Author Archives: Jerry Briggs

Show time: UTSA men host Western Illinois in season opener

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Adante' Holiman. UTSA beat McMurry 125-84 in a men's basketball exhibition game on Monday, Oct. 30, 2023, at the Convocation Center. - Photo by Joe Alexander

Sophomore Adante’ Holiman is expected to start in the backcourt for the UTSA Roadrunners Monday night when they host the Western Illinois Leathernecks. The former prep star from McAlester, Okla., played a season at UT Rio Grande Valley last year and then elected to transfer. – Photo by Joe Alexander

By Jerry Briggs
Special to The JB Replay

The UTSA Roadrunners blew out a couple of non-scholarship opponents recently, scoring 225 points combined in two lopsided exhibition victories. Now the regular season looms. UTSA will kick off its 43rd campaign in NCAA Division I men’s basketball when it hosts the Western Illinois Leathernecks Monday night at the Convocation Center.

“We’re trying to get that first real one,” sophomore guard Adante’ Holiman said. “Trying to get that first real one out the way. Everybody’s excited to get that jersey on, like everybody else. You know, we’ve seen the same bodies (in practice) for a while. The exhibitions (against Trinity and McMurry) helped us out a little bit. But now, getting to see a different opponent, a Division I opponent, everyone’s excited to see that.”

Holiman said he wants the fans, particularly the students, to turn out in force so that they can make a push for a winning season.

“We’re trying to get that (fan support) going a little early,” Holiman said. “(We want to) get some dubs, get some people in here. Hey man, I can’t wait. Just the feeling of it, the adrenaline at game time obviously is going to be crazy. We’ve been waiting for this for a while. Some of us have been here since May, waiting for this day. It came quick.”

After a second straight season of 22 losses concluded last March, UTSA lit up the transfer portal with 10 players electing to leave in search of better opportunities. Roadrunners coaches responded with a massive effort to re-tool the roster, signing 10 newcomers.

Based on the early returns, UTSA fared well in the remake. Several first-year players in the program have raised eyebrows with their talents, including Holiman, Dre Fuller Jr., Chandler Cuthrell — all transfers — and freshman Nazar Mahmoud.

Against Trinity, one player who was in the program last season but did not play stepped up to show in the first exhibition that he wants to make an impact. Seven-foot Carlton Linguard Jr. led eight players in double figures with 20 points and nine rebounds against Trinity.

In addition, the Roadrunners took liberties driving into the paint and kicking out to the perimeter, where they made 15 three-point baskets.

McMurry, meanwhile, more or less stayed home to defend perimeter shooters, but UTSA’s offense adjusted by driving it inside for easy baskets at the rim and scoring in transition (with 29 fast-break points). As a result, the Roadrunners shot 65 percent from the field in the first half and 55 percent for the game.

“We like our versatility,” Henson said recently. “We’re an older group. We’re not alone in saying that, in this day and age. There’s a lot of older teams right now. But we think this group’s got a chance with our versatility and hunger and desire to do something special.”

Coming up

Monday — Western Illinois at UTSA, 7 p.m.
Friday — UTSA at Minnesota, 6:30 p.m.

UTSA players to watch

Carlton Linguard, Jr. — Seven-foot center from Stevens HS, a transfer from Kansas State, is set to play a regular-season game for the first time since the spring of 2022 after sitting out last season at UTSA. Linguard had 29 points and 21 rebounds in two exhibitions.

UTSA men's basketball player Carlton Linguard Jr. at the Convocation Center on Wednesday, Aug. 24, 2022. - photo by Joe Alexander

Carlton Linguard Jr. played in high school in the local area at Stevens. – Photo by Joe Alexander

Trey Edmonds — Power forward with a 6-10, 255-pound frame played the last two seasons at Utah Tech. He’ll be asked to supply rebounding, defense and a physical presence.

Dre Fuller Jr. — A small forward at 6-6 and 220 pounds will play for the first time since 2022 when he attended Central Florida. Fuller is adept at driving into the paint and either finding shooters on the perimeter or finishing at the rim.

Christian Tucker — The 6-foot-3 guard, in his third season at UTSA, will take on his biggest role since he’s been a Roadrunner. He’ll be tasked with pushing the pace and finding gaps to drive it inside.

Adante’ Holiman — A UTSA newcomer, at 6 feet, has shown ability to hit shots from the perimeter and score at the rim. The sophomore from Oklahoma shot 43 percent from three, including 50 percent in conference play, last year at UT Rio Grande Valley.

Chandler Cuthrell — Another newcomer who is expected to play a major role this season. The 6-8 forward, from Baltimore via Odessa College, can spring off the floor for rebounds — he had five off the offensive glass in each of the team’s two exhibition games — and can ignite emotions with his dunking ability.

PJ Carter — A lithe, 6-foot-5 guard who averaged 16.3 ppg last year at Georgia Highlands. He hit four 3-point shots combined in two exhibitions.

