Monthly Archives: October 2024

Roadrunners haven’t spent much time worrying about an AAC preseason slight

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By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay

The UTSA Roadrunners didn’t get much love from coaches in the American Athletic Conference during the league’s media days a few weeks ago. The coaches picked UTSA in a tie for 11th place in the 13-team AAC.

UTSA center Mo Njie says that players haven’t spent much time discussing it.

“People don’t really believe in us,” said Njie, a 6-foot-11 SMU transfer. “They don’t think we have the talent or the skill to come out and perform. But, I mean, I think that’s the beauty of it, honestly. Now we have the chance to come together and really show what UTSA basketball is all about.”

The Roadrunners will conduct an intra-squad scrimmage on Wednesday and then will make final preparations over the weekend in advance of the season opener against Trinity University on Monday, with game time set for 6:30 p.m. at the Convocation Center.

“It’s time to get out here and see where we are, see where we need to get better,” first-year coach Austin Claunch said . “I expect us to play well (in the opener), but I also don’t expect that to be the team you see in March, either.

“We’re going to have to make strides throughout the course of the year on both sides of the ball and really lean into know who we are and figure out our identity as we go. But, no, we’re excited to get out here and compete.”

Notable

Guard Tai’Reon Joseph’s playing status for the season opener remains in question because of a waiver request to the NCAA that remains unsettled. Joseph, a 20-point scorer at Southern University last season, is believed to be sidelined for the first seven games unless UTSA gets a reprieve.

“He’ll play at some point for UTSA,” Claunch said. “You’ll certainly see him in the AAC (games) and hopefully sooner than that.”

Joseph, one of the team’s most explosive offensive players, was held out of UTSA’s 21-point exhibition setback at Southern Cal because of the eligibility question. In a scrimmage against McNeese 10 days ago, he scored 11 points, knocking down a couple of three-pointers.

Making a statement? Ross finishes UTSA workout with a 3-point shooting flourish

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Taylor Ross. UTSA women's basketball at the Convocation Center on Monday, Oct. 7, 2024. - photo by Joe Alexander

Taylor Ross, a UTSA freshman from Brennan High School, showed off her long-distance shooting touch in a drill at the end of Monday’s practice. – File photo by Joe Alexander

By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay

I’ve seen the UTSA women’s basketball team practice probably a half a dozen times since July, and it seems like each time I come out to watch at the Convocation Center, a different player catches my attention.

Four months ago, a few days before the 4th of July holiday, I remember a workout that featured UIW transfer and point guard Nina De Leon Negron running the court and setting up the offense with slick ball handling and passing.

I noticed her touch passes into the paint, right on Jordyn Jenkins’ fingertips.

Later on, it was junior guard Siena Guttadauro, a returning player who didn’t see the floor much last season, coming on strong with confident play in the backcourt. In addition, I also remember Mississippi State transfer Nyayongah Gony.

The lithe, 6-foot-4 post seemed a bit out of synch on my first trip to campus. But slowly, step by step, she started to get better and better. In the last two or three workouts in a row that I’ve witnessed, Gony stood out with her speed, defensive agility and rebounding.

She was good again on Monday when she’d sprint in drills with multiple players on the floor, each of them combining to push the ball from end to end with long passes, all in an effort to get as many layups as possible in a certain amount of time.

Finally, as the workout was winding down, another player popped up on my radar. Six-foot-one freshman Taylor Ross drilled her first attempt in a three-point shooting drill. The shot looked smooth, so I kept my eye on her.

Pretty sure she knocked down five threes in a row, from different angles, before missing her last two. Other players seemed to have a pretty good rhythm, as well, with several knocking down triples from the corner, the wing and the top.

But it was Ross, a first-year college player from San Antonio’s Brennan High School, who seemed to have it really going on, perhaps trying to make a statement.

Playing power forward on a talented team, Ross is battling behind the likes of Jenkins, a preseason all-conference pick, and Gony, who has experience at both the University of Miami and Mississippi State, so finding playing time for her might be a challenge.

At least, initially.

“It’s going to take her awhile to get used to the speed of the game and the physicality, but she’s one we’re super excited about,” UTSA coach Karen Aston said. “She does have a lot of versatility, and she can stretch the floor at that four (position).

“I think she’s going to learn a lot from playing with someone as experienced as Jordyn.”

Last season, the Roadrunners were a team that excelled with their defense and their rebounding. They ranked among the national leaders in both categories in finishing 18-15 and making it all the way to the WNIT quarterfinals.

This year, Aston will demand excellence on the defensive end, as she always does, but it might be unfair to expect them to be as good as last year on that end of the floor.

Last season, with center Elyssa Coleman patrolling the paint and Kyra White on the perimeter, UTSA shut down opponents, holding them to 64 points and 36 percent shooting. Both players have moved on in their careers, leaving the Roadrunners to search for a new identity.

Could they find it with more proficient perimeter shooting? Based on early reports, they have a chance.

“I think we’ll possibly hit the three a little bit better,” Aston said. “Maybe (we’ll) be a little more versatile. I think our post players have created a little more range in their shooting. They’ve gotten to a place where they’re a little more confident facing up to the basket than they were last year.”

In the frontcourt, both Jenkins and Idara Udo seem capable of hitting from distances beyond where they have shot in the past. Jenkins hit some from three last year after she returned from knee rehabilitation, and she looks comfortable again from that distance.

In the backcourt, freshman shooting guard Aysia Proctor did the most damage for the Roadrunners last season, making a team-high 40 triples on 38.5 percent.

