To say there are a bunch of question marks heading into the 2022/23 UT Arlington men's basketball season is an understatement at best. There hasn't been a season with this amount of murkiness since I've been associate with the University. That creates challenges for this entry. But as we head into the latest college basketball season, UT Arlington fits in there somewhere. The unknowns just make it hard to see.
WHAT WE KNOW
Let's start with the knowns. Returning is graduate student guard Pedro Castro. He's back after sitting out most of last season with a back injury. It works out this year for the U, but had he been healthy, UTA would have been a lot more competitive in 2021/22. He averaged seven points and near 4 rebounds when he went out in mid-December. His last full season saw him average almost 15 points and near eight rebounds a game for Houston Christian in 2020/21. He did start his collegiate career at UTA. He redshirted in 2017/18 and played a season as a Mav in 2018/19 before transferring out.
Sophomore forward Shemar Wilson put up solid numbers his inaugural season last year. With 5.2 points and 3.8 rebounds, he contributed quality minutes. Speaking of minutes, he averaged on 13 and a half. I expect those numbers to increase, along with his production.
Another returning sophomore forward is Montez Young Jr. He plays larger than 6'5" as he put in just over three points last year, but more impressively, grabbed 4.1 boards a game. UTA had six occasions where a player netted double-digit rebounds. Young had three of them, all against Division I schools. Without knowing how the newcomers factor into the mix, Young very well could be on track for one of the better all-time UTA rebounders.
Sophomore guard Brandyn Talbot averaged only 3.5 points last year. But here's the most impressive part: he averaged one three-point shot made per game and hit one every eight minutes. He provides a range that could prove valuable during the conference season.
And of course, we know Greg Young, who has been on the Mav bench in some capacity since 2009. With the dumpster fire left to him by the prior coach and Athletic Director, it will be some time before we know if he has the ability to get us back to the top. As it is, I have faith at this point, way more than I did under the Ogden era. He was an assistant during the most successful stint at UTA.
WHAT'S MISSING
The biggest subtraction is David Azore. The first-team all-conference selection graduated. He carried the team on his back with 19.9 points per game. He also played well defensively. He was one of the better all-time Mavs, currently sitting at sixth all-time in scoring. His production will be missed.
Also graduated is Javon Levi. He played only the one season at point guard. He hit double figures in assists three times, including a triple-double against Louisiana. He was the second player to hit that feat, and it was the third overall occurrence for the Mavs. He averaged 5.4 points, 4.5 rebounds and 5.1 assists. Hard to find a better all-around average for a point guard. However, his free-throw percentage was poor for a guard, .452 on 19 of 42 shooting. That likely cost the Mavs a couple of games, including a road game against Georgia Southern, as he missed two free throws under the final OT minute with the Mavs up one. They ended up losing by one. With five losses by six points or less and an additional three overtime losses, the guards need to make the FT. He did hit a clutch three for a home win against Troy. Outside of the FT's, he may well have been a top-ten all-time point guard. The Mavs certainly need to replace him.
Patrick Mwamba, who is starting his junior season this year, transferred to Oral Roberts. He averaged 9.9 points and 4.3 rebounds. He likely would have been a major player for UTA this year. However, he utilized the transfer portal and left for ORU. The Golden Eagles are the favorite to win the Summit League.
Also out via the transfer portal is Kaodirichi, Akobundi-Ehiogu. After 4.7 points, 4.8 rebounds and more impressively 2.6 blocks a game. He was able to lock down the middle of the paint and re-direct some shots. I've heard he left for Memphis to attempt to increase his NBA-potential.
Guard Nicolas Elame will start his junior season at Longwood University. He brought his 8.2 points per game and 3.4 rebounds to a team that won the Big South Conference in convincing fashion last year and returns a good bit of talent.
Guard Carson Bischoff (5.5 ppg, 1.2 rpg) left the team after his junior season. Lazaro Rojas (3.8 ppg, 2.6 rpg) graduated. Jack Hoiberg (3.2 ppg, 1.2 rpg) also graduated.
WHAT'S NEW
The most obvious unknown outside of the roster is for the third time in a decade, UTA has a new conference home. While the Western Athletic Conference has five teams that the Mavericks have shared a conference with at some point (six if you count the junior college days), none have been within the last nine years. UTA is an unknown within the conference. They join Southern Utah as newcomers this year.
It is no surprise they were picked 11th out of 13 in the pre-season coaches poll and 10th in the media. While the WAC is top-heavy with a couple of marquee schools, the middle- and even bottom-level teams can beat anyone on any given day in the conference. That wasn't something that could be said in the Sun Belt.
