PADUCAH, KY -- Expectations for the Southern Illinois men's basketball program have always been high.
But those expectations don't come from just the Saluki fans. They also come from SIU head coach Scott Nagy.
"The thing about expectation is there's always expectations," Nagy said. "People expect you to be good, or they expect you to be bad. But there are expectations, and there's pressure that goes along with both of them. I've been on both sides of it, but I would much rather get to the point where people expect us to be good."
When this years Missouri Valley Conference preseason rankings were released, the Salukis found themselves picked to finish 9th.
"I think all that's fluff," sophomore Jalen Haynes said. "I mean, people might look good on paper, but you know, once you play against them, it doesn't. You know, it's a different story. So yeah, we look at it, but at the end, they don't really mean anything."
Like Haynes said, the Salukis know those standings don't mean anything and what they are able to do on the court is what really matters.
"If I'm going to do my job well, it has to make sense to me, and what makes sense to me is that that would be our focus," Nagy said about ...