By Todd Golden
TERRE HAUTE — Indiana State center Brant Leitnaker has been wearing his distinctive No. 0 uniform for the men’s basketball team since 2006.
He can’t believe its been that long either.
“I’ve been around for a couple of years now. It’s kind of strange, actually,” Leitnaker said.
Leitnaker has the longest tenure of anyone in ISU’s frontcourt — a unit that will be under the microscope to be productive given the infusion of depth and talent the Sycamores have at their guard spots.
Leitnaker is a junior by eligibility — he missed the 2007-08 season due to a foot injury — but he is a senior by experience. He’s played sparingly for most of his career — the center spot was Jay Tunnell’s domain through most of Leitnaker’s career — though the Lancaster, Ohio, native did start 12 games last year. Despite that, he still averaged just 9.5 minutes per game.
Leitnaker’s minutes declined as games went along because he didn’t have the stamina to play for long stretches. Leitnaker also made just 37 percent of his shots, a too-low percentage for someone who takes most of his shots within spitting range of the basket.
Leitnaker recognized these issues has done his best to try and rectify both.
“I’m lifting about four days a week and running a few days a week. I’m doing a lot of shooting, I’m trying to get myself into a routine so it’s all second nature when the season gets going,” Leitnaker said. “But what I really want to do is get strong and get in shape. The last few years I’ve broken down with not just my foot, but back injuries and whatever else. I’m trying to condition myself.”
Leitnaker should get more minutes this season. Tunnell’s graduation changes the entire face of the ISU frontcourt. Leitnaker is probably the closest thing to a traditional center ISU has — a 6-foot-10 big man, Leitnaker does most of his damage close to the basket. He differs somewhat from fellow posts Isiah Martin, who is more athletic, and Josh Crawford, who can occasionally stretch a defense with mid-range and outside jumpers. All, however, have the ability to block shots. Defense figures to be the standard by which ISU’s big men are judged. Leitnaker thinks it will be a big key as far as how ISU’s guards mesh with the big men.
“We definitely need to take up space in the middle and make it easy on the guards, because they’re going to be scoring a lot. We also have to make it easy for them on the defensive end and get some rebounds. We have some guards who can rebound, but we have to basically work as a unit. We need to focus less and guards and posts and just make sure we’re flowing together.”
A new challenge for the bigs will be running the floor. Given the infusion of athleticism — not only from Iowa transfer Jake Kelly, but from Louisiana Tech transfer Dwayne Lathan and from redshirt freshman Koang Doluony — ISU’s big men will be called upon to help as the Sycamores will like press more in 2010.
Leitnaker is more confident than ever than he can be a part of ISU’s quicker pace. That’s because he’s healthy entering a season for the first time since his freshman year.
“Everyone is healthy, everyone feels good, and it’s a big part of us coming together and being the team we can be. When we’re all on the floor, it makes it that much easier for all of us to be on the same page,” Leitnaker said.
n Media day — ISU’s men’s coach Kevin McKenna and ISU women’s coach Jim Wiedie head to St. Louis today for Missouri Valley Conference Media Day. Harry Marshall and Kelsey Luna are the Sycamores’ player representatives making the trip.
The official MVC preseason poll for both genders will be released. Conventional wisdom among those who cover the conference is that the ISU men could be anywhere from fourth to eighth. The women should likely be in the top five.
