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Posts Tagged ‘Conference USA basketball’

Final Home Game, and Seniors’ Night | 26 Feb 12

27 Feb

Whenever the Seniors of a program are announced at their final home game it is a bittersweet moment. Fans, players, and coaches all think of how they have built bonds and memories that will last for lifetimes. It is natural to think back on all of the good times, and maybe, just maybe, think about the “what might have beens”. As tight as this team has been and is, the way that Coach Adams coaches “team play”, I would have to think that this season’s team success has to pretty much erase any thoughts of any regrets. The seven ladies who saw their final action in a UTEP iniform on Sunday each had their times to shine individually, and as a team. None of those were any bigger than capping off their college careers with a regular season conference championship.

The Seniors had their presentation before the game.

seniors presentation
The next item on the agenda was to beat the Rice Owls, in front of a big, rowdy, Miners’ crowd in the Don Haskins Center to continue the celebration.

The starting lineup was introduced.

Starting Lineup

The Miners, as they did the game before, started off with a turnover. Rice’s Briana Hypolite hit a three pointer shot down on the other end. UTEP, immediately got things back to the way they were supposed to be, with two points from Anete Steinberga, and a three pointer by Thornton that passed dead center through the hoop.

UTEP’s Kelli Willingham fouled Rice’s Jessica Goswitz to prevent an easy layup, and two points. Goswitz missed both free throws. On the other end, Steinberga missed an open little scoop shot that she would make nine out of ten times. The Owls missed a shot, UTEP turned the ball over, and Kayla Thornton provided the play of the day. With an Owl player loose on a break away, the six foot tall forward that moves like a guard came roaring up to block the shot, and in the process crashed into the basketball stanchion. She gathered herself with a deep breath, bounced to her feet, and was back at work the next moment, stretching some kinks out and inspecting her body for any outward signs of damage.

The teams traded made shots, before Gloria Brown hit a sweet outside jump shot, and then grabbed a rebound and took it for a layup. The game clock showed 15:30 left in the first half, and the Miners were up 11 to 5.

My game notes show the first sign that something wasn’t quite right. I noted that both teams were playing at a very fast pace, both seemed to want to push the ball. But, I looked at the score and my game notes, and Rice had only 5 points with over six minutes of the game ticked away. The Miners were shooting 71 percent, and the Owls were being held to just 20 percent from the field. I also noted that Rice’s #5, Gowitz would make coffee nervous. She was everywhere, like a knat, bouncing around, seemingly randomly, and generally annoying as could be.

Gloria Brown scored, and Warren forced a turnover, but Rice’s Hypolite answered with a three. The teams traded turnovers. Brown blocked a shot and Vitola was fouled to prevent the layup. Bown made a steal, but missed the layup. Vitola grabbed the rebound, put up a shot that missed, grabbed her own rebound, and missed again.

Rice’s Megan Schafer made a three point shot, and with 11 minutes left in the half, the scoreboard read UTEP 15, and Rice 11.

My game notes say, “Miners a little out of sync. Missing a lot of open shots. Rice hitting some tough shots to keep them hanging in”.

But, I looked at the stats, and they seemed to reassure me, all except for the pesky fact that the score was pretty danged close. Rice was still just shooting 25% to UTEP’s 42.9%. Rice had 11 boards, but the Miners were right there with 10. Turnovers were even, at three each. So, the Miners were doing everything right. There had only been ten minutes played and the Miners are up by 4. Why was i even checking the numbers to find out where the problem was? What problem?

Another five minutes fell away from the clock, and the Miners held a 23-15 lead. Steinberga was playing tenacious defense! To be exact, the Miners were contesting everything! As the horn to signal the shot clock expired, Briana Green had just let a three pointer fly, and it was falling through the net. But, with 4 minutes showing, the Owls were still right there just five points back at 18 to UTEP’s 23.

Again, the stats seem to say the Miners were doing just what they should be doing. They had cooled a little to 40% shooting, but the Owls were being held to just 28% from the field. Rebounding was equal, at 16 each, as were turnovers at 6 each.

Then, with 1:46 seconds left in the first half, the Owls pulled to within four points at 26-22. UTEP used three passes to inbound the ball from under the Rice net and scored in the blink of an eye. With one half of the game played, the Miners held a six point lead.

Rice’s Jessica Kuster, who had been held to just 4 points in the first half, came roaring to life in the second half. Three minutes and 15 seconds into the half, the Owls had pulled even with the Miners at 30 points each, and a half minute later, the Owls pulled into the lead, 32 to 30.

I kept feeling like there was no reason to be concerned, as the Miners had been down many times before, and there was half a game to play yet. But, there was also the part of me that said that all those stats said that the Miners were doing everything right, and yet, they were now losing.

Kuster layup.
UTEP steal. Thornton layup.
Kuster layup.

Steinberga to the line, hits two, and the Miners pull to 34-36. With 14 minutes left, Steinberga turns, and hits a ten footer knotting the score at 36.

Kuster hit her shot from the foul line.

With 11:14 seconds left, the Owls hold a 42-37 lead.

Gloria Brown made a steal, and Erika Warren hit a shot, and the Miners were back to within two points at 40-42.

Kuster made two free throws.

Brown and Kuster trade baskets.

Thornton added a point to the Miners’ score, but Kuster added two to Rice’s.

The Miners’ pulled back to 46-48, blocked a Rice shot, and Willingham steaked up court with the ball, only to have her shot blocked.

The Miners had some opportunities, but failed to take advantage of them in the last few minutes.

Gloria Brown, with two free throws, brought the Miners to 48-50 with a minute to go in the game.

Jessica Kuster gave the Miners the chance they were looking for with a turnover. Kayla Thornton took off on a fast break but couldn’t convert. UTEP’s Chrishauna Parker grabbed the rebound, and was fouled by Rice’s Candace Ashford.

Parker missed both free throws, but Kayla Thornton grabbed the rebound.

UTEP called timeout, with 29.9 seconds left. The Miners inbounded the ball, but with 19.5 seconds left, Thornton was call for travelling. The final score was UTEP 48 and the Rice Owls 52.

This day that had started out as a joyful day of celebration with a touch of reflection of what might have been, just added a big thick layer. Although the game was meaningless in that the Miners already had the championship, it wasn’t they way the team expected to send their seniors off, and it sure put a damper on some of the festivities that followed the game, for some.

Coach Adams spoke to the team, and the fans after the game;

Post Game

Then the players watched highlights of themselves;

Team Watching Team

 
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Miners Win Again Now 25-2 and Claim the C-USA Conference Championship | 24 Feb 12

24 Feb

Six thousand, five hundred thirty-two Miners fans came out to the Don Haskins Center on Women and Girls in Sports Night and were not disappointed in the outcome, as the Miners rode the SMU Ponies like rented mules to take the Conference-USA regular season title.

The final score was 68 to 50, but this game was over after a couple of minutes for all intents and purposes. The Miners started the game with a three second call turn over. The Mustangs took their turn and gave the ball right back to the Miners. Kayla Thornton hit a three pointer, and the Miners were on their way.

The Miners defense went to work. Swarming, helping each other out, and pounding the boards like they were the only team that had the right to the ball, the Miners shut SMU’s offense down. Had the Miners not had trouble making a few of their easy shots early on, they would have run the Mustangs out of the building in the first few minutes. With five minutes played, the Miners had allowed SMU just 6 points.

UTEP’s Anete Steinberga was like a woman possessed. Swarmed in the paint, she was either grabbing rebounds or ripping through defenders to put the ball in the basket. The “Dominator” was doing just that. Erika Warren was hitting open shots, and the Miners were slowly pulling away from the Mustangs. At the 13:01 minute mark, the Mustangs got their seventh, eighth, and ninth points with a hoop and a harm combo, making the score 15 to 9. The Miners put up a few shots that may have been a little rushed, and missed, to help keep the score closer than it might have been.