But this year, she should have help from the other guards, namely point guards Guttadauro, De Leon Negron and Sidney Love.

Guttadauro, a 5-6 junior from San Jose, Calif., might have the most upside potential to get hot and sink the long ball in bunches, but all three can hit it. In addition, freshmen Damara Allen and Mia Hammonds have both shown flashes, as well.

Last year, the Roadrunners struggled mightily from the three-point line. They shot 29.4 percent to rank 11th in the American Athletic Conference and 240th out of some 360 teams in NCAA Division I.

“We’ve emphasized it a lot,” Aston said. “We have spent a lot more time on it … quite a bit more time than I have in the past, in practice. But, you know, they got to show up and do it in a game.”

Notable

UTSA will host San Antonio’s St. Mary’s University Rattlers, a Division II program, on Friday night in its one and only exhibition. Tipoff is at 6:30 p.m. at the Convocation Center. The Roadrunners will open the regular season on Nov. 7 at Texas A&M.

Center Jaquan Scott finds his rhythm with UTSA basketball

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Jaquan Scott. The UTSA men's basketball team on Friday, Oct. 4, 2024, at the Convocation Center. - photo by Joe Alexander

Mississippi State transfer Jaquan Scott is expected to play center and power forward for the Roadrunners. – File photo by Joe Alexander

By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay

Center Jaquan Scott rebounded above the rim, defended and also made his fair share of shots from the field Thursday afternoon at UTSA.

Afterward, a visitor was waiting for Roadrunners coach Austin Claunch as he left his office, asking, “So Jaquan decided to take over practice today?”

Claunch didn’t disagree with the premise to an obviously leading question.

“He had a great day,” the coach replied, noting that a good week of work for Scott started last Saturday in Houston.

That was the day that UTSA played the McNeese State Cowboys, the defending champions in the Southland Conference.

The Cowboys, who won 30 games and made an NCAA tournament appearance last March, had to rally from a 12-point deficit in the second half to beat the Roadrunners by three. Claunch confirmed that Scott played well against McNeese.

“Scored and rebounded and guarded at a high level,” Claunch said. “He’s just really confident right now. He’s getting into a rhythm of how he’s going to be effective for us. I really like where he’s at. I think he’s just starting to scratch the surface.”

Scott, a 6-foot-8, 230-pound transfer from Mississippi State University, is expected to play both power forward and center as a senior this season for the Roadrunners.

He seemed to revel in extra work Thursday that came his way because of an injury that has sidelined center Mo Njie. Especially at the defensive end, Scott seemed to have a bounce in his step.

Springing for rebounds and guarding the paint, he made his presence known. For the Roadrunners, it’s a good time for the big man to emerge, with the season opener scheduled Nov. 4 at home against Trinity University.

Asked where Scott would play once the season starts, Claunch indicated that coaches will have options.

“To be honest, he was really good as a small-ball five (at center) against McNeese,” Claunch said. “But also, if we want to go bigger, we can play him at the four. We’re still trying to figure out our best lineups. But, certainly, we feel confident with him on the floor regardless.”

In closed scrimmages, fans aren’t allowed to watch and statistics aren’t posted, so it’s hard to assess the team’s play objectively.

But coaches seemed pleased with the way the Roadrunners battled from behind, trailing by double digits at the half and then surging into a double-digit lead down the stretch.

“I thought we played really well,” Claunch said. “Obviously that’s a good team over there. Well coached. They have tournament experience. They have a coach (Will Wade) who’s coached at a high level.

“They have really good players. They’re an older group that has NCAA tournament aspirations like us.

“I thought we played well. We were down a little bit. Then we went on a run. Got up a little and it was a dogfight. A close game at the end.”

Scott grew up in the DFW area and played at Mansfield Timberview for one season. He also played two seasons for Universal Academy in Irving and one season at the TLAP Academy in Tallahassee, Fla.

Out of prep school, he spent two years at Salt Lake Community College in Taylorsville, Utah, where he averaged 16.8 points and 10.0 rebounds as a sophomore.

At Mississippi State last season, he played sparingly, appearing in only 11 games, averaging 1.2 points and 1.5 rebounds.

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Hall of Fame focus: The day Derrick Gervin shook off a bad haircut and scored 51 points

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Former UTSA men's basketball star Derrick Gervin was at the Convocation Center on Thursday afternoon to talk to this season's team. Gervin is a member of the 2024 UTSA Athletics Hall of Fame. - photo by Joe Alexander

Former UTSA men’s basketball star Derrick Gervin (left) returned to the Convocation Center Thursday and addressed the team. UTSA head coach Austin Claunch (right) listened in as Gervin spoke for about five minutes. Gervin, who played three years for the Roadrunners in the 1980s, is a member of the 2024 UTSA Athletics Hall of Fame. – Photo by Joe Alexander

By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay

On a foggy, cold and snowy January day in San Antonio in 1985, Derrick Gervin was having some fun, sitting around and talking with friends Ike Thornton, Alden Wren and Ken Jones.

The goal for the UTSA Roadrunners’ high-scoring forward was to hang out with his teammates, stay loose and mentally prepare himself to play that night at home against the Baylor Bears.

Suddenly, a bad-hair moment threatened the good vibes.

While giving himself a trim with clippers, Gervin accidentally chopped out a section of hair near his forehead. Whoops. Surveying the damage in the mirror, Gervin knew he would need to take remedial action.

