Cougars Men's Basketball Open 2021-22 Season at Home vs. St. Thomas

A new era in Chicago State men's basketball is set to get under way Tuesday, Nov. 9, at the Jones Convocation Center. First-year head coach Gerald Gillion will make his college-coaching debut for the Cougars, introducing 12 new Cougars players to a team which returns just three players from last year's COVID-shortened season (Andrew Lewis, Carlo Marble and Coreyoun Rushin). CSU will open the 2021-22 campaign with back-to-back home games against Division I opponents for the first time since 1989-90, welcoming St. Thomas on Nov. 9, followed by SIUE on Nov. 12.

"I'm excited for that first game for sure," Gillion said. "It'll be my first game as a head coach and a lot of the guys first game as a collegiate athlete and, for others, it's the first game that starts a new era, a championship era in Chicago State basketball. That first game is going to be extremely special for multiple reasons."

What's New?
Tuesday's game against St. Thomas is Cougars head coach Gerald Gillion's first as a collegiate head coach. Gillion was named Chicago State's head coach on July 19, 2021 after one season with the Samford Bulldogs and two seasons as an assistant coach at Tennessee Tech (2017-19) where he helped lead the Golden Eagles to a 19-12 record in his first season in Cookeville (2017-18). His debut comes against a St. Thomas team playing its first game at the Division I level, making the leap from Division III beginning this season.

Back on the Court
Tuesday's game marks the first competition for the Chicago State men's basketball team since December 20, 2020 at Drake, a 111-67 Bulldogs victory. CSU played just nine games in 1 COVID-shortened 2020-21 season.

New Faces
Only three players return from last year's squad, Andrew Lewis, Carlo Marble and Coreyoun Rushin. The coaching staff is new (Gerald Gillion, Baronton Terry, Tramaine Stevens and Jelani Hewitt) and the team has four transfers (Dominique Alexander, Brandon Betson, Favour Chukwukelu and Teddy Bayi Ba Mandeng) and seven freshmen (Jahsean Corbett, Robert Pierce Blount, Ali Abdou Dibba, Kedrick Green, Bryce Johnson, Jameon "J.J." Harris and Jincho Rivera). Noah Bigirumwami also returns after taking a COVID year last season.

Next Up...
CSU will host SIUE on Friday, November 12 at 7 p.m. at the JCC. It's the first time Chicago State will host back-to-back homes games against Division I opponents since 1989-90.
 

About Chicago State
Chicago State University Athletics is comprised of 15 intercollegiate teams involving over 150 student-athletes that compete in basketball, cross country, golf, soccer, tennis, indoor and outdoor track and volleyball. CSU held memberships in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) and NCAA Division II before transitioning to NCAA Division I in 1994. Melvin Bland was the first CSU student-athlete to gain NAIA All-American status in 1974 as a wrestler. Fred Evans became the first black swimmer ever to win a national championship in 1975. CSU's women's basketball team earned a spot in the 2011 Women's Basketball Invitational and CSU's men's basketball team won the 2013 Great West Conference Tournament title and made an appearance in the CollegeInside.com Postseason Tournament (CIT).  The Men's Outdoor Track & Field 4x100-Meter Relay team were 2019 Honorable Mention All-Americans and WAC Champions. Their feat marked the first time the Chicago State's men's track & field program was represented at the national meet. 
 

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