MINERS 2019/20 SEASON

[miner1liner]

Ok y'all; lets do some more prognosticating. I think it's safe to say that we had high expectations based on our hyped newbees (although it was on paper only) plus what we knew we had coming back. So here's what happened in the Tech game.
1) Williams was everything advertised
2) Lathon came through and was an upgrade from last year. ( Turnovers..blah)
3) Expectations from Tarke, Vila, Stroud, Verhoeven and Boum were completely absent.
4) Efe didn't get much playing time, but I think he'll be OKAY. Hawkins was just Hawkins and just can't seem to get it together, but the talent is there.
5) We won the game because of great "D", overcoming the unforced nervous turnovers and primarily a guy named Edwards. He didn't figure into any of our calculations amidst all the other studs, but I guarantee you; we wouldn't have had a prayer without him.
6) So...is the future even brighter now based on getting production from "only"
Williams and Edwards (of the newbees)
with the expectations still lingering for the others?
I say it looks even better now than before, because we've only seen a fraction of the wealth.

 

[unihorn]

Ok y'all; lets do some more prognosticating. I think it's safe to say that we had high expectations based on our hyped newbees (although it was on paper only) plus what we knew we had coming back. So here's what happened in the Tech game.
1) Williams was everything advertised
2) Lathon came through and was an upgrade from last year. ( Turnovers..blah)
3) Expectations from Tarke, Vila, Stroud, Verhoeven and Boum were completely absent.
4) Efe didn't get much playing time, but I think he'll be OKAY. Hawkins was just Hawkins and just can't seem to get it together, but the talent is there.
5) We won the game because of great "D", overcoming the unforced nervous turnovers and primarily a guy named Edwards. He didn't figure into any of our calculations amidst all the other studs, but I guarantee you; we wouldn't have had a prayer without him.
6) So...is the future even brighter now based on getting production from "only"
Williams and Edwards (of the newbees)
with the expectations still lingering for the others?
I say it looks even better now than before, because we've only seen a fraction of the wealth.

I think forecasting too much off one scrimmage isn’t wise.

 

[miner1liner]

I think forecasting too much off one scrimmage isn’t wise.

You ain't no fun!

 

[unihorn]

You ain't no fun!

Hahaha. I’m pumped — I just don’t think we got Tech’s best.

 

[pay4dirt]

The real expectation from an exhibition like this is that both teams see what they have in a real game. The season hasn't started yet. Lots of fouls, lots of turnovers, lots of mental lapses. We'll see better from both teams a month from now. Let's hope they are both great teams three months from now in conference play. An interesting what if is, what if they meet again for a rematch in the NCAA tournament? Any thoughts on that?

 

[unihorn]

The real expectation from an exhibition like this is that both teams see what they have in a real game. The season hasn't started yet. Lots of fouls, lots of turnovers, lots of mental lapses. We'll see better from both teams a month from now. Let's hope they are both great teams three months from now in conference play. An interesting what if is, what if they meet again for a rematch in the NCAA tournament? Any thoughts on that?

 

[Cube Jack]

For all I know Texas Tech will finish around .500 towards the middle of the pack in the Big 12 and not make the postseason so I'm not going to be buying my final four tickets yet. Let's see how the Miners do when the games count

 

[minerfan_14]

Hahaha. I’m pumped — I just don’t think we got Tech’s best.

That’s because most of their best graduated.

 

[PURPLEFIRE]

For all I know Texas Tech will finish around .500 towards the middle of the pack in the Big 12 and not make the postseason so I'm not going to be buying my final four tickets yet. Let's see how the Miners do when the games count

lol if texas tech finishes .500 and in the middle of the pack in the big 12 they get a #9 seed in the ncaa tournament

 

[axingfools1]

Williams is a pro. Lathon may be a miner great when he's done. Edwards was a fantastic get by Terry. He's perfect for this team at this time. I thought Efe moved well and I even saw him dunk pregame, but come game time he didn't jump. Efe needs to calm down and play his game.

