affect us. We just have to keep doing the same thing and keep working hard. Keep getting better and better.

My intensity and aggressiveness:  that’s something I have developed in college. In high school I was just a scorer. I am from a small high school (Perry Central, Cannelton, IN) and I didn’t have to play like that. I was more just the scorer and did things like that. I would block shots but I wouldn’t be like diving on the floor and taking charges that much in high school. In college I acquired that out of necessity. When I was a freshman I wanted to get more minutes in play so I had to do the little things. In my freshman year it was around conference time that something kind of clicked.  I said, I don’t care, I am just going out there and play as hard as I can and do whatever I can. If I get tired, I get tired.  I have been playing like that ever since. Just trying to do anything I can, little things, trying to hustle all the time to make plays and help the team. I feel like if I am playing as hard as I can there is really nothing else I can do. That’s the mindset I have, just go in there and play as hard as I can and try to make things happen. I try not to be intimidated by size or speed or anything like that, just go in there and go after it.

This team has grown a lot. Like I said, we are a really different team than when we started in November. Everybody has matured a little bit and they have figured out what it is. We didn’t really know we were good. We knew we had talent from the beginning but we had to harness all that talent and get it together and play the right way. It has been a process.

Steve (McWhorter) has come a long way. Since he came up here this summer until now he has worked on his shot and he has worked on his defensive ball handling. He gets after it in practice. He has done really well. He has surprised me but it has been good. Myles (Walker), we knew he was going to be physical inside, he was going to be a “banger”.  He has done really well for us. He will “D” up and rebound. That is what he wants to do. He could care less if he scores twenty (20) a game. He just wants to help the team. That’s another thing… learning and maturing as a team. Learning what it takes to help us win. He has come a long way too. It has been good watching those guys develop.  Sunday’s game (Creighton) was a tough challenge for him. I think he held it well. That guy was really big and skilled. The guards were helping out a little bit too. We did well defending him as a team and Myles.

I expect for the rest of the season more of the same of what we have been doing. Everybody playing harder and is playing together. Playing tough and knowing what it takes to tough it out on the road. That Evansville loss was the hardest of all because we knew we were a better team. We had them down early. We just let it slip away. We just weren’t tough enough to close it out in the end. I think that’s what we needed to develope. We won two (2) road games since then — but we are going to have some tough ones on the road coming up. Being able to get out like that and finish it strong. I don’t know how to explain the Wyoming game. That was just awful from the beginning. We did alright the first few minutes after that it started getting out of control. That was during the stretch where we were on the road a lot. We had a couple of home games. That definitely wears on you but, we can’t use that as an excuse.  I would hate to use the altitude as an excuse because I mean we shouldn’t have let that affect us but it might have. It was a bad game but I kind of look at it as a turning point of the season. After that game we started playing better. We got beat by Purdue but I thought we played pretty well for the most part against them.  Other than that Evansville was the only slip up since the Wyoming game.  It kind of opened our eyes a little bit and showed us that if we don’t play hard and don’t play together we’re not that good. We’re talented but we’re not that good. We needed to have it all together to win.

I made a good decision coming to ISU. I had twelve or fourteen Division-1 offers. I only considered about five (5) of them seriously. In the end it really came down to Evansville or Indiana State. The “Valley” is a good conference; I wanted to play in it. Evansville was close to home, only about an hour from my house.  I got to know the coaches and the players really well. I would come and play open gym with them. In the end it came down to those two schools and I kind of weighed what would be a better fit for me. Not just the basketball aspect but how much I can get out of the college experience. Indiana State is a bigger school and you get more of the college experience. Evansville is a good school too. I know I made the right decision but it was tough.  I am glad I did because after I committed to ISU Waltman resigned but so did Evansville’s coach but Evansville’s whole staff was replaced. I wouldn’t have known any of them so coming up here I was more familiar with the staff. In high school I didn’t like to get out of my comfort zone. I wanted familiarity; I was familiar with the coaches. That was one of the big things coming here.

ISU is a good place. Some people talk bad about it but it is what you make it. You can have a great time at ISU and get a good education. The campus is making improvements all around town and on the campus. We have the new Rec Center… and they are doing things to improve the campus. Like the basketball team we are heading in the right direction in all athletes. Football, they did better this year too.  Baseball they

have been good for a while. I think we are going in the right direction in athletics and as a campus.

