EVANSVILLE, Ind. (WEHT) — We are just weeks away from the beginning of college basketball in Evansville and this is the second year both city schools are a part of Division I college sports.
Both women’s and men’s basketball teams for the Aces and Screaming Eagles were introduced at fall fest on Monday. While the University of Evansville has been in the Division I spotlight for some time now, the University of Southern Indiana and men’s basketball assistant coach, Jon Aldridge, is thankful for the community response.
“The crowd down here is always awesome,” Aldridge said. “Especially for us being the school on the west side. You know, we want to be down here in the community as much as we can. So if we can give to them and help out, hopefully they give to us later in the season for for attendance.”
Each team has begun practice and are gearing up for the start of the regular season. UE men’s and women’s look to bounce back from less-than-average seasons. On the other end, USI is in a holding pattern after their transition from Division II with a lot of promise—and hope—for the upcoming season. Especially the men’s team, who finds the balance between improving on the court and off the court.
“Basketball wise, we’re looking good,” Aldridge said. “You know, we’re in our full practices now, so we’re kind of getting after it. We got weights in the morning, practice in the afternoon. We’ve already surpassed about 12 hours of community service within that time frame. So we’re really just trying to give back and make sure these guys are ready to go.”
Aldridge also said he has confidence in their excellent recruiting class this season. After rostering six new players, the Screaming Eagles will be tested with a tough non-conference schedule which including Duke and Michigan State on the road.