With seven minutes left in the half, the ladies had extended their lead to 12 points, at 23-11. The Mustangs’ players’ frustration with the smothering Miners defense, was really starting to show. Mustang guard Kristen Askew at one point, finding no teammate to pass to, harried by a Miner defender and with the shot clock running down, simply threw the ball towards the basket and out of bounds. It wasn’t a shot, and their was no Mustang within ten feet of the ball. With two minutes left in the half, SMU’s Christine Elliott, with Anette Steinberga on her like fly paper, swung her elbow to solve the problem. Taking a vicious elbow to the face, Steinberga was sent to the foul line to shoot two for the intentional foul, making the score 32-17. At the horn to sound the end of the first half, the scoreboard showed the Miners with 36 points and the Mustangs with 21.

Z-man’s take on the first half, “I think we’re doing a good job. We’re out rebounding them by ten. We’re hustling. We’re shooting alright. Forty percent’s not too bad. Our defense is solid. I think if the ref’s were a little bit more consistant we’d be up by about thirty. But, it’s alright, we’re playing good right now”.

Midway through the second half, I asked Mojo for his take on the game, “I’m seeing real good defense, and I’m seeing that there’s a lot of blocked shots. Well, what else, there’s a lot of determination, I’ll tell you that! It’s like they know that they’ve got to win the Conference USA, and they want to win it. It’s as simple as that.”

In the second half, the teams spent the twenty minutes trading baskets. The Miners scored 32 points to the Mustangs 29.

Gloria Brown was held to six points and six rebounds, an off night for her offensively, but the 6′ 2″ forward was diving for loose balls, had three blocked shots, a steal in which she simply ripped the ball from the opponent’s hands, and generally made it known to the Mustangs that they were better off not getting near her with the ball.

As has been the case for the entire season, the Miners spread the scoring around, crashed the boards, and played the kind of defense that made Coach Adams a favorite of The Bear’s.

The evening finished with all of the female Miners athletes, from all of the different sports, signing autographs in the concourse of The Don. After a half an hour or so, the line for autographs was still wrapped around the corner of the concourse, a great way to end the night.

 
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UTEP Women’s Basketball Has Gotten Underway | 04 Oct 11

05 Oct

The ladies started practicing Tuesday. The team will have a mix of experienced starters, experienced players looking to get their starts this season, and a talented group of newcomers. The team went 16-14 last season, and looks to improve upon that, this season.

Practice was no “ease into” things. Coach Adams got started, and the girls were hard at work, immediately. Fundamentals were on the agenda. Defense. Defense the way that would make The Bear smile. Well, not smile, perhaps, but happy to see. There was also plenty of shooting and passing. And running. Lots of running. After watching Coach Adams coach, it was easy to see why she gets the most out of her players. She is continually teaching. She teaches the big picture concepts, and the small details needed to get there. She does it in an interesting way. She encourages. She challenges. She corrects. She smiles and throws in a little humor. She never once said anything that would make a player feel anything negative. She is demanding in an undemanding way.

Anete Steinberga, the 6 foot 2 inch junior forward with two years of play already under her belt looks like a serious task master on the floor. Gloria Brown, last year’s leading scorer on the team, looks like she is ready to pick up where she left off, and with last season’s experience, she will probably be even better. El Paso’s own, Kayla Thornton, the 6 footer out of Irvin High School is back, and will play a key role in the success of this year’s team. She is fun to watch, as she never, ever, loses the smile from her face. It is obvious that she is just having fun, doing what she does best.

Brianna Green and Kelli Willingham averaging 8.9 and 9.0 points per game respectively return at the guards positions, along with Kim Smith.

Perhaps the thing that is what has Coach Adams smiling the most is the depth this team has accumulated. Nine of the players saw significant playing time last year, and Coach Adams has added a couple of talented transfers to the mix, including Melisa Mendes from Everux, France by way of NW Florida State College. The first thing I noticed about Mendes was her speed, and quickness. You see that with the 5′ 7″ players, but Mendes is 5′ 9″ and so it sticks out a little more.

Then, there is the scoring machine Jenzel Nash. The freshman guard, left Worthing High School, leading the nation is scoring, last year. She averaged 37.7 points per game, and because she was involved in so many bowouts, she was often pulled long before the game was over. She could have easily averaged more. But, she is also a very unselfish player, and takes a lot of pride in making assists. Oh, and the onetime cheerleader isn’t hard to look at, either.

This team will be a fan’s dream to watch. You will get old school toughness on defense. The Bear loved Coach Adams because of this. On offense, the team has so much added depth at the guard position that the team will look to push the ball up court and play an up tempo style.

So, as practice begins for the 2011-12 season, this team’s future is so bright you might want to bring your sunglasses to their games.

 
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Horse Racing | 15 Jul 11

15 Jul

The family had been breeding, training, and racing their horses for generations.  They were passionate in their pursuit of owning a champion.  Through the years, they had taken many horses to the tracks, and gotten them into the gates, but more often than not, it was their horses that finished last.  Other owners, for years had laughed at them behind their backs, at their methods, trainers, horses, and even the family, itself.  Every owner dreamed of owning and racing a champion.  But that same dream, that dream of a champion in the minds and hearts of the family, had become a ridiculous joke in horse racing circles.  The family’s business, hopes and dreams of winning horses, had become an embarrassment to some members of the family.  Some of the family had kept the hope and dream alive in their hearts, but over the years of humiliation they had developed a survival tactic of lowered expectations so that they wouldn’t feel foolish themselves, or appear foolish to others.  Others of the family, who loved the dream, loved the life of being with the ones they loved, doing what they loved doing, and the sharing of the same dream, continued to try and catch the elusive brass ring.

At family reunions the talk would invariably include the brief period during Great Grandpa’s time as the head of the family business, when there had been a couple of seasons of relative success.  To be truthful, relative success meant that they didn’t finish dead last or nearly so, in every race they entered.  Those were the seasons when they had actually finished in the money a few times.  That talk always led to the season when Grandpa had been successful enough to get their horse entered into one of the big regional stakes races.  Expectations had been high for that race, and although the horse ran a respectable race, when they crossed the finish line the favorite surged ahead to win by a half a length.  Pride and success are measured differently by those who have little of either.

Grandpa had seen enough of his family’s business to know that it was nearly impossible to live up to the expectations that he had given rise to.  Even as the family had taken their horse to the track to run in that stakes race, Grandpa, seizing the opportunity when it came knocking, he had left the family business, taken a big raise, and a postion with a bigger and more successful racing family’s team.  They felt that if Grandpa could win with the resources he had had in his family’s business, that he could surely make them into a powerful force, what with their considerably better resources.  After a few seasons, seasons of modest success, he had been let go.  He eventually found his way back to the family business.

After Grandpa had left, the family had brought in a number of young, up and coming men, and old veterans to run the business.  Each had failed miserably.  Each had their excuses.  Some of the excuses were often repeated ones.  The horses on hand weren’t winners, to needing more time to develop their newly acquired horses were pretty standard.  If a veteran followed a younger man, it was common to say that the training hadn’t been tried and true, and if the older man was followed by a young man, you could almost bet money that the younger man would claim that the methods used were out of date.  Occasionally, the family was blamed for lack of support, or the expectations were too high.  The one constant was the failure to win.

After many years the parade had come to an end, and Grandpa’s son had taken over the family business. At first, he had experienced considerable success.  Family members, some of whom had been reluctant to mention their connection to the family business, and some of whom had never even made themselves known to the family, began to appear at family get togethers, along with those who had faithfully attended all of the family functions over the years.  Those reunions were joyous affairs.  Grins, and warm smiles greeted all, along with bear hugs and kisses.  Laughs and raucous shouts replaced the whines and complaints of the past.  There was an energy and excitement that seemed to envelope the family like a fog of nitrous oxide at those reunions.  Minor irritations were replaced by the warmth of brotherhood.  The scars of old wounds that had been caused by a continual picking at the scabs began to fade.

But, just a quickly as the success had come, it began to fade.  Yes, there were still many more successes than there had been in the bad old days, but expectations had been raised.  With the early success, investments had been made in the practice track, and the paddocks.  The entire farm had seized the opportunity that the energy of success had brought to put on new paint and to update and replace old equipment.  The success that had raised expectations brought changes that raised expectations even higher.  And, there were all of those long lost relatives that had begun showing up.  They had perhaps the highest expectations of all.  Most of them had not been around during the years of disappointment and despair.  They had never experienced the insidious nature of those years of losing.  They hadn’t endured.  They didn’t know anything but the here and now.

