Team Preview: Texas-arlington

[Cooley]

The Battle of the Undefeated:

UNT Mean Green

vs

UTA Movin Mavs

Wednesday, November 21, 2007

7:00 PM (Texas Hall - Arlington)

http://utamavs.cstv.com/sports/m-baskbl/tx...askbl-body.html

Last Season 13-17 (.433)

Conference Record 8-8 (t-3rd)

Starters Lost/Returning 0/5

Coach Scott Cross (Texas-Arlington '98)

Record At School 13-17 (1 year)

Career Record 13-17 (1 year)

RPI Last 5 years 179-207-274-196-253

COACH AND PROGRAM

It didn't even take one season as a Division I head coach for Texas-Arlington boss Scott Cross to prove his abilities as a soothsayer. Before last year, his first with the Mavericks, Cross seemed certain that UTA center Jermaine Griffin would prove to be one of the league's best players, even calling him ''a Big 12 power forward'' who would play the five position for the Mavericks. Boy was he right. Griffin, a 6-9, 240-pound senior, lived up to his coach's high expectations last season, earning first-team All-Southland Conference honors by averaging 13.2 points and 6.8 re-bounds. Now, Cross is calling for an encore from his big man. ''He had a very good year, but we're expecting even bigger things from him this year,'' Cross said. ''Our season will go right along with how well he does. He really rubs off on the rest of the team. If he plays up to his capabilities, we'll have a chance at the beginning of March to be a really good basketball team.''

That seems a lot of pressure, but Cross knows Griffin can handle it. As a junior last year, he shot 62.6 percent from the floor and led his team with 70 offensive rebounds. ''He's just really athletic with very good size,'' Cross said. ''We really emphasize with all our guards that we want to get the ball inside to him, but he is athletic enough to run the floor, too. I think he can average more rebounds this year than he did last year. I'm actually hoping he'll average close to a double-double this year.'' If he does, expect a potentially dangerous Mavericks team to be really dangerous especially considering the supporting cast that returns with Griffin.

PLAYERS

UTA returns all five starters from a year ago, and 10-of-11 lettermen return as well. And while Griffin's presence is most important, the real key to a mid-season turnaround last year was the move of 6-0 sophomore Cardell Hunter of Dallas Carter to the point guard position. Hunter, who wound up starting nine games, sparked the Mavericks; they won eight of their final 11 regular-season games after starting the season 5-13. But it wasn't so much Hunter's scoring (3.4 points per game) or assists (44) that made the difference. It was mostly his leadership. ''He's not going to score as much, but he creates plays and is a great leader,'' Cross said. ''He's just one of those guys who does whatever you ask. He's a team player who plays with a lot of heart and intensity.'' Hunter's ability to take over the point allowed 5-11 sophomore Rog'er Guignard (10.0 ppg, 2.3 rpg, 3.5 apg) the opportunity to move to shooting guard, where he thrived, earning the league's freshman-of-the-year award.

Guignard showed no fear as a rookie, launching 204 three-pointers and making 71, a respectable 34.8 percent.

''He was better than I imagined,'' Cross said. ''He's a really good outside shooter with a positive assist to turnover ratio [1.6]. He handles the ball well and his defense got a lot bet-ter as the year went on. ''By season's end he was one of our minutes leaders [30.2 mpg], and that's because of his ability to play at more than one position and because of the way he can handle, pass and shoot the ball.''

If needed, 6-2 senior Rod Epps (9.7 ppg, 3.1 apg) has certainly proved capable of starting at either the point or shooting guard position as well, and Cross expects him to put up a serious challenge for both of those jobs. He did, after all, start 27-of-29 games last year, much of it at the point, and led the Mavericks in minutes (31.2 per game). He also shot 43 percent from three-point range in conference play and a solid 37 percent overall. ''I think he's one of the best three-point shooters in the league,'' Cross said. ''He's a great ball handler and a great defender as well. To me, he's a returning starter even if he doesn't start. The hard part for me will be to figure out which five to start.''

Sophomore Tommy Moffitt (5.1 ppg, 3.2 rpg) returns after starting five games last season and could very well start at the small forward position this season. A 6-4, 220-pounder, Moffitt stepped up most in the Mavericks' final two games and helped his team reach the conference tournament with back-to-back double-doubles. ''I've never seen a kid play as hard as he did in those last two conference games,'' Cross said. ''Every time a shot goes up, he is crashing the boards. He's not the quickest, most ath-letic guy, but he does all the little things and he's a great defender because he plays so hard.'' As much potential for improvement as there is with the UTA guards, the strength of this team, no doubt, lies in its frontcourt.

Along with Griffin, who many consider a candidate for the league's Player of the Year award, are two returnees who have experience in the starting lineup. The early frontrunner for the power forward job is 6-7, 230-pound junior Anthony Vereen (11.0 ppg, 5.8 rpg) who started 20 of games last season and shot 59.6 percent from the floor.

''One of the best in the league at finishing when he's around the basket,'' Cross said. He'll be supported by -- and at times, potentially joined by, when the Mavericks decide to go with their ''big'' lineup -- 6-5, 250-pound senior Larry Posey (8.4 ppg, 5.8 rpg), who started 21 games a year ago. ''I think we have one of the biggest, strongest front lines in the Southland,'' Cross said. ''All three of those guys are capable of playing 25- to 30 minutes a game and making a big impact.''

Another potential contributor down low for the Mavericks is 6-8 red-shirt freshman Trey Parker, a long, rangy athletic player whose forte is blocking shots. He'll be joined in the post rotation by 6-8 sophomore Matt Read (2.0 ppg, 2.7 rpg), who Cross said was the Mavericks' most improved player in the offseason. At combo guard, 6-1 junior Brandon Long (8.3 ppg, 2.3 rpg) hopes to find increased playing time after a productive sophomore season as a key reserve. Another small for-ward/off guard combo player hoping to see time is 6-4 junior Jeremy Dewalt (1.2 ppg, 0.9 rpg), a good outside shooter who played just more than four minutes a game last season.

This UTA team won't, however, have its playing time dominated by returners. In fact, the two incoming freshmen -- 5-10 point guard Jeremy Smith and 6-5 small forward LaMarcus Reed -- appear more than capable of earning minutes. ''Jeremy is a very solid point guard who knows how to run an offense,'' Cross said. ''And LaMarcus is a very well rounded player who can do a little bit of everything. He doesn't really have any flaws in his game. He can shoot it, handle it, rebound it and defend. ''I like both of our freshmen a lot. I think they will fit into our system and can help us. I won't be scared to play either one of them at any time.''

Cross believes his team could have the strongest, most productive frontcourt in the league this year -- and with good reason. The Mavericks are three-deep with proven, experi-enced talent there, and one of those three could challenge league MVP honors this season. Add in an athletic, gifted newcomer in Parker, and UTA certainly seems set down low. The Mavericks also seemed to work out any backcourt issues late last season, and by all ac-counts should be improved there this year. The Mavericks do play in a very tough Western Division of the conference with A&M-Corpus, Sam Houston State and Stephen F. Austin, but they enter this season with the con-fidence that this year, they can challenge for that top spot. How the rest of the team supports their superstar (Griffin) will determine that.

BLUE RIBBON ANALYSIS

BACKCOURT: B-

BENCH/DEPTH: A-

FRONTCOURT: A

INTANGIBLES: B

Edited November 19, 2007 by Cooley