Coach Young added some talent, there's no question about that, both on the roster and coaching staff. Cinco Boone comes from Angelo State, where he garnered triple digit victories and four post-season appearances in seven seasons. He joins Royce "Snoop" Johnson, who I've gathered from former players, including former UTA foes, is a quality coach that many would want to play for. Coaching should be a strong point this year.
Perhaps the biggest impact from a new player could be Aaron Cash. The senior Texas A&M transfer's stat line isn't all impressive, 2.4 points per game and three rebounds in 37 games as the Aggies won the NIT. His shooting percentage was an impressive 53.4 percent. But he had big moments against big schools, played every game and has Division I post-season experience.
Another junior Division I guard is Marion Humphrey from San Diego of the West Coast Conference, though he played at Salt Lake Community College prior to coming to UTA. He averaged 8.5 points for a team that played in the JuCo title game, to go with a 35-2 overall record. He scored 200 points as a freshman for the Toreros. His stat line was lower as a sophomore in the COVID-shortened year (4.6 ppg, 1.1 rpg, 1.6 apg).
Junior guard Kyron Gibson come to Arlington from Angelina Junior College. He was a second-team All-American. Last year, Gibson averaged 17 points, six and a half assists and four rebounds. He helped his team to a regional championship and national tournament appearance. I expect him to be a game one and every day starter.
The second JuCo All-American on the Mavs roster is junior guard Taj Anderson. The Indian Hills transfer was an Honorable Mention AA as he put in 13 points per game. He also appeared in the national tournament. Between him, Cash, Castro, Gibson and Humphrey, UTA has real depth at the guard position.
Sophomore forward Dario Domingods could contribute significant minutes. The New Mexico Junior College transfer put in 12 points a game and almost seven rebounds.
Incoming freshman guard Chendall Weaver was highly touted out of Mansfield High School. He played in the state championship game and average 17 ppg and 8 boards. There's a large chance he will see a lot of minutes too, further adding to the guard depth.
With a lack of interior depth, freshman forwards Brandon Walker and Demonze Woods could contribute like Wilson and Young did last year on the interior.
WHAT IT MEANS
Bottomline, we won't know about this team until February at the earliest. The pre-season predictions could be accurate, or the incoming talent gels incredibly, the students show up and create an intimidating home court environment which means the Mavericks are contenders night in and night out like the last stint in the WAC.
I expect guard play to be a strength. There's a lot of quality players competing for minutes. UTA could resort to a small-ball, run-and-gun game to compensate for the lack of depth and experience inside. UTA is likely to be outmatched by the tougher teams on the schedule who have that paint presence. They will be undersized in most games. That isn't to say they can't play more physical, but they are going to have earn it via the hustle.
Rebounding maybe something that the Mavericks are in a deficit in more than they aren't. They lost too much in the off-season and weren't able to find the experience to replace it like they did with the guards. That isn't to say there isn't talent there, but fatigue, foul troubles or injuries could really exacerbate that part of the roster.
Part of the reason fans won't know about the team early is UTA's non-conference schedule. It ranks the hardest in the WAC. With an average NET ranking of 87.75, UTA's non-conference schedule easily beats Sam Houston in number two at 139.25, Tarleton State's 142.5 and New Mexico State's 152.888. Now, some opponents won't stay at the level, but some will be better. The average won't change much and with the huge gap, UTA clearly will have the hardest schedule. Will that make them better? Maybe. But it does mean a poor showing early equates to nothing when WAC play starts in very-late December.
With a new conference means new opponents, but, very importantly, regional conference rivals. There's also some attractive pre-WAC games. Notable non-conference home games this year that should draw interest are Nevada of the Mountain West Conference (Nov. 18), North Texas of Conference USA (Dec. 6) and Texas State of the Sun Belt (technically at Dickie's Arena in Fort Worth on Dec 10). Regional conference rival home games include Stephen F. Austin (Dec. 31), UT Rio Grande Valley (Jan. 19), Tarleton St. (Feb. 1) and Sam Houston St (Feb. 4).
I'll make one prediction here: attendance will improve over last year. I'm even hoping for an improvement into the 2,000 average, which we haven't done since Coach Cross was fired. The regional conference games and quality non-conference opponents give me hope there.
The season opens tonight in Stillwater, Oklahoma at the home of Oklahoma State. The first home game is this Saturday against Southwestern, Nov. 12, which is also a homecoming date.
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