Boum, Vila and Hawkins will have scoring nights, but they each bring a lot to the team in other regards. That gives us 7 deep right now with Archie waiting in the wings (word is he is good). Tarke I think is caught in between being an old PF and a new SF. He will be just fine...just needs some game time. Verhoeven is our 4th big right now and Terry trusts his defensive prowess. Having our player with the most potential (Stroud) so far down the bench is a great sign for the future. Eze I really think could redshirt and work on his offense. Maybe get him hooked up with Wolfram. The great thing is that everybody comes back besides Edwards and Terry has already replaced him with a solid player for the future.

Our D will be 2-3x better this year due to size and depth alone. The cool things is these guys seem to cherish each other and play for one another, the school and the city. They don't care who scores either. That makes it easier to play harder.

I agree that Tech may drop back a little in the Big 12, but they have a damn good coach and some really good players. I will be rooting for them.

 

[unihorn]

That’s because most of their best graduated.

Obviously we didn’t play last year’s team last weekend.

 

[miner1liner]

Williams is a pro. Lathon may be a miner great when he's done. Edwards was a fantastic get by Terry. He's perfect for this team at this time. I thought Efe moved well and I even saw him dunk pregame, but come game time he didn't jump. Efe needs to calm down and play his game.

Boum, Vila and Hawkins will have scoring nights, but they each bring a lot to the team in other regards. That gives us 7 deep right now with Archie waiting in the wings (word is he is good). Tarke I think is caught in between being an old PF and a new SF. He will be just fine...just needs some game time. Verhoeven is our 4th big right now and Terry trusts his defensive prowess. Having our player with the most potential (Stroud) so far down the bench is a great sign for the future. Eze I really think could redshirt and work on his offense. Maybe get him hooked up with Wolfram. The great thing is that everybody comes back besides Edwards and Terry has already replaced him with a solid player for the future.

Our D will be 2-3x better this year due to size and depth alone. The cool things is these guys seem to cherish each other and play for one another, the school and school and the city. They don't care who scores either. That makes it easier to play harder.

I agree that Tech may drop back a little in the Big 12, but they have a damn good coach and some really good players. I will be rooting for them.

My point is we won the game without benefit from all the studs. We lost to Tech last year in an exhibition by 25 points in a meaninglessness game. We were witnessing the beginning of a terrible season. This year we have reason to be pumped.

 

[axingfools1]

My point is we won the game without benefit from all the studs. We lost to Tech last year in an exhibition by 25 points in a meaninglessness game. We were witnessing the beginning of a terrible season. This year we have reason to be pumped.

I agree

 

[nattybry]

Tech will make tourney this year and the Tech announcers constantly said UTEP looks the part of a Tourney team. That means nothing right now, but they pass the early eye test.

 

[Voice of the Mosquito]

Can't sell coach Beard short he is a top line coach and will have Tech rocking by midseason.

 

[utep2step]

Can't sell coach Beard short he is a top line coach and will have Tech rocking by midseason.

He got top transfers again for this year, but not sure Tech will make another deep NCAA run because they lost their top players. I personally feel the Big XII is stronger in basketball than football and tough top to bottom. They just hit a buzz saw for a scrimmage last Saturday because no one gave weight to what CRT was building. Williams was known in the MW but outside that he was unknown. Once UTEP starts playing our east coast members his name will get splashed in east coast papers and get noticed. That's the one beneficial thing belong to CUSA. Williams is way more talented than Bassey (WKU) but Bassey's name is known back east.

 

[miner1liner]

Do you think we'll get a report with any depth on the exhibition with Grand Canyon?
Not sure who's allowed to be in attendance.

 

[axingfools1]

Do you think we'll get a report with any depth on the exhibition with Grand Canyon?
Not sure who's allowed to be in attendance.