Former UTSA men's basketball star Derrick Gervin was at the Convocation Center on Thursday afternoon to talk to this season's team. Gervin is a member of the 2024 UTSA Athletics Hall of Fame. - photo by Joe Alexander

Former UTSA forward Derrick Gervin averaged 21.1 points and 8.6 rebounds over three seasons with the Roadrunners in the 1980s. – Photo by Joe Alexander

So, he shaved his head. Then he called his mother to let her know what had happened and to tell her that he would be on his way to her house to take a pre-game nap.

When Geraldine Gervin saw him, she was taken aback. “Boy, what did you do?” she asked her son, who once had wore a sizable Afro while growing up in Detroit. Irritated and upset with himself for the grooming gaffe, Derrick did his best to shake off the moment.

He hit the pillow and slept, snoozing away in a 2 and 1/2-hour pre-game nap. Later that evening, with 2.4 inches of snow accumulating outside, he showed up at the Convocation Center and clipped the Bears, scoring a school-record 51 points in a 101-91 victory.

Gervin, speaking Friday morning in a telephone interview with The JB Replay, had a hearty laugh about the episode on the day that he will be inducted into the UTSA Athletics Hall of Fame.

“I went to Ike’s apartment. I would go see the guys in the daytime, and then I would go home and take my nap,” the 61-year-old Gervin said. “All my career, I would make sure I took a nap. I would eat, and I would make sure I got my sleep.

“So, this day, I go out there to Ike’s, and I’m talking to him. It was Ike and Alden Wren — rest in peace. Alden died on my birthday two years ago. On my birthday — (but) I’m out there with them. So we all go to Ike’s apartment. I’m in there cutting my hair and talking to Ike and Ken Jones.

“Ken was quite a comedian, I’ll say. Quite a guy. Personality was something else. So I’m talking to those guys while I’m cutting my hair. And I forgot to put the guard on my hair (clippers). So when I cut my hair, all I could hear was, grrr, grrr.”

Immediately, he knew something was wrong.

“I look in the mirror, and I have a big ol’ patch in my hair. I’m like, ‘… Oh, my God. What can I do?’ (Now) I got to cut all my hair off. Before I’m even finished cutting, I call my mom, and I say, ‘Mom, I messed up my hair. And I’m going to have to cut it all off.’ ”

Later, after he arrived at his mother’s place, and after hearing her admonition, he dozed off into a slumber. The weather. The hair cut experience. The impending game with Baylor. All of it combined to ruffle his usually unflappable demeanor.

As he sunk deeper and deeper into sleep, though, something changed. The unflappable Gervin started to re-emerge. When he awoke, he looked at himself and said, ‘Man, it’s just hair. I talked to Ike. I called him and he was like, ‘Man, we got a game tonight. You can’t be focused on your hair.’ ”

Former UTSA men's basketball star Derrick Gervin was at the Convocation Center on Thursday afternoon to talk to this season's team. Gervin is a member of the 2024 UTSA Athletics Hall of Fame. - photo by Joe Alexander

After UTSA, Gervin played professional basketball until he was 38 years old, including parts of two seasons in the NBA with the New Jersey Nets. – Photo by Joe Alexander

When Gervin arrived at the Convo, he immediately dressed out in his warmups so he could get on the floor and start to hoist some shots.

“I just had a different feeling,” he said. “I just felt like I was ready, and I blocked everything out. I just felt good going into that (game).

“They had a guy on Baylor, who was the leading scorer at the time, by the name of Carlos Briggs. Carlos is from Detroit. They also had Eric Johnson. Who was Vinnie Johnson’s brother.

“So I wanted to make a statement. I’m playing against Carlos, who was a known scorer from Detroit, and Vinnie Johnson’s little brother. So I wanted to shine that night.”

It didn’t take long for fans in the building to realize that they were seeing something special. Gervin hit his first few shot attempts and kept hitting. Shot after shot. By halftime, he had 31 points.

By the end of the game, he had knocked down 22 of 32 from the field and seven of eight from the free-throw line. He also had 18 rebounds.

For the season, the younger brother of Spurs legend and former four-time NBA scoring champion George Gervin averaged 25.6 points and 9.6 rebounds for the Roadrunners. In his three-year career, the former prep standout at Detroit’s Martin Luther King High school averaged 21.1 and 8.6.

His play, more than anyone at that time, put UTSA on the athletics map in the second, third and fourth seasons of the program. For the 1981-82 team, the inaugural season of men’s basketball at the school, it was a struggle.

Derrick Gervin watches a UTSA men's basketball game at the UTSA Convocation Center on Feb. 13, 2020. Gervin holds the UTSA men's basketball single-season scoring record (718 points in 1984-85). He is the second player in program history to have his jersey retired. - photo by Joe Alexander

Derrick Gervin played for more than 10 seasons overseas, in locales such as Spain, Argentina, Italy, Turkey and Israel, where he won MVP honors in 1995. Today, Gervin says he coaches and trains young ball players, does autograph signings, produces podcasts and hopes to do more public speaking. His email address is dgervin21@gmail.com. – File photo by Joe Alexander

Outmatched in size and experience, the Roadrunners slogged to an 8-19 record.

After Gervin arrived, in 1982-83, ’83-84 and ’84-85, they improved to 10-17, and then to 20-8 and 18-10. In his second season at UTSA, the Roadrunners won 13 in a row and nearly made the NIT.

Moreover, in his last two seasons, the Roadrunners routinely defeated teams from the old Southwest Conference.

So, as for the Hall of Fame induction after all these years, what does this day mean to Derrick Gervin? Perhaps, it is validation that a young man from inner-city Detroit achieved what his mother always wanted him to achieve.

