By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay
Thirty-five-year-old UTSA coach Austin Claunch cut his teeth on the game of basketball in Houston, a decade or so removed from the crowd that grew up with ‘Phi Slama Jama’ in the 1980s.
Back in the day, while center Hakeem Olajuwon was perfecting the “Dream Shake” in the post under Coach Guy V. Lewis, he was flanked by the likes of Clyde “The Glide” Drexler, Larry Michaux and Michael Young.
At the University of Houston, the Phi Slama Jama Cougars reached the NCAA Final Four in 1983 and 1984 and established an identity that is remembered fondly today, even in an era when Coach Kelvin Sampson’s team always seems to arrive in March with 30 wins and a No. 1 seed.
All of which brings us around to Claunch and the second installment of his UTSA basketball reclamation project.
Young, once a burly, highly-skilled, left-handed shooting guard for the Cougars, is now in his second year as head coach of the nascent Houston-based program at the College of Biblical Studies.
His team, in its third year of existence, will be the opposition in the season opener for Claunch’s Roadrunners at 6 p.m. Wednesday at the Convocation Center. Claunch said it’ll fun for him to coach against a guy with Young’s chops.
“Just understanding what he and those (Houston) teams did for the city,” Claunch said. “I would expect their team to play a lot like he did, just that pace, in that frenetic offensive style.”
“It’s going to be an interesting challenge on night one (for us), where (we’re) still trying to iron out some things defensively, and not turn the ball over … and be clean. I would imagine that they’re going to come in and push the pace.”
With 11 newcomers, the Roadrunners haven’t scratched the surface yet in becoming the team they hope to be.
They’ve lost twice to teams in the Southland Conference, first faltering in a neutral-site, closed scrimmage against the Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks, and then coming up short with a spirited second-half comeback against the Incarnate Word Cardinals.
Claunch said his practices since the UIW exhibition have been good and that he’s excited for the week, which will include a home game Friday against SIU-Edwardsville.
“I just think we have a clear vision of what we need to do,” the coach said. “We’re much more clean on the things we expect. Our non-negotiables. And, obviously, when the lights turn on, you got to go perform. As coaches, we’ve got to have our guys better prepared.
“We certainly want to show that same fire and aggression that we have in practice, show that when the lights come on … I would expect to see that wholeheartedly on Wednesday and Friday.”
One bit of positive news for the Roadrunners has been the return to form of guard Austin Nunez, who sat out the UIW game with an undisclosed ailment.
A 6-foot-2 guard, the Arizona State transfer is expected to give the team a veteran presence, as well as a speed component.
“He’s been in (practice) all week and he looks great,” Claunch said. “He’ll be full go come Wednesday. He’s looked good. Listen, if (the exhibition) had been an NCAA tournament game, we probably would have gotten him out there.
“He really wanted to play, but knowing what we have coming up, what lies ahead, it was important for us to (hold him out). He’s such a competitor, and he’s only got one speed. He’s 100 percent every time he’s in the game.
“So, sometimes as a coach, you got to protect ’em from themself. He’s looked great in practice, and he’s ready to go. He’s excited for Wednesday.”
Nunez came out of high school in San Antonio at Wagner in 2022, when he averaged 28.5 points and 6.2 rebounds.
He spent his first season in college at Arizona State, transferred to Ole Miss the next year and then returned to Arizona State last year.
Coming up
Wednesday – College of Biblical Studies at UTSA men, 6 p.m.
Thursday – UTSA women at Texas Tech, 6 p.m.
Friday – SIUE at UTSA men, 12:30 p.m.
Saturday – UTSA women at Houston, 7 p.m.
Notable
The Roadrunners men on Friday will host SIU-Edwardsville, an Ohio Valley Conference team that won 22 games and reached the NCAA tournament last season.