At Enterprise Center in March, I was on press row courtside at the Missouri Valley Conference title game — but at this particular point, it wasn’t much of a game. Eight minutes left, Drake led by 14 points.
That’s when a little guard named Isaiah Swope, who went scoreless in the first half for Indiana State, drilled a 3. And 38 seconds later, Swope drilled another. Then, just 19 seconds after that, Swope swooped in and swiped the ball, swerved down court and swished a jump shot.
Drake led by just six.
It was like watching the pixelated video game NBA Jam come to life right in front of me — and Swope was shooting the ball “on fire.”
Sure enough, with 4:08 left, Swope hit a 3 — while being fouled. His free throw gave Indiana State its first lead since the score was 2-0.
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While the Sycamores ended up losing, Swope’s 19 second-half points stuck with me. I watched him closely during Indiana State’s run to the NIT title game. Soon after, Indiana State’s Josh Schertz came to Ƶ University as the new coach.
And while the Billikens’ recent addition of big man Robbie Avila left social media abuzz, Monday’s announcement about the signing of Swope, another Indiana State transfer, accelerated my expectations for SLU. Having two standout former Indiana State players — not just one — should shorten the transition period for Schertz’s Billikens offense. With these shooters, SLU should shoot to the top of the Atlantic 10 Conference next season.
“He’s an elite shooter,” Avila said of Swope by phone on Monday. “He can go for seven, eight 3s a game. Once he gets going, he’s not going to miss. You know, he hit a lot of dagger 3s for us this past season. He is nothing short of confident with his shot, no matter if he’s making 3s or if he missed his first 3s, he is going to shoot it like he knows it’s going to go in. To have a guy that has that type of confidence, that’s going hit shots like that? It’s big.”
Perhaps you’ve already seen the stats. The 5-foot-10 Swope averaged 15.9 points per game while making 113 3-pointers, the fourth-most in America. But consider Swope’s value toward winning — Indiana State (32-7) went 17-3 in regular-season conference play. In the three losses, want to see Swope’s totals while shooting from 3? They were 1 for 6; 4 for 13; and 0 for 6. When he was on, Indiana State was on. When he wasn’t, it wasn’t pretty.
And consider this: Swope ascended in games against Power 5 conference teams. Against Alabama, he went 4 for 6 from 3. At Michigan State, he scored 26 points. And in the NIT title game against Seton Hall, which the Sycamores lost by two points, he scored 19 — the team high.
“He’s a workaholic,” Avila said. “He’s always on the court, always in the gym working — early, late, during the middle of the day. And so, to have a guy like him on the team, it’s going to be awesome. ... He is one of a kind for sure. He’s a little bit different than your average person. He does everything in an unconventional way — he does it in his own way. I think that just makes him such a good hooper.”
After Avila’s announcement, when I saw three other Indiana State players transfer elsewhere, it was momentarily disheartening. There was this notion that the great Indiana State team (not just its star player) might reunite in Ƶ. That team had a special chemistry. And so when Swope signed, it was like — OK, SLU at least has two key starters from that team, two guys who can feed off each other and have a feel for the offense.
“I think Schertz’s ability to get (Swope) into actions that he’s really good at, he’s able to do a lot (offensively),” said Avila, a center who averaged 17.1 points and dished 4.1 assists per game last season. “Obviously he shoots it very well from deep, he’s quick, he’s able to handle the ball and make decisions. He really fits the offense well. And I think it’s going be amazing to kind of do it all over again with him this next year. ...
“And coach Schertz is the smartest guy I’ve ever played for, I’ve ever seen. This guy, he’s really good at putting people (in places to maximize) their strengths and hiding people away from their weaknesses. The offense is what he calls ‘organized randomness.’ So it’s really just — he gives you principles and you have decisions to make, and I think being able to play under that, it gives you unlimited choices to do stuff. And so it’s a lot of fun. We play a fast-paced style of basketball — and I think it really catches people’s eyes.”
Such as mine that day at Enterprise Center, when Swope suddenly couldn’t miss.