“I just got through watching my brother’s documentary, just thinking about how we came from the city of Detroit, from the inner city,” he said. “And to make it out of there with my mom raising the six of us by herself, and keeping us out of bad situations.

“She always kept us in programs, just kept us active, doing positive things in the community. She didn’t allow us to get caught up in the inner city life. Detroit was very rough. And we were fortunate, because I had two older brothers, as well, that were very known in the city.”

Gervin, who played professional basketball until he was 38 years old, including parts of two seasons with the NBA’s New Jersey Nets, admitted that he has been thinking about his late mother today.

A woman of strong conviction, she supported all her kids, even on days when they came home crying about hair cuts gone awry.

“I think about her every day,” Gervin said. “I’m trying not to get emotional talking to you about her now. But, yeah, she’s smiling down on me. For her not to be here is kind of sweet and bitter. You know, some sweet, some bitter.

“I wish she could be here. But, she is here. She’s watching down on all of us.”

Notable

UTSA Athletics will honor its second Hall of Fame class this weekend. Derrick Gervin (men’s basketball), Monica Gibbs (women’s basketball), Michael Rockett (baseball), Starlite Williams (women’s basketball, track & field) and Teddy Williams (men’s track & field) will be inducted in a ceremony on Friday night at Pedrotti’s Ranch. On Saturday morning, their Hall of Fame plaques will be unveiled at the Roadrunner Athletic Center of Excellence on campus, and the group will be recognized on the field between the first and second quarters of the Homecoming football game against Florida Atlantic that afternoon at the Alamodome.

UTSA’s Claunch sees a ‘positive light’ in lessons learned at USC

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Austin Claunch. UTSA men's and women's basketball teams at Rowdy Jam at the Convocation Center on Wednesday, Oct. 16, 2024. - photo by Joe Alexander

UTSA coach Austin Claunch, encouraged by his team’s competitive spirit in a 21-point loss at USC on Tuesday night, nevertheless said he wants his team to learn from their mistakes. – File photo by Joe Alexander

By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay

Competing with a fiery purpose against a Power 4 team and playing their first exhibition game on the road, the UTSA Roadrunners finally started to unravel in the last 12 minutes Tuesday night.

They trailed by only three points at halftime and by four when floor leader Primo Spears popped in a 13-foot jumper with 12:13 remaining. From there, the USC Trojans kicked it into gear, obviously intent on winning big for first-year coach Eric Musselman on their home court at the Galen Center in Los Angeles.

The Trojans took advantage of a few poor possessions by the Roadrunners and ignited a 31-14 run to the end of the game, en route to an 84-63 victory.

On Wednesday night, first-year UTSA coach Austin Claunch sat in his office, trying to unpack all the emotions emanating from his debut game with the Roadrunners.

His team, playing without guard Tai’Reon Joseph, one of its top athletes, stayed within striking distance for almost three fourths of the game.

“Overall, I thought the experience was great,” Claunch said. “I thought there were more things to take away in a positive light than not.”

Before the team left the arena, the coach told his players a story. He told them how the Alabama Crimson Tide failed to win in the preseason last year.

“And we made the Final Four,” said Claunch, who worked as an assistant last year in Tuscaloosa. “So these games, win or lose, you got to learn to get better.”

More than anything, he stressed that if a team wants to be good in March, it needs to learn how to handle pressure situations.

“We got to learn to be tougher in those moments and not break down and not give them easy baskets,” he said. “They didn’t give us anything easy. Everything that we got in that game was earned. They made us work.

“And on the flip side, there were just moments where we didn’t make them work for baskets. At the highest level of basketball, you can’t do that.”

Claunch said he held Joseph out as UTSA awaits word from the NCAA on a waiver.

“There’s a waiver process that we’re waiting on,” the coach said. “I’m not going to dig into the details of it. A lot (happened) over the last couple of months, and we realized we needed to file this waiver for him. He’s going to get it, is what it looks like. He hasn’t gotten it yet. We were expecting to hear at the end of last week (and) we didn’t. We were hoping to hear Monday. By the time the game started (Tuesday), we didn’t.”

Joseph is a transfer from Southern University in Baton Rouge, La. A jet-quick, 6-foot-3 guard, he has played extremely well in preseason practices at UTSA. Last year, Joseph led the Southwestern Athletic Conference in scoring, averaging 20.5 points per game.

Claunch said he hopes to be able to play Joseph on Saturday in Houston against the Will Wade-coached McNeese State University Cowboys. The contest is a closed scrimmage, and no fans are allowed to watch. It is the final scrimmage of preseason for the Roadrunners, who open at home on Nov. 4 against Trinity University.

The coach said he planned to start Joseph against the Trojans in Los Angeles. “He’s been playing great in practice, obviously,” Claunch said. “You’ve seen it, and how he plays.”

Even without Joseph, the Roadrunners held their own for the first half, trailing only 35-32 at the intermission break. After reviewing the game tape twice, Claunch described the team’s defense on USC as “pretty elite” for the first 20 minutes of the game.

“To go into their place in the first half and to keep it close, we felt good,” Claunch said.

Offensively, it was another story. The Roadrunners misfired on eight of their first 11 shots from the field against the switching style of the Trojans defensively.

“We felt like the lid was going to come off that rim (for us) at some point,” the coach said. “But you know, they actually did a great job. They made it hard on us. They were switching one through five., which was tough, especially with their length and their athleticism.”

Spears, unofficially, was 0 for 6 from the field in the first half. Heating up after halftime, he finished 5 of 16 for 14 points. He also had two assists and two steals. Marcus “Smurf” Millender finished with 12 points and four assists. As a team, the Roadrunners shot 38 percent from the field and 24 percent from three (7 of 29).

