Illinois State driven to reach NCAAs
Illinois State coach Dan Muller is candid in his belief that his men’s basketball team has an obvious “it factor” this season.
The Redbirds (18-4, 10-0) are off to their best start in Missouri Valley Conference play and lead the league standings for the first time since Muller was lacing it up for his alma mater as a two-time MVC defensive player of the year.
The fifth-year coach also isn’t shy in his confidence with this group, which is playing with a swagger and togetherness reminiscent of Illinois State’s last NCAA tournament team — in 1998 with Muller as the star.
In pondering what makes his team click, Muller starts by mentioning his three veteran playmakers — point guard Paris Lee, leading scorer Deontae Hawkins and forward MiKyle McIntosh. He also points out the team’s depth and experience, with his first recruiting class now seniors. And he raves about an elite defense that ranks 12th nationally in points allowed.
But the answer isn’t really about basketball. The Redbirds have a guardian angel this season.
“If we make it (to the NCAAs), Torrey’s still a part of this,” Muller says.
Torrey Ward, who was Illinois State’s associate head coach, was one of seven passengers killed in a plane crash April 7, 2015. The group, which also included deputy athletics director Aaron Leetch, was returning from the Final Four in Indianapolis. The tragedy is not forgotten: The locker room features a mural of Ward on the wall and a “Redbird 7” logo on the carpet. That logo, which commemorates the seven lost, also is on patches on the players’ jerseys.
“There’s not a day that goes by where I don’t think about those guys on the plane,” Muller says. “We wouldn’t be here right now if it weren’t for Torrey. He recruited half the dudes on the roster.”
Lee is among the players most affected. He and his teammates wear “Working for Ward” and “T Ward” bracelets around campus. During the national anthem on game days, several players point to the sky for Ward. And Lee wears Jordan sneakers that were previously Ward’s, given to him by Ward’s mother, Janice. Since he started wearing the shoes at the start of conference play, the team hasn’t lost.
“We always talk about memories, how (Ward) would’ve acted in a certain situation, how funny he was,” Lee says.
The players and coaching staff don’t bury their pain. They wear it and promote Ward’s legacy in the process. They talk about their motivating force often.
Likewise, Muller says, the team doesn’t shy away from talking about “the elephant in the room.” That would be their goal of reaching the NCAA tournament.
Muller arrived at Illinois State in 2012 with an obvious mission: Get the Redbirds back to the Big Dance. He knows the fan base is starving and how close the program has been to eclipsing the MVC’s longest NCAA tourney drought of 18 years; they’ve played in four of the last nine MVC tournament finals.
Of this year’s team, Muller says: “I think we can play with anyone in the country. ... I think we’re one of the best, if not the best, midmajors in the country.”
Yet as confident as he and his players are, Muller knows one bad week can be the difference between the NCAA tournament and the National Invitation Tournament. Illinois State’s credentials — a Ratings Percentage Index of 34 but no top-60 nonconference wins — might perhaps pass a blind résumé test. But it’s never that simple.
Should the Redbirds not claim the MVC’s automatic bid by winning the league tournament in St. Louis, USA TODAY Sports bracketologist Shelby Mast thinks they have a decent shot at landing an at-large bid — a rare occurrence for midmajors — only if they win at Wichita State on Saturday and don’t suffer a bad loss. “If they lose to a bad team, they’re out,” Mast says.
Since taking over first place in the MVC with a convincing 76-62 victory Jan. 14 against the conference’s most successful program, Wichita State, Lee says the Redbirds have had a constant target on their back.
“When you’re No. 1 in the conference, you’re getting everyone’s best shot,” he says. “They’re throwing haymakers at us. I think, so far, we’ve responded the right way. The key has been on defense. … We take pride in our defense and let it start our offense. We aren’t afraid to call each other out if one of us gets beat.”
That defensive accountability and high standard is part of the culture Muller, who spent 12 seasons under Kevin Stallings at Vanderbilt, brought to the program. But the 40-year-old coach credits his personal relationships with players as a major component to the program’s success. And he learned that from Ward.
“The tragedy helped me grow as a coach and a man,” Muller says. “For the older guys, we’ve been through it together. That’s why we keep it close to us.”