The next few seasons brought a modicum of success, offset, to a degree, by poor finishes that some saw as a return to the bad old days.  Horses that seemed to be poised for a season of finishing in the money brought disappointment instead.  The past year had been especially hard to take.  Nagging injuries had taken the family’s expected top thoroughbred from favorite to longshot by the end of the season.  On the basis of some wins against lesser competition, the horse had qualified for a regional stakes race at one of the larger tracks.  When the bell rang and the gates sprung open, their horse was the last one out.  For the first half of the race, the horse looked like it was drugged, and was moving in slow motion.  The jockey appeared not to notice that the pack was furlongs ahead of his mount.  At the half way point of the race, the horse and the rider seemed to finally realize that they were in a race.  Furiously taking the whip to the horse’s flanks, the horse responded as best it could.  It cut the lead considerably, but much of that was due to the winning jockey knowing that there was no need to push his horse and risk injury in a race that was already won.

When the family came together soon after that final race of the season the atmosphere of the gathering was different from all that any of the family could remember.  In the past, many had seen the beat down, but familiar, grim determination generated by another season of losing races.  Like rainy days in Seattle, nobody looked forward to them, but that’s life in Seattle.  Gatherings after the rare winning seasons were accompanied by the joy  that one would expect from those who had finally been blessed with success after years of failure.  A mixture of smiles and frowns, compliments and curses, would be a normal responce to a season of mixed results.  The newly found family that had appeared with the early successes had slowly, but steadily ceased to find the desire, or need, to make the trips to family events.  They had returned to the lives they were leading for all of those years before success had come to the business.  But, this time, this gathering, the atmosphere was charged.  Those who still came to family get togethers were those closest to the family, and the family business.  These were the ones who cared.  These were the ones who were invested in the success or failure of the business.  Theirs were the emotions of those involved, and not the emotions of those on the periphery.  These were the ones for whom winning and losing directly affected their lives.  The disappointment of those who were disappointed had a heavy dose of anger, frustration, and destruction mixed in.  Meeting their level of negative energy required those who believed that the business was in the right hands, and was making strides, to muster the same level of positive energy lest they be thrown aside and be seen and treated as worn, and useless-no not just useless, but obstacles standing in the way.  That gathering saw a divide in the family, a family that had always been together, in feast or famine.  Along with success had come two unwelcome twins -dissention and condemnation.  And these two had made their presence felt.  Feeding on the energy of the disappointed, they had had a big impact on the gathering.  Physical confrontations were avoided, but barely.  Rifts began to appear where civility and family bonds once held the family together.

The end of the season, and the gathering that had followed, also signaled the beginning of the off season.  For those who had been left angered and disgusted, it had not come soon enough.  They had seen more than their share of disappointing losses.  For those who leaned more toward seeing the past season as continued steps in the right direction, the break gave the horses much needed time to heal, and the trainers time to prepare the horses for the season to come.  With time, the strength and fervor of both camps began to subside.  More and more, it became harder to muster the energy to fight about what had been.  The past was in the past.  It wasn’t forgotten, but it wasn’t worth fighting over.  Fighting over it wouldn’t change it.  Exhaustion brought peace, first.  As the days rolled by, the peace, and the warmth of summer, saw the seedlings of renewed hope and excitement spring forth.  A young, up and coming jockey was brought in. There were a number of two and three year olds that showed promise.  Talk of the family turned to the next season’s hopeful winners and wins, training, the upcoming schedule and venues, travel, competition, and glory to be had.

The wheel of life continued to turn.  It turned in the same way it had turned so many times before. With each new turn, comes another chance.  In life, all that can be asked for is a chance.  The greater the odds against, the greater the rewards.  Sometimes the desire to win overshadows the fact that it is great just to be in the race-to have a chance.

To everything – turn, turn, turn
There is a season – turn, turn, turn
And a time for every purpose under heaven

A time to be born, a time to die
A time to plant, a time to reap
A time to kill, a time to heal
A time to laugh, a time to weep.-The Byrds

The new season, the renewed purpose,  was just a few turns away.

 
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From Tumbleweeds and Mesquite To Steel Rails and Paved Streets | 14 May 11

14 May

From Tumbleweeds and Mesquite To Steel Rails and Paved Streets

The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, brought the Mexican-American War to a close on February 2, 1848. Mexico ceded the vast territory from New Mexico to California, and Mexico relinquished its claims to Texas. The United States new territory included all of present day Texas, Utah, Nevada, California, parts of Oklahoma, Kansas, Wyoming, New Mexico, Arizona, and Colorado. In 1850 the United States purchased an additional strip of land from Mexico that stretched from the Rio Grande at El Paso del Norte to the Arizona-California border. This was the Gadsden Purchase and it was purchased to allow the laying of a southern trans-continental railroad from Georgia to California.

The huge expanse of newly acquired land was sparsely populated, primarily by Native Americans, Mexican settlers, and treasure seekers hoping to strike it rich. Much of the new territory was arid land, including the Mojave, the upper portions of the Sonoran, and Chihuahuan deserts, and the southern portion of the Great Basin Desert.

It wasn’t long before the enormous mineral wealth of the land became the lure that brought miners from the eastern United States, and around the world. Travel to the west coast was difficult, and time consuming. With booming mines, and the money they generated, came the towns needed to supply the miners’ needs. The little town on the Rio Grande that would become El Paso began to slowly take root. The United States government located Fort Bliss there to provide protection from marauding Indians, and protect the southern border of the newly acquired land.

El Paso was located on the crossroads of the Santa Fe trail, which had brought goods from Missouri to Santa Fe, and south to Mexico City for centuries, and the route west to California. At first, El Paso was little more than a rest stop for the Butterfield Overland Mail Company which carried mail and passengers from Missouri to San Diego and the wagon trains that carried their wares along the Santa Fe Trail. The sleepy town incorporated in 1873, and the population was said to be a few hundred, at the most. That was to change dramatically, and in a very short time. In 1881 the Southern Pacific, Texas and Pacific, and the Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe railroads arrived. The population of the outpost on the United States southern border had grown to around 10,000 by 1890, and by 1900 the population had swelled to 16,000.The sleepy little town had become the major business hub of the Southwest.

Just for comparison purposes, in 1900 Tucson’s population was 7,500. Phoenix, in 1910 had a population of a little over 11,000. Albuquerque’s population, at the turn of the century was 6,000, and had grown to 11,000 by 1910. Las Cruces, New Mexico, about 45 miles north of El Paso, was a bustling community of 38,000 in 1910, and had grown to 40,000 in 1920. But, El Paso was where the action was. By 1910 it’s population had more than doubled to 39,000, and 10 years later it had doubled again to 78,000. In addition to the civilian population, Fort Bliss had another 60,000 soldiers stationed there by about 1915.

The booming town brought with it the usual businesses that show up when hard working men need places to “relax” and spend their money. Saloons, and whorehouses sprung up. Gamblers, came for the easy pickings. Outlaws came for the easy ride across the river to escape the law. When it came to gunfights, and outlaws, El Paso made other legendary towns such as Dodge City and Tombstone look like church socials.

In the 1890′s the citizens of El Paso sought to put an end to the vice and lawlessness of their city on the border. The city passed ordinances in 1905 that brought to a close the gambling and prostitution houses. Sometimes called the Six Shooter Capital and Sin City, El Paso was growing up, and leaving it’s wild youth behind.

The city was still on the western frontier, but the trappings of city life began to come to El Paso. Music that would eventually lead to the El Paso Symphony Orchestra began in 1893. In the early 1900′s, weekly concerts were played in Cleveland Square by a band of 45 musicians, led by Peter Gustat. In January of 1886, the YMCA began serving the young men of El Paso. By 1909, the “Y” had purchased a large, two story building on Oregon and Missouri Streets. The YMCA would play a prominent role in the history of athletics in El Paso.

Another step in the history and development of athletics in El Paso came in 1885. High school classes began on the second floor of Central School, located on the corner of Campbell and Myrtle Streets. Central School had 10 rooms and an enrollment of 222 that year. It’s first graduating class was one young man, and one young lady.