Nazar Mahmoud — The freshman from Leander, who played in prep school last year in Plano, has come on strong in two exhibitions with 26 points combined in two games. Mahmoud looks extremely comfortable launching shots from the three-point line.

Isaiah Wyatt — Native Ohioan played last year at Division II Chadron State. A 6-4 guard, he played a little tight in the exhibition against Trinity but calmed down and enjoyed a solid outing against McMurry.

Massal Diouf — Returning starter from last year likely will be utilized off the bench. The 6-9, 240-pounder is rounding into form after battling through knee rehabilitation this summer. If he can play with aggression and not foul, he’ll see consistent playing time.

Eye on opening night

Western Illinois is coming off a 16-14 season, the program’s first winning record since 2012-13. Returning starters are Jesiah West and Quinlan Bennett. Sixth man KJ Lee and reserve JJ Kalakon also return. James Dent Jr., Drew Cisse, Joe Petrakis and Ryan Myers highlight the newcomers. WIU reloaded the roster with eight transfers. Chad Boudreau takes over as Leatherneck head coach, being promoted from associate head coach last spring. Boudreau was the lead WIU assistant the past three seasons.

Nazar Mahmoud. UTSA beat McMurry 125-84 in a men's basketball exhibition game on Monday, Oct. 30, 2023, at the Convocation Center. - Photo by Joe Alexander

Freshman Nazar Mahmoud had 15 points, four rebounds and four assists against McMurry last Monday night. – Photo by Joe Alexander

UTSA basketball teams open regular season Monday

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Men’s basketball
Western Illinois at UTSA
Monday, 7 p.m.

Western Illinois at a glance: Coming off a 16-14 season, the program’s first winning record since 2012-13. Returning starters are Jesiah West and Quinlan Bennett. Sixth man KJ Lee and reserve JJ Kalakon also return. James Dent Jr., Drew Cisse, Joe Petrakis and Ryan Myers highlight the newcomers. WIU reloaded the roster with eight transfers. Chad Boudreau takes over as Leatherneck head coach, being promoted from associate head coach last spring. Boudreau was the lead WIU assistant the past three seasons. He previously was the head coach at Highland College in Freeport, Ill.

Women’s basketball
UTSA at Arizona State
Monday, 7 p.m.

Arizona State at a glance: Coming off an 8-20 season, including 1-17 in the Pac-12 Conference. The Sun Devils have 10 returning players and seven newcomers. Jaddan Simmons, who started 77 games over the past three seasons, averaged 12.4 ppg last year. Simmons was second on the team in scoring behind Tyi Skinner, who averaged 19.3. But Skinner is lost for the season due to a knee injury. Treasure Hunt is another key returning player, having averaged 11.3 points and 6.1 rebounds. Making their ASU debuts will be Kadidia Toure, Marina Radocaj, Sandra Magolico, Kiley Sours-Miller, Hanna Miller, Mallory Miller and Jalyn Brown. Hanna and Mallory Miller are sisters.

UTSA women win, 67-46, in exhibition against St. Mary’s

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Kyra White. UTSA beat St. Mary's 67-46 in a women's basketball exhibition game on Wednesday, Nov. 1, 2023, at the Convocation Center. - Photo by Joe Alexander

Kyra White hit three 3-point baskets in the fourth quarter Wednesday as UTSA pulled away and downed San Antonio’s St Mary’s University, 67-46, in an exhibition game at the Convocation Center. White finished with a team-high 19 points. – Photo by Joe Alexander

Idara Udo. UTSA beat St. Mary's 67-46 in a women's basketball exhibition game on Wednesday, Nov. 1, 2023, at the Convocation Center. - Photo by Joe Alexander

Freshman forward Idara Udo produced 16 points and eight rebounds in her first game at home. Seven of her rebounds came on the offensive glass. – Joe Alexander

Sidney Love. UTSA beat St. Mary's 67-46 in a women's basketball exhibition game on Wednesday, Nov. 1, 2023, at the Convocation Center. - Photo by Joe Alexander

Sophomore guard Sidney Love had 11 of her 14 points in the first quarter as UTSA took a 20-11 lead.. – Photo by Joe Alexander

Ninja-tough UTSA women brace for new season as Jenkins continues rehabilitation

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By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay

When I first walked into the UTSA Convocation Center today, I sensed some really strange vibes. I looked down on the baseline, and I could see that Roadrunners women’s basketball coach Karen Aston was wearing a Halloween costume. Her shirt was bright green, with a splash of gold on the front. For added flair, she was wearing red wrap-around glasses of some sort.