If I recall correctly, a stat sheet is all we really got from last years 2 exhibitions. People were following live updates on twitter though

 

[utep2step]

Kap?

 

[Roy_Bigwood_05]

Do you think we'll get a report with any depth on the exhibition with Grand Canyon?
Not sure who's allowed to be in attendance.

Do we know if this scrimmage is here or in Arizona?

 

[picks up]

Do we know if this scrimmage is here or in Arizona?

We played over there last year, I believe it will be here

 

[utep2step]

"There is a new buzz around the Miners basketball team after their 70-60 win over Texas Tech in their exhibition charity opener.

Sophomore guard Souley Boum was one of five players that had to sit out the entire 2018-19 season per NCAA transfer rules. He practiced, got better with the group during the offseason and now that the regular season approaches, Boum is ready to help this team win.

The offseason featured a ton of ambiguity surrounding this team that features seven Divison I transfers and four returners.



exhibition game last Saturday.

"I knew this was going to be a big game," Boum said. "I knew that there was going to be a lot of people there. It was actually crazy because it was the first real game I had in a long time. It was emotions—I was hyped, I was nervous. Once the ball tipped, it was all exciting, all fun. There were a lot of people here. Hopefully, we get to see this place fill up."

The Miners went back-and-forth with the Red Raiders in the first half, where Texas Tech went into the locker room up 30-25.

"Beginning of the game, I was in foul trouble so it put me out of my rhythm and took me out of the first half," Boum explained. "Even though my shot wasn’t falling or I wasn’t really getting any open looks, I still wanted to impact the game as much as I can. I just tried to play hard on defense. I knew that Daryl [Edwards] was hot, so I wanted to just get him the ball. I was just trying to make the right play at the right time."

Timing was everything in the second half for the Miners. Chris Beard and his squad led as much as 42-35 with just over 12 minutes to go. But then the Miners led a come-from-behind campaign in the late stretch led by Edwards (24), Williams (19) and Jordan Lathon (16).

Boum contributed immensely as a facilitator, dishing out four assists, snagging three boards and taking a steal on defense. He shut down Texas Tech standout guard Davide Moretti to just eight points in the exhibition.

"When Jordan hit that second three, I knew it was over," Boum said with a smile. "There was a minute left, we were up by like 10. I knew it was over. I’m like ‘Man, we’re going to have a hell of a season’ when he hit that shot."

Then came the aftermath. UTEP won the game, but many on social media tried to downplay the results. Some argued that Texas Tech didn't play their main guys, which wasn't true, while others felt that their Big 12 opponents didn't care to win or lose.

"They are just saying that to say that," Boum explained. "I know how good our team is this year and they don’t know that, they’re just seeing it from the outside. Texas Tech was a really good team, they are coached very hard by a very good coach that coached on the biggest stage. We got guys this year that play at a high level so that was a significant win for us but it’s on to the next one. We now know what to do moving forward."

For a team that won eight games last year, this felt like more than just a sigh of relief. The win felt like a significant accomplishment for the Miners.

"Last year was a difficult year for us going through the growing pains. This year, we think this is the year for us. We have to do that to be successful. We can’t worry about who is going to be our leading scorer for the night. It’s going to be different all the time. That’s what happens when you’re on a good team. We just have to get better every day and play hard." - UTEP sophomore guard Souley Boum

"You see [everything on social media]. You see a bunch of polls that don’t have us on the radar, don’t have any of our players on any conference awards," Boum continued. "They have us finishing last so that’s just fuel to the fire. We just use that to practice hard every day, motivate each other every day and use that to get better. We know how good we are and eventually, we aren’t going to be surprised and everyone will. That’s going to be the fun thing."



Read More: UTEP Basketball Souley Boum: 'We are ready for everybody' | https://krod.com/utep-basketball-so...ybody/?utm_source=tsmclip&utm_medium=referral

 

[unihorn]

Texas Tech picked third in preseason Big 12 coaches poll