MAVS OPEN AT TCU
11/19/2004 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Nov. 19, 2004
FORT WORTH, Texas - For the second straight season, the Texas-Arlington men's basketball team will open the regular season at Daniel Meyer Coliseum to face the TCU Horned Frogs. Tip off is at 7:05 p.m.
SEASON OPENERS: The Mavericks have traditionally been slow out of the gate, going 10-35 in season openers dating back to 1959 when UTA became a four-year schgool. The Mavs are 2-32 against Division I opponents in season openers are are 1-5 against TCU. UTA's last win over a Division I in a season opener was 1980 when the Mavericks upset TCU 91-80.
THE SERIES: TCU has won the past seven meetings versus UTA and leads the overall series, 11-3. The Horned Frogs have averaged 100.75 points per gmae the last four meetings, including an 87-58 win at Daniel Meyer Coliseum last year. TCU has won nine of 10 meetings in Fort Worth. UTA's only win in Fort Worth was an 8-0-78 decision on Nov. 29, 1977.
ABOUT THE EXHIBITION GAME: The Texas-Arlington men's basketball team used a 19-0 run midway through the game to break away from Universidad de Puebla, 90-52, in an exhibition game at Texas Hall Tuesday.
Puebla went scoreless for an 8:10 span from the end of the first half until 15:30 remaining in the game to take a 52-25 lead after a Jay Neukomm free throw.
Freshman forward Larry Posey (Houston, Texas) came off the bench to lead all scorers with 13 points. Freshman Myles Guidry (11) and sophomore guard Stephen Floyd (11) also scored in double figures for UTA. The Mavs' freshmen combined for 46 points and 17 rebounds.
UTA shot 55.9 percent (19-of-34) from the field in the second half. The Mavs hit four of their first five field goals to spark a 13-0 run to start the half. Steven Thomas (Fort Worth, Texas) scored on a layup after a Floyd steal, then Thomas swiped a Puebla pass and fed to Floyd for a lay in and a 43-25 lead with 19:00 to play in the game. Jarrett Howell (Arlington, Texas) canned a jumper and Floyd added another layup for a 48-25 edge with 17:43 left in the game.
EARLY SIGNINGS:Two Texas high school hoop standouts have signed National Letters of Intent to play basketball next season at The University of Texas at Arlington, head coach Eddie McCarter announced today. Anthony Vereen (Pearland, Texas/Houston Gulf Shores Academy) and teammate Terrell Henry will join the Mavericks for the 2005-06 season.
"We were fortunate to find two athletic players that I think can fit into our system," said McCarter. "Both will be more mature after a season at Gulf Shores and will help us with depth immediately."
Both players transferred this year from Pearland High School for what will essentially be a prep year for both after spending their senior year at Pearland in 2003-04. Each is ranked among the top 80 seniors in a preseason list compiled by texashoops.com. They join Gulf Shores standouts Gerald Green (Oklahoma State) and Jovan Adams (Nevada-Las Vegas) to sign NLIs.
Henry, a 6-foot-5, 190-pound wing is considered a slasher and averaged 12 points and 7 rebounds per game for the Pearland Oilers that won District 23-5A with a 31-5 record and advanced to the third round of the state tournament before losing to Houston Aldine 68-52 in the region semifinals. Vereen is a 6-foot-7, 230-pound forward/post that choose between UTA and Oral Roberts. He averaged 13 points and 8 rebounds per game in 2003-04.
MAVS MAKE PRESEASON All-SLC SQUAD: The University of Texas at Arlington men's basketball's lone returning starter, junior forward Steven Thomas, was named to the 2004-05 Preseason All-Southland Conference Men's Basketball Second Team.
Thomas started 19 games in 2003-04 and was the second leading scorer (12.1 points per game) for the avericks and tied for third in rebounding (146 total rebounds). He was named honorable mention allSLC after ranking 18th in the league in scoring (12.1), tied for 18th in rebounding (5.0) and 19th in free-throw percentage (.734). Thomas posted 21 double figure scoring games a year ago and became the 21st player in school history to score 30 points in a game with 30 in an 85-64 win over Texas-San Antonio on Jan. 10, 2004. Thomas' 138 made free throws iss fourth on the all-time single season list and needs 36 free throws to move in to the career top 10 at UTA.
Thomas was the only Maverick recognized on the 10-person preseason squad. Joining Thomas on the second-team squad was Eddy Fobbs of Sam Houston State, Stephen F. Austin point guard Marcus Clark, Texas State guard Josh Naylor and Northwestern State junior forward Byron Allen.
PRESEASON POLLS:The University of Texas at Arlington Head Men's Basketball Coach Eddie McCarter likes the role of an underdog.
After having the target of being the league's preseason choice to win a year ago, McCarter has the pressure-free position of being at the back of the league's preseason polls it was announced recently.
UTA was picked to finished tied for eighth place in the coaches' poll and eighth by the Southland Conference's sports information directors this fall.
"We have one starter back and a lot of new people," said McCarter. "I think it is a challenge for our team to see if we can prove the polls wrong. We have a lot fo enthusiasm on the team and I hope we can channel that into being a competitve team once conference play begins."
UTA won its first league title in school history a year ago, going 11-5 in the SLC and sharing the regular season crown with Texas-San Antonio and Southeastern Louisiana Gone from the team are departed seniors Derrick Obasohan, Donny Beacham, Keith Howell and Roy Johnson. Together they combined for 3,432 points and 1,824 rebounds in 389 games played.
Northwestern State received four first-place votes to win the choice of the coach, 88-87, over Sam Houston State. Texas-San Antonio (78 points) received two first-place votes and is picked third with Stephen F. Austin fourth with 67 points and one first-place vote. The rest of the field has Southeastern Louisiana (64), Lamar (56), McNeese State (43), Louisiana-Monroe and UTA (38), Texas State (36) and Nicholls State (17).
The SID's poll has UTSA (97 points) at the top with five first-place votes followed by Northwestern State (96), Sam Houston State (92), Southeastern Louisiana (86), Stephen F. Austin (80), Lamar and Texas State (60), UTA (53), McNeese State (43), Louisiana-Monroe (42) and Nicholls State (17).
UTA HEAD COACH Eddie McCarter:The holder of the most wins by a coach in UTA history, McCarter is in his 13th season as the head coach of the Mavericks.
McCarter has recorded the fourth most wins by a coach in Southland Conference history with 152 wins at UTA. He needs eight victories to become the second winningest coach in league history. The sixth coach in UTA's 43-year, four-year history, McCarter led the Mavericks to their first 17-win season since 1990-91 by leading the Mavericks to a share of the 2004 SLC Championship with a 17-12 mark. The 33 wins over the past two seasons are the most since 36 wins between 1990-92 and the first time in McCarter's tenure to post back-to-back 15-win seasons.
McCarter has been a model of consistency during his tenure, posting double-digit wins in 11 of his 12 seasons as the head coach of the Mavericks.