My accident, I have a stress reaction. It is basically, like,… a prerequisite of a stress fracture.  It is where the tissues around the bone in my middle foot are inflamed and weakened. I have to really take it easy. I have to wear a boot when I am not on . . . → Read More: In His Own Words – Jake Kelly]]>

Jake Kelly

My accident, I have a stress reaction. It is basically, like,… a prerequisite of a stress fracture.  It is where the tissues around the bone in my middle foot are inflamed and weakened. I have to really take it easy. I have to wear a boot when I am not on the court. I can’t practice for at least two weeks but basically the diagnosis is day to day.  It is just about what pain I can bear or if I am having any pain at all, I can’t play. If I get a stress fracture then I will have to have a surgery.

I grew up here. I moved away when I was twelve years old. I stayed in touch with my close family who lived around here. I came here on the weekends with my dad all through high school. So it’s definitely my home.  During Christmas and holidays I am home.  I am visiting family. That’s definitely nice.  I can see them whenever I want instead of two or three days that I was allowed at Iowa for Christmas break.

My family understands my schedule and everything. When they call me at night and I don’t answer they know I am probably just resting and tired and don’t feel like talking. At times when we have family get-togethers, if I have a late practice they understand if I don’t make it. I don’t hear any bad things from that side. As far as that being a distraction on being on the court… it can be. I came back because I wanted to be around my brother and I wanted the support of my dad. Also to help my brother out.  I am doing that. He is living with me. None of that is a distraction. It only makes you stronger I guess. It’s just part of life.

At Iowa, it was just basketball and school and nothing else. I was up there for basketball and basketball only. Here… I do have family. I do have relationships that I like to keep intact. I visit family members and help people out. Whether it be financially or just being there for people. I get to be a more of a well-rounded person. Like at Iowa it was basketball, school, basketball and school and that was it. I wouldn’t say it hinders my performance but there are definitely a lot of other things here.

I have had three head coaches in four years. I have torn my ACL. I have moved towns. I lost my mom. I have had a lot of other things that have been problems. I am just trying to stick to it…. and I have a good coach in Lansing. I try to ignore all the expectations as far as comparing me to Larry Bird or anything like that. I grew up idolizing Larry Bird and wanted to play just like him. Our games are completely different and the times have changed and the teams are different. I would say it would be hard for Larry to move schools and play with all new people and do the things he did. It is a building process. It is what it is and that’s what has been put in front of me and that’s what I have had to handle.

I have been in three (3) completely opposite offensive systems. Defensively change is easy to adapt to but offensively my positions changed, personnel has changed, style of play and the pace has changed. So, offensively it is a lot of adjustments. Every year since I have been in college I have felt like I was a first year player, I will admit that.

Coming down the road, I still have high expectations. I will keep faith in my leg and pray every day that my foot heals up.  In a couple of weeks I hope to come back and I hope to make a run. I think we can do it.  We showed it the other night against Bradley. We are definitely one of the top teams in the conference. We play as hard as or harder than anybody. We are going to continue to learn. We are going to keep pushing. Just because we are five hundred doesn’t mean we can’t win “the Valley”.  Repetition is what it is, we are getting in the gym.  We are getting better every day. We have to play more as a team offensively. I think, our defense is always going to be there… that’s effort and that’s coaches getting on us at practice and making sure we are perfect. Offensively… it is about chemistry and we have to build that throughout the season.

I love that Lansing was made head coach. I know the guys respect him and love him. We are having a fun year. We are having fun playing basketball. This is the hardest working practices I have had since I have been in college. I feel like we are in great shape and we are determined and we are confident and every day as we get better with each other.  I think it will produce on the court and nobody in this conference is going to be able to stop us.

Home for me is Indianapolis, Indiana. I went to North Central High School. It is in the northwest region of Indianapolis. I have a younger brother in eighth grade. I have a sister who is a freshman in college.  I also have my mother and father. My sister swam. She doesn’t . . . → Read More: In His Own Words – Bryant Kent]]>

Bryant Kent

Home for me is Indianapolis, Indiana. I went to North Central High School. It is in the northwest region of Indianapolis. I have a younger brother in eighth grade. I have a sister who is a freshman in college.  I also have my mother and father. My sister swam. She doesn’t anymore. She was All-American in high school. My brother plays year around baseball, basketball and football. He is making the transition to high school. He is pretty solid in all of them; I think baseball is probably his best.