Jordyn Jenkins. UTSA beat Charlotte 60-54 in a Conference USA women's basketball game Saturday, Jan. 14, 2023, at the Convocation Center. - Photo by Joe Alexander

Slowed by an offseason knee injury, UTSA forward Jordyn Jenkins declined to speculate on when she might be ready to play. But she said she is feeling good and working hard in individual drills on the court. – File photo by Joe Alexander

Immediately, I thought the glasses might be goggles, and that she might have assumed some SpongeBob SquarePants-type alter ego. Not true, as it turned out. Officials confirmed that Aston was dressed as a ninja turtle. And not just any ninja. She was ninja sensation “Raphael,” a movie character who apparently never met a slice of pizza that he didn’t like.

Which I guess explains the slice of pepperoni pizza hanging off the front of the coach’s shirt.

As if any other craziness was necessary, Aston’s costume came complete with a plastic green and gold mask, though the coach didn’t wear it during the workout. After practice, I knew I needed to talk to her, because, well, how often do you get a chance to interview a successful Division I women’s basketball coach rocking a turtle mask?

But first, I approached star forward Jordyn Jenkins, to ask her opinion of the coach’s Halloween schtick.

Smiling, Jenkins explained that the coaches showed up last year dressed as the ‘Minions,’ of mini-movie fame. This year, she added, the Halloween silliness morphed into a “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” theme. Smiling, she said, “I expect nothing but greatness from them.”

Expectations for the Roadrunners this year? Well, it’s time we started breaking it down, because on Wednesday night they’ll host the St. Mary’s University Rattlers in their one and only exhibition this fall. The preseason game will be played in advance of the regular-season opener scheduled for Monday night at Arizona State.

Jenkins, rehabilitating a right knee injury, likely won’t play in either the exhibition or the opener.

As reported in this space on Sept. 11, she suffered the mishap in postseason workouts in April and then underwent surgery. Officially, last year’s Conference USA Player of the Year is expected to be listed as “week to week” going into the Arizona State game, without any sort of estimate on when she can return.

Asked if she had a goal in mind on when she’d like to return, Jenkins declined to specify any point on the schedule, saying only that she doesn’t want to rush it.

Though she isn’t yet practicing with the team, Jenkins said she is doing well physically. “I’m kind of just dealing with an injury that I had in the offseason,” she said in her first public comments since taking up the rehabilitation process. “Rehab’s been good. Been working hard. Been on the court a lot. You know, just trying to keep it up.”

Elaborating, she said she’s working on offensive skills primarily and trying to stay sharp. “I’m moving around good and I feel good,” she said. “You know it’s just about getting shots up.”

Last year, Jenkins averaged 20.6 points and 7.5 rebounds. In tallying a school record 659 points, the 6-foot native of Kent, Wash., went on to become UTSA’s first Player of the Year in Conference USA. She was also Newcomer of the Year and first-team, all conference. Previously, she had played two seasons at USC and made the all-Pac 12 team in 2022.

As a team, the Roadrunners started slowly last fall and winter but came on strong in February and March to become a force, going 9-4 down the stretch and winning twice in the C-USA postseason.

Jenkins was a big part of all that, scoring in the 30s three times during the season, and hitting a season-high 40 at North Texas on Feb. 20. But even if she isn’t in the lineup immediately this fall, UTSA is talented at several positions and could be competitive in a November schedule that also includes a game against New Mexico State at home, followed by a string of road tests at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, UT Arlington, Texas Tech and Sam Houston, and then another home game against Texas State.

To start fast, UTSA will need Elyssa Coleman and guards Sidney Love and Kyra White to play well. They’ll also need help from the likes of forwards Maya Linton, Kyleigh McGuire, Idara Udo and Cheyenne Rowe to step up and play steady basketball in the position where Jenkins dominated last season.

“We seem a little more solid, a little more experienced, just more sure of what we’re doing,” Aston said. “So I think we’ll be better. Obviously, the elephant in the room is Jordyn not being available as early as we’d liked. So I think you have to take some shared responsibility.

“I don’t think it’s necessarily a huge factor. It’s something that’s noticeable when you see our team play right now (because) we did play a lot through her. But at the end of the day, we’re going to grow from this. There’s no question. Players will take some more responsibility in different areas, so, it bodes well for the long run of the season.”

Entering the American Athletic Conference this season, UTSA has been picked eighth in the 14-team league, a development that doesn’t seem to have fazed Jenkins at all.

“Wherever we are (in the polls), we just have to look at it and do something about it,” she said. “I think we can be in a really good spot in conference. We just got to work hard and be consistent. It’s really about us. As long as we’re good, we can really do whatever we want, eight more places better.”

Jenkins didn’t mention anything like a ninja mentality. Or a coach inspired by the ninja legend, Raphael. But she said she has hopes that the Roadrunners have enough fortitude to make a run in the AAC in February and March.

“I think it could possibly take us a little bit (of time) to get things going at the beginning of the season,” she said. “We have a tough preseason schedule, and it’ll set us up to be really great. Once again, we’re young, and we have a lot of dogs (with toughness, on our roster). Once we have our energy and our chemistry working, we can be dangerous. Last year, we showed that a little bit.”