A few years later, the need for more room to serve the growing number of students brought about a move to a larger building. In 1902, High School, as it was simply known, opened its doors at the corner of Kansas and Arizona Streets. The building had an auditorium that seated 300, and twelve rooms. High School’s football and basketball teams would play prominently in the athletics of the region. The building would eventually be used by UTEP to house the school’s nursing program.

It wasn’t long before High School was overcrowded, so in 1912 the city bought a site that encompassed 4 blocks. The new high school would be built overlooking the growing city, bounded by Cliff, Virginia, and Schuster Streets, and become one of the most beautiful buildings in the city. El Paso High School opened its doors for the 1916 school year. The stadium, one of the first concrete stadiums built in the country, seats 12,000, a testament to the role the high school team played in the social life of the residents of the city.

“The Lady on the Hill”, as it is called, taught 1st through 12th grades on the first 3 floors for about ten years when it first opened. The fourth floor taught junior college classes to prepare future teachers. With Federal Government funding, the teacher college moved to what is now UTEP, and became the College of Education.

In 1887, a large step in the growth of El Paso came when the Kansas City Smelting and Refining Company built a smelter, that after the merger of several other smelting companies in 1899 became the American Smelting and Refining Company, or as the people of El Paso, and the millions of travelers on Interstate 10, seeing the iconic smokestacks as they passed through the city, would know it by, ASARCO.

The El Paso Herald began publishing in April of 1881. “Dedicated to the service of the people, that no good cause shall lack a champion and that evil shall not thrive unopposed.”

The January 3rd 1910 edition claimed “Circulation guaranteed more than twice the circulation of any other El Paso, Arizona, New Mexico, or West Texas paper. That edition of the El Paso Herald was 10 pages of “All the News While It’s Fresh”. Some of the headlines could just as easily come from today’s newspaper with a few name changes. Here’s a sample;

Prison Bars Slam On Morse-Ice King and Bank Wrecker Issues Scathing Denunciation of Courts-Declares He Had No Justice

Taft Unmoved By Railway Leaders-Appeal in Vain to President to Let Interstate Commerce Alone

But, there were also some that told about things from a time gone by.

American Prisoners in Juarez Court-Juarez is infested by the American panhandler. He stops pedestrians at every turn of the road. He is everywhere. In the Mexican police court this morning five of a score of prisoners were Americans.

T.C. Glenn Charged With Cruelty to Animals-. . .According to the police he is charged with having tied a horse to a post and then whipped him.

Charged With Insanity-A Chinaman was arrested. . .on a charge of insanity. He was acting queerly on the street, it is stated.

Turning to page 2, an advertisement for 5 gallons of gasoline for 85 cents looks pretty good compared to today’s $4 a gallon prices, doesn’t it? The entire page of news is dedicated to churches and a few more ads. Page 3 has reviews of plays, and is the entertainment section for the most part. It also gives a hint that the city had taken steps by then to get the lawlessness under control, as a man was arrested for carrying a pistol.

The Sports section was very thorough in their coverage of boxing, bowling, horse racing in Juarez, and golf. It also covered all of the local sports news, which was considerable.

Mining was also covered extensively. News covered mining around the world, and throughout the United States, with detailed coverage of mining throughout the southwest.

The August 5, 1910 Herald printed these facts about El Paso;

El Paso has 35 miles of street car lines.
El Paso has 20 miles of asphalt paved streets.
El Paso has eight railroads. . .
El Paso has 25 mail carriers. . .
El Paso has the best lighted business district in Texas. . .
El Paso has 8 banks, five national and three state. . .
El Paso has three steam fire engines, five combination hose and chemical wagons, one automobile combination wagon, and extension ladder truck.

The citizenry of El Paso around the turn of the century were well informed about current events around the world, across the nation, and the region, and all of the happenings in their growing city. Business was booming, and the city was growing so fast that it was doubling in population every ten years. The energy of its citizens could be seen in the popularity and support of the local sports teams.

 
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That Is A Big Man! | 08 Apr 11

08 Apr

That is the first thing you notice when you see Nuno Furtado.  The Junior Transfer Tight End is listed at 6′ 5′ and 255 pounds.  When he is around fellow Tight End Kevin Perry he just looks much bigger.  Perry is listed at 6′ 5″ also, but at 225 pounds. 

After adjusting my camcorder, aiming it up, I began my interview with the big man, and what a great young man he was to talk with.  He had just finished working an extra half an hour, or more, with Kevin Perry, and was one of the last players to leave the field.

Kyyote:  Folks I’ve got Nuno (pronounced Noonoo) Furtado, and he’s a tight end.  The first thing you have to say is he’s huge (Nuno chuckles)!  Tell me a little bit about your travels.  Let’s start at the beginning.  Where are you from?

Furtado:  I’m from Angola, Africa.  I moved to Portugal with my mom, when I was eight.  I went to high school out there until my last year, eleventh grade.  Then, I moved back to Angola, and I finished high school there.  I moved back there when I was 15, 16 years old.

Kyyote:  Did you play high school football, there?

Furtado:  No, we don’t have that in Africa.  We have soccer.

Did you play soccer?

Yeah.  That’s pretty much what I played, there. 

Then, you moved back to Angola.

Yes, sir.  I stayed there for a year and a half, finished high school there, and then moved to Arizona.  Since I didn’t have English classes, when I moved here, I had to take my senior year, again, in high school.  So, I did that at Pinnacle High School in Phoenix. 

What sports did you play when you got to Arizona?

I played basketball, football, track, and I tried out for soccer, but it was competing with the basketball season.

How did you, when did you start playing basketball, when you got there to Arizona?   

Furtado:  (Nods) When I got there.

Somebody else looked at you and said, wait a minute.  That’s a basketball player right there, huh?

Yeah, I just came from vacation, and I went to a high school open gym and stuff, and the coach asked me if I wanted to try out, and I did.  I was lucky, the coach worked with me, so I began to pick up English, pick up the language, and went to a great school.

Soccer gave you the athleticism, and the coordination too though, huh?  So it wasn’t that much of a move.  It’s not like you were just a big tall guy who didn’t know what you are doing out there.

I was much lighter then, too.

So, you played some football in Arizona?

I did.  I did.  Actually, I only played two games, because, unfortunately, IA thought I was professional.  I had to go to meetings and stuff, and explain to them that we don’t have football back where I’m from.  So. . .

You couldn’t be professional, even if you’d wanted to!  Then, you went to school, after Arizona where did you go?

I went to Central Arizona College.  That’s in Casa Grande.  I had a scholarship for basketball, for two years out there.  It was a nice school.  I transferred, after that, I had another scholarship for Cal State, Los Angeles.  It’s a pretty good school, too.  Then, transferred here.

How did you get here?

Well, I was looking at a, I was looking at UTEP in high school, and I liked the school.  It’s close to Arizona, and I have my cousins there.  So, last year I couldn’t take classes in my major because of basketball practices and stuff.  So, I just decided to transfer, and just dedicate my first semester to school and catch up.  Plus, my girlfriend goes to school here.  She plays softball.

Yeah, well, say no more.  That pretty much tells it right there. 

Yes, sir (laughing).

Well, thank your girlfriend for me, will you? I appreciate that.

I will (laughing some more).  I will, sir.

Now, are you going to try and play basketball here, too?

Yes, sir.  I have a year left for basketball, so I’ll see how that goes.

Well, we can use your inside presence, huh?  We’ve lost a lot of our big men, so that’ll be excellent.  Obviously, playing basketball helps with having good hands.

It does.  One thing that every coach since high school is telling me is that to play the game you need to learn how to pass and catch.  You’ve got to have those hands.

When did you learn English?  Because, by golly, your English is better than half of the people’s I know.

Thank you.  I have my rough times.  In high school I had three months, I believe, that they were pretty tough.  The teacher would put slides on the board, they would be there for ten minutes, but ten minutes was enough for everyone else, but it wasn’t enough for me.  So, I just went and talked to her, and tried to explain to her, and every teacher, that I really don’t understand.  So they would give me the slides, and I would just read them at home.  And by reading, and watching TV, TV helped me a lot, I kind of caught up to it. But, I still have my mistakes.  I still work on it.

You’ve caught up very well.  Are you catching up on the football just as fast?

Yes, sir.  I am.  I did my first three practices, where I really progressed a lot.  Then, we have some new plays we put in, and I’m still trying to catch up to those ones.  But, I believe I’m doing good, catching up every day.