On Monday, Spears was in the Dallas area speaking with reporters at an American Athletic Conference media event, so he didn’t get to practice the day before the game. The only chance he had to shoot in the arena was at shootaround on Tuesday morning, which could have affected his rhythm, Claunch said.

Near the end of the first half, when he was on the bench in foul trouble, coaches noticed that he seemed engaged and into the game.

“When I took him out, I told him, “We’ll see how the half goes’ ” Claunch said. ” ‘Maybe I’ll put you back in. Maybe I won’t.’ And he was great. I think he showed leadership over there on the bench, keeping guys positive. Good energy. That, to me, is good for just the long-term success for this program, with guys understanding that some moments are their (moments) and some are their teammates.

“I think Primo is doing a fantastic job at being a leader and a pillar of this program.”

Having some fun and gearing up for a new season at Rowdy Jam

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UTSA men's basketball team at Rowdy Jam at the Convocation Center on Wednesday, Oct. 16, 2024. - photo by Joe Alexander

UTSA men’s basketball team players cheer on a teammate at the Convocation Center. – Photo by Joe Alexander

After a grueling summer of conditioning, followed by fall practices, athletes and coaches for the UTSA men’s and women’s basketball teams kicked back and had some fun Wednesday night at the Convocation Center. In an event billed as Rowdy Jam, coaches took the court and said a few words on a cordless mic to a smattering of fans. Players were introduced, one by one. Finally, the athletes showed off in some shooting games, highlighted by a couple of halfcourt heaves that found the bottom of the net. It won’t be long before the campaign gets underway for real. The UTSA women open with a Nov. 1 exhibition against St. Mary’s University and then a Nov. 7 regular-season opener at Texas A&M. The men open Nov. 4 at home against Trinity University.

UTSA men's and women's basketball teams at Rowdy Jam at the Convocation Center on Wednesday, Oct. 16, 2024. - photo by Joe Alexander

UTSA men’s and women’s basketball teams, showing off for the fans. – Photo by Joe Alexander

Damara Allen. UTSA men's and women's basketball teams at Rowdy Jam at the Convocation Center on Wednesday, Oct. 16, 2024. - photo by Joe Alexander

UTSA freshman Damara Allen celebrates after drilling a shot from halfcourt. – Photo by Joe Alexander

Damari Monsanto. UTSA men's and women's basketball teams at Rowdy Jam at the Convocation Center on Wednesday, Oct. 16, 2024. - photo by Joe Alexander

UTSA guard Damari Monsanto – photo by Joe Alexander

Jordyn Jenkins. UTSA men's and women's basketball teams at Rowdy Jam at the Convocation Center on Wednesday, Oct. 16, 2024. - photo by Joe Alexander

UTSA forward Jordyn Jenkins – Photo by Joe Alexander

Rowdy Jam primer: UTSA women earn their respect in the American

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Jordyn Jenkins. UTSA beat Northern Colorado 80-62 in the first round of the WNIT on Thursday, March 21, 2024, at the Convocation Center. - Photo by Joe Alexander

High-scoring forward Jordyn Jenkins returns to play for a UTSA team that hopes to improve on last year’s 18-15 finish. – File photo by Joe Alexander

By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay

The UTSA women’s basketball program is slowly starting to gain respect around the American Athletic Conference. This time last year, there wasn’t much buzz about the Roadrunners. This year, entering their second season in the AAC, they’re picked to finish fifth among 13 teams despite the loss of two key players, Elyssa Coleman and Kyra White.

Coleman has retired medically with knee problems, while White took the opportunity to turn pro.

In Coleman, a 6-foot-3 post, the Roadrunners had a steady scorer, rebounder and shot blocker. With White, a 5-9 guard who works now for a pro team in Ireland, they had a do-it-all backcourt performer who played defense, rebounded and also split time with Sidney Love in running the offense.

Sidney Love. UTSA beat Northern Colorado 80-62 in the first round of the WNIT on Thursday, March 21, 2024, at the Convocation Center. - Photo by Joe Alexander

Junior guard Sidney Love averaged 9.6 points on 36.1 percent shooting from the field last season. – File photo by Joe Alexander

White ranked among AAC leaders with 34 minutes per game.

Even with those two stalwarts no longer on the team, the new-look Roadrunners that fans will see Wednesday night at Rowdy Jam could very well have more upside than the ones that finished 18-15 last season. By the time conference season rolls around in late December, they could be more dangerous than the group that finished 10-8 and took a No. 4 seed into last season’s AAC tournament.

More than a few offseason developments have allowed the Roadrunners to dream even bigger this season.

First, forward Jordyn Jenkins is working her way back into peak conditioning. Jenkins, who sat out the first 21 games last year rehabilitating a knee injury, is expected to be a stronger player than the one that averaged 17.1 points and 6.8 rebounds in 12 games at season’s end.

She’s had a full summer of conditioning to get stronger, which according to the plan, at least, should help her return to the level of play that allowed her to become the Conference USA Player of the Year in 2022-23. Recently, she was named as a preseason, first-team all-conference pick.

“I think for Jordyn, her focus just needs to be getting back physically,” UTSA coach Karen Aston said earlier this summer. “When I say physically, I’m talking about conditioning (and) being able to withstand night after night of high-minute games.”

