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UTEP

UTEP RECRUITING UPDATE: 10-25-02

by Mark Hatch

Here is the latest UTEP Basketball recruiting list for the class of 2003. All bets are off with the names on this list, however. On the evening of Monday, October 21, UTEP head coach Jason Rabedeaux (Rab) resigned as head basketball coach UTEP (http://www.utepathletics.com/news/archive/102102mb1.htm, http://www.borderlandnews.com/stories/sports/todaysstories/20021022-34857.shtml). Assistant coach Junsie Cotton will take over temporarily, and assistants Bobby Champagne and Ryan Carr also remain onboard.

I do not know for certain what impact there will be on this list, but I have to assume that it will be very negative. It is hard for me to imagine that a player would want to commit to a school that is currently w/o a head coach. I expect that we will not sign anyone to a letter of intent this fall. Until I hear for sure, however, that the players below are no longer considering UTEP, I will keep them on the list.

There are several changes from the last list (http://www.collegehoopsnet.com/WAC/MHSeptember28.htm). Among the changes are the removal of Jason Arbet, 6-7 PF who committed to Texas Southern; the removal of Chris Daniels, a 6-10 C who committed to Texas A&M Corpus Christi; the removal of Chris Devine, a 6-7 forward who has narrowed his choice to UCSB and Montana State; the removal of Travis DeGroot, a 6-3 PG from NMMI who was involved w/ the Miners last season but does not appear to be so this season; the addition of 6-7 PF Lionel Davis and 6-0 PG Sheldon Pace from Chaffey College in CA; the addition of Tim Gainey, a 6-5 G/F from Cochise College in AZ; and the addition of Edgar Moreno, a 6-2 guard from Lon Morris JC in TX. As always there is also brand new analysis.

Please recognize that the list is far from inclusive, as it only lists players whom we have been able to find connected to UTEP through the Internet. Please also realize that the opinions expressed here are my own, and not those of the coaching staff. My opinions on the players are formed from reading what the recruiting experts have to say about the players and from what others who have seen them play have to say. Thanks to everyone who has contributed info on any of these players, as I have only been able to compile this list through information provided by posters to this message board. Miner fans, please continue to search for potential UTEP recruits, and post any info you receive.

Since we handed out five scholarships last season, and the 5/9 rule is in place, I assumed that we would only have four scholarships available this season. Ryan Carr, however, has corrected me on this. It appears that the 5/9 rule is reset every two years, so we still have a maximum of five scholarships available this season, even though we used up five last year.

This is good news, as we will have seven roster spots open. Two of those spots are due to the graduation of SF/PF Roy Smallwood and C/PF Justino Victoriano, while the other spots are a result of the detections of JR SF Nick Enzweiler, JR SF/SG Antone Jarrell, SO PG Luke Martin, and FR PG Keion Kindred (http://www.utepathletics.com/news/archive/082302mb1.htm), and the possible career ended injury to SO SG/SF Jason Hammock.

The lack of players on next year’s squad means that we will need help at every position. The only spots where we have underclassmen w/ any potential are at SG (FR Gio St Amant) and PF (FR John Tofi). I believe that we need to bring in a HS PG, a HS inside player, and hopefully a HS wing. The other two roster spots could be used on a JC inside player and a JC wing.

We may already have a JC inside player. Rudolph Mauricette, a 6-11 C from Lee College in Baytown, TX, committed to the Miners last month. It is unknown, however, whether or not Mauricette will honor that commitment now that Rab has left and the head coaching spot is up in the air.

(Even though Duran will begin playing w/ the team this season, I will include him in the “Incoming” section until the season begins, as he was given a scholarship only a few weeks ago) The signing of the diminutive Duran was an obvious attempt by the staff to place a positive spin on the program after the devastating loss of Jarrell, Martin, and Kindred. In my opinion granting Duran a scholarship was a huge mistake. The El Paso native only averaged 6.8 points, 1.5 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.1 steals last season while shooting 38% from the field, 34% from 3-point range and 63% from the FT line. The scholarship the staff is wasting on Duran could have been used to sign a fifth player this recruiting season. This decision will hurt the Miners next year.

Mauricette remains in the “Incoming” section now because of his commitment, but it must be remembered that verbal commitments are non-binding. I would be surprised if he didn’t change his mind. According Mauricette’s coach at Lee College, Roy Champagne (brother of UTEP assistant Bobby Champagne), the 6’11 player has true center skills, a nice shooting touch, and a good jump hook. According to a poster on the Juco Junction message board the southpaw is also a pretty good athlete who runs the floor well. Mauricette played his freshman year at 3 Rivers College in MO, but the 3 Rivers website does not list any stats for him. I will be checking on his stats at Lee this season to try to get a feel for what type of player he truly is.

