Hoops Closes Out 2025 - Men's Edition

Both versions of the UT Arlington basketball teams concluded their seasons at different points of March and heading into the offseason, the squads are playing different notes. In the current era of the NCAA, momentum and returnees mean little, but as a fan, it means something. So with that, let's look at the conclusion of the basketball seasons.

The men ended their campaign in the first round of the Western Athletic Conference tournament on March 12th. Adding insult to injury was the team the Mavericks lost to in the quarterfinals. 

When UTA joined the WAC, I watched the New Mexico State / Grand Canyon University stakeholders go back-and-forth on the it's-a-rivalry/not-a-rivalry. I assumed it was due to NMSU's fan base and their reluctance to say the Aggie program, with its century of competition and long list of accomplishments, didn't want to be associated as a rival with a school that recently transitioned and had no history. Turns out, between how that school funds its athletic programs and how obnoxious its fan base is, NMSU didn't want to give the impression programs were similar. 

My experience is that NMSU has a realistic, balanced fan base who are courteous to the remainder of the conference schools and fans. Even the broadcast crew reflected that. Meanwhile, GCU fans trash the remainder of the conference, convinced of their eternal superiority. Even the broadcast crew is the most homerish obnoxious pair in the conference.

I fully expected the men to lose, regardless of opponent. I'll touch on their deficiencies in a moment. Bur to have it be GCU was painful.

UTA kept the game close early. They even had a lead. Then, as has been the formula the last two years, the WAC referees took over. UTA was likely going to lose regardless, but this conference has a ref problem. 23 fouls on UTA to 19 isn't over the top. 25 free throw attempts for versus 32 isn't bad either (though the same ratio last year likely leads to a UTA win).

But what is really a problem are the intangibles, non-calls, turnovers via a call or whistles effecting the pace of the game. While the faces were different in the ensuing description, the refs still represent the WAC singularly. How does Graduate forward Lance Ware get kicked in the head by Senior guard Ray Harrison in Pheonix not get called, but Ware looks at the ref unpleasantly and gets tossed? The game was clearly over right there. And they had to know it.

The plus side, I saw a fire in the men against the Voldemort of the WAC. I mentioned after that game in Phoenix that it looked like they were happy to get punched in the mouth. This game, it looked like they countered any apparent non-game aggressiveness with some backbone.

Referees are a fairly common issue sport wide. This is why basketball is my least favorite major sport. I prefer volleyball and softball more because it more genuinely reflects our best effort against yours and let's see who wins. I personally believe that basketball's popularity is suppressed largely because of the belief of official influence. Every sport complains about officiating. But you rarely hear about the Yankees winning it all because of umpire favoritism. In football, you see a play or two as an example and that is about it. I can't recall one instance in hockey of a widespread belief of official getting a play wrong costing a team. Even soccer seems immune from basketball's problem. The Tim Donaghy scandal shows referees directly have an impact. Ask the Dallas Mavericks of 2007. The 2023/24 UT Arlington Mavericks feel similar.

As I said, UTA was likely going to lose regardless in the first game. In a symptom of a greater problem, UTA was 12-25 from the free throw line. They were the worst free throw shooting team in the conference and they probably would be closer to a .500 team if they were in the ballpark of 70 percent from the line, rather than the 13-18 final record. Two close losses saw a free throw percentage below 50 percent and another handful of close losses below 60 percent. Three losses by a possession and another under six would be different with a better FT percentage. With a 6-10 conference record, there's your losing season right there.

The transfer portal, as expected, has seen some Mavericks enter already. Ware, guard Darius Burford, forward Diante Smith and guard Jaden Wells were all Graduate Students who are out of eligibility. Guard Bradyn Talbot and forward Troy Hupstead are seniors who could conceivably return but are unlikely too and are unknown to me as of now. 

Sophomore guard Kade Douglass, Junior forward Jaxson Ellingsworth, Junior guard Brody Robinson and Junior forward Raysean Seamster have entered the portal. I have to be candid, only two of those saddens me.

I wondered quite often why Douglass didn't play more. When Wells was injured, he played a lot and contributed quite well. He's a good three shooter and developed an interior game later in the season. He didn't get to the line a lot but missed one of 19 free throws. He has a spot as far as I'm concerned. I'm not sure if Head Coach K.T. Turner agrees.

Robinson turned into shifty point guard with good vision and an accurate shot. His main drawback is his size at 5'11" and 160 pounds. I don't know why, but I had hope in this one-season-and-done era that he'd stay, but he's likely looking for a bigger pay day.

This may not be popular, but I'm not upset at Seamster's entry. He was third in points per game on the team but should have been first. He was very aggressive, drawing fouls. But I have never been less excited for an and 1 opportunity than when it was Seamster. Watching the fan base during games, I wasn't alone. Seamster was second on the team in free throw attempts at 127. He was third in makes at 61. Among a bad free throw shooting team, he was last of 11 with a .480 percentage. He left 66 points on the table. UTA scored 2302 this year and gave up 2320. He left more points on the table than deficit in the box score. If he brought his free throw percentage up to a sub-par 60 percent, he moves to second in points per game. And that's to say nothing for his one-and-one attempts where he missed the front end. I don't know how many there were, but it wasn't zero.

I liked Ellingsworth's game, but when Ware became eligible, his playing time was reduced. Freshman Cameron Jackson played in relief for Ware later in the season, so I'm not surprised by that. While I would like him to stay, I understand why he would explore his options.

I'm sure there will be more entrants as the process goes on. There were 13 Mavericks who logged minutes this year. Four are out of eligibility, two are seniors likely to leave and three have entered the portal so far. It seems we UTA fans will again look at a fairly new roster next year.