UTSA vs. Sul Ross State photo gallery

Phoenix Ford (12) made his first start of the season for UTSA on Friday night, Dec. 4, 2020, at the Convocation Center. - photo by Joe Alexander

Phoenix Ford (12) made his first start of the season for UTSA on Friday night.

UTSA wanted to emphasize defense on Friday in a 91-62 victory over Sul Ross State at the Convocation Center. The Roadrunners held the Lobos to 34.9 percent shooting. Sul Ross turned the ball over 17 times.

Struggling UTSA hopes to bounce back against Sul Ross

Coming off two straight losses, one of them painfully lopsided, the UTSA Roadrunners return home to face the Sul Ross State Lobos tonight at the Convocation Center.

Tip off is scheduled for 6 p.m.

UTSA (1-2) will play against Division III Sul Ross (1-2) less than 24 hours after falling 105-66 on the road at Oklahoma.

The Roadrunners opened the season last Friday with a 97-71 victory over Division II UT Permian Basin.

By the next night, adversity struck. The Roadrunners were set back with an 81-64 road loss last Saturday against UT Rio Grande Valley.

Next, they were blown away by the Sooners, a Big 12 program that competes for an NCAA tournament berth on an annual basis.

Nevertheless, it was loss that represented the widest margin of defeat in Steve Henson’s five years as coach. Henson told reporters after the OU game that “we’ve got to figure some things out.”

“If these two games didn’t get our attention, nothing thing will,” the coach said.

With no time to prepare for Sul Ross, what’s the point of emphasis?

“Compete. Fight. Battle,” the coach said. “Rebound. Play tough. Play unselfish. We don’t need a scouting report for that. We don’t need a shootaround for that. We need to dig down and find a way to become a tougher team.”

Oklahoma hits 17 from three to blow out UTSA, 105-66

Senior forward Brady Manek scored 29 points as the Oklahoma Sooners opened their season by routing the UTSA Roadrunners 105-66 Thursday night in Norman, Okla.

Manek hit 9 of 15 from the field and 8 of 11 from beyond the arc for the Sooners, who hit 17 from long distance.

The Roadrunners fell to 1-2 on the season with an early flight out of Oklahoma scheduled Friday morning. UTSA will fly home to play Division III Sul Ross State Friday at 6 p.m.

Senior guard Jhivvan Jackson led the Roadrunners with 28 points.

The game started with some promise for the Roadrunners, who scored seven straight points to seize a 7-6 lead.

Undeterred, the Sooners answered with 19 straight to go up 25-7. The Sooners kicked the lead up to 51-28 at intermission and kept pouring it on in the second half.

For the game, Oklahoma hit 34 of 68 for 50 percent from the floor. They also produced 50 percent shooting from three, nailing 17 of 34.

The Roadrunners, who have dropped two straight, hit 23 of 67 for 34.3 percent from the floor. They were also held to 8 of 30 from three for 26.7 percent.

Turnovers (18) were a major problem for the Roadrunners, especially in the first half when they were charged with 13 to kick-start Oklahoma’s high-flying offense.

Records

Oklahoma 1-0
UTSA 1-2

Coming up

Sul Ross State (1-2) at UTSA (1-2), Friday, 6 p.m.

Notable

The 39-point margin of defeat ranks as the widest in Henson’s five seasons as head coach of the Roadrunners. UTSA lost by 38 in a Conference USA game against Old Dominion (100-62) on Feb. 15, 2018 and by 37 in non-conference against Texas Tech (87-50) on Dec. 7, 2016.

In addition, UTSA fell to 0-10 against teams from the five major, revenue-producing conferences in Henson’s tenure with the Roadrunners.

UTSA has now lost 22 in a row against teams from conferences that include the Big 12, the Big Ten, the Pac-12, the ACC and the SEC. The Roadrunners’ last win against a power conference team came 11 years ago, in November of 2009, at Iowa.

Quotable

“They bombed in a lot of threes but that wasn’t really the story of the game. Our lack of fight was concerning.” — UTSA coach Steve Henson said on the team’s radio broadcast.

UTSA hopes to end skid against major conference foes

Keaton Wallace. Oklahoma beat UTSA 87-67 on Monday, Nov. 12, 2018, at the UTSA Convocation Center. - photo by Joe Alexander

UTSA’s Keaton Wallace looks to pass in a game against Oklahoma, played two years ago at the Convocation Center. — Photo by Joe Alexander

In a little more than four seasons under Coach Steve Henson, the UTSA Roadrunners have created their share of magical moments with victories over some of the best teams in Conference USA.