Night moves: Chandler Cuthrell records his second straight double-double for UTSA

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Chandler Cuthrell. UTSA beat McMurry 125-84 in a men's basketball exhibition game on Monday, Oct. 30, 2023, at the Convocation Center. - Photo by Joe Alexander

UTSA forward Chandler Cuthrell contributed 13 points and 11 rebounds off the bench Monday night as the UTSA Roadrunners downed the McMurry War Hawks, 125-84, at the Convocation Center.- Photo by Joe Alexander

By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay

UTSA basketball players like to gather in the early-morning hours for extra work in the gym. Just about the time the sun rises, the Roadrunners hit the floor for individual drills. Forward Chandler Cuthrell confirmed that coaches sometimes refer to this group as “The Breakfast Club.”

“Certain days of the week, I’ll be here for Breakfast Club,” Cuthrell said. “(But) I’m more like a night person. I like to be here, like, at 1-2 in the morning. It’s weird timing with me. But I like to be here (late), when I’m here by myself. Nobody else in the gym. I can just work on whatever I need to work on. Get me some shots in. Free throws. Stuff like that.”

For Cuthrell, the routine seems to be working out just fine. After two exhibition games, he’s parlayed his nocturnal spirit and his love for the practice grind into two solid performances, both of them double-doubles off the bench.

Last week, the transfer from Odessa College had 10 points and 11 rebounds against Trinity. On Monday night, in UTSA’s preseason finale, the 6-foot-8 forward from Baltimore hiked his production, going for 13 points and 11 boards as the Roadrunners routed the outmanned and under-sized McMurry University War Hawks, 125-84.

“I feel like I played well,” he said of his two performances. “I got a lot of room for improvement. I just got to keep working on being ready. Always staying ready when my number and my name is called, so I can help my team win.

“I want to continue to rebound, which is my main focus. Like, I don’t think about how many points I’m going to get. I think about … rebounds. I try to help my team get more offensive possessions.” So far, so good. Cuthrell (pronounced Cue-trul) grabbed five rebounds off the offensive glass in each exhibition.

Coming up

Regular-season opener, Western Illinois at UTSA, Monday, 7 p.m.

Notable

UTSA completed its two-game exhibition schedule against non-scholarship, Division III competition with a 100-70 victory over Trinity and a 125-84 win over McMurry. The Roadrunners shot 55.1 percent from the field against the War Hawks, including 65.1 percent in the first half when they raced to a 69-38 lead. In shooting the ball so well, they did it with a flair, passing for assists on 27 of the team’s 49 field goals. Playing off the bench, Christian Tucker hit seven of nine from the field and led eight players in double figures with 16 points. Tucker wasn’t the only spark among the reserves. Nazar Mahmoud scored 15, Cuthrell had 13, Isaiah Wyatt 12 and Massal Diouf 10.

Adante' Holiman. UTSA beat McMurry 125-84 in a men's basketball exhibition game on Monday, Oct. 30, 2023, at the Convocation Center. - Photo by Joe Alexander

UTSA sophomore guard Adante’ Holiman bounced back from 1-for-7, three-point shooting against Trinity to hit 3 of 8 from long distance against McMurry. – Photo by Joe Alexander

Among the starters, Adante’ Holiman and Dre Fuller Jr. scored 14, with Fuller adding 10 rebounds. Trey Edmonds had 12 points and eight boards. Starting the game were Carlton Linguard Jr. (12 rebounds), Edmonds, Fuller, Holiman and P.J. Carter. Holiman showed off his distance shooting touch late in the first half, scoring six points in 16 seconds. First, he knocked down a long one at the top with 3:06 on the clock and then another at 2:50. Cuthrell threw down a two-handed dunk just before intermission, rebounding a miss by Holiman and then forcefully snapping the rim and shaking the backboard.

Quotable

“A lot of positives we can take from that one and continue to build on,” UTSA coach Steve Henson said. “I keep thinking about the game, as it goes on, just so many good unselfish plays were made by so many different people. You know, we really kicked it out of the post extremely well.

Continued Henson, ” … (We had) willing passers. Assist numbers were high. I thought we pushed it in transition better … Defensively, had some trouble guarding the dribble. That’s an important part of the game. We got to make some progress in that regard.”

Christian Tucker. UTSA beat McMurry 125-84 in a men's basketball exhibition game on Monday, Oct. 30, 2023, at the Convocation Center. - Photo by Joe Alexander

Christian Tucker led the Roadrunners with 16 points on seven of nine shooting against the War Hawks. – Photo by Joe Alexander

“I thought we played pretty well the first 10 minutes or so,” McMurry coach Zach Pickelman said. “We obviously want to get out and run and try to score a lot of points. To do that against a Division I program was good to see. Obviously, UTSA is a lot bigger than us, and I think that wore on us as the game went on. We struggled to keep them in front of us. We struggled to keep them off the boards. But I think it was a good experience for our guys as we move forward into our season.”

