April 13, 2005

By Tom Weber
www.SIUSalukis.com

CARBONDALE, Ill. - Southern Illinois University men's basketball coach Chris Lowery announced Wednesday the program has signed forward Chris Cornelius of Oak Park and River Forest High School in Oak Park, Ill.

Lowery compared Cornelius' ability to Saluki fan-favorite LaMar Owen, who will graduate this spring.

Cornelius, a 6-foot-7, 205-pound forward, played last season at Brewster Academy (N.H.), a prep school loaded with top Division I talent. He averaged 10.0 points and was the team's second-leading rebounder with 7.0 boards per game.

"With LaMar leaving, we wanted a guy who is athletic and long," Lowery said. "Chris is an athlete who can run and jump. He's more athletic than LaMar."

As a senior at Oak Park and River Forest in 2003-04, Cornelius put up big numbers, averaging 21.0 points, 8.0 rebounds and 2.0 blocked shots per game. He was a Class AA Second-Team All-State selection by the Illinois Basketball Coaches Association. A team captain, he also received all-area honors from the Chicago Sun Times and was a first-team West Suburban Silver Conference pick.

Cornelius' recruiting stock soared during the summer of 2004 when he shined with his AAU squad, the Illinois Wolves.

"He played with (Saluki fall recruit) Bryan Mullins, so we saw every one of his games," Lowery said. "He's everything you look for -- a good student, a talented athlete. He went to prep school to become better basketball-wise, and I think he really matured."

Brewster head coach Jason Smith agreed.

"Christian benefited tremendously from the postgraduate year in terms of maturity and continued development," Smith said. "He greatly improved his strength, as well his perimeter skills."

The 2005-06 Saluki roster has no seniors on scholarship and will feature seven front court players who are at least 6-foot-7-inches tall.^TMTM