Rembert eager to get back on court

~ Southeast Hoops: The team's top returning rebounder hopes to be back for OVC play.

Sitting out the final stages of last season and missing the early part of this year's practices has not been easy for Mike Rembert.

But Southeast Missouri State's senior center said there is a positive being away from the sport he loves for a while.

"It's frustrating, but at the same time, it's helped me appreciate the game more when it's taken away," Rembert said.

The rock-solid Rembert, who is listed at 6 foot 9 and 255 pounds, was playing the best basketball of his rookie season at Southeast when he suffered a right knee injury last year.

Rembert had surgery following the season and hoped to be 100 percent ready for the start of his final collegiate campaign.

But Rembert experienced some setbacks with the knee over the summer, which forced him to have another surgery.

He has not practiced yet on a full-time basis and figures to miss some of the early part of the season, which begins Nov. 10 at nationally ranked Xavier.

But he said the knee is getting better all the time, and he's not far from returning to the court.

"It's getting stronger every day," he said. "It's encouraging how much better it's gotten."

Southeast coach Scott Edgar has been encouraged also by Rembert's progress, but doesn't want to rush back one of his most important players before he's ready.

The Redhawks begin Ohio Valley Conference play Dec. 6, and that's when Edgar would really like to have Rembert available.

"I think Mike is making tremendous progress," Edgar said. "We want him back as soon as possible, but we also don't want to rush him back.

"The season is a marathon, not a sprint, and we want to make sure he's healthy for when we really need him."

Rembert got off to a slow start last season, taking some time to shake off rust from sitting out the previous year under NCAA transfer rules.

Rembert, a native of Chicago who played his first two seasons at Bradley, averaged 9.9 points and a team-high 5.8 rebounds per game last year.

Rembert had an 11-game stretch where he averaged 12 points and nearly eight rebounds as the Redhawks went 7-4, including a 4-1 run.

But after Rembert suffered his injury during a Feb. 8 victory over Morehead State, the Redhawks lost five of their final six games to finish Edgar's first season at Southeast 11-20 overall and 9-11 in the OVC.

"Mike was playing very well and we had turned the corner when he got hurt," Edgar said.

Rembert finished the season as the OVC's 10th-best rebounder. He was also fourth in blocked shots with 21.

"Last year was frustrating, getting hurt, but at the same time it makes me excited for this year," Rembert said.

What also excites Rembert is that he already has his diploma, having graduated from Southeast in December of 2006. It took just 3 1/2 years to earn his degree in criminal justice.

"I always tell all the guys on the team they need to get that piece of paper," Rembert said. "It's a huge burden off my chest.

"I'm taking 12 hours just to be eligible this semester, and next semester I'm going to start working on my master's."

Edgar, in his second year at Southeast, said the character Rembert shows both on and off the court has made him the "heartbeat of the program."

"When I came to interview for the job and met the players, I thought he was the most mature person in the room," Edgar said. "He's just a great young man."

Rembert said he would eventually like to work with juveniles, perhaps troubled teens, and hopes to play some type of professional basketball.

In the meantime, he'll keep working hard to get back on the court as soon as possible as he tries to make his senior season a memorable one.

"I think once we get everybody healthy and rolling, we'll be really good," Rembert said. "Like coach says, there will be a time when nobody wants to play us."