What’s your major, here?

Civil engineering.

No wonder you caught up on the English pretty quick.  That’s excellent.

Thank you.

Now, I’m going, I almost feel silly asking after finding out what your major is, how are your grades?

Pretty good.  They’re pretty good.  I had a 3.3. or 3.2 last semester.

That’s pretty good for somebody that’s picking up a second language, or the English language, huh?

Yes, sir.  I’m just trying to get better this semester.  I had tougher classes this semester.  I’m still grinding, though. 

My last thing, if I don’t ask this,if I don’t get this on here I’ll get in big trouble.  You have to say hello to Mom, you’ve got to say hello to the family back home and everything else, alright?

Hey, Mom.  I love you.  I love you, sisters.  You’ve always been there for me.  To all of my family back home, Angola! 

That’s fantastic!  Thank you, very much.

Nuno is a very friendly, charming young man.  His smile is just as big as the rest on him.  I look forward to watching the big man with the number 94 on his jersey progress this season.  Then, we can see how he does on the hardwood.  I will bet money that no one pushes him around in the paint.

Here’s the video of the interview;

http://www.kyyotesden.com/DenGallery/albums/apr11/20110407184013.wmv

 
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UTEP v Memphis Preview | 11 Mar 11

12 Mar

What’s Happening

Championship Game of the Conference USA Basketball Tournament
Third seed UTEP v Fourth seed Memphis 9:30 am Saturday March 12, 2011
The Don Haskins Center, El Paso, Texas
 
You Can Follow It

Live from the Don Haskins Center
Television: Broadcast live on CBS
Join Other Miners Fans in the Kyyotesden.com/Den Chat Room

Here’s Who Is Involved and How They Got Here

The UTEP Miners

The Miners battled an always tough Tulsa team for a chance to play for the conference championship on Saturday morning.  As expected, the two teams treated the fans with a battle royal.  Conference USA’s leading scorer, Tulsa guard Justin Hurtt, averaging 20.1 points per game, and runner-up UTEP guard Randy Culpepper, reigning Player of the Year, averaging 19.3 points per game showed off their wares in front of a roaring house full of Miners fans.  Randy Culpepper made it clear that the award for this year’s Player of the Year probably should have been his, again.  His 26 points led all scorers, and was 9 points better than Justin Hurtt’s 17.  Fellow UTEP guards Christian Polk and Julyan Stone also played a huge role with Polk adding 13 points and Stone contributing 9 points, 8 rebounds, and six assists, and playing tough defense throughout the game, playing the entire 40 minutes.  Using 4 players down low, the Miners held Tulsa big man, Steven Idlet, who averages 12 ppg, scoreless.  After 20 minutes of play, Tulsa held the lead, 28-27.  The Miners had 9 rebounds and Tulsa had 21 at the half.  In the second half, the Miners played like it might be their last time to play together if they didn’t win, and they started claiming rebounds as their own, and putting pressure on Tulsa’s defense, relentlessly taking the ball to the hoop.  The Miners built a 12 point lead with just under 5 and a half minutes left in the game, and never let Tulsa get back into the game from there on out.

Final Score:  UTEP Miners 66  Tulsa Golden Hurricane 54

The Miners built a big lead against the Thundering Herd of Marshall in the first half, and then hung on to eventually pull away from a tiring Herd team and finish with a 12 point win on their home court, 77 to 65.  The Miners used balance scoring, with six players posting double digits, and a mixture of defenses to keep Marshall’s offense off balance in the win. 

The Miners finished the regular season with a 23-8 record overall, and  11-5 in conference games.  At home, the Miners are 17-2 this season, and 7-1 against conference opponents.  The  Miners fans make the Don Haskins Center one of  the toughest places to play in the conference.  Averaging over 8600 per game, the fans can energize the Miners, and intimidate opponents.  Expect to see that number to jump to 12,000 per game in the conference tournament, and those 12,000 will be fired up, with a passion for Miners basketball that has given UTEP and El Paso a nationally recognized reputation for a place most teams don’t want to come to.

The Miners will face Memphis in the Conference USA Tournament Championship game

Memphis Tigers

The Tigers took the court against the Pirates of ECU who had dispatched the top seeded Blazers of UAB the previous day.  A combination of playing their third game in as many days, and the loss of their  floor general, Brock Young, who was injured it the Pirates win over UAB proved to be too much for the Pirates to overcome.  Memphis jumped out to a big lead midway through the first half, and never looked back.  Joe Jackson scored a career high 24 points for the Tigers.  The Pirates looked like they were playing in lead sneakers, while the Tigers looked like their had springs built into them.  The Tigers built their lead to 29 points.  Final score: Memphis 76 ECU 56.

In Memphis’ first game of the Conference USA Tournament, the Tigers held on to beat the Golden Eagles of Southern Miss 66-63.  Both teams’ defenses were evident, especially in the first 20 minutes.  The young, but very talented and athletic Tigers pushed the Southern Miss team, but the Golden Eagles refused to fade away. 

The Tigers finished the regular season with a 23-9 record overall, and  10-6 in conference games.  At home, the Tigers were 17-2 this season, and 7-1 against conference opponents.   On the road, the Tigers were 4-6 overall, and 3-5 in conference games.  ON neutral courts they were 2-1.

Key Players For Each Team Are

UTEP Miners

The Miners use a number of players and lineups depending on their opponent’s strengths and weaknesses.  Having said that, there are four players that average between 30 to 36 minutes per game.  Guard, Randy Culpepper is the reigning Conference USA Player of the Year.  Guard,  Julyan Stone is arguably the best all around player on the team.  Culpepper is a prolific scorer, leading the Miners with an average of 19.5 points per game, and Stone is UTEP’s All-Time leader in assists, and the team’s leading rebounder this season, averaging 7.4 rebounds per game..  Both of them play  high intensity defense.  Culpepper’s quick feet and even quicker hands have allowed him to make 65 steals this season to lead the conference averaging 2.6 steals per game.  Stone is a quick guard and at 6′ 7” his height gives other guards fits. Guard, Christian Polk averages almost 33 minutes per game.  From the field he shoots at a .429 clip, but from beyond the 3 point line his average actually goes up to .444.  Polk is second on the team in scoring average with 11.3 points per game. Forward, Jeremy Williams is third on the team in scoring, averaging 10.7 points per game, and second on the team in rebounding, averaging 5.4 per game.  Williams can also step out beyond the three point line, shooting .409 from there.  In the paint, the Miners have three players that see the most minutes, and each give Coach Floyd’s team a different look.  Gabe McCulley is a 6′ 7” Guard/Forward who can grab rebounds and use his quickness inside to score, or step outside and hit the three point shot.  Freshman, John Bohannon,  the Miners 6′ 10” Center averages 5.5 points per game, and 4.9 rebounds per game in the 19.4 minutes per game he averages.  Big Claude Britton,  a 6′ 8” , 280 pound Center sees limited playing time due to an asthma condition, but when he is in the game he is a powerful force down low.  The big man has a soft shooting touch, and can put up points in a hurry, and provide plenty of muscle to move opposing team’s big men around.

Memphis Tigers

The Tigers get their wins with their speed and athleticism both offensively and defensively.  Their team has balanced scoring, and depth.  Will Barton averages 12.5 ppg and pulls down 4.9 rebounds a game.  Wesley Witherspoon adds 9.8 points and 4.6 boards per game.  Tarik Black contributes 9.4 points per game and hits 54% from beyond the arc, and he shoots a lot from that range.  Besides his scoring threat from beyond the 3 point line he also leads the team in rebounding, averaging 5.2 boards per game.  The Tigers seem to be able to just bring people off of the bench with no let up in talent, energy, and scoring. 

How It Will Turn Out

The Tigers have owned Conference USA Basketball for the past few years until chinks in their armor began to appear last year.  The Miners were responsible for some of those chinks.  The Tigers depend on the athleticism on defense and offense.  The Miners play disciplined defense and offense.  This is talent, athletic ability, and youth against talent, discipline and experience.  The two teams played on  February 26 at the Don Haskins Center, and the Miners handed the Tigers the worst loss in many years, beating Memphis 74-47. That was then, this is now.  The Miners will again have the advantage of a packed house of Miners Maniacs cheering them on.  The Tigers will be scratching and clawing their way for an invitation to the NCAA Tournament.  Somehow, this seems to be just the way it should be.  I don’t expect the Miners to beat the Tigers like they did a couple of weeks ago.  That just doesn’t happen very often, but the Miners will have the confidence and experience to win the big one to become the 2011 Conference USA Tournament Champions.

