Nov. 17, 2006
FORT WORTH, Texas -
UT Arlington-TCU game notes
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Fresh off a buzzer-beating shot by junior center Jermaine Griffin to beat North Texas 83-81 in Denton, the UT Arlington men's basketball team will travel to Fort Worth for a contest with rival TCU Saturday afternoon.
The game was moved to the noon start time to accomodate the Mtn. network. It marks the first of four live television broadcasts the Mavericks will make during the regular season.
TCU (2-0) has dominated the series, winning 14 of 17 meetings and the last nine meetings. The last UTA win was a 91-90 decision on Nov. 29, 1980, at Daniel Meyer Coliseum.
The Mavs have had five players score double figures in both wins over UT-Tyler and North Texas. Griffin scored a career-high 24 points in the win over UNT. The Mavs built a 13-point first-half lead, but UNT battled back to tie the game in the final :30 before Griffin took a Larry Posey pass and got the winning shot off before the buzzer.
A win would give the Mavericks their first 3-0 start since 1992-93 and just the fourth time in program history dating back to 1959. UT Arlington opened the 1992-93 season 4-0 en route to a 16-12 campaign. The Mavericks return home Nov. 21 to host Texas-Pan American at Texas Hall.
TIME CHANGE The UT Arlington at TCU men's basketball game has been moved to noon on Saturday in order to be televised on the Mountain Network. The Maverick Club will host a pre-game social at the Blue Mesa Grill, 1600 S. University Dr., in Fort Worth from 9:30-11 a.m. The first 35 people will receive a free ticket to the game. A continental breakfast is available for $6.
TEAM CONCEPT Scott Cross has used the team concept through the first two regular-season games. Nine players are averaging double-figure minutes and five are scoring in double-figures - Jermaine Griffin (20.5), Larry Posey (12.0), Ro'ger Guignard (11.0) and Anthony Vereen (14.0) and Tommy Moffitt (10.0).
MAVERICKS ON THE COURT, TIGERS OFF The UT Arlington men's basketball team may be Mavericks on the court, but for a day they were Tigers off the hardwood. The Mavericks spent Friday visiting with student at Thornton Elementary School in Arlington on Friday. The visit has become an annual visit where players and coaches deliver motivational talks and signs autographs for the students. PRIME TIME The UT Arlington Mavericks will be shown on television a minimum of four times during the 2006-07 season. The Mavs will premiere on the Mountain Network Saturday when UT Arlington travels to TCU. The game has been moved to noon for television. UT Arlington will be shown in Oklahoma and parts of Kansas and Missouri when they are on the Sooner Network for the UT Arlington-Oklahoma basketball game on Saturday, Dec.. 16. The match up between nationally-ranked Texas and UT Arlington will be shown in a five-state region on FOX Southwest on Jan. 2. Finally, the Mavs will travel to Corpus Christi for a Southland Conference match up with Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, also on FOXSW. UT Arlington could make a fifth television appearance if they reach the finals of the O'Reilly Auto Parts SLC Postseason Tournament, March 11, 2007, from the Campbell Center in Aldine, Texas.
SCOUTING THE FROGS TCU (2-0) enters Saturday's game after a 59-53 win over SLC member Stephen F. Austin on Tuesday. Kevin Lankford (11.5), Brent Hackett (11.0) and Blake Adams (10.0) lead a balanced TCU attack. Lankford, Hackett, Neil P. Dougherty, Neiman Owens and Femi Ibikunla have started both games this season. Alvardo Parker has come off the bench to score 9.5 points in 17 minutes of action. TCU is averaging 12.5 steals per game and forces opponents into 20.5 miscues an outing. (SEE Tale of the Tape, Page 4)
TEAM CONCEPT Fort Worth Dunbar High School guard DeAndre Brown signed National Letters of Intent (NLI) to play for the UT Arlington men's basketball program in 2007-08. Brown (5-11, 165), averaged 14.7 points, 7.6 assists and 3.1 steals while earning first-team all-state honors by the Texas Association of Basketball Coaches (TABC) as a junior for Dunbar High School. He has been ranked as high as the 94th best prospect in the nation by Rivals.com. He is considered one of the top 25 high school prospects by several recruiting services including Clark Francis' Hoop Scoop (7th), Tim Onkst's Texas Roundball.com (21st) and Rivals.com (14th). Brown, who chose UTA over Nebraska, Houston and SMU, ran the point guard position for the Dunbar Flying Wildcats to the UIL Class 4A state championship. He had 18 points, six rebounds and seven assists in Dunbar's 95-66 win over San Antonio Brackenridge in the state title game. In addition to being named to the All-Tournament Team at the state tournament, Brown was named all-region, first-team all district and was the MVP of the 2005 Whataburger Holiday Tournament.
MAVS OVERSEAS Three members of last season's team are currently playing professional basketball overseas. Former Maverick players Steven Thomas (Grindavik of the Iceland Express League), Jarrett Howell (SKK Katwica-Kolobrzeg of the Polish Dominet Basket Liga) and Kenneth Henderson (Rotterdam Basketball in the Holland League) signed one-year contracts and are currently playing for their respective clubs.
GRIFFIN THROWS UP A WALL Junior Jermaine Griffin (Houston, Texas) made an early statement with a career-high five blocked shots in the season-opening win over UT-Tyler. The five blocks ties for the fourth most in the program history. Offensively, Griffin had a career-high 24 points in the win over North Texas.
POWER IN THE PAINT
The inside game of the Mavericks has been a strength so far this season. The inside starting trio of Jermaine Griffin, Anthony Vereen and Larry Posey are averaging collective 46.5 points and 20.5 rebounds. Griffin (75.0%) and Vereen (69.2%) are shooting better than 50% from the field and the three have combined to make 74.3% (29 of 39) from the foul line.
FAB FRESHMEN
The UT Arlington freshman class has made an early impact in the lineup. Four freshmen - Cardell Hunter, Ro'ger Guignard, Tommy Moffitt and Matt Read - combined for 31 points, 15 rebounds, eight assists and four steals in the win over UT-Tyler. Guignard (11.0 ppg) and Moffitt (10.0) are both averaging double figures this season.
THE LITTLE GENERAL
Freshman guard Ro'ger Guignard has been the biggest surprise of the season for the Mavs. A true freshman from Mesquite Horn High School, Guignard is shooting 54.5 percent from 3-point range (6 of 11) and has just one turnover in 66 minutes of play.
HOME GROWN
Twelve players hail from Texas on the UT Arlington roster. Only sophomore guard Brandon Long (Richton Park, Ill.) is from out of state. Sophomore forward Anthony Vereen is originally from Hammond, La., but played at Gulf Shores Academy in Houston before signing to play for the Mavericks.
THE HUNT FOR 100
UT Arlington has scored 100 or more points in just two of the past 310 games. The last 100-point game was a 103-45 win over Hardin Simmons on Dec. 29, 2001, at Texas Hall.
MAVS MEET MAVS
UTA Head Men's Basketball Coach Scott Cross will be featured in a segment with Dallas Mavericks coach Avery Johnson during the Avery Johnson Show, Saturday at 6:30 p.m. on TXA 21.