The Roadrunners have won games against the likes of Marshall, Western Kentucky and Old Dominion. In the past three seasons, they’re a combined 29-25 in the C-USA regular season.

But in games played in November and December, it’s been tough sledding for UTSA against teams that it would like to beat to boost its national profile.

In games played against teams from the major, revenue-producing conferences, the Roadrunners are 0-9 under Henson leading into tonight’s road test at Oklahoma of the Big 12.

“We’re always going to try and schedule a few of those games,” Henson said. “It’s fun for our kids. … Going to Oklahoma, you know what to expect from a style-of-play standpoint. And vice versa, they know we’re not going to come in there and hold the ball on ’em and try to work the clock, things like that. You want to set up some good matchups in the non-conference.”

UTSA plays most of these games on the road for the financial reward. But, in most cases, UTSA’s opponent has been pushed to the brink before it finishes off the victory.

“It’s always a good measuring stick for us and also prepares us. We want to learn from these opportunities. We’ve played well in stretches against a lot of these opponents. (Against) Oklahoma, Nebraska, Arkansas — there were some stretches fairly deep in the ball game in second half when we were right there in it.

“We just haven’t found a way to finish it off and get a win yet.”

Here’s a list of UTSA’s games against the ‘majors’ under Steve Henson:

Scores

Nov. 13, 2016 — At Oregon State. L, 64-72.
Dec. 7, 2016 — At Texas Tech. L, 50-87.
Dec. 4, 2017 — At Oklahoma. L, 85-97.
Dec. 20, 2017 — At Nebraska. L, 94-104.
Nov. 12, 2018 — Oklahoma. L, 67-87.
Nov. 14, 2018 — At Oklahoma State. L, 60-82.
Dec. 15, 2018 — Arkansas (at North Little Rock). L, 67-79.
Nov. 5, 2019 — At Oklahoma. L, 67-85.
Dec. 18, 2019 — Oregon State. L, 78-88.

Close calls

In 2016, lost by eight at Oregon State — The Roadrunners surprised the Beavers by rolling to a lead of 10 late in the first half. After intermission, the Beavers surged to regain control of the game, but the Roadrunners hung around to within two possessions for most of the second half. With 3:30 remaining, Giovanni De Nicolao hit a three to bring UTSA to within one point. But Oregon State held UTSA without a field goal on a 9-2 run the rest of the way.

In 2017, lost by 12 at Oklahoma — The Roadrunners unleashed freshman guard Jhivvan Jackson, who opened eyes by outscoring heralded Sooners freshman Trae Young, 31-28. UTSA was within five at halftime and within two with 16 minutes left, but OU blew it open with a 25-11 run over a five-minute stretch to take charge.

Also in 2017, lost by 10 at Nebraska — UTSA hit 15 three-point shots in the game and scored 52 points in the second half. The game was tied with 4:23 left when Jackson hit a three. But Nebraska constructed a 9-0 run to put down the upset bid.

In 2018, lost by 12 to Arkansas — The Roadrunners stayed close for three quarters of the game at North Little Rock against the cold-shooting Razorbacks. Midway through the second half the Roadrunners went on an 11-2 run and assumed a four-point lead with 9:07 left. But the Razorbacks closed strong behind Jalen Harris and Daniel Gafford.

In 2019, lost by 10 to Oregon State — In a game played at Houston in the Toyota Center, the Beavers were blowing out the Roadrunners, pushing the lead to 16 points early in the second half. But UTSA retaliated behind Jackson to outscore OSU 26-16, dropping the lead down to six. It was still a six-point game with 6:45 left before the Beavers held off the Roadrunners to the final buzzer.

Through the years

UTSA’s last victory over a team from one of the five major revenue producing conferences came on Nov. 15, 2009, when the Roadrunners registered a 62-50 upset on the road against the Iowa Hawkeyes. Since then, UTSA has lost 21 straight against teams from a group including the Big 12, the Pac 12, the SEC, the ACC and the Big Ten. The drought covers 22 games if you count a 2015 loss to Creighton, from the Big East. The Big East is the NCAA’s pre-eminent, basketball-led powerhouse, albeit one that does not play major-conference football.

