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LOCATION: Arlington, TX
CONFERENCE: Southland
LAST SEASON: 10-16 (.385)
CONFERENCE RECORD: 8-10 (8th)
STARTERS LOST/RETURNING: 2/3
NICKNAME: Mavericks
COLORS: Royal Blue & White
HOMECOURT: Texas Hall (4,200)
COACH: Eddie McCarter (UAB '75)
record at school 79-113 (7 years)
career record 79-113 (7 years)
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ASSISTANTS: Tony Stubblefield (Neb.-Omaha '95)
Scott Cross (Texas-Arlington '98)
Matt Daniels (Harding College '98)
TEAM WINS: (last 5 years) 10-11-12-14-10
RPI (last 5 years) 256-244-240-240-261
1998-99 FINISH: Did not qualify for postseason.
ESPN.com Clubhouse
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Say this, about Texas-Arlington the Mavericks are consistent. The Mavericks have finished in sixth or seventh place in the Southland Conference in each of the last five years. During last season's seventh-place finish, they ranked fourth- to sixth in 10 of the league's 14 statistical categories. Not exactly the kind of consistency coach Eddie McCarter is striving for. The mediocre Mavericks are never bad. They're rarely great, either. Night in, night out, McCarter's teams can be counted on to play hard, if not always well. McCarter's mission this season is to break the malaise. He will try to mesh a class of six talented newcomers with five holdovers to make a run at the school's first upper-division finish since 1993. "This league is very competitive and really balanced," McCarter said. "We could finish anywhere from fourth to dead last. We're going to depend on a lot of new kids." The new kid that McCarter can't stop talking about is point guard Anthony Goode, a 6-1 senior point guard who returned home after three unfulfilled seasons at Texas. The former Dallas Carter High School standout never found his groove with the Longhorns and was eventually beaten out by Chico Vasquez. He averaged 2.2 points, 1.9 assists, and 9.4 minutes and shot .355 from the field during his final season. Goode will rejoin former Carter teammate Jabari Johnson, who teamed with him on a 26-8 Carter powerhouse in 1995-96. Five future Division I players came from that team.
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Blue Ribbon Analysis |
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BACKCOURT B BENCH/DEPTH D
FRONTCOURT D INTANGIBLES D
Eddie McCarter is one of the genuine nice guys in the SLC, but he is running out of time at UTA. The Mavericks are only 79-113 in his seven-year career and have not had a winning season since his first year on the job. McCarter's chances of ending the string of six losing seasons took a serious blow with the offseason academic losses of Dewayne Marable, Isaac Sanders and Robert Washington. And none of the frontcourt signees bears the credentials of an impact recruit. The Mavericks' strong backcourt will keep them in games. But without a consistent go-to presence inside, UTA will have major trouble matching up with the league's elite. |
Goode is a slasher who looks to pass first. When left open, however, he can score from the perimeter or off dribble penetration. Goode has the pedigree to be a great player. Uncle Darryl McDonald was Texas A&M's leading scorer in 1988, while uncle Leroy McDonald played at Wake Forest. A third uncle, Rod Wright, was an assistant coach at Texas. "He plays at a higher level than our other players," McCarter said. "He's as good as they come at point guard." Goode will team with shooting guard Keith Greene in the starting backcourt. Greene (14.8 ppg, 4.5 rpg, 69 assists, 38 steals, .468 3 PT, .802 FT), a 6-3 senior, is one of the league's top all-around talents. He led the Mavericks in scoring and topped the SLC in three-point field-goal percentage. Greene hurts defenses from inside and out. He is a deadly three-point shooter from the wing but also is tough enough to battle inside for rebounds and put-backs. "Keith is one of the top three-point shooters in the country," McCarter said. "We go as Keith goes. When he's hitting the outside shot, we're pretty competitive." Jason Arbuckle (4.4 ppg, 2.6 rpg, 62 assists) started 11 games down the stretch at point guard and helped fuel a late-season run after missing the first half of the season with a broken finger. "Jason is a front-line point guard," McCarter said. "He made a difference for us in the second half of the season." Johnson (6.2 ppg, 2.7 rpg, 75 assists, 30 steals) will provide instant offense and defense off the bench at the shooting-guard position. The 6-2 junior started 14 of his 15 games last season and will be counted on for more this season. His 5.0 assists per game average would have been second in the league, but Johnson did not play in enough games to qualify. He had an SLC-high 17 assists in the team's wild 125-123 triple-overtime victory against Sam Houston State. Walter Louis (3.3 ppg, 2.2 rpg), a slender 6-3 sophomore, is Greene's eventual replacement at shooting guard. Steve Barber, a 5-10 sophomore from South Plains (Texas) Junior College, and Hector Noyola, a 5-11 freshman from Laredo (Texas) High, will provide depth at the point. The Mavericks' frontcourt was decimated by offseason attrition. Starting center Jared Hiple (7.5 ppg, 4.9 rpg) graduated. Then, 6-8 forward/center Dewayne Marable (10.3 ppg, 4.9 rpg) flunked out. Two players McCarter hoped would compete for those missing spots, 6-8 center Isaac Sanders and 6-6 North Texas transfer Robert Washington, did not meet academic requirements to play this season. What's left is burly 6-5 power forward Bill Washington and a cast of new faces. Washington (10.2 ppg, 8.0 rpg, 2.1 spg, 48.6 FG) reminds McCarter of former UTA standout Johnny McDowell. Washington lacks the requisite height to be a dominant inside player, but in the Southland he is able to overpower opponents with his powerful 225-pound frame. He led the Mavericks in rebounding, including an 18-rebound night against Northwestern State. "Bill is one of the best 6-5 power forwards in the country," McCarter said. "He's strong as an ox inside." Chad Jones (5.4 ppg, 1.3 rpg), a 6-5 senior swingman, gives McCarter an experienced hand off the bench. With McCarter expected to start a three-guard lineup, one of the four frontcourt recruits will have to make an impact inside if UTA hopes to finish in the upper division. Daniel Cathcart, a strong 6-6 forward from South Mountain (Ariz.) Junior College, will provide size and rebounding ability. Mack Callier, a 6-5 power forward from Tyler (Texas) Junior College, is the Mavericks' best athlete and a strong rebounder and defender. Joey Koubek and Tony Lopez will help on the wings. Koubek, a 6-5 small forward from Collin County (Texas) Community College, is a strong outside shooter who, along with Greene, will bust opposing zones. Lopez, a 6-8 forward from Cochise (Ariz.) Junior College, has grown seven inches since high school and has maintained his perimeter skills. "We're hoping for a surprise from one of our new guys inside," McCarter said. "We need somebody to be a little bit better than we thought."
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