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The Salukis' season had just come to an end, and departing senior guard Jamaal Tatum had one message for other schools trying to lure SIU coach Chris Lowery away from the university.
"I know a lot of schools are going to be trying to get him right now, but they are going to have to come with it if they want him for real, because he ain't going nowhere," Tatum said, and then pointed to SIU athletic director Mario Moccia, who was looking on in the back of the press conference. "Ain't that right, Mario?"
Moccia has said he will make the best offer he can to Lowery, so the coach can then make an informed decision when the time comes.
Lowery has a 78-28 record in three seasons at SIU, including 6-2 in Missouri Valley Conference Tournament games and 3-3 in NCAA Tournament games. He's also been named MVC coach of the year this season and in 2005.
This season, Lowery guided the Salukis to their best ranking (No. 11) and highest NCAA Tournament seed (No. 4) in school history. The Salukis also reached their third Sweet 16 in school history under Lowery in 2007.
"There's two ways of thinking about it. You could argue that we've had success with different coaches, but at the same time, and the view I take, winning is very difficult," Moccia said. "What we're doing is incredible and Chris has beat Creighton and other teams that have infinitely more resources, so I think it's critical that he stays.
"Now at the other end, it's certainly not the end of the world if he leaves, but that's why we want to do everything we can do to keep him because I think he's that valuable to the program."
At the same time, the other departing senior guard, Tony Young, said Lowery has meant more to him than just a coach since he returned from Illinois, where he was an assistant coach for Bruce Weber during the 2003-04 season.
"For me, it's more personal than it is basketball. I mean, basketball-wise, he was the one that believed in me and told me what I could do," Young said. "He made me be a leader; he made me stop cussing at everybody. He played a huge part in me becoming a person and a man that I am right now."
Lowery's predecessor with the Salukis, Matt Painter, coached one season at SIU, posting a 25-5 record in 2003-04 with a 17-1 record in the MVC. Painter then left for the Purdue Boilermakers to be an associate head coach under the assumption he would take the helm when Purdue coach Gene Keady retired. Painter signed a six-year contract and is now the head coach of the Boilermakers.
Weber coached the Salukis five seasons, beginning in the 1998-99 season and then leaving for Illinois following the 2002-03 campaign. Weber led SIU to the Sweet 16 in 2002, which sparked the run of six straight NCAA Tournament appearances for the Salukis.
Weber's record at SIU was 103-54, making him the sixth winning coach in school history. Lowery, however, is the fastest coach at SIU to reach the 75-win plateau, doing so in 99 games.
Iowa and Michigan, both in the Big Ten, have openings at the head coaching spot right now. Michigan fired Tommy Amaker, while Iowa's former head coach Steve Alford and his top assistant, Craig Neal, are now with the New Mexico Lobos.
The last two Saluki coaches have bolted for jobs in the Big Ten, and forward Randal Falker said SIU has to give Lowery what's coming to him.
"They going to have to pay the man, to be truthful," Falker said. "I think Matt Painter got like, seven years, $9 million, and it takes coach Lowery seven years to make $1 million, with taxes.
"He's going to have to want to stay, too, but he likes us, so hopefully he'll stay."
After the Salukis' Sweet 16 loss to Kansas, Lowery did not comment on what it would take for SIU to retain him for the future, but did say he was confident in what the Salukis have heading into next season.
"You know, I'm the coach of Southern Illinois right now," Lowery said. "So that's the most important thing."