A crazy schedule? UTSA players ‘grateful’ for chance to play

Looking to bounce back from a dispiriting road loss, the UTSA Roadrunners on Tuesday announced a not-so-minor adjustment to their schedule, unveiling a plan to play on the road Thursday night at the University of Oklahoma.

Eric Parrish. UTSA beat UT-Permian Basin 97-71 on Friday, Nov. 27, 2020 in the men's basketball season opener at the Convocation Center.

Forward Eric Parrish drives to the bucket in last Friday’s season opener against UT Permian Basin. — Photo by Joe Alexander

The wrinkle sets up back-to-back games for the Roadrunners for the second time in two weeks, as they return home Friday night to meet the Division III Sul Ross State Lobos.

In most years, back-to-back games are rare unless they are played at neutral sites with multiple teams involved. But this isn’t any ordinary year. UTSA junior Eric Parrish said it’s all part of trying to get a season going during the coronavirus pandemic.

“With them extending the season to us, we’re grateful,” Parrish said. “We’re grateful for each game that we’re able to go lace ’em up.”

Last week, UTSA was scheduled to open its season at OU. But the game was called off because of Covid-19 issues in the Sooners’ program, forcing the Roadrunners to scramble travel plans and take a bus ride back to San Antonio on Wednesday, the day before Thanksgiving.

It all set up a two-game, season-opening test last Friday and Saturday.

On Friday afternoon, the Roadrunners played well and blew out the Division II UT Permian Basin Panthers, 97-71. That night, they took a five-hour bus ride to Edinburg, where they would spend the night in preparation for a Saturday afternoon game at UT Rio Grande Valley.

The Division I Vaqueros were ready and waiting for them. Forcing UTSA into a slow pace, UTRGV pounded out an 81-64 victory, leaving the Roadrunners in a bit of a funk for a good 48 hours. UTSA coach Steve Henson said players responded with enthusiasm Monday afternoon when it looked like they would get to play the OU game this week.

“It was kind of a cool deal yesterday,” Henson said. “We had a long meeting to recap the disappointments from Saturday. We had a good team meeting and had ’em speak in that meeting. When the meeting was over, I asked ’em if they had anything going on Thursday night.

“They kind of looked at me funny. I said, ‘Let’s go play Oklahoma then.’ They were pretty fired up. I think the opportunity to play an exciting game and get that taste out of our mouth, was a pretty exciting situation for our guys.”

Notable

Henson said he expects Jhivvan Jackson will be back in the starting lineup Thursday night at Oklahoma. Jackson came off the bench in his first game of the season Saturday at UT Rio Grande Valley.

UT Rio Grande Valley races to 81-64 victory over UTSA

Forward Sean Rhea and guard Uche Dibiamaka fueled a second-half surge Saturday as the UT Rio Grande Valley Vaqueros scored an 81-64 victory over the UTSA Roadrunners.

The game was played in Edinburg at the UTRGV Fieldhouse.

Rhea produced 20 points, six rebounds and two blocked shots for the Vaqueros, who bounced back from a lopsided season-opening loss at Texas. Dibiamaka scored 15 and hit three 3-pointers.

UTSA’s offense never really got untracked against the Vaqueros’ defense, which employed a mix of pressure in the backcourt, along with alternating man-to-man and zone schemes.

A day after scoring a 97-71 victory at home against Division II UT Permian Basin, the Roadrunners shot 41.7 percent and turned it over 13 times.

Freshman Jordan Ivy-Curry came off the bench to lead the Roadrunners with 12 points on 4 of 10 shooting.

Senior Jhivvan Jackson, the second-leading scorer in the nation last year, also came off the bench in his first outing this season. He added 10 points.

Last year, Jackson and Keaton Wallace were the highest-scoring backcourt in the nation, averaging more than 45 points between them. Against UTRGV, they combined for 16.

Wallace, who handled the ball for much of the afternoon, produced six points, six rebounds and four assists. He also had five turnovers.

Records

UTRGV 1-1
UTSA 1-1

Coming up

Sul Ross at UTSA, Friday, Dec. 4, 6 p.m.

Turning the tide

After a shaky first half, the Roadrunners came out after intermission, trailing only by five. Pretty soon, they were tied, 34-34, when center Jacob Germany scored in the paint.

At that point, the Vaqueros took charge, outscoring the visitors 46-25 over the next 15 minutes for an 80-59 lead with 2:48 remaining.