In my sophomore year in high school I ran a 4.8 in a forty. I was fast but I didn’t have the break away.  My junior year in high school I went out for track. I found out I was good at it. From there …and as well as in college, I learned how to run and the proper way to run…the techniques and opening strides. It definitely helped me get breakaway speed.  It helped me go from a 4.8 in a forty to a 4.3 now. Track definitely helped — it got me the speed I have now.

I have a few mentors. My Dad for one. He taught me everything I know from football and every sport I played.  He played sports all through high school. He had a basketball scholarship to play in college. However, he couldn’t go because his father was in the army and he got shipped overseas. I have always idolized him. He taught me everything. I just always wanted for him to be proud of what I did and just do it for him. I grew up watching sports — most kids do. Football players, I always watched football, Jerry Rice was one receiver in that time and that was somebody I watched.  I watched him and how he ran routes. He wasn’t the fastest guy out there but he worked for everything. He created a work ethic in me. To me hard work pays off.

Being a construction management major,  the best opportunity for that is to start out being a project manager. Eventually, I want to expand to the point where I can have my own business. Whether it is in construction or not. If it is not in construction it will probably be like a sports store…something like that. I just want to be my own boss.

I will be graduating in the spring. I have about 9 hours to complete in the next semester. If  I was to get that extra year I would probably try getting a minor in safety.  Just to add a little more sale for me.

What brought me to ISU?…a little bit of track and a little bit of football. Coming out of high school I did track and football. ISU was the only school that was looking at me for track and football. There were a lot of other schools that were looking at me for just track or just football. I wanted to do both in college. So, ISU recognized me for both of them. I played both of them in my freshman year… then I suffered a neck injury and was out for a whole season. The following year I just did track. I came back to both football and track, then I dropped track.  I have played football for two and a half years. Hopefully, I have another year of football. There are two kinds of situations with it that I have done a lot of research on and talked to a few people.  One of those is the fact that I did play two sports. I don’t know how true it is but I have heard that you are supposed to get five years for four for both sports. I have only done four years of football.  I haven’t done the five. If that doesn’t work out my suffering that injury in my freshman year, the only thing that doubts that is it was two days before the first game. I was hospitalized for four days and I was out for nine weeks. So, I am going for a medical there… hopefully I can receive that.

What has me interested in coming back for the fourth of five? The success that we have had has basically added fuel to the fire. That has helped make it an easier decision but I just love football. I don’t want it to end. I don’t have any opportunities to play at another level.  I have not had anybody come look at me. This could be potentially it for me. I love doing it (football). The main reason is the love of the game.

My goal, no matter what level it is, whether its Arena or CFL or UFL… I just want to play football. I would pick football over working any day. It is just what I love to do.  I definitely think that with the success we have had and if we continue to have that (success) next year that is just going to make scouts want to come look at us. They see us be successful then they know there are good players here.

Depending on the time we have… outside of football I like to get my mind off of it. I think that I focus on it enough here that when I get home I need get my mind away. I play video games. I am sure a lot of people do.  Given the time frame that we usually have, we have a few hours off before the game, before we have to report for team dinner.  I just like to play the game NCAA football …at the same time you are getting some mental parts of football in there but you are relaxed. I like to do that. I arrive at the stadium about two hours early every time.  I tape my wrists the same way. I don’t have any real superstitions like that. Not really.

When you have a quarterback like Ronnie he makes it easier on you. All you have to do is run the route and the ball is going to be exactly where it is supposed to be when you come out of your break.  He does an excellent job.  If a guy is coming to your left he will throw to your right make you catch and turn over this shoulder. He does a great job. It’s just easier. All around it helps us out as a team tremendously. It just creates more threats for our team. His (Fouch) being able to throw the long ball accurately. He can throw the ball sixty or seventy yards down the field for me as well as Justin. Being speed guys that helps us out a lot. He can just put it out there and we just have to run under it. In the past, the O-line struggled. They are all getting mature now. They are getting stronger. They are getting a lot better. They have some good coaches. They are getting the job done.