Final score:  Miners 73  Memphis 66

 
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UTEP v Tulsa Report | 11 Mar 11

12 Mar

The Miners battled an always tough Tulsa team for a chance to play for the conference championship on Saturday morning. 

As expected, the two teams treated the fans with a battle royal.  Conference USA’s leading scorer, Tulsa guard Justin Hurtt, averaging 20.1 points per game, and runner-up UTEP guard Randy Culpepper, reigning Player of the Year, averaging 19.3 points per game showed off their wares in front of a roaring house full of Miners fans. 

Randy Culpepper made it clear that the award for this year’s Player of the Year probably should have been his, again.  His 26 points led all scorers, and was 9 points better than Justin Hurtt’s 17.  Fellow UTEP guards Christian Polk and Julyan Stone also played a huge role with Polk adding 13 points and Stone contributing 9 points, 8 rebounds, and six assists,  playing tough defense throughout the game, playing the entire 40 minutes. 

Using 4 players down low, the Miners held Tulsa big man, Steven Idlet, who averages 12 ppg, scoreless. 

After 20 minutes of play, Tulsa held the lead, 28-27.  The Miners had 9 rebounds and Tulsa had 21 at the half.

  In the second half, the Miners played like it might be their last time to play together if they didn’t win, and they started claiming rebounds as their own, and putting pressure on Tulsa’s defense, relentlessly taking the ball to the hoop. 

The Miners built a 12 point lead with just under 5 and a half minutes left in the game, and never let Tulsa get back into the game from there on out.

Final Score:  UTEP Miners 66  Tulsa Golden Hurricane 54

 
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Miners v Tulsa Preview | 11 Mar 11

11 Mar

What’s Happening

Semi-final Game 1 of the Conference USA Basketball Tournament
Third seed UTEP v Second seed Tulsa  2:00 pm Friday March 11, 2011
The Don Haskins Center, El Paso, Texas
 
You Can Follow It

Live from the Don Haskins Center
Television: Broadcast live on CBS College Sports
Join Other Miners Fans in the Kyyotesden.com/Den Chat Room

Here’s Who Is Involved and How They Got Here

The UTEP Miners

The Miners built a big lead against the Thundering Herd of Marshall in the first half, and then hung on to eventually pull away from a tiring Herd team and finish with a 12 point win on their home court, 77 to 65.  The Miners used balance scoring, with six players posting double digits, and a mixture of defenses to keep Marshall’s offense off balance in the win.  The third seed Miners will face the second seeded Hurricane in the semi-final game at 2 pm, today.

The Miners finished the regular season with a 23-8 record overall, and  11-5 in conference games.  At home, the Miners are 17-2 this season, and 7-1 against conference opponents.  The  Miners fans make the Don Haskins Center one of  the toughest places to play in the conference.  Averaging over 8600 per game, the fans can energize the Miners, and intimidate opponents.  Expect to see that number to jump to 12,000 per game in the conference tournament, and those 12,000 will be fired up, with a passion for Miners basketball that has given UTEP and El Paso a nationally recognized reputation for a place most teams don’t want to come to.

The Miners finished their regular season with a 59-56 win over the SMU Mustangs at Moody Coliseum.  The win gave the Miners an 11-5 (23-8) conference record, tied with the Golden Hurricane of Tulsa (18-12) for second place.

The UTEP Miners were tripped up in their season opener against the University of Pacific 61-66 in front of the first home opener sell out crowd since 1986.

The Miners got back on track, with their first win of the season, and the first win under Head Coach Tim Floyd, when the Miners beat Mercer in their first Legends Classic Tournament game, 87-74. In the Miners second game of the Legends Classic Tournament the Miners used a tough, stingy defense, a patient offense, and free throws to cruise past the Catamounts of Western Carolina, 77-65.

The Miners used a barrage of three point shots in the first half, and 17 made free throws, combined with tough man-to-man defense to take the first round of the annual I-10 Rivalry game against the Aggies of New Mexico State, 73-56 at The Don Haskins Center, in El Paso.

The Miners fell to the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets, 71-61, at the Legends Classic in Atlantic City.  UTEP got back on track with a 65-56 win over the Michigan Wolverines to claim the third place spot in the Legends Classic Tournament.  The win was to be the beginning of a six game winning streak. 

The Miners traveled up I-10 for the rematch with New Mexico State, and came away from the Pan Am Center with a close 74-72 victory.  Returning to the Don Haskins Center, the Miners beat Arkansas-Pine Bluff, Louisiana-Monroe, Texas Tech, and Stephen F. Austin.

The Miners then traveled to Provo, Utah and were pummeled by the Jimmer Fredette led BYU Cougars, 68-89.

Back in El Paso, the Miners won their next 4 games, beating Western New Mexico, Air Force, Sam Houston State, and Tulsa to open Conference USA play.

The Miners’ next game may have been the most exciting game of the season in college basketball.  The Miners and the Blazers of UAB traded buzzer beating 3 point shots to extend the game into triple overtime, before the Miners finally fell to the Blazers, 97-100 in Birmingham.

In New Orleans, the Miners beat Tulane.  Then, back in El Paso, the Miners beat the Rice Owls.  In Houston, the Miners got another win, beating the Houston Cougars.  The Miners got their second win of the season over Tulane back in El Paso.  Traveling to Tulsa for the rematch, the Miners lost to the Golden Hurricane, 68-69.  In Houston, the Miners beat the Owls, and then came back to El Paso to beat SMU.  The Miners picked up their sixth loss of the season in Hattiesburg, losing to the Golden Eagles of Southern Miss.  The Miners got a win over Houston at the Don Haskins Center, and then lost their next home game to UCF. 

Traveling to East Carolina, the Miners lost their eight game of the season to the Pirates.  The game included 5 technical fouls called against the Miners, and the ejection of Tim Floyd and immediately following Floyd’s ejection the ejection of Assistant Coach, Phil Johnson.

When the Miners played their next game at the Don Haskins Center, they seemed to take out the previous game’s frustration on the Memphis Tigers, giving the Tigers a 74-47 beat down.  Then, the Marshall Thundering Herd came to El Paso, and on Senior’s Night, the senior laden Miners won  82-74.

The Miners will face Tulsa in the Semi-finals of the Conference USA Tournament

Tulsa Golden Hurricane

In Tulsa’s first game of the Conference USA Tournament, the Hurricane out lasted a game Rice Owls team 81-72.  Tulsa shot a season high 56% from the field, and eventually wore down the Owls who had played and beat SMU the previous night.  The  second seed Tulsa win moved them forward to the semi-final game against the third seeded Miners.

Tulsa finished their season with a record of 18-12 overall, and 11-5 in conference play.  At home they were 12-4 in all games, and 4-7 away.  In conference games Tulsa was 7-1 at home and 4-4 away.  On neutral courts they were 3-1.

Tulsa has had a very up and down basketball run this season.  They started the season off with a home loss to Appalachian State 86-89.  They got back on track with two wins at home against Oral Roberts 83-68, and Missouri State 62-50.  Their next three games came in the 76 Classic in Anaheim.  They lost the first game to UNLV 71-80, but won the next two, beating Stanford 65-53 and  Cal State-Northridge 80-63. 

The next two games they played a road game and they lost to Arkansas-Little Rock 67-69 and in state rivals from the Big 12, Oklahoma State 71-54 at the BOK Center in Tulsa, which is not the Hurricane’s home court even though it is in Tulsa.

Back in the Reynolds Center, the Hurricane lost in double overtime to Princeton 78-82,  and followed that game with another overtime game, which they won, beating Weber State 81-79.

Their next game took them to Wichita, where they were shocked by Wichita State 79-82. 

Back in the Reynolds Center, they beat UT-San Antonio 92-67, and TCU 69-66.

