EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. — When coach Brian Barone arrived in Edwardsville in 2019, he knew it was going to take some hard work to make the Cougars relevant on the basketball court.
But now, in his fourth season, the Cougars are more relevant than ever.
"When you take over a program and establish something, it takes multiple years," Barone said. "And then you throw in a couple unique years that the whole country has been through. No excuses, just the simple fact. We did have a thought about last year and this year to where really start turning things... Through the culture, through the talent, through the caliber of player and really just getting your system in. There was a competition in the summer to have us really believe what we can do and put some expectations on this team."
17 games into the season, SIUE is 12-5 and finds themselves at the top of the OVC.
Barone and his team will stick to the standard "one game at a time" mentality, but there's no denying they don't have dreams of being the team to take SIUE to its first-ever NCAA Tournament.
"We 100% talk about one game at a time. But you have expectations you put on yourself every day through your work ethic and just believing in yourself and one another," Barone said. "I wish I had a DeLorean I could travel back in time for times I've been on top of a ladder cutting down nets, or in the NCAA Tournament as a coach, so you can show them and have them feel that feeling. But you do have to talk about it to generate that interest and what you want to do to win big. And we're not there yet, no doubt about that, we have a long way to go, but that's ok to have expectations we put on ourselves."
"It's definitely one game at a time, but I'd be lying if I said we didn't talk about it. Because that's the goal. That's one of our goals, and that's something you want to put out there and (check off) the list," guard Ray'Sean Taylor said.
So far, those tournament dreams are alive and well in 2023.
SIUE isn't just at the top of the OVC. They pulled off one of the biggest stunners in recent area hoops history with a 69-67 win over SLU back on Dec. 21. It was the first time in 40 years that the Cougars had beaten the Bills on the basketball court.
And the win brought out emotions for everyone on the SIUE team.
"I gave my wife a hug right away just because she's been there. It's been a tough year. I lost my mom a couple months ago and it's felt like it's been nonstop," Barone said. "I literally had media day two days after burying her. And these guys behind me, that's where the emotion came from. Those are the guys that when I'm driving back from Chicago every day, that are picking me up and ready to go knowing I've got a few hours before I've got to go back to the hospital in Chicago. That emotion that comes out, it's deeper than just beating SLU."
One of the main reasons for SIUE's rise to prominence has been their Collinsville-native point guard Ray'Sean Taylor.
After two ACL tears in his career, Taylor has worked his way back once again, and is currently eighth in the OVC in scoring and 10th in three-pointers made.
"What he's done to put himself back to contribute at a high level is remarkable. His family is off the charts, his medical team, his physical therapy, it's a team effort. But if he doesn't bring it every single day, we're not having this conversation," Barone said of Taylor's recovery. "It's kind of remarkable in 11 months he's already starting his 16th game. The kind of the character of the young man he is, I wouldn't have thought anything different."
"It took some hard work, being strong-minded and knowing where I can be, and just having the people around me help me and be there for the team," Taylor said about working to get back in about eight-and-a-half months.
And for those tuning in to watch SIUE possibly for the first time this season, coach Barone wants people to know what his team is all about at its core.
"We care about each other. We want to put family into basketball. We don't want to take family out of basketball," Barone said. "We're coming out here to be together every single day and embrace anyone who wants to be part of that togetherness."
"The vibe is good. Like Coach B said, in this program, we speak about family. That's the biggest thing. We're all family," Taylor said.