A basketball team is only as good as its depth.

Eastern head coach Mike Miller thinks his squad has that depth.

“Having quality depth is a big key to play consistent basketball throughout the season,” Miller said. “This is the deepest team we have. We have substituted and have made big runs with two or more players in.”

The Panthers’ bench consists of seniors Dewayne Wright, Jr. and Jay Smith; juniors Curray McKinney and Matt Dorlack; sophomore Zavier Sanders; and freshmen James Hollowell and Shaun Pratl.

The recent January stretch of playing Southeastern Missouri, Murray State, Eastern Kentucky and Morehead State showed the bench’s importance in seasonal strategy.

“Quality depth is very important, because you look at our schedule, we had four games in eight days,” Miller said. “If you don’t use your bench, you could wear out your team in the middle of the year and it won’t recover.”

With none of Miller’s reserve players alike, he said there is a flexibility of rotations he could have on the court.

“It gives us the opportunities to let them play off their strengths a little bit,” Miller said. “We’ve had some great performances out of guys off the bench.

One of these performances was Pratl scoring 15 points and having four assists against rival Morehead State Jan. 16. Hollowell had a 19-point showing against Tennessee Tech Jan. 4.

Besides scoring, Miller said some guys also have strong defensive showings, like Hollowell blocking a school record six shots Jan. 2 against Jacksonville State.

The stats support Miller’s opinion. The bench scores 25.7 of Eastern’s 66.4 points per game, or about 39 percent.

The reserves have 36 percent of the boards, with 279 total. Blocking is a forte, as Hollowell leads the Panthers with 22 blocks. Eastern’s substitutes have 41 out of 65.

Also, the bench creates turnovers, having 62 of the total 133 steals.

Each player has a unique style, Miller said.

Smith is one of the top shooters on the team, with sinking 45.3 percent of his shots and nailing 15 three-pointers. He comes in when an offensive spark is needed.

“My role is to come in and give 100 percent when I come in,” Smith said. “Coach knows I’m a shooter, so when I come in, I’m looking for my shot and helping the team anyway I can. I do what I can to give a positive to the team.”

Freshman forward Shaun Pratl spells seniors Ousmane Cisse and Edin Suljic defensively. He used to start at Richards High School in both basketball and football. So, he said this season is a little different not being a main player.

“You’re expected that when your name is called (to) come out with as much energy as you’ve got and really raise the tempo of the game or keep it at its highest point,” Pratl said.

One of the challenges with coming into the middle of a game, Smith said, was getting into its flow mentally.

“I just try to keep my head in the game,” Smith said. “Shooting is more of a mental thing, so I’ve done a lot of practice and repetition so my shot will be there. You have to stay loose and keep your head in the game. If you do that, everything else will fall into place.”

Pratl said the Panthers’ bench has a strong bond.

“In practice, we go against the blue team and the grey team with blue the starters and gray the guys coming off the bench,” Pratl said. “We never like to lose in practice and want to beat the starters in every drill. Every time, we try to be as competitive as we can.”

Bob Bajek can be reached

at 581-7944 or rtbajek@eiu.edu

Senior guard Dewayne Wright Jr. prepares to shoot a free throw during practice Jan. 25 in Lantz Arena. The Panthers will face SIU-E today in Edwardsville.(Amir Prellberg / The Daily Eastern News)

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