Next year I expect to go for an undefeated season. I think that this team is capable of doing that. I think that everyone else in the locker room feels that we can win the conference and compete for a national championship. We have good enough players and coaches and we have the right attitude now. I just think that’s what is destined for us. I would love to take Penn State down, that’s as big as the stage gets. Especially for us guys being Div. 1-AA playing a Div. 1-A school. I know,… for me and some of the other guys, it is kind of a chip on our shoulder. We weren’t recruited by those Div. 1-A schools or if you were you didn’t get that scholarship offer and you are here. You want to prove something when you go play schools like that. You go with a chip on your shoulder just to prove that you can play with them and you should play with them. We definitely have matured from Louisville and Cincinnati. We shot ourselves in the foot early in the season.  I think we have learned and matured from that. Western Illinois was a huge loss for us.  It was a huge wake up. Like Coach Miles says the weather is not an excuse. They played in the same weather we did. We didn’t perform well. We thought we had the game made. Coming off the game we had in

Cincinnati even though we lost. I think we felt like we were there…we’ve arrived —and we didn’t. That just woke us up. We’ve got to work for it. We’ve got to pay the price for it Monday thru Thursday. Among the players we knew there is no way they should have beat us 40 to 7,  let alone beat us. When we watched film the next day the coaches let us know that we just didn’t show up. We had so many mental errors….. So many bonehead moves were made that we shouldn’t have made. Now we don’t make those mistakes as much.

I think you should come to ISU because it’s a great town for one. I have been to a lot of other college towns and a lot of people think there’s not much to Terre Haute. Terre Haute is pretty big compared to other college towns. The community is good to us. They give us a lot of respect …especially now. The program is on the up rise. There is no better time to join the program now. We have great coaches. Our fan base is growing day by day. Academics are good.  It is honorable. You get a good degree out of here. It is respected by lots of companies. Student life is good. The weekends are fun. There is a lot to ISU.

Hometown for me is Washington, Indiana. I was born in Houston, Texas. My family moved to Washington when I was pretty young. So, I have been calling Washington home since elementary school.  My parents met in Texas. They came back here because that is where my mom is from. She had a . . . → Read More: In His Own Words – Ben Obaseki]]>

Obaseki

Hometown for me is Washington, Indiana. I was born in Houston, Texas. My family moved to Washington when I was pretty young. So, I have been calling Washington home since elementary school.  My parents met in Texas. They came back here because that is where my mom is from. She had a lot of family. They wanted to come here while my Dad finished school and to raise a family. I have two brothers, a sister and a cousin that has been lived with us since I have been growing up.  My brothers are older. The oldest one is a dentist he lives in Evansville right now. The second oldest brother is a senior at I U,…he is going for business. My sister, is a senior in high school at Washington right now. My cousin is in her last year at grad school at IU to become a reporter.

My brother, Derek, was a really good running back at Washington High School. He had a lot of the records for a long time. He wanted to play a year in college but, he decided to do his school work. My Dad is from Nigeria. He was a professional soccer player in Nigeria for a couple of years. My other oldest brother he is a good athlete. He is a really good basketball player. He just played in high school.

Right now I am studying physical therapy. I hope to go on and be a physical therapist after I graduate.  It is a new program here at ISU. I think it is going to be opening next semester.

There is nothing I really hate about myself, but people notice my lisp, I kind of have a lisp. It’s not a big deal to me. I kind of brush it off my shoulders. My lisp can be embarrassing sometimes.  When you first meet me I can be a kind of a shy guy at first, but when you get to know me I am definitely an outgoing and fun person.

Other than on the field,.. I get told I am a really nice person. My best attribute would be that I am a nice guy in general. I try to be mannerly. I try not to step on anyone’s toes. I try not to hurt other people’s feelings because growing up I was a chubby kid. I would always hate it when someone would make fun of me.  I just try to take other people’s feelings into mind. I try to make sure I don’t put anyone else down or make them feel as though they’re not as good as you.  Everyone is the same. Everyone has their flaws and their strengths. There is really no need to point out someone else’s when you have a bunch of flaws yourself.

