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LOCATION: San Antonio, TX
CONFERENCE: Southland
LAST SEASON: 18-11 (.620)
CONFERENCE RECORD: 12-6 (t-2nd)
STARTERS LOST/RETURNING: 1/4
NICKNAME: Roadrunners
COLORS: Navy Blue & White
HOMECOURT: Convocation Center (5,100)
COACH: Tim Carter (Kansas '79)
record at school 57-53 (4 years)
career record 68-69 (5 years)
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ASSISTANTS: Al Grushkin (Oglethorpe '75)
Owen Miller (Mississippi College '94)
Roland Ware (Oklahoma '92)
TEAM WINS: (last 5 years) 15-14-9-16-18
RPI (last 5 years) 182-191-294-215-152
1998-99 FINISH: Lost in NCAA first round.
ESPN.com Clubhouse
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Texas-San Antonio fans might remember the Alamo, but they'd rather forget the final 11 minutes of the first half of the Roadrunners' first-round NCAA Tournament loss to Connecticut. After nine minutes, the score was tied at 19. Eleven dizzying minutes later, UConn took a 52-27 lead into halftime. Fueled by a furious 33-8 run, the Huskies cruised to a 91-66 victory en route to the school's first national title. The Roadrunners return four starters and seven of the top nine scorers from a unit that knocked off regular-season champion Southwest Texas, 71-63, in the SLC Tournament title game and earned the school's first NCAA Tournament appearance in 11 seasons. Three of those returnees received All-SLC honors of some kind last season. The headliner is 6-4 sophomore shooting guard Devin Brown (16.7 ppg, 6.1 rpg, 45 steals), who ran away with the league's freshman-of-the-year honors. Brown is the type of high-caliber high school talent that has escaped SLC teams in the ESPN era of college basketball. The all-time leading scorer in San Antonio high school history made an immediate impact, finishing as the second-highest scoring freshman in Division I. Moreover, Brown played at his best against the best. In the second game of his career, he had 23 points, six rebounds and three assists at Texas Tech. Two games later, the slashing swingman rang up 31 points on Tulsa.
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Blue Ribbon Analysis |
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BACKCOURT A BENCH/DEPTH C+
FRONTCOURT B INTANGIBLES B+
Tim Carter is the hottest coach in the SLC. His teams have improved in the win-loss column each of the last three seasons, and he was one of five finalists to replace Don Haskins at Texas-El Paso. Carter has rebuilt the Roadrunners program the hard way: Through tireless recruiting. He has mined the fertile recruiting plains of South Texas for players that are overlooked by high-major programs, outworking higher level rivals for talents like Leon Watson, Lloyd Williams, Devin Brown and Ike Akotaobi. In a short four years, UTSA's program has become the most stable in a league where rosters are plagued by high annual turnover. "I try to sign one player every year that, on paper, I'm not supposed to get," Carter said. "And I don't ever sign a player that I don't like personally. It's not worth the trouble." That fearless approach carries over to Carter's team, which plays with intensity and discipline. The Roadrunners should rattle "The Birdcage," a.k.a. The Convocation Center, on most nights this season. If they develop an inside attack to augment the league's best guard tandem, UTSA could make it back-to-back NCAA Tournament berths. And Carter will become one of the hottest young coaching prospects in the nation. |