TheInsiders.com rates Martin as a two star prospect. He apparently played really well at the Mats Madness tournament, showing improved hops and athleticism, an aggressive inside game, and the ability to knock down the perimeter jumper. Tracy Pierson of PrepWest Hoops (PWH) calls him a “poor man’s Luke Walton.” Martin was hearing from UCSB, St. Mary’s, and Nebraska in addition to the Miners, but this was in early June. I haven’t seen an update to know whether or not his list has changed.

Nixon averaged 14 points, 11 rebounds and 4 blocks last season. His strength is his defense and rebounding. On offense he has range out to the three-point line, but definitely needs to work on his post play. He needs to add bulk, as he only weighs 195 lbs right now, but is hitting the weight room hard. The good news is that he understands his weaknesses, and is working very hard to correct them. According to a recent article, Nixon is being recruited by UTEP, Boise State, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, Hardin-Simmons, Bethany College and Abilene-Christian.

Mathews, who averaged 20 points, 14 rebounds and five blocks per game last season, is primarily seeing interest from Houston, Minnesota, Texas-Arlington, Stephen F. Austin and Lamar, but he has also been contacted by LaSalle, Wisconsin, Kansas State, Tulane, Tennessee, Wyoming, Tulsa, and UTEP. He is described as broad shouldered and strong w/ decent hops, and knows how to use his weight when motivated. Rivals.com lists him as a 3 star athlete.

Raboin made a name for himself at the Super Showcase and AAU Nationals in Orlando this summer. The blue-collar player gave his Iowa based Brothers team a much needed boost of offense during the tournament. He has a soft touch from the perimeter, but also has the skills to score inside as well. According to Prepstars he was supposed to visit during the Homecoming weekend, but an article in Sunday’s El Paso Times mentioned visits from four JC recruits, but failed to mention Raboin. I do not know if the visit occurred a week earlier, if it has been postponed, if the failure to mention Raboin was an oversight by Bill Knight, or if the visit was cancelled. In addition to the Miners, Raboin is also considering Kent State, Holy Cross, Stanford and Miami.

Davis is a powerfully built player that we were recruiting two years ago out of Upland, CA. At the time he was said to have the Miners at the top of his list, but he obviously didn’t qualify. Davis apparently played well at the Mullens JUCO camp, where he did a solid job defending 6’10” Robert Whaley, the number 1 JC prospect in the country and a potential lottery pick. In addition to the Miners Davis is also being recruited by Wyoming, Ball State, and San Jose State. He was one of four JC players to visit over Homecoming weekend.

As a freshman at Cochise, Gainey averaged a very respectable 15.5 ppg and 5 rpg, shot 41.2% from the field, 35.2% from 3 point range, 75.3 % from the free throw line. He is a very athletic player who likes to both shoot from long range and put the ball on the floor. He was an all conference performer as a freshman. He made an official visit to UTEP during Homecoming weekend.

Moreno, originally from Columbia, averaged 13.3 ppg, 3.6 apg, and 3.9 rpg as a freshman last year for Lon Morris. He shot a very good 0.521 from the field, but was not as impressive from the arc or the line, hitting 31.3 percent of his 3 point attempts and only 67 percent of his free throws. He is another player that visited UTEP during Homecoming weekend.

Pace, a teammate of Lionel Davis, is a very impressive player. As a freshman last season he was named to the California Community College All-State Team, quite an accomplishment, especially considering that CA has the largest community college system in the nation. He is also listed by Lindy’s as the number 4 JC PG prospect in the country. His numbers last year were outstanding, as he averaged 21.4 points, 6.9 assists and 2.9 steals per game. He shot an excellent 52% from the field, but a poor 29.5% from the arc and only 62.1% from the line. Pace is also being recruited by Texas, Providence, New Mexico, and Oregon, while Florida State, Iowa State, Arizona State, Oregon State, Pepperdine and Saint Louis have also shown interest. He is another player who visited over the Homecoming weekend.

Like I said above, the decision by Rab to step away from the program will likely have a negative impact on the above list. Ryan Carr has informed me that the remaining members of the staff are still aggressively pursuing players, but this has to be an almost impossible task. I wish them the best of luck and hope that they are somehow successful.

Go Miners!!!!

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