The competition figures to be spirited when Illinois State’s basketball team goes through its first practice on Saturday morning. While Osiris Eldridge, Champ Oguchi and Dinma Odiakosa are locks to be in the starting lineup Nov. 15 at Wright State, the other two spots and amount of playing time for reserves will be determined in the next 30 days.

ISU held its Media Day at Redbird Arena on Thursday. Second-year coach Tim Jankovich said all positions are open “to give everyone a shot and make it as fair as possible.” Jankovich is a big believer that how you practice translates into how you play.

The big question marks coming into the season will be at point guard and in the frontcourt next to Odiakosa.

Replacing 5-foot-8 Boo Richardson will be a tall order. Richardson was the unquestioned team leader who turned from a defensive liability as a junior into a ball-hawk as a senior. Junior college transfer Lloyd Phillips seems to have the inside track to take over as point guard and will bring more of a scoring mentality. Whether Phillips or sophomore Alex Rubin can come close to matching Richardson’s defensive intensity remains to be seen.

Jankovich said forwards Bobby Hill (knee) and Brandon Sampay (hip) are mending well from off-season surgeries. However, the ISU coach isn’t sure when they will be ready for action. Hill, who started some live contact drills with teammates this week, predicted he’ll be ready to go for Wright State. Sampay said he would like to be back for the Nov. 28-30 World Vision Invitational at Redbird Arena. That might be wishful thinking as Jankovich would be happy to see Sampay return sometime in early December in order to get ready for Missouri Valley Conference action which starts Dec. 28 at Missouri State.

Freshmen forwards Kellen Thornton, Jeremy Robinson and Ty Modupe have a golden opportunity in the early going. They can impress the coaches and get playing time they might not have if Hill and Sampay were healthy. ISU strength coach Rohrk Cutchlow said each of the trio already has put on between 17 to 23 pounds since arriving on campus this summer.

How some of the returning players fit into the puzzle could be interesting. Sead Odzic struggled most of last season after becoming eligible in late December, but Jankovich said the junior guard has worked hard and had “the right attitude and determination” in offseason workouts. Emmanuel Holloway is a steady presence in the backcourt who will see plenty of action somewhere. Rubin came on late in his freshman season and will push Phillips at the point. Brandon Holtz and Landon Shipley are tremendous shooters who must improve defensively to crack the mix.

This could be a fun ISU team to watch. When all the parts come together, ISU should be a more athletic and longer team than last season. There are plenty of 3-point shooters to spread the court, even with the arc pushed out a foot. Jankovich will be able to play “small ball” at times with Oguchi going from the wing to power forward. That could cause plenty of match-up problems for opponents.

ISU’s success last season came with a defensive mindset that Jankovich demands. Whether that carries over with all the newcomers remains to be seen.

The men’s and women’s squads will hold Redbird HoopFest at 7 p.m. Friday at Horton Field House. It should be a nostaglic night for fans old enough to remember when ISU played at Horton. There will be 3-point shooting and dunk contests along with a short scrimmage by both teams. Admission is free.