"Devin is fearless," Roadrunners coach Tim Carter said. "Most freshmen are intimidated when they make the jump to college, but Devin has a savvy about him. He literally plays with no fear." Brown has honed his game each off-season by playing pick-up ball against members of the NBA champion San Antonio Spurs. League coaches believe Brown has the potential to eventually play in that league. "He has a total game," Carter said. "He can score inside and out. He can put the ball on the floor or shoot the perimeter shot. He looks to rebound and score off the offensive glass." Brown's performance was facilitated by playing with Lloyd Williams (7.2 ppg, 3.0 rpg, 131 assists, 70 turnovers, 58 steals), the league's best point guard. The lightning-quick 5-9 senior plays like a three-year starter. He has ranked in the SLC's top six in assists and steals for three consecutive seasons. Williams needs just 12 assists to become the school's all-time leader. Williams rarely looks to score but is a more than capable scorer if left alone. He scored a career-high 25 points in a 104-99 loss to Nicholls State. "He's my general," Carter said. "He wants to be a coach some day, and he plays like one." Reggie Minnieweather, a 6-3 sophomore swingman, will compete for the one open starting spot vacated by Steve Meyer (15.6 ppg, 4.4 rpg, 54 assists). Minnieweather (5.1 ppg, 2.1 rpg), an outstanding defender, was the most pleasant surprise in last season's outstanding recruiting class. "He is a jack of all trades," Carter said. Max Mandiola, a 6-0 junior, played in just one game as a sophomore. Three freshmen guards will supply depth. Jon Havens (17.5 ppg, 6.3 apg) was an all-area selection by the Dallas Morning News and Fort Worth Star Telegram at Lewisville (Texas) High, where he played for his father, Jerry Havens. "He is a typical coach's son-type player," Carter said. Joseph Macklin (20.0 ppg, 10.0 rpg, 7.0 apg), a second team all-state pick at Kansas City (Kan.) Washington High, will back up Brown. "He has great quickness and is a good shooter," Carter said. Terry Shelton (15.0 ppg, 4.0 apg) led Crowley High School to the Texas Class 4A state championship. He will see time at both guard spots. Up front, Carter must replace Meyer, whom he called "the heart and soul of our team." Larger opponents overpowered the undersized Roadrunners inside last season. UTSA was outrebounded 18 times, including lopsided margins of 55-27 in a 104-99 loss to Nicholls State and 42-27 in a 79-60 loss to Lamar. Leon Watson (12.2 ppg, 6.4 rpg), a three-year starter, anchors the middle. The steady 6-8 senior does the dirty work in the paint. He led the SLC in field-goal shooting at .564. Watson's quick springs make him a great shot-blocker for his size. He was second in the SLC with 53 blocks last year, making him UTSA's career leader in that category with 151. Like many of his teammates, Watson is a liability on the free-throw line, where he was a dismal .413 (45-109). Sophomore McEverett Powers (7.6 ppg, 5.0 rpg, 25 blocked shots), the front-runner to replace Meyer, was another member of UTSA's outstanding freshman class. When the 6-7 forward gets the ball on the low block, he scores. He is the master of the put-back, as evidenced by his 64-percent field-goal shooting. Power came on strong throughout the season and finished with a nine-point, eight-rebound performance against UConn. "He was our most improved player last year," Carter said. Holdovers Terrance Herbert (1.4 ppg, 0.7 rpg), a 6-7 senior, and Mitch Worden, a seldom-used 6-6 sophomore, supply depth. Carter is high on two front-line newcomers. Mahcoe "Punchie" Parker is the kind of 6-8 athlete who can help end the Roadrunners' rebounding woes. Parker, a junior, sat out last season with a broken foot but showed Carter enough in practices to know that he fits into the frontcourt rotation. The Tulsa, Okla., native averaged 18.0 points and 11.0 rebounds at Northeastern Oklahoma A&M Junior College in 1997. He will back up Watson. Ike Akotaobi is the jewel of this year's signing class. The 6-7 freshman forward was ranked among the top 10 players in Texas as a senior at South Grand Prairie High School. A McDonald's All-America nominee, he was selected to The Dallas Morning News all-area team after averaging 17.0 points and 6.0 rebounds for a balanced attack. Forward depth will also come from 6-4 junior Ed Harvey and 6-9 freshman Juan Valdez. Harvey averaged 16.0 points, 4.0 rebounds and 5.0 assists at Tyler (Texas) Junior College. He is a tremendous streak shooter from the wing. Valdez is a project with lots of potential. He averaged 10.0 points, 9.0 rebounds and 1.3 blocked shots at San Antonio Holmes High.
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