As a suggestion from his high school basketball coaches, freshman point guard Josh Swan started to play football to add toughness to his basketball playing, which helped mold him into the Salukis starting point guard.

“My coaches would always tell me if you get out there and get tough playing football, then you can get on the basketball court and handle the bumps and bruises,” Swan said.

Swan was a wide receiver at Pace Academy in Atlanta, were he scored 22 touchdowns, including four in the form of kick returns, and was also named MVP. Swan said the highlight of his football career was when he dragged two defenders into the end zone to clinch a victory, which led to his team making it to the state playoffs.

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Freshman guard Josh Swan attempts to break through defensive players Friday against Chicago State University at the SIU Arena. Swan, who made his second start as point guard, scored 11 points, had four assists and no turnovers. The Salukis beat the Cougars 73-57, their first win of the regular season. Lynnette Oostmeyer | Daily Egyptian

Swan was recruited to play football by several Division I schools, including Southern Methodist University, the University of Southern Mississippi and Duke University. However, he decided to stick to basketball here at SIU.

During his basketball career at Pace, Swan scored more than 2,000 points and averaged more than 20 points a game.

Now, Swan must get accustomed to running a team from the point guard position, which is something head coach Chris Lowery said he’s getting better at. Lowery said Swan’s attention to details and willingness to accept coaching are reasons he will succeed as a Saluki.

Swan said the lessons learned on the field have shown through the stamina he brings to the team. Swan has shown the ability to draw fouls by shooting a game-high of 10 free throws against Chicago State Friday. Since he entered the starting lineup against Northeastern University Nov. 19, the guard has committed only one turnover in 61 minutes of play.

Sophomore guard Diamond Taylor, who had his best game as a Saluki with 19 points against the Cougars, credited Swan with assembling the team and putting in the best position to score.

Lowery said Swan is a calming influence on the team, and when he maintains his intensity, the team plays better.

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“A freshman getting to the line 10 times and a freshman shooting our technical shows his composure and his poise,” Lowery said.

The Salukis have averaged 15 turnovers during their first four games of the season, but Swan said those mistakes can be corrected.

“I can be a lot more vocal. When we had those turnovers, it was guys going one-on-one and nobody talking to each other,” he said. “If I go out there on offense and defense and I’m talking, letting people know were they need to be and what plays we need to be in, we should definitely be on the same page.”

Swan said he had to adjust to the college level playing speed early in the year.  He used summer workouts, open gyms and other practice time to get acquainted with the intensity of Division I basketball. He credited his teammates for making the adjustment smoother.

“All four of the freshman helped me a lot; we stick together and work hard together. Even before we got here, we would text each other and say how eager we were to work hard,” Swan said. “Even the other new guys Jeff (Early), TJ (Lindsay) and Des (Jackson) love to have fun and work hard.”