In addition to an improved Jenkins, the Roadrunners’ returning players have stepped up their games, as well. This would include high usage players last season, such as Love, Aysia Proctor and Idara Udo, who all played more than 30 games and started 20 or more. Love had 32 starts and averaged 30 minutes. Among players who didn’t play heavy minutes last season, Siena Guttadauro has been playing extremely well in practice lately.

Giving UTSA even more firepower are six new players, notably, transfers Nina De Leon Negron and Nyayongah Gony. De Leon Negron is a 5-6 point guard who can run the offense, score and rebound. Gony, a long-armed, 6-4 forward with speed and jumping ability, has shown flashes of becoming an impact defender.

It wouldn’t be a major surprise, either, to see one or two of Aston’s four incoming freshmen push for playing time. With depth at all positions, a group highlighted by 6-foot-3 shooting guard Mia Hammonds from Steele is a luxury for Aston, who is entering her fourth season at UTSA.

“I think we have a lot of potential to be great,” Jenkins said Monday at the AAC media day. “We have so much talent. We’re all trying to fit into one team and one working offense. We have potential to start off strong and be undefeated (early in the season). It’s just about building our chemistry and keeping up the good work.”

Love said she thinks UTSA has “a very high ceiling,” adding, “We have a lot of versatility in lineups and different areas that we can be good at. So, I don’t know. I think this team has a lot of potential.”

Stepping in to fill the void left by Coleman, the UTSA program’s all-time shot block leader, Udo is a likely starter at center with Jenkins at power forward. Off the bench, Gony and returning forward Cheyenne Rowe should figure prominently into the mix in the frontcourt. Two freshman, Ross and freshman Emilia Dannebauer, will supply depth.

As for the minutes vacated by White, Aston is looking at using Love, De Leon Negron and Guttadauro either as point guards or shooting guards. Any one of the three, paired with Proctor, an explosive shooting guard, should give the Roadrunners a dynamic backcourt.

“I think what we have added is going to work in our favor,” Jenkins said.

The difference in UTSA from last year to this year may be in style. Last year, the Roadrunners sometimes got bogged down into slower-paced games, scoring in the 50s and 60s. Players have talked about an emphasis on playing faster to take advantage of the team’s speed.

“There’s a lot of good teams out there,” Love said. “Good teams look different. I feel like, last year, we had a good team. Kyra White, key players like her, of course they’re missed. But this year we have a chance to do something like make some noise in the American conference with the new additions to our team.

“Everybody adds,” Love said. “They don’t take away from the team. I think it’ll be interesting for the people to see.”

Notable

Rowdy Jam, marking the tip-off to the 2024-25 UTSA men’s and women’s basketball seasons, is set for Wednesday at the Convocation Center. Start time is 7 p.m., and admission is free.

The event will feature free pizza for UTSA students, an introduction to the players and coaches on the men’s and women’s basketball teams, and interactive games involving players and UTSA students in attendance.

The UTSA women play an exhibition on Nov. 1 at home against San Antonio’s St. Mary’s University, a Division II program. They’ll open the regular season on Nov. 7 at Texas A&M, a power-conference program from the Southeastern Conference. The Roadrunners will return home on Nov. 9 to face the UT Rio Grande Vaqueros.

Hot-shooting USC rolls in the second half to rout UTSA, 84-63

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By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay

Forward Saint Thomas hit seven of eight from the field and scored 21 points Tuesday night as the Southern California Trojans pulled away late for an easy 84-63 victory over the UTSA Roadrunners.

In the exhibition opener for both teams, played at the Galen Center in Los Angeles, the Trojans outscored the Roadrunners 49-31 in the second half to spoil the debut of UTSA coach Austin Claunch.

The Roadrunners played well for a good portion of the first half, going on a run at the end to pull within 35-32 at intermission.

After the break, the Trojans hit 17 of 27 from the field for 63 percent to win in the debut of first-year USC coach Eric Musselman.

Thomas, a transfer from Northern Colorado, shook off a blow to the head in the first half to spark the Trojans. In the opening minutes of the second half, he hit a jumper, a dunk and a three in the first four minutes. His triple from the corner pushed the USC lead to 46-34 with 16:02 remaining.

In response, UTSA guard Primo Spears started to heat up, sparking a 13-3 run with seven points. A stop-and-pop from 13 feet pulled the Roadrunners to within 53-49 with 12:13 remaining.

From there, USC started its roll, going off on an 11-0 run over a four-minute span, fueled by guard Desmond Claude and Thomas. It was Thomas who hit two free throws for a 64-49 lead, and USC kept up the pressure the rest of the way, never allowing UTSA to pull within 10 in the last eight minutes.

For the Roadrunners, Spears led the team in scoring with 14 points. The Florida State transfer finished five of 16 from the field. Guard Marcus “Smurf” Millender added 12 points and center Mo Njie 10.

Halftime

Despite missing eight of their first 11 shot attempts, the UTSA Roadrunners kept playing hard. In the end, Damari Monsanto nailed two three-pointers in the final minute of the half, bringing the Roadrunners to within three. USC escaped with a 35-32 lead at intermission.

Forward Saint Thomas led eight USC players in the scoring column with six points. The Trojans were 11 of 24 from the field and two of nine from three. At the free throw line, they hit 11 of 12.

Guard Marcus Millender led the Roadrunners with eight points and three assists. UTSA finished the half 13 of 31 from the floor and three of 12 from three. Monsanto, for his part, made two of four from long distance. The Roadrunners hit three of six at the line.

UTSA set to play USC in men’s basketball exhibition

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By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay

The UTSA Roadrunners are set to open the Austin Claunch era tonight in Los Angeles in an exhibition against the University of Southern California Trojans. Game time from the Galen Center is at 9 p.m.

