UTEP is coming off of a successful season
that ended in a loss to Utah in the first round of the NCAA
Tournament. It will be difficult for Head Coach Doc Sadler to
repeat that success with the loss of three starters, yet the
Miners do return plenty of talent that will make them a
dangerous out in their new Conference USA home.
Who’s Out:
Omar Thomas led the squad with 20.5 points and 6.7 rebounds per
game. Filiberto Rivera tacked on 13.5 points and an outstanding
7.2 assists per contest. Giovanni St. Amant started 27 games
averaging 7.2 points before transferring out of El Paso. Thomas
Gehrke provided a quality big body off the bench. Stanley Branch
didn’t see too many minutes as a freshman, but could have played
a bigger role this year had he opted not to transfer.
Who’s In: A
pair of transfers will spend their senior seasons at UTEP. Edgar
Moreno, who played at Texas in 2003-2004, should be running the
point from day one. He has experience and proved to be a scoring
threat as well, averaging 17.0 points over three games during
the squads summer tour of the Canary Islands. Tremaine Fuqua had
a brief stint at Oklahoma State after playing at Skyline (CA)
College and will finish his collegiate career this year as a
Miner. The 6-9 forward is a major offensive threat under the
basket. The frontcourt has more depth than years past with
returnees John Tofi and Will Kimble. Incoming
freshman Maurice Thomas will immediately add to that depth. The
6-8, Philadelphia product is a great rebounder which will get
him some playing time while his offensive skills develop. With
all the losses, the backcourt could use some quality newcomers.
Kevin Henderson averaged 18.9 points, 6.5 rebounds and 5.1
assists at San Bernardino (CA) Valley College last year and his
the experience to make an impact. Stefon
Jackson has the ability to become a big time scorer before his
four years are done at UTEP. Moses Gonzalez, a confident player
who can hit the glass very well for a 6-5 guard, will not play
this year due to academics.
Who to Watch:
Jason Williams really needs to step up the
scoring if the Miners want to go back to the post season. The
6-6 wing averaged 11.5 points, 5.7 rebounds and 2.9 assists as a
junior last year. For his senior campaign, Williams will be
asked to pick up some of the scoring slack left by the departing
Omar Thomas and Filiberto Rivera. The Marrero, Louisiana native
needs to improve his perimeter shooting, but he’s an all around
solid player who will make his name known in CUSA.
Projected Conference Rank:
The frontcourt is deep but the backcourt
lacks both experience and depth. If sophomores Kelvin Davis and
Vernon Carr can stay healthy and handle more minutes it will go
a long way to helping the bench. Despite losing so much talent,
the Miners will reload. A 4th place finish in the new
conference and a trip to the NIT is a great debut. If the
newcomers can adjust quickly and the returning players pick up
the scoring slack, another NCAA Tournament isn’t totally out of
the realm of possibility.
Projected Post-season Tournament:
NIT
Projected Starting Five:
Edgar Moreno, Senior, Guard, DNP last season
Miguel Ayala, Senior, Guard, 7.5 points per game
Jason Williams, Senior, Forward, 11.5 points per game
John Tofi, Senior, Forward, 6.7 points per game
Will Kimble, Senior, Center, 4.5 points per game