Tulsa began conference play in El Paso, where the Miners picked Tulsa to be their first conference win of the season, 69 to 59.  Tulsa returned to their home court, and got their first conference win of the season, beating Rice 75-64.

Tulsa’s next game was in Tempe, where they lost to Arizona State, 59-69.  Three days later, UAB was blown away in the Reynolds Center by the Hurricane 78-62.  Tulsa’s next two games were on the road where they split, losing to Houston by a score of 57-64, and taking one from Tulane 65-61.

Tulsa returned to the Reynolds center for their next two games.  SMU escaped with a one point win, 59-58, and UTEP lost a one point game to the Hurricane 68-69.

Tulsa traveled to Memphis and declawed the Tigers 68-65.  Back in Tulsa, they avenged their earlier loss to Houston, beating the Cougars 76-71 in overtime.  In Florida, the Hurricane lost a one point game to the Golden Knights 57-58.

The Pirates of East Carolina were blown out of the Reynolds Center by the Hurricane, 86-67.  In Dallas, Tulsa got another win, beating SMU 74-66, but in Huntington, the Thundering Herd gave the Hurricane the horns, 79-61.  Tulsa won their last three games of the regular season, beating Tulane in Tulsa 66-59, flooding Rice’s paddy in Houston 67-57, and grounding the Eagles of Southern Miss 78-70 in Tulsa.

Key Players For Each Team Are

UTEP Miners

The Miners use a number of players and lineups depending on their opponent’s strengths and weaknesses.  Having said that, there are four players that average between 30 to 36 minutes per game.  Guard, Randy Culpepper is the reigning Conference USA Player of the Year.  Guard,  Julyan Stone is arguably the best all around player on the team.  Culpepper is a prolific scorer, leading the Miners with an average of 19.5 points per game, and Stone is UTEP’s All-Time leader in assists, and the team’s leading rebounder this season, averaging 7.4 rebounds per game..  Both of them play  high intensity defense.  Culpepper’s quick feet and even quicker hands have allowed him to make 65 steals this season to lead the conference averaging 2.6 steals per game.  Stone is a quick guard and at 6′ 7” his height gives other guards fits. Guard, Christian Polk averages almost 33 minutes per game.  From the field he shoots at a .429 clip, but from beyond the 3 point line his average actually goes up to .444.  Polk is second on the team in scoring average with 11.3 points per game. Forward, Jeremy Williams is third on the team in scoring, averaging 10.7 points per game, and second on the team in rebounding, averaging 5.4 per game.  Williams can also step out beyond the three point line, shooting .409 from there.  In the paint, the Miners have three players that see the most minutes, and each give Coach Floyd’s team a different look.  Gabe McCulley is a 6′ 7” Guard/Forward who can grab rebounds and use his quickness inside to score, or step outside and hit the three point shot.  Freshman, John Bohannon,  the Miners 6′ 10” Center averages 5.5 points per game, and 4.9 rebounds per game in the 19.4 minutes per game he averages.  Big Claude Britton,  a 6′ 8” , 280 pound Center sees limited playing time due to an asthma condition, but when he is in the game he is a powerful force down low.  The big man has a soft shooting touch, and can put up points in a hurry, and provide plenty of muscle to move opposing team’s big men around.

Tulsa Golden Hurricane

Justin Hurtt is the Hurricane’s big gun.  He averages 20.1 points per game.  Tulsa’s big man, center Steven Idlet averages 12 points, and 6.4 rebounds per game.  Jordan Clarkson and Scottie Haralson average 11.5 and 11 points per game, respectively.

How It Will Turn Out

These two teams have a history of battling each other, and today’s game figures to be the same as the rest.  Probably fairly equally matched, it will come down to two things.  First, is which team will be able to impose their will on the other, and maintain their composure and discipline.  Mental toughness will be huge, because the pressure will be intense.  Secondly, the Miners will have a big home court advantage.  The Miners fans provide their team with energy on both sides of the ball, and the fans in the Don Haskins Center will be way up for this one.  Expect this one to be a back and forth affair, a game with two heavy weights pounding away at each other.  In the end, the Miners will prevail.  Home court advantage is real, and the Miners home court is a real advantage.

Final score:  Miners 71  Tulsa 66

 
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UTEP Marshall/Houston Preview | 08 Mar 11

08 Mar

What’s Happening

Game #3 of the First Round of the Conference USA Basketball Tournament
Sixth seed Marshall v Eleventh seed Houston  5:30 pm Wednesday

Game #7 of the Conference USA Basketball Tournament 5:30 pm Thursday
The UTEP Miners play the winner of the Marshall/Houston game in the Quarterfinals of the Conference USA Basketball Tournament

The Don Haskins Center, El Paso, Texas
The Miners had a first round bye. 

You Can Follow It

Live from the Don Haskins Center
There is no television coverage of the first round.

Second Round
Television: Broadcast live on CBS College Sports

Join Other Miners Fans in the Kyyotesden.com/Den Chat Room

Here’s Who Is Involved and How They Got Here

The UTEP Miners

The Miners finished the regular season with a 23-8 record overall, and  11-5 in conference games.  At home, the Miners are 17-2 this season, and 7-1 against conference opponents.  The  Miners fans make the Don Haskins Center one of  the toughest places to play in the conference.  Averaging over 8600 per game, the fans can energize the Miners, and intimidate opponents.  Expect to see that number to jump to 12,000 per game in the conference tournament, and those 12,000 will be fired up, with a passion for Miners basketball that has given UTEP and El Paso a nationally recognized reputation for a place most teams don’t want to come to.

The Miners finished their regular season with a 59-56 win over the SMU Mustangs at Moody Coliseum.  The win gave the Miners an 11-5 (23-8) conference record, tied with the Golden Hurricane of Tulsa (18-12) for second place.

The UTEP Miners were tripped up in their season opener against the University of Pacific 61-66 in front of the first home opener sell out crowd since 1986.

The Miners got back on track, with their first win of the season, and the first win under Head Coach Tim Floyd, when the Miners beat Mercer in their first Legends Classic Tournament game, 87-74. In the Miners second game of the Legends Classic Tournament the Miners used a tough, stingy defense, a patient offense, and free throws to cruise past the Catamounts of Western Carolina, 77-65.

The Miners used a barrage of three point shots in the first half, and 17 made free throws, combined with tough man-to-man defense to take the first round of the annual I-10 Rivalry game against the Aggies of New Mexico State, 73-56 at The Don Haskins Center, in El Paso.

The Miners fell to the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets, 71-61, at the Legends Classic in Atlantic City.  UTEP got back on track with a 65-56 win over the Michigan Wolverines to claim the third place spot in the Legends Classic Tournament.  The win was to be the beginning of a six game winning streak. 

The Miners traveled up I-10 for the rematch with New Mexico State, and came away from the Pan Am Center with a close 74-72 victory.  Returning to the Don Haskins Center, the Miners beat Arkansas-Pine Bluff, Louisiana-Monroe, Texas Tech, and Stephen F. Austin.

The Miners then traveled to Provo, Utah and were pummeled by the Jimmer Fredette led BYU Cougars, 68-89.

Back in El Paso, the Miners won their next 4 games, beating Western New Mexico, Air Force, Sam Houston State, and Tulsa to open Conference USA play.

The Miners’ next game may have been the most exciting game of the season in college basketball.  The Miners and the Blazers of UAB traded buzzer beating 3 point shots to extend the game into triple overtime, before the Miners finally fell to the Blazers, 97-100 in Birmingham.

In New Orleans, the Miners beat Tulane.  Then, back in El Paso, the Miners beat the Rice Owls.  In Houston, the Miners got another win, beating the Houston Cougars.  The Miners got their second win of the season over Tulane back in El Paso.  Traveling to Tulsa for the rematch, the Miners lost to the Golden Hurricane, 68-69.  In Houston, the Miners beat the Owls, and then came back to El Paso to beat SMU.  The Miners picked up their sixth loss of the season in Hattiesburg, losing to the Golden Eagles of Southern Miss.  The Miners got a win over Houston at the Don Haskins Center, and then lost their next home game to UCF. 

Traveling to East Carolina, the Miners lost their eight game of the season to the Pirates.  The game included 5 technical fouls called against the Miners, and the ejection of Tim Floyd and immediately following Floyd’s ejection the ejection of Assistant Coach, Phil Johnson.

