Quick notes--UC Riverside

[topminer]

Ugly first half--Miners kicked into gear during the second half.

At the rate Efe Odigie is going, I hope we are able to keep him for four years. I keep thinking I am looking at a younger, taller version of Charles Barkley.

Without Gilyard on the court it took some time for the rest of the players to adjust. The whole first half and part of the second half we did not have a path to the basket. Players seemed to be standing around way too much and passing the ball around on the perimeter--their zone defense threw off our offense. Couple that with our inability to hit 3-pointers for the first 2/3rds of the game and we did not look like the same team that played Marquette. The bright spot for those minutes was the defense.

Alas, the sky did not fall, and we did warm up on offense. Lathon found his "groove", Hawkins gave us good minutes, Paul Thomas had one of his best games of the season, and we ended up with a 12 point win.

 

[MineroFanatico]

Thanks for the recap, topminer. Wasn’t able to watch today. I did notice that UC Riverside was a smokin’ hot 10 of 21 from 3. I’m sure that helped keep them in the game combined with our paltry 4 for 17 from behind the arc.

Also stood out to me that Campbell played 37 minutes and that Magee only had 23 or so.

 

[groundrounds]

Thanks, Topminer. I was able to listen to the game and it seemed like they really pulled it out of the fire in the last 5 minutes. It was a very good learning experience for the team to go 40 minutes without Evan.
Efe seem to take a big leap every game. He's big and strong enough to be durable, too. Unlike some bigs from the recent past.

 

[PURPLEFIRE]

I am worried about some top 5 program trying to poach odigie....

 

[groundrounds]

I am worried about some top 5 program trying to poach odigie....

That is a good point but on an optimistic note, Coach Terry seem to get a lot of loyalty out of the players. Just look at how many have followed him from Fresno to a lesser league.

 

[PURPLEFIRE]

yeah i do see that and I am very hopeful that is the case....

 

[UTEPDefense]

That actually could work against UTEP, if Terry took a different job in a couple of years and Efe follows him to that school the exact same way that Williams followed Terry to UTEP. Remember that Efe himself committed to Fresno first and then followed Terry to UTEP. Efe also still has that redshirt year left to transfer somewhere and sit out if he wanted to.

I would hate to see any of this happen, just saying that a player's loyalty to Terry actually works against us if Terry leaves.

 

[groundrounds]

This is also why I'm cautiously optimistic that we'll keep CRT for a few years. He'll be loyal to the players who followed him to UTEP. He'll take them (and us) as far as he can before they graduate.
There is no way they'd follow him to another job after the sacrifices they made to come to UTEP. Heck, just look at the high quality walkons we have. We may have 7 scholly players but we are a little bit deeper than that, thank goodness.

 

[HoneyBoy95]

This team struggled with UCR, threw up a ton of bricks from 3pt land, but is apparently going to finish top 4 in CUSA, according to some on this board. Oh, okay!

 

[unihorn]

KVIA actually had nice highlights for a change.

 

[DBminer]

I get reading comprehension is a struggle for you— there is help...... or did you just come for your attention?? Mr honey?

 

[groundrounds]

KVIA actually had nice highlights for a change.

Awesome...thanks. I'll go check it out!

 

[PURPLEFIRE]

go ahead and add him to the ignore list... but that person is me, couldnt retrieve my password for this name so created that one....

 

[groundrounds]

Thanks...I'm relieved. I'll unignore. I have a terrible allergy to trolls.

 

[HoneyBoy95]

go ahead and add him to the ignore list... but that person is me, couldnt retrieve my password for this name so created that one....

So you couldn’t retrieve your password, but yet, here you are posting. If you want to be ignored, I suggest you go to picksup.org !

 

[John 100]

go ahead and add him to the ignore list... but that person is me, couldnt retrieve my password for this name so created that one....

So you're posting under two names on this thread?

 

[DBminer]

Yeah one is on my computer one is on my new phone .... actually forgot I was on that one at home computer

 

[John 100]

Thanks...I'm relieved. I'll unignore. I have a terrible allergy to trolls.

Funny how some people are too dumb and think everybody new here that signs up is a troll. Some of you need some thicker skin.

 

[axingfools1]

Thanks for the recap, topminer. Wasn’t able to watch today. I did notice that UC Riverside was a smokin’ hot 10 of 21 from 3. I’m sure that helped keep them in the game combined with our paltry 4 for 17 from behind the arc.

Also stood out to me that Campbell played 37 minutes and that Magee only had 23 or so.

Hmmm. Interesting regarding Campbell and McGee. They do play different positions, but I think it says a lot about what to expect moving forward.

 

[MineroFanatico]

Hmmm. Interesting regarding Campbell and McGee. They do play different positions, but I think it says a lot about what to expect moving forward.

Yeah, probably could’ve worded it better. I thought Magee would pick up a lot of Gilyard’s minutes, but that didn’t happen. As a side note, was really surprised to see Campbell with the amount of minutes he had, as new as he is.

 

[UTEPfan1966]

More and more, I am believing we won't have Kobe next year. Sad, because I really like him. He is by far the most dynamic passer on the team even if the guys cant catch his passes. LOL

As for coach Terry, I really believe the job he would leave us for is Texas. I also think coach Smith would be a great replacement and be able to keep the guys we have.