UTSA guard Adante’ Holiman, on the Roadrunners’ unselfish nature at this juncture of the preseason training camp: “I think we as a team really value getting each other the basketball in the right spots. Just, we believe in each other.” Holiman received birthday greetings (for his 20th) earlier in the day. Apparently, there wouldn’t be much of a celebration. He said he had to go and complete an exam as soon as he left the arena.

Homecoming

McMurry had two players from San Antonio, including Josh Alcocer, a 6-8 junior from O’Connor High School, and Tristan Holden, a 6-7 freshman from Taft. Alcocer started and finished with five points and one rebound in 14 minutes. Holden had eight points and four rebounds in 17 minutes off the bench.

Tristan Holden from Taft High School in San Antonio is a freshman forward on the McMurry men's basketball team. - Photo by Joe Alexander

McMurry freshman Tristan Holden came off the bench for eight points and four rebounds. Holden is from San Antonio’s Taft High School. – Photo by Joe Alexander

UTSA wins 125-84, blowing out McMurry with eight in double figures

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Guard Christian Tucker came off the bench Monday night to score 16 points, leading eight UTSA players in double figures, as the Roadrunners blew out the Division III McMurry University War Hawks, 125-84, at the Convocation Center.

Tucker hit seven of nine shots from the field, passed for a team-high tying five assists and pulled down four rebounds. Tucker and the reserves helped boost UTSA to a 51-26 splurge in the final 13:36 of the first half.

Chandler Cuthrell punctuated the half with a massive dunk off a missed three-pointer by Adante’ Holiman. Notching his second straight double-double, Cuthrell finished with 13 points and 11 rebounds.

Men’s basketball: UTSA hosts McMurry in exhibition finale

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Trey Edmonds. UTSA men's basketball beat Trinity 100-70 in an exhibition game on Tuesday, Oct. 24, 2023, at the Convocation Center. - Photo by Joe Alexander

Trey Edmonds, one of 10 new scholarship players for the Roadrunners, scored 14 points and pulled down seven rebounds last week against Trinity. File photo by Joe Alexander

By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay

The UTSA Roadrunners host the McMurry University War Hawks from Abilene on Monday night to close out a two-game exhibition schedule. Game time is at 7 p.m. at the Convocation Center.

Center Carlton Linguard Jr. had 20 points and nine rebounds last Tuesday in UTSA’s preseason opener, a 100-70 victory over the Trinity University Tigers. UTSA hit 15 three-point shots and romped to a 60-34 edge in rebounding.

Both Trinity and McMurry play as non-scholarship programs in NCAA Division III. The War Hawks, led by ninth-year coach Zach Pickelman, finished 7-18 and 6-12 last year in the American Southwest Conference.

The Roadrunners and the War Hawks haven’t played in 10 years. In 2013, McMurry beat UTSA on a dramatic buzzer beater. Will Adams banked in a three at the buzzer to lift a then-Division II program to a 73-71 victory. UTSA is 5-1 against McMurry all time.

UTSA, a member of NCAA Division I since its inception in 1981-82, is stepping up a level this year as it transitions from Conference USA into the American Athletic Conference. The Roadrunners are playing with almost an entirely revamped roster featuring 10 new scholarship players.

Notable

UTSA opens its 43rd regular season a week from today, hosting the Western Illinois Leathernecks at 7 p.m.

UTSA students vote to reject a proposed athletics fee increase

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By Jerry Briggs
For The JB Replay

UTSA students have rejected a proposed increase in the athletics fee, the university announced Friday morning. A little more than 70 percent of nearly 5,900 students voting over the past few days elected to turn down an increase that would have boosted the fee from $20 to $27.50 per semester hour.

The final results are:

For – 1,730 or 29.33%.
Against – 4,168 or 70.66%

“I want to thank all the students who voted in this referendum. Your voice is important, and we appreciate your involvement,” said Lisa Campos, UTSA’s vice president for intercollegiate athletics. “I don’t believe this was a vote against athletics. In fact, we see more and more students coming to our games and supporting our teams.

“For many, this was a financial issue. Cost of attendance is top of mind for many of our students and we respect that. Our desire is to make the value of a UTSA degree even greater, and we will continue to do our part to support the success of our students and graduates.”

“As we head into Homecoming weekend, I’m so grateful for all the support that UTSA Athletics has received from across the university including the Spirit of San Antonio, UTSA Cheer and ROTC. We’ve all been together since day one,” Campos said.

The athletics fee has been a foundation of the athletic department’s funding ever since the university elected to start the football program. In 2007, students voted to increase the fee from $10 per semester hour to $20 per semester hour, with the fee capped at 12 hours per semester.

The additional revenue allowed UTSA to kick off its football program in the 2011 season.