The first game with the 34-year-old Claunch on the sidelines for the Roadrunners’ men’s basketball team will be aired on the Big Ten Network’s streaming platform, known as BIG+.

Southern Cal is also raising the curtain on a new start. It’s the first game at USC for coach Eric Musselman, who most recently worked the past five seasons at the University of Arkansas. Musselman has led teams to six NCAA tournaments in his career, three at Nevada and three at Arkansas.

He led the Razorbacks into the NCAA’s Elite Eight in 2021 and 2022 and to the Sweet 16 in 2023.

Claunch, who was hired by UTSA in March, finished out his job as an assistant at the University of Alabama through early April. The Crimson Tide, under head coach Nate Oats, made it all the way through the NCAA tournament to the Final Four during that time.

At that point, Claunch reported to San Antonio and started to rebuild a Roadrunners program that has suffered through three straight seasons of more than 20 losses. Over the next month or so he hired a staff and then signed 12 players from the transfer portal.

“Obviously we’re fired up,” the coach said Monday from the American Athletic Conference media day. “We really like this group. It’s a really competitive group. They’ve been working their butts off.

“Excited even for these exhibitions and scrimmages that we have coming up, just to see somebody else and see where we’re at and where we need to get better.

“It’s not even right around the corner. It’s here. Three weeks out from our first regular-season tipoff. So, we’re excited. We got a lot of work to do. But we like where we’re at.”

In recent weeks, the Roadrunners have brandished a physical style and a fast pace during practices at home in the Convocation Center.

Team leaders Primo Spears and Raekwon Horton traveled to the AAC media day and introduced themselves as first-year Roadrunners.

“We’ve been competing against one another for four months,” said Spears, a Florida State transfer, “so it’s going to be great to compete against somebody else, just to see what lineups fit and really, just assessing what we have…Finally get to play with some fans in the arena.”

Horton came to UTSA from James Madison. His hometown is in Santee, S.C. The 6-foot-6 wing played in NCAA tournaments each of the past two seasons, at the College of Charleston in 2023 and for a 32-win James Madison team last year.

“We’re going to play fast (and) get up and down,” Horton said. “But what I like most about our team is that we’re real tough, very competitive and won’t back down.”

Coming up

Tonight: Men’s basketball exhibition, UTSA at Southern Cal, 9 p.m.
Wednesday: Rowdy Jam, UTSA men’s and women’s basketball teams introduced to the fans, at the Convocation Center, 7 p.m.

Spears, Horton uphold the ‘standards’ for UTSA’s revamped basketball program

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Guard Primo Spears has played at Duquesne, Georgetown and Florida State in his NCAA Division I basketball journey. The 6-3 guard will suit up for the UTSA Roadrunners this season.

By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay

Florida State transfer Primo Spears was one of the first players to commit to the UTSA Roadrunners last spring. He was one of the first to arrive on campus earlier this summer. In the four or five practices I’ve seen since September, Spears has clearly emerged as one of the team leaders.

Raekwon Horton. The UTSA men's basketball team on Friday, Oct. 4, 2024, at the Convocation Center. - photo by Joe Alexander

James Madison transfer Raekwon Horton brings high-level experience after playing in the NCAA tournament the past two seasons.. – File photo by Joe Alexander

First-year Austin Claunch has said it time and again. Spears, a 6-3 guard, is expected to lead UTSA defensively and, really, in much of everything it does this season. That’s why a question posed to Claunch on ESPN+ at the American Athletic Conference media day Monday was significant as I sat here in my living room, trying to sort things out a little more than two weeks shy of opening night.

The question: “Coach, when you went out recruiting (Primo Spears), why did he have to be on this year’s team?”

The answer: “I think, obviously, you watch film and his talent jumps off the page. But what’s been really encouraging for me is just his leadership and the way he carries himself every single day. He wants more accountability. Really, both these guys.”

Attending the event in Irving, for UTSA, were Spears and James Madison transfer Raekwon Horton.

“For us, for a first-year head coach, you certainly want an expectation,” Claunch continued. “(You want) your standard (to be) … to win every game. You want to win the championship every year. But it’s really important that we get a certain kind of person in (our) locker room … (Primo) holds himself to the highest standard, and Rae is the same way.

“That’s why I’m really encouraged by this year and what we’re going to do.”

The Roadrunners enter the 2024-25 season with their own fans likely viewing every positive media report with a grain of salt.

New UTSA men's basketball coach Austin Claunch was at the Roadrunners softball game on Tuesday, April 9, 2024, at Roadrunner Field to throw out the first pitch. - Photo by Joe Alexander

UTSA men’s basketball coach won 90 games and two regular-season championships at Nicholls State University. – File photo by Joe Alexander

The fans, after all, have witnessed three straight discouraging losing seasons under the previous coaching staff. Three straight seasons with more than 20 losses. Following the past two seasons, UTSA fans have watched an exodus of most of the scholarship players leaving the program for better on-the-court situations as well as better NIL financial arrangements.

With Claunch coming in to replace Steve Henson as coach, the Roadrunners last spring had 12 scholarship players take their chances elsewhere. Guard Naz Mahmoud was the only player from the previous regime to return. Claunch, hired in March, wasn’t able to devote his time fully to the new job until he finished his old job.

As an assistant coach at Alabama, he rode the wave, all the way to the NCAA Final Four.

“Coach (Nate Oats) was super excited for me,” Claunch said. “I told (UTSA) it was really important for me to finish what we were doing at Alabama. You know, I owe coach so much for the opportunity, and it meant a lot. You know, it was my first time in the NCAA tournament. I wanted to finish it the right way.