That being said, I think there was a lot of layoff rust and we looked better late in the game. Hawkins shot was off, and he seemed to be trying to warm up his cold hands all night. (I mean literally, not figuratively.) I still wish we could get into transition quicker and more often for easy buckets. It appears when we have a shot to push it, we back off.
LOVE the connection between players on this team (including the transfers sitting out).

 

[JCorona]

Two years ago not only did we struggle against UC Riverside we lost to them and worse teams that some of us had never heard of before. We still finished in the top four. I personally think we will finish 6th but a top four spot isn’t unrealistic in this shitty conference.

 

[John 100]

As for coach Terry, I really believe the job he would leave us for is Texas. I also think coach Smith would be a great replacement and be able to keep the guys we have.

Let's first make the NCAA tournament. Right now, UTEP is a long way from being there. I hope they can make it soon and even win a game.

 

[HoneyBoy95]

Two years ago not only did we struggle against UC Riverside we lost to them and worse teams that some of us had never heard of before. We still finished in the top four. I personally think we will finish 6th but a top four spot isn’t unrealistic in this shitty conference.

2 years ago, did the Miners have 2 walkons in the first 9? Those losses were because of a shitty coach, not roster depth. This team has a roster problem. One injury or suspension and it will get really bad.

 

[John 100]

Two years ago not only did we struggle against UC Riverside we lost to them and worse teams that some of us had never heard of before. We still finished in the top four. I personally think we will finish 6th but a top four spot isn’t unrealistic in this shitty conference.

UTEP didn't play UC Riverside 2 years ago.

 

[Lil_Train]

Two years ago not only did we struggle against UC Riverside we lost to them and worse teams that some of us had never heard of before. We still finished in the top four. I personally think we will finish 6th but a top four spot isn’t unrealistic in this shitty conference.

In my opinion, there is more depth in CUSA this year than previously. If this team finishes in in the top 6-8, I think that will be an accomplishment. They are improving, but still have areas to work on, like all young teams. The defense is improving and kept them from losing to Riverside. While Campbell is a much better defender than Kobe, he is not the shooter that Kobe is. I agree that a walk on that is getting more minutes, is not a great sign for Kobe. It will be interesting to see if Terry signs any more players late. The core of young players is already strong, and those guys are getting valuable experience which should pay dividends down the line.

 

[FiliUTEP]

This team struggled with UCR, threw up a ton of bricks from 3pt land, but is apparently going to finish top 4 in CUSA, according to some on this board. Oh, okay!

I find it funny that you and John 100 like each others posts.

 

[John 100]

I find it funny that you and John 100 like each others posts.

Why? I liked posts I agree with. I like posts from multiple members on here.

 

[HoneyBoy95]

I find it funny that you and John 100 like each others posts.

I can’t speak for him, but do you know why I don’t like a lot of your posts? Usually it’s because they don’t make any sense or are entirely stupid.

 

[unihorn]

More and more, I am believing we won't have Kobe next year. Sad, because I really like him. He is by far the most dynamic passer on the team even if the guys cant catch his passes. LOL

As for coach Terry, I really believe the job he would leave us for is Texas. I also think coach Smith would be a great replacement and be able to keep the guys we have.

That being said, I think there was a lot of layoff rust and we looked better late in the game. Hawkins shot was off, and he seemed to be trying to warm up his cold hands all night. (I mean literally, not figuratively.) I still wish we could get into transition quicker and more often for easy buckets. It appears when we have a shot to push it, we back off.
LOVE the connection between players on this team (including the transfers sitting out).

Texas wants Beard.

 

[John 100]

Texas wants Beard.

Just proves further how you are a fake UTEP fan.

 

[unihorn]

Just proves further how you are a fake UTEP fan.

At least I’m not an aggy troll.

 

[John 100]

At least I’m not an aggy troll.

I don't root for Texas A&M, Utah State, or NMSU. I root for UTEP.

I am glad you finally exposed yourself as a fake UTEP fan. Now hopefully you will go to their board.

 

[UTEPfan1966]

Texas wants Beard.

Well I did say the job he would leave us for. I also think he needs to prove himself before anyone takes a look at him

 

[JCorona]

In my opinion, there is more depth in CUSA this year than previously. If this team finishes in in the top 6-8, I think that will be an accomplishment. They are improving, but still have areas to work on, like all young teams. The defense is improving and kept them from losing to Riverside. While Campbell is a much better defender than Kobe, he is not the shooter that Kobe is. I agree that a walk on that is getting more minutes, is not a great sign for Kobe. It will be interesting to see if Terry signs any more players late. The core of young players is already strong, and those guys are getting valuable experience which should pay dividends down the line.

I would say the conference is more even than previous versions. There isn’t one team that stands out. Looking at the Ken Pom rankings it’s really up to which team gets hot towards the end. Everyone has a shot to finish in the top 6. FIU has the second best record in our conference and is only ranked a few spots ahead of us. Barring any injury or two to our starters I would be disappointed if we finish in the bottom pod.

75 ODU
119 Marshall
121 La Tech
123 WKU
129 UNT
138 USM
183 UAB
188 UTSA
206 FIU
224 FAU
236 UTEP
247 MTSU
304 Rice
310 Charlotte