For fun I really enjoy movies. Anytime I can go to the movies or pick one up to take home I try to get a movie.  It just really helps me relax me.  I am a fan of all movies.  I definitely like the scary ones but also action movies, comedies they would have to be my favorites. Other than that… I like attending the other sporting events here at campus. Seeing the other teams play and see how they are doing.

During the season I just try to eat as much food as I can. I don’t set any guidelines. I just try to get a lot of protein and a lot of carbs. —Basically, I just pig out so I can keep my weight up.  Throughout the weekly practices you sweat a lot and you lose weight so it is hard to maintain weight. At the end of the season you will have seen that a lot of people have lost about ten pounds during the season. I just eat what I see.  I just eat as much as I can so I don’t lose weight.

Growing up I always played soccer, which I believe helped me with my footwork in football and helped make me the player I am today. I also played baseball and basketball. In high school I played football, baseball for one year, track for two years and wrestling for two years. Wrestling definitely helped me I quit after my sophomore season. I was fortunate enough to be pretty good at wrestling too. It just wasn’t for me. Wrestling was right there with soccer in helping me become what I have become today. In helping me learn leverages on people and how to use my weight. Other sports help contribute to football. If I had just stuck with one sport, it being football growing up I probably wouldn’t be the player I am today.

I am a lot more physical now. I came in and I was a small defensive end. I was only about 240 pounds when I got here. So I am now up to 255 pounds. I have just been able to maintain my speed and use my weight a little bit more to help me become a better player.

During season we don’t have a lot of time to do anything else that’s fun so I just usually relax when I am not at football. During the off-season I like to stay active. I don’t like to be holed up in a room. The off -season workouts and lifting… I get a lot of fun out of that. I guess a lot of people don’t do that but I enjoy getting bigger and stronger.

I don’t have a whole lot of friends outside of football. My friends outside football are also my friends in football. We all hang out together. We always say we are like a big fraternity. Usually all my time is spent with the people on the team.

Our defense is very complex so you have to look at your playbook more than what you do in meetings and stuff. Even though for me there is at least once a day throughout the week I try to go to the office and look at films of the team we are playing. Learn the techniques of the people we are getting ready to go up against.

I feel like football is a lot different from other sports in that you have so many more people on the team that you get along with. They are like your brothers. Football is not an individual sport at all. In basketball one or two good players help make a team but with football without all eleven players doing what they need to do on every play it just isn’t going to work out. It’s just a lot different being a football player in my opinion.

My game day routine is usually just to try to stay calm. Just listen to my Ipod.  Just wait till the pre-game warm-ups are over. The worse part for me is the pre-game warm-ups because it’s just right there before the game. As far as rituals, I have this thing during the game and throughout the pre-game stuff I never strap up my gloves till I am running out onto the field for the first time.  I just kind of say to my mind here we go… it’s time to get going.

Throughout the past years people have kind of looked down upon ISU football but as people are seeing this year…. ISU really does have good athletes. We’re a good program. We put in a lot of hard work that people haven’t usually seen in the past. It is now starting to show.  That’s what I really like about our team right now.

We are kind of like a band of brothers. We get in little scraps every now and then in practice. But, back in the locker room everyone is joking around and having fun.  This ISU football team is by far the funniest group of people I have been around.  Definitely have some jokers on the team.  It is a fun environment at all times.

The only thing that has changed is… getting more attention as far as the media goes but as far as on the field of play… I just try to stay the same.  I still have a lot to prove. I am trying to stay humble and continue to work hard. To achieve the bigger goals that I have set for myself.

My family is really proud and that is a big thing for me. Any time I can make my parents and siblings proud of me it’s good enough for me.  Winning this award they always knew I could do it and play like this. But, finally doing it and showing my hometown that I am doing things. That I came to ISU and I am working hard and continuing to excel in sports and in football. That is just what has meant the most for me.