Students have now turned down efforts to boost the fee twice in the last five years. Initially, one proposal failed in 2018. The latest effort was defeated this week. The proposal called for the addition of $1.50 per credit hour, each year for five years, through the 2027-28 school year.

Use of student fees to fund athletics has been common for universities adding football programs over the past two decades. As for how UTSA’s fee compares to others, the university says on its “Everyone Wins” website that it currently has the lowest in-state tuition and fees of any Texas school in the Football Bowl Subdivision.

UTSA’s athletics fee, according to the website, “is currently in the middle when compared to schools with emerging football programs, which are those programs that were started in the last 20 years. Those programs generally do not have the same level of ticket sales, donor contributions, conference media rights payments and sponsorship revenue like more established programs.”

UTSA wins 100-70 with big men prominent in exhibition victory over Trinity

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Carlton Linguard Jr. UTSA men's basketball beat Trinity 100-70 in an exhibition game on Tuesday, Oct. 24, 2023, at the Convocation Center. - Photo by Joe Alexander

Center Carlton Linguard Jr. produced 20 points and nine rebounds in 23 minutes in an exhibition game against Division III Trinity University. In his debut with the Roadrunners, the 7-footer had a sizable height advantage and used it to his benefit, rising up to knock down four of seven shots from three-point territory. – Photo by Joe Alexander

By Jerry Briggs
Special to The JB Replay

Center Carlton Linguard Jr. once suited up at Kansas State University for a basketball team that granted him only a minor role in the Power 5 program. It seems like a long time ago now, but in the 2021-22 season, he played 15 games and averaged only 8.1 minutes for the Wildcats.

On the nights when he did play, the 7-foot center from San Antonio’s Stevens High School played in short spurts and rarely took more than two or three shots before the final buzzer. Mostly, Linguard was an afterthought, as his 19 field goal attempts for the season would indicate.

Dre Fuller Jr. UTSA men's basketball beat Trinity 100-70 in an exhibition game on Tuesday, Oct. 24, 2023, at the Convocation Center. - Photo by Joe Alexander

Dre Fuller Jr. also made his UTSA debut, enjoying a productive night on a number of levels, with 12 points, eight rebounds and a team-high tying five assists. – Photo by Joe Alexander

Given the background, it would be easy to think that Linguard’s 20-point, nine-rebound debut for the UTSA Roadrunners on Tuesday night against Trinity University would have meant something special to him — and maybe it did.

But if that was the case, Linguard downplayed it after the Roadrunners rolled to a 100-70 exhibition victory over the Division III Tigers at the Convocation Center.

Afterward, Linguard did a round of interviews with the media and fielded more than a few questions. Once, he was asked whether it was important for him personally to score 20 in his first game back.

“Not really,” he said in response. “I told myself I had to come out here and dominate. That was kind of me and the other bigs’ goal tonight, and I feel like for the most part we did that.

“We still got stuff to work on. But, like, my mindset in my first game back was just to get my feet wet, get comfortable and just play my game.”

The Roadrunners, for the most part, handled business to the satisfaction of just about everyone in the arena. As anyone in the building could attest, UTSA thoroughly dominated early and late in running away with a 100-point game and a 30-point margin of victory for the first time in a couple of seasons.

In three-point shooting, UTSA showed some real firepower, with the team making 15 of them from distance. Moreover, UTSA big men turned out to be some of the better long-distance shooters, with the 7-foot, 220-pound Linguard making four of them and 6-8, 220-pound Chandler Cuthrell hitting two.

Rebounding was another area of dominance for the Roadrunners, who won the battle of the boards decisively, 60-34. In addition, team play and ball movement was generally good, with 22 assists leading to 41 field goals.

So, the game went pretty much to the liking of the home team except for some extended dry spells for the UTSA offense on shots from the field and in free-throw shooting. Oddly, the smaller Tigers hit 16 of 24 at the line to only three of six for UTSA.

“I felt OK (with the way we played),” Linguard said. “I felt we could have defended a little better and got to certain spots quicker. But, overall, I felt we played an OK game. That’s why we’re playing this game — to grow and get better. I think it’s a good little starting point for us.”

The Roadrunners did play well defensively, overall. They held Trinity scoreless for the first 3:08 of the ball game in jumping out to a 10-0 lead. And even though they allowed the Tigers to get on a streak early in the second half, they also closed the game by holding their opponent without a point for the final 3:37.

“I liked the way we started the game, defensively,” UTSA coach Steve Henson said. “When you don’t play a game for months, the excitement is generally going to be on the offensive end. We had parents drove in. (They) flew in. Guys want to play. They’re itching to play.

“So we kept challenging them. ‘Envision yourself playing. Envision yourself getting a stop. Getting a rebound.’ Not making shots. Defensively we opened with five straight stops. Set a really good tone there.. Very agressive. Very locked in. That probably excited me the most.”

Coming up

McMurry University at UTSA, exhibition, 7 p.m. Monday.