“Of course, (we had) an incredible run for a couple of weeks. To finish it at the Final Four was certainly special. I want to be able to replicate that experience with these guys. The NCAA tournament is a special thing. I want our guys to ultimately experience that same thing.”

Claunch, 34, who grew up in Houston, finally arrived in San Antonio in April. All of a sudden, he was hit with a wave of tasks. Doing an introductory news conference. Hiring a coach staff. Getting on the phone and then talking athletes into visiting the campus.

“Yeah, we were certainly drinking out of the fire hose for a little bit,” he said of his first few weeks on the job. “But, I was really lucky. I brought in some guys who had worked for me at Nicholls (State). Whether it’s a (coaching) staff or a team, you want to surround yourself with guys you trust and people that value the things you value. And I felt we did that. Our staff did an incredible job.

Added Claunch: “I’m excited about where we are and the people we have in our locker room.”

Spears, who grew up in Connecticut, said it was important for him to find the right fit after he entered the transfer portal.

“(Coach Claunch) is one of the youngest coaches in the country,” he said. “He’s hungry. He’s gritty.” Added Horton, a 6-foot-6 wing player and a South Carolina native: “For me it was coach, and the community, as well.”

Horton has played in the NCAA tournament in each of the past two seasons, in 2022-23 with the College of Charleston and last season with James Madison.

“Me and my teammates, we talk about March Madness,” he said. “I told ’em, like, what it felt like. How special it could be. I told ’em the work it would take to get there. So we’re just locked in and focused on that.”

Realistically, it’s the longest of long shots that Horton will hit the jackpot and play in an NCAA tournament for the third year in a row with a third different team.

At the same time, the UTSA players didn’t like the idea that the AAC coaches picked them to finish tied for 11th in a 13-team conference.

Horton isn’t making any bold proclamations, saying only that he expects a “gritty” effort from the Roadrunners.

“We’re looking to change how it was from last year,” he said.

Claunch said the Roadrunners will be “process-oriented” in his first season at the helm.

“It’s not just about, do we win or lose the game,” he said. “We’re trying to build something special. Something that’s bigger than any of us. More important than the result, every single day, is who we are and the program we’re building.”

Notable

UTSA will play an exhibition game against Southern Cal on Tuesday night in Los Angeles. Upcoming, the Roadrunners are expected to take on the McNeese State Cowboys in a closed scrimmage.

They’ll open the regular season with two home games, with the opener set for Nov. 4 against Division III Trinity University of San Antonio, followed by a Nov. 9 meeting against North Dakota. UTSA will play on the road at Bradley University on Nov. 12, then will return home to face Little Rock (Ark.) on Nov. 16.

Two of UTSA’s better non-conference games will be at Saint Mary’s, Calif., on Dec. 3, followed by a game at Arkansas on Dec. 7. Saint Mary’s is one of the favorites in the West Coast Conference. Arkansas is expected to contend under first-year coach John Calipari, who has led UMass, Memphis and Kentucky to the Final Four.

The Roadrunners open conference play on Jan. 4 at Tulane. UTSA’s first conference home game is set for Jan. 7 against Tulsa. Last year, the Roadrunners finished 11-21 overall and 5-13 in the AAC. Henson was fired following a first-round AAC tournament loss to Temple.

Predicted order of finish in the AAC men’s basketball race, according to the coaches’ poll, with first-place votes in parentheses and total points:

1 UAB (9) 141
2 Memphis (4) 136
3 South Florida 108
4 Wichita State 102
5 Florida Atlantic 97
6 Temple 86
7 North Texas 83
8 Charlotte 65
9 East Carolina 63
10 Tulsa 44
11 UTSA 35
Tulane 35
13 Rice 18

AAC preseason honors:

Player of the Year
Yaxel Lendeborg, Sr., F, UAB

Freshman of the Year
Jared Harris, G, Memphis

All conference first team
Yaxel Lendeborg, Sr., F, UAB*
RJ Felton, Sr., G, East Carolina
PJ Haggerty, R-So., G, Memphis
Tyrese Hunter, Sr., G, Memphis
Jamal Mashburn Jr., Gr., G, Temple

All conference second team
Efrem ‘Butta’ Johnson, Jr., G, UAB
Alejandro Vasquez, Sr., G, UAB
KyKy Tandy, Gr., G, Florida Atlantic
Colby Rogers, R-Sr., G, Memphis
Jayden Reid, So., G, South Florida
* denotes unanimous selection

AAC head coaches

Years at their respective schools
Starting first year: Austin Claunch, UTSA; Rob Lanier, Rice; John Jakus, Florida Atlantic.
Second year: Amir Abdur-Rahim, South Florida; Ross Hodge, North Texas; Aaron Fearne, Charlotte; Adam Fisher, Temple; Paul Mills, Wichita State.
Third year: Eric Konkol, Tulsa; Michael Schwartz, East Carolina.
Fifth year: Andy Kennedy, UAB.
Sixth year: Ron Hunter, Tulane.
Seventh year: Penny Hardaway, Memphis.

AAC in the 2024 NCAA men’s tournament
Recap
UAB Blazers — No. 12 seed UAB, an automatic qualifier as the AAC tournament champion, lost to the No. 5 San Diego State Aztecs 69-65 in the Round of 64.
Florida Atlantic Owls — No. 8 seed FAU, an at-large selection, lost to the No. 9 University of Northwestern Wildcats 77-65 in overtime in the Round of 64.

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