When I visited ISU I really liked the coaches. They seemed like they are real friendly guys. They seemed like they had their mind set on something I wanted to become a part of. Being at Washington high school we were in the same situation. My freshman year, we didn’t win very many games.  Through the years, with rebuilding the program, we were able to finish 8 and 4 my senior year. Just the whole process of starting that over and being a part of something great really interested me.  We have been pretty successful at rebuilding the program here. Just getting back on track. I can speak for the team when I say we still have a lot of goals to achieve.  I believe coming here to ISU and starting how we started off I was a little more adept for it than other people on the team.  I was probably the one most hurt when we would lose though. I am not use to losing by any means. As far as people from out of state or from other teams that have excelled…. I can see how it was hard for them, going through the struggles we have gone through. It would take a lot to stay with football because football takes a lot of your time and it is a lot of hard work. You have to truly love what you are doing to play football.

I was recruited by Coach Johnson.  He came to my high school and he asked to get some film on me.  The process actually went pretty fast. It was after my senior season but he got some film on me and invited me to an official visited. I committed then at my official visit.

I would tell someone who is interested in coming to ISU to be a football player that it is a good idea. To be ready to be a part of something great.  For ISU the sky is the limit.  We are looking to win play offs here.  If you want to be a part of something great then you should come to ISU.

My hometown is Terre Haute IN.  South-side of Terre Haute. Down where they call it Youngstown. My parents separated when I was a little kid. My Dad moved to the north end of Terre Haute. My Mom and my little brother moved to the south side of Terre Haute. I actually . . . → Read More: In His Own Words – Brock Lough]]>

Brock Lough

My hometown is Terre Haute IN.  South-side of Terre Haute. Down where they call it Youngstown. My parents separated when I was a little kid. My Dad moved to the north end of Terre Haute. My Mom and my little brother moved to the south side of Terre Haute. I actually have friends from all areas. Growing up playing youth football and stuff like that.

My Dad played football in high school. My Mom she was a cheerleader and played tennis. My little brother is a very good wrestler and football player at Terre Haute South right now. If I could do it all over again I would have wrestled too. It makes you a better football player.

I am studying Communications and International Studies. I would like to work in an embassy or become an ambassador after college.  That would be my goal.

Role models in life would probably be my Dad and my Mom. Being separated, they still raised my brother and I really well. I think they did a really good job. Not bragging on myself, … my brother and I we were a load, but we stayed out of trouble. A role model around this area, a local guy, Mel Burk, he was my running-back coach in high school.  I got pretty close with him. My Dad was always my coach in football growing up so he is probably my role model.  My role model in football is Jim Brown. I like the old school guys Gayle Sayers. In high school they gave me the nick-name “Throwback” because I liked to play like the old school guys.

I am just a pretty laid back guy. That’s why I like playing football.  I just get out on the field and let loose. I am a Christian I value my faith heavily.

When I graduated high school I wanted to play right away. Everybody does right out of high school nobody wants a red shirt. I told my Dad, if Coach Miles got the job at ISU that would be one of my main choices. He did get the job and he told me if I came here I might have a great shot at being on the field my freshman year. I came in as a linebacker and in camp I was moved to the fullback position. Because some guys got hurt or were moving around not getting the job done.  I was very fortunate… enough to get to play. I actually started every game my freshman year and I have since. I missed a couple of games. I was hurt last season I think I missed three games. I have started every game since I have been here I have been very fortunate to do that.

I had other schools talking to me. One of the main ones was Eastern Illinois. Coach Jackson was at Eastern Illinois when I was looking at going there. He was actually a recruiter for my area. I was looking at a couple of other schools that are in our conference. I wanted to play there but I figured if I was going to go 1-AA I was going to do it here, at ISU. I wanted to help the team get better. To bring some hope to the community. Terre Haute has been kind of a down community lately. I think building this program up has been something for people to look forward to… for some hope….to see that some things can change.

My favorite thing to do outside of sports is play guitar, I taught myself to play guitar my freshman summer.  I was just lifting weights all summer and was getting bored. My grandma bought me a guitar. I am not saying I am musically inclined or anything. That is how I like to relax.  I like all music I listen to everything from Little Wayne to Nat King Cole, B. B. King, Jimi Hendrix.  I like everything. A favorite song that’s tough. I really like I think it’s by Nat King Cole. It’s Unforgettable.

