 | Men's Basketball |
Coaching Records | |
| |||
 Lennox Forrester | Head Coach Lennox Forrester
Lennox Forrester put his mark on SIUE basketball in his first season, setting the school record for wins by a rookie head coach. With a 17-11 mark, SIUE qualified for the postseason and put the Cougars into a position to make a smooth transition to NCAA Division I play. Forrester looks to build on the foundation he set in year one. He immediately set his game plan into motion during the 2007-2008 season. Forrester led the Cougars to becoming a top defensive teams. The Cougars limited their opponents to shooting 43 percent from the field, well enough for second in the conference. The Cougars were also second in the conference with their 7.96 steal per game average. Within that framework, SIUE basketball was motivated to becoming a strong presence on the offensive end, dangerous with an inside and outside game. Forrester also coached T.J. Gray into becoming an All-GLVC second team selection. The Chicago native was tops in the conference with his 3.78 three pointers made per game. Gray became the SIUE all-time season leader for three pointers with 102. Introduced as SIUE’s seventh head coach on April 9, 2007, Forrester made it quickly became apparent that he had all of the tools necessary to provide a successful program on the court and in the classroom. He came to SIUE as one of the longest-tenured assistant coaches in the Missouri Valley Conference, last spending five seasons as an assistant coach for Bradley University. Forrester made a name for himself by working his way from former player to trusted assistant coach. To earn that trust, Forrester gained experience in every facet of the coaching ranks from recruiting to day-to-day operations to on-court teaching. His work with post players as well as perimeter players at Bradley proved successful for the Braves. Forrester was beside Bradley Coach Jim Les when the Braves advanced to the second round of the Mastercard NIT last season. The 2005-06 season also saw the Braves advance to the NCAA Tournament’s Sweet Sixteen. Forrester also spent 10 seasons (1992-2002) as an assistant coach and an administrative assistant for the University of Evansville under Coach Jim Crews. A former National Junior College All-American at Parkland College in 1989, Forrester transferred to Evansville to join the Purple Aces as a player. Leg injuries precluded Forrester from playing. Instead, he remained with the program as a student assistant. Forrester earned a bachelor of arts in sociology at Evansville in 1992. He was a junior college All-American at Parkland College before transferring to Evansville to finish his degree. He and his wife, Aretha, have a 3-year-old daughter, Calaya. | ||||
 Mark Allaria |
Assistant Coach Mark Allaria
Southern Illinois University Edwardsville men's basketball coach Lennox Forrester reintroduced a familiar face to Cougar basketball fans with the addition of Mark Allaria to his staff. Allaria rejoined the SIUE basketball staff last season after spending one season at Edwardsville High School as an assistant under his prep coach Mike Waldo. Allaria previously spent four seasons with the Cougar coaching staff after two successful seasons as a player at the University of Evansville. His time at SIUE includes the 2005-2006 season in which SIUE advanced to the Elite Eight for the first time. A native of Edwardsville, Allaria played in 58 games for the Evansville Aces. During the 2001-2002 season, his 150 assists were the eighth most by an Evansville player in a single season. Allaria was a member of the 2001-02 Missouri Valley Conference first team Scholar-Athlete team. He played a team-high 103 minutes in the 2000 San Juan Shootout. Allaria was the lone player to finish two full games without a minute’s rest during the 2000-01 season and ranked 15th in the Missouri Valley assists despite averaging just 22 minutes per game. Allaria also played two seasons at John A. Logan College, averaging 10 points, six assists and three rebounds per game. At Edwardsville High School, Allaria set school records for single-season and career assists while helping the Tigers to a 26-2 record his senior season. Allaria and his wife, Katie, have a son.  Kevin Giese Assistant Coach Kevin Giese
| Kevin Giese, who was a full-time assistant for Southern Illinois University Edwardsville during the 2003-2004 season, has rejoined the staff as an assistant coach. Last season, Giese was a volunteer coach for the Cougars. He also has held positions of head women's basketball coach at Robert Morris College in Springfield during the 2005-2006 season and as the program director for Jets basketball in O'Fallon in 2005. Giese comes back to the Cougars at an important time in its history. SIUE, a member of the Ohio Valley Conference, is in reclassification to NCAA Division I status and will play several NCAA Division I schools in the upcoming season. Giese was the head women's basketball and tennis coach at Stephens College in Columbia, Mo., during the 2002-2003 season. He previously was the women's basketball and golf coach for four years at the University of Dubuque (Iowa). Giese, who is originally from Wilton, Iowa, also has a variety of college and high school experience in basketball, golf, softball, football and tennis. Giese earned a bachelor's degree in 1999 from the University of Northern Iowa.  Kris Crosby Student Assistant Kris Crosby
| Kris Crosby returns to the basketball staff at SIUE as a graduate assistant coach. He averaged 2.7 points per game in his two seasons at SIUE. Playing in 49 games, Crosby saved the best for last with a 15-point effort in his senior day game against Bellarmine to end the 2004-05 season. Crosby shot 52.9 percent from the field and proved equally as strong on both ends of the floor with 38 offensive rebounds and 44 defensive rebounds overall. A transfer from Southwestern Illinois College, Crosby is a graduate of Belleville East High School where he was an honorable mention All-State selection his senior year for the Lancers. He earned a bachelor's degree in mass communications in August 2006. Crosby will pursue a master's degree at SIUE. |