Notable

The game matched coaches Lew Hill of UTRGV against UTSA’s Steve Henson, two men who both worked together as assistants under Lon Kruger. UTRGV was pummeled 91-55 at Texas on Wednesday night. Also on Wednesday, UTSA was scheduled to open at Oklahoma and had traveled for the game, only to have it called off because of Covid-19 issues in the Sooners’ program.

In response, UTSA took an unscheduled bus ride back from Norman Wednesday night. The Roadrunners opened at home Friday afternoon, routing the Division II Falcons by 26 points, before boarding another bus bound for the Rio Grande Valley. UTSA was scheduled to bus back to San Antonio Saturday night.

Quotable

“We didn’t feel like fatigue was a factor,” Henson said on the team’s radio broadcast. “We didn’t think the bus trips had anything to do with it. The bottom line is, they competed harder, and we didn’t make enough plays. We’re certainly not going to look for any of those excuses.”

Breaking it down

“They won a lot of individual battles,” Henson said. “We couldn’t stop ’em in the post. Lot of transition opportunities for them, and then they got going, knocking down the threes.”

Added Henson: “They just kind of dictated pretty much every facet of the game. But in transition, some of their individual offense got us. We just didn’t compete hard enough on that end of the floor …

“We talked a lot about handling their press. We didn’t turn it over a lot against the press. It just took us out of our rhythm.”

UTSA cruises past UT Permian Basin, 97-71, in season opener

Eric Parrish has 20 points, 4 rebounds and 4 steals in his UTSA debut as the Roadrunners beat UT-Permian Basin 97-71 on Friday, Nov. 27, 2020 at the Convocation Center.

Eric Parrish scored 19 of his team-high 20 points in the first half in his first game for the UTSA Roadrunners. — Photo by Joe Alexander

Guard-forward Eric Parrish produced 20 points, four rebounds and four steals Friday in his UTSA debut, and the Roadrunners cruised to a 97-71 victory at home over the UT Permian Basin Falcons.

In addition, guard Keaton Wallace scored 19 points and center Jacob Germany 15 as the Roadrunners opened their 40th season as an NCAA Division I program.

Cedrick Alley Jr. UTSA beat UT-Permian Basin 97-71 on Friday, Nov. 27, 2020 in the men's basketball season opener at the Convocation Center.

Cedrick Alley Jr. made his debut by stuffing the stat sheet with seven points, five rebounds, three assists, a blocked shot and a steal. — Photo by Joe Alexander

Center Malik Brikat had 22 points and 15 rebounds for the Division II Falcons.

A few minutes into the game, the Roadrunners roared off on a 22-2 run to take charge. By the end of the streak, they were up 35-11. The Falcons never got closer than 16 for the remainder of the afternoon.

“I really liked the way we started the game,” UTSA coach Steve Henson said. “(It was) terrific to see Parrish and Cedric (Alley Jr.) get off to a good start. Those guys are going to be so important to our season. Didn’t really know how they’d respond in a game situation … certainly they responded very, very well.”

Both were making their UTSA debut. Parrish transferred to UTSA from Nevada last fall, and coaches hoped they could obtain a waiver that would have allowed him to play last spring. But it didn’t happen.

“It’s been a long time coming for him,” Henson said. “The transfer, the waiver (request), the waiting and waiting and waiting. To finally get out there and play, I know he was excited and relieved.”

Keaton Wallace had 19 points and a team-high five assists in UTSA's season opener as the Roadrunners beat UT-Permian Basin 97-71 on Friday, Nov. 27, 2020 at the Convocation Center.

Keaton Wallace had 19 points and a team-high five assists. — Photo by Joe Alexander

UTSA won’t have much time to think about what went right and what went wrong against the Falcons. Game 2 looms in less than 24 hours.

The Roadrunners will play at 3 p.m. Saturday in Edinburg against Division I UT Rio Grande Valley.

“The game we just had is over,” Alley Jr. said. “It’s time to lock in on UTRGV and go down there and just handle business.”

Roadrunners star Jhivvan Jackson, the No. 2 scorer in the nation, is expected to play after sitting out against UTPB for violating team rules.

Nineteen seconds into the first game of the season, Parrish nailed a three pointer. He finished 7 of 11 from the field, including 2 of 4 from long distance.

Afterward, Parrish said he felt good about the team’s performance and tried to downplay his own contribution.

“I feel like I did some things well,” Parrish said. “Definitely a lot of things I’m going to look back on and see where I can improve and help my teammates. You know, it felt good to get this win. Now we’re looking forward to UTRGV.