My biggest change in myself since I have been here is my weight. I have gained some substantial weight since I have been here.   I came in very light. I came in at 203 pounds. Now I am at about 230 coming into the camp. Mentally I would say my biggest change is playing for the team. In high school I was always “the guy”. It seemed like Kobey (Kramer) and I were going to make or break the game. But here, I can have a bad play and my teammates will pick me up or I can make a great play and help out one of my teammates. Just being a part of the team. At South we weren’t very successful, especially in the win-loss column. Here, we have a lot more team. We’re family, it’s pretty cool.

I am more of a versatile player here; I don’t think I ever blocked anybody when I was at South. Blocking people was a big change. I don’t; think I ever blocked anybody even in youth football…maybe on a reverse. Maybe on a kill shot. I never had to block like I do here. I like it though.

My best attribute as a person probably has to be my dependability. I am a dependable person.  My best attribute as a player is I think I am tough.

What I like least about myself is my hair. I am mixed so my hair doesn’t dreadlock as good as people who are fully African-American. Don’t get me wrong I like the dreadlocks I just don’t like the texture of my hair.

My game day routine… I make sure I hop out of bed. I am not a morning person I usually wake up slow but not on game day. I wake up and tell myself it’s game day. I get to the stadium. Even in practice I usually put my stuff on the exact same way. I don’t know if I would call myself superstitious as much as stubborn. I am not superstitious. I am stubborn. I don’t have to wear certain socks or listen to certain songs, I try to stay away from that stuff.

Personal time I spend getting ready for the next game….   I watch films a couple of hours every week. They have a cinema for us to go and watch film. The playbook, I look at it a lot.  I have to know running back position, full back position, tight end position– possibly play some slot position. I have to know the routes, the pass protection. Know what a running back is going to do. If he is in the pass protection then run the ball. I probably study it six to eight hours.

Being a student-athlete is a lifestyle. All the student-athletes know it. You have a different respect for the student-athletes on campus. Not saying that regular students don’t work hard. Regular students have a job or something like that. But a student athlete – it’s different. People who have jobs call in sick or take personal time. You don’t get a lot of that in football. You don’t get sick days or personal days in football. It’s a different mentality I would say.

Football is a lot of wear and tear on your body and you are in a large group everywhere you go on campus. When you are a football player it seems like people are always looking for you to mess up or make mistakes. Because of that football players are labeled as trouble makers sometimes. It’s a very large group of people probably three times bigger than any other sport. Every place we go as a team it’s a huge group. It’s tough when you have that many guys not to have one person to mess up. Other sports teams maybe have one person mess up or get bad grades, but you have to remember our team is three or four times bigger so when we have three or four people mess up it looks bad but in reality it’s the same ratio.

Since I have been at ISU football has helped me learn to work through things. I come out here to practice and my shoulders are sore and my neck is so stiff and I feel like I can’t bend over. I start warming up and start going through the individuals then I work hard and then before you know it practice is over. It’s helped me realize that no matter how bad you think it is or how tough it is you can do it. You can push through it. Also hard work does bring success. Things can change there’s a lot of positive things going on and I am glad to be a part of it. I think it’s going to help me for life.  Being here my first two years, we only won two games and I feel like we were putting in the same amount of hours as the other teams – if not more.  That was tough, that was tough on the spirit you know.

High school football players looking to come to State, I would tell them don’t come here if you aren’t ready to work. We work here even in the off-season.  I don’t know what the other teams do but in my imagination it would be hard to do much more than what we do. It would be hard to do a lot more than what we do.  I would tell them that if you are looking to be a part of something exciting then come play football here.  I would tell him, it’s easy to go somewhere that’s got it all together and follow in line there and just follow the leader, but if you want to become a leader or you want to actually build some real character, then come here to ISU. It’s exciting because winning hasn’t happened here in a while and now we see a lot of things and hear a lot of things we don’t normally do. We use to not catch any kind of razz about us being the victor. It feels good to be a part of something that is changing. So many times in life you look at things and think that’s never going to change and people would look at us and say that.  Sometimes in playing you think “is this ever going to work out?” now that is does– there isn’t anything that can match that feeling.

I am from West York, Illinois. It’s a small country town, out in the country. A lot of country boys. It fits me perfectly. The population is no more than one hundred, probably. If you blink, you will miss it if you drive by. You have to really look for it.