When the Miners played their next game at the Don Haskins Center, they seemed to take out the previous game’s frustration on the Memphis Tigers, giving the Tigers a 74-47 beat down.  Then, the Marshall Thundering Herd came to El Paso, and on Senior’s Night, the senior laden Miners won  82-74.

The Miners will face either Marshall or Houston in the Quarterfinals of the Conference USA Tournament

Marshall Thundering Herd

The Thundering Herd finished the season with a record of 21-10, and 9-7 in conference play.  At home they posted a record of 14-3, 6-2 in conference play, and when they went on the road they were 6-7 and 3-5 in conference games, with one win in their only game played on a neutral court.

The Thundering Herd opened their season with wins over West Virginia Tech 92-69, and Glenville State 93-48, and then lost a one point game to UT-Chattanooga 68-69.  The Herd won their next game versus Jackson State 66-60.  At Louisville, the Herd lost 66-80.  Marshall won their next four games versus Ohio 66-57, James Madison  67-63, Savannah State 56-47, and VMI 98-70.  In a rematch at James Madison, Marshall lost 73-80.  The Herd won their next two games, beating  Binghamton 85-60, and St. Bonaventure 74-65.  Marshall began conference play traveling to Orlando to play UCF and lost 58-65.  Back in Huntington, Marshall trampled the Golden Eagles of Southern Mississippi 95-65, and beat Savannah State a second time in a month, 71-57.  They traveled to Memphis and lost 61-77.  They picked up a big win against in-state rival West Virginia 75-71 on West Virginia’s home court.  Back in Huntington, they lost a close one to ECU 81-82, and then, traveling to Birmingham, they lost to the Blazers 56-60.  The Herd won their next two games, getting revenge against Memphis 85-70 on the Herd’s home court, and then beating the Houston Cougars 63-62 in Houston.  In Hattiesberg, the Herd lost one to the Golden Eagles,  60-67, and back on their home court, the Herd were torched by the Blazers, 48-64.  That must have lit a fire, because Marshall won their next five games.  They won at ECU 78-65, beat Rice at home 72-61,  at Tulane 79-75 in overtime, put the hurt on Tulsa 79-61 and SMU 64-62 in Huntington.  Making the long trip to El Paso, the Herd lost to the Miners, 74-82, and finished the regular season taking it to the Golden Knights on the Knights’ home court, 83-69.

The Houston Cougars

The Cougars finished their season with a record of 12-17, and 4-12 in conference play.  At home, the Cougars 10-6 overall, and 3-5 against conference teams.  On the road, they were 2-11, and 1-7 against conference foes.

Houston opened their season having to go into overtime to beat Nichols State, 63-62 in Houston.  The rebounded from that close game with a blowout win, again in Houston, over Alcorn State, 88-68.  Traveling to LA Tech, Houston lost their first game of the season, 54-60.  The Cougars won their next two, beating NW OK State 81-58, and Louisiana 78-65.  They lost their next two games on the road, 63-79 against TCU, and 57-73 against LSU, and then beat Sam Houston State on the road in overtime, 75-71.  They beat Nevada 64-61, and lost to UT-San Antonio 63-68,  in Houston.  On the road, they lost to Texas A&M-Corpus Christi in overtime, 78-81. Back home in Houston, they picked up wins over Sam Houston 75-73, and Rodgers St. 85-48.  At Southern Miss, they lost 73-85.  Their next game, at home, they beat UCF 76-71.  In Dallas, they beat SMU 70-68.  They split their next two games, at home, beating Tulsa  64-57, and losing to UTEP 52-57.  Playing their cross-town rival, Rice,  the Cougars lost in overtime,  71-79.  At ECU, they lost their next game 70-74, and back at home, they lost a one point game to Marshall, 62-63.  Their next game, in Tulsa, they lost in overtime, 71-76. Back in Houston, they picked up a win, beating Tulane 79-68.  The next six games finished their season with losses as they seemed to throw in the towel.  At home, they fell to SMU 51-65, and on the road, they lost to UTEP 64-76 and Memphis 58-69.  Back in Houston, UAB beat them 55-68.  At Tulane, they lost 77-80.  In Houston, again against their cross-town rival, the Rice Owls, they lost 57-72.

Key Players For Each Team Are

UTEP Miners

The Miners use a number of players and lineups depending on their opponent’s strengths and weaknesses.  Having said that, there are four players that average between 30 to 36 minutes per game.  Guard, Randy Culpepper is the reigning Conference USA Player of the Year.  Guard,  Julyan Stone is arguably the best all around player on the team.  Culpepper is a prolific scorer, leading the Miners with an average of 19.5 points per game, and Stone is UTEP’s All-Time leader in assists, and the team’s leading rebounder this season, averaging 7.4 rebounds per game..  Both of them play  high intensity defense.  Culpepper’s quick feet and even quicker hands have allowed him to make 65 steals this season to lead the conference averaging 2.6 steals per game.  Stone is a quick guard and at 6′ 7” his height gives other guards fits. Guard, Christian Polk averages almost 33 minutes per game.  From the field he shoots at a .429 clip, but from beyond the 3 point line his average actually goes up to .444.  Polk is second on the team in scoring average with 11.3 points per game. Forward, Jeremy Williams is third on the team in scoring, averaging 10.7 points per game, and second on the team in rebounding, averaging 5.4 per game.  Williams can also step out beyond the three point line, shooting .409 from there.  In the paint, the Miners have three players that see the most minutes, and each give Coach Floyd’s team a different look.  Gabe McCulley is a 6′ 7” Guard/Forward who can grab rebounds and use his quickness inside to score, or step outside and hit the three point shot.  Freshman, John Bohannon,  the Miners 6′ 10” Center averages 5.5 points per game, and 4.9 rebounds per game in the 19.4 minutes per game he averages.  Big Claude Britton,  a 6′ 8” , 280 pound Center sees limited playing time due to an asthma condition, but when he is in the game he is a powerful force down low.  The big man has a soft shooting touch, and can put up points in a hurry, and provide plenty of muscle to move opposing team’s big men around.

Marshall Thundering Herd

Marshall’s leading scorers are guards Damier Pitts, averaging 15.8 points per game, and DeAndre Kane with 15.1 points per game.  Those two combined average 7.9 assists per game, with Pitts dishing out 4.4, and Kane’s 3.5.  Forward Tirrell Baines adds 12.7 points per game, and leads the Herd in rebounding, averaging 6.7 per game.  Forward Johnny Thomas, guard Shaquille Johnson, and guard/forward Drago Pena average 8.8, 8.7, and 7.6 points per game, respectively.

Houston  Cougars

Forward Maurice McNeil leads the Cougars in scoring, 13.2 points per game, and rebounding, 7.5 per game.Guard Adam Brown contributes 13 points, and 4.2 rebounds  per game.  Guard Zamal Nixon averages 10 points per game.  Forwards Alandrise Harris, and Kendrick Washington  average 9.2  and 8.4 points per game, and 5.5 and 5 rebounds per game, respectively.  Guard Darian Thibodeaux adds an average of 8.3 points per game.

How It Will Turn Out

Let’s worry about the first round match up between Marshall and Houston, first.  There’s no sense in getting ahead of ourselves.  Marshall should be able to handle the Cougars easily.  But, the Cougars have been schizophrenic this season.  Five of their games, including 3 of their losses came in overtime.  They lost to teams they should have beat, and beat teams they shouldn’t  have.  They are the 11 seed in the tournament, but they are dangerous.  They beat Tulsa in Houston and took Tulsa into overtime at Tulsa.  In their only game against Marshall this season, they lost by a single point in Houston.  They have little home court advantage when they play at home, and are maybe more dangerous on a neutral court.  Marshall will have had to make the long trip from West Virginia, while Houston traveled in state to the tournament.  So, this game really depends on which version of the Houston team shows up, and whether or not they really did throw in the towel at the end of the season.  Marshall is an 8.5 point Vegas favorite in this game, but I think this may just be the shocker of the first round.  I can see Marshall winning by 8 or 9, but I can also see Houston winning this one.  So here is my bold prediction. 

Houston wins this game 65-63.

I will make my second round prediction after this game has been played.

 
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