Individuals

UTSA — Linguard, in playing 23 minutes, hit eight of 12 shots from the field. He also knocked down four of seven from beyond the arc. Six-foot, 10-inch Trey Edmonds, who weighs 255 pounds, also imposed his will with 14 points and seven boards. Guard PJ Carter scored 13 on three of five shooting from three-point range, while Chandler Cuthrell, a 6-8 power forward, came off the bench to record a double double of 10 points and 11 rebounds.

Trinity — Guard Tanner Brown led the Tigers with 15 points. Guard Dean Balo had 13 points and seven rebounds on a night when he worked inside to draw seven fouls and then converting nine of 10 from the free-throw line. Guard/forward Abdullah Roberts had 12 points and guard guard Jacob Harvey 10.

Notable

UTSA guard/forward Dre Fuller Jr. showed off a flashy all-around game with 12 points, eight rebounds and five assists. The former three-year player at Central Florida started the game in a lineup of two bigs — Linguard and Edmonds — plus Fuller, who checked in at 6-6 and 220. The guards were Christian Tucker and Adante’ Holiman, both with quick, with active hands.

Holiman sat out five days last week with Covid. It may have cost him a bit on the offensive end with 1 for 7 shooting from three. A few others who struggled in the game included power forward Massal Diouf and shooting guard Isaiah Wyatt. Diouf, who missed time this summer rehabilitating a knee injury, fouled out in 10 minutes. Wyatt, who has enjoyed good moments shooting the ball at practice, couldn’t get it going in the game. He missed all five of his three-point attempts.

A few other players played productive minutes off the bench, including junior college transfer Carter and freshman shooting guard Nazar Mahmoud. Mahmoud scored 11 points in 17 minutes in his first game after prepping last year at Spring Creek Academy in Plano. At 6-foot-5, he took advantage of his size with smaller defenders and knocked down four of seven from the field, including two of three from distance. Mahmoud was active on the boards with nine rebounds, four of them on the offensive end.

Quotable

“I work on my craft a lot, so the nerves (weren’t) really too much for me. I really was just having fun out there with my guys.” — UTSA freshman Nazar Mahmoud.

Mahmoud also commented on Fuller’s passing ability, saying, “Dre is a spectacular talent. He’s going to be a big part of this team. Obviously he can score at three levels. One thing that doesn’t get talked about enough is his passing. He definitely sets up his teammates to get them involved, and also look for his shot when he needs to score, too.”

Carlton Linguard, on Trinity’s parade to the free throw line : “I feel like on defense, we got to stop fouling. We got to stay in front of our man. Little stuff like that. If we didn’t give ’em so many free throws, the game would have been a lot different.”

Linguard has been working through some aches and pains during preseason training, notably some stiffness in his back. “I’ve been doing a lot of rehab. I’m in rehab every day for an hour and a half. I’m trying to stay pro-active. Not reactive. (Trying to do) a lot of stretching, a lot of little exercises.”

New-look UTSA hosts Trinity tonight in exhibition opener

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Adante' Holiman. UTSA men's basketball practice on Friday, Sept. 29, 2023, at the Convocation Center. - Photo by Joe Alexander

Sophomore point guard Adante’ Holiman, a transfer from UT Rio Grande Valley, is expected to play a major role in the backcourt this season for the UTSA Roadrunners. – Photo by Joe Alexander

By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay

Hoping for a fast start with a new-look roster, the UTSA Roadrunners will host the non-scholarship Trinity University Tigers in an exhibition opener tonight at the Convocation Center.

“I just want to see what we can carry over (from practices),” eighth-year UTSA coach Steve Henson said. “They’ve worked hard. I like the pace that we’ve had. There are certain actions that we’re defending pretty well.

PJ Carter. UTSA men's basketball practice on Friday, Sept. 29, 2023, at the Convocation Center. - Photo by Joe Alexander

Junior college transfer PJ Carter is perhaps the most improved newcomer on the team after coming in from Georgia Highlands College. – Photo by Joe Alexander

“It doesn’t mean we’ll see that from Trinity tomorrow. Probably will be some surprises. Always just curious about what will transfer. We’ll play a bunch of guys and see what our conditioning looks like.

“Hoping to see a great defensive effort. A great rebounding effort. Hope we’ve got some pace. The offense will take care of itself if we’re locked in on the other end of the floor.”

After tonight, the Roadrunners will continue practicing before hosting McMurry University next Monday to wrap up the exhibition schedule. The regular season opener is Nov. 6 at home against Western Illinois.

For the fans, the exhibition against Trinity will serve as an opportunity to take their first look at the Roadrunners since the roster was almost totally revamped during the offseason.

First-year players in the program who are expected to see action tonight include the likes of Adante’ Holiman, Dre Fuller, Jr., Nazar Mahmoud, PJ Carter, Isaiah Wyatt, Chandler Cuthrell, Trey Edmonds and Josh Reid.

Another player making his UTSA debut will be seven-foot center Carlton Linguard Jr., who is eligible for the first time after rectifying academic issues following a transfer in the summer of 2022 from Kansas State University.

Returning players from last year’s squad include Christian Tucker and Massal Diouf.

Jordan Ivy-Curry, Justin Thomas and Juan Reyna, who are all scheduled to sit out this season under NCAA transfer rules, are not expected to play against Trinity. It’s possible that they could be cleared at some point, but it would require a waiver from the NCAA. So, those three, along with guard/forward Blessing Adesipe, who is rehabilitating an injury, won’t be on the floor against Trinity, the coach said.

Initially, UTSA fans might notice lineup combinations in the frontcourt that will have more heft, if not more height, than last year.

In the interior, Henson might play Linguard (7-foot, 225 pounds) in the post along with Diouf (6-9, 240) or Edmonds (6-10, 255). A more traditional set could feature any of the three big men, paired with Cuthrell (6-8, 220) at power forward.

In addition, the Roadrunners also could go smaller on the front line with the versatile Fuller (6-6, 220).

In the backcourt, the Roadrunners believe they have some speed with the likes of Holiman and Tucker, both of them point guards, along with a grouping of wing players who will be tasked with running the floor, shooting and defending.

That group would include Carter, Mahmoud, Wyatt and also Fuller, a former three-year veteran from the Central Florida Knights who sat out all of last year following the death of his mother.

Henson said it’s possible that he might play both Tucker and Holiman, possibly one of the most natural scorers on the team, together.

“They both earned the right to be out on the court, so we’ll play them together quite a bit, I would anticipate,” the coach said. “Christian’s done a really good job for us. He’s taken a good step (forward) for us on both ends of the floor. He’s the (player) most familiar with what we’re doing, the most experienced in our program. So, yeah, both of those guys will play a lot.”

Asked to identify the newcomer who has made the biggest jump from his time of arrival earlier this summer, Henson didn’t hesitate in saying that it has been Carter, a 6-foot-5 wing player from Atlanta, who averaged 16.3 points and shot 43 percent from three last year at Georgia Highlands College.

“He’s doing now what we saw on film, what we anticipated,” Henson said. “When he first got here, he wasn’t in very good condition. I don’t think he did a lot in the spring. He was finishing up his academics. I don’t think he was on the court a lot certainly with intense game action of any kind.

“His condition (in the summer) prevented him from playing the way we anticipated. We were concerned early on, but his condition just got better and better. He’s been a good, solid player. Versatile. Good feel for the game. High IQ guy. He’s been really good since he got in shape.”

Another player who has made significant strides, the coach said, has been Wyatt. Last week, the 6-4 Ohioan who shot 46.9 percent from beyond the arc last year at Division II Chadron State, Neb., went on a six for seven, three-point shooting binge during a 15-minute full court, full-speed scrimmage.

“He had a lot to do academically this summer and that was wearing him down,” Henson said. “But once he got through that, we had to work on his conditioning. We knew he could shoot the ball well. He’s picked up on our schemes defensively. He’s improved on that end a lot.”

Players that have been better than expected? Henson talked about Edmonds, who played last year at Utah Tech. Edmonds is expected to be a defender and a rebounder, primarily. “He’s such a conscientious player who wants to do things right, on and off the court,” Henson said.

The coach also mentioned Mahmoud, a 6-5 freshman guard from the Austin area.

“We started recruiting him several years ago, Henson said. “I loved him when I first saw him. We were fairly aggressive with him, I guess, it was the summer before his junior year. I thought he had terrific upside. He’s a little better than I anticipated. He’s got some work to do defensively. But he knows (offensively) how to set his man up, make cuts, reads defenses and shoots it with confidence.”

After putting in all the work, UTSA players are anxious to test themselves against an opponent. Wyatt said that, with Trinity at the Division III level, he wants to see the Roadrunners win by at least a double-digit margin.

“We worked our butts off to get to this point, and now we’re heading into the season,” Wyatt said. “I already know, a lot of people have a different narrative about how UTSA basketball is, and we definitely want to change that.

“We’ve got quite a few new faces, and a lot of them have been through junior colleges, he added. “If anyone knows anything about junior colleges, we all have a chip on our shoulder. We all have something to prove.”

Notebook

UTSA has played Trinity in exhibitions each of the past two seasons. Two years ago, the Roadrunners rolled to a 97-66 victory and last year, they shot the ball poorly but still won easily, 74-47.

The Tigers enter the game under the direction of fourth-year coach Jimmy Smith, who is expected to depend heavily this season on returning all-conference guards Tanner Brown and Jacob Harvey.

Harvey averaged 12.4 points per game for the Tigers last year. He hit 68 three-pointers and shot at a 42-percent clip from beyond the arc. Brown averaged 11.6 points and 4.5 rebounds. Trinity is 53-15 under Smith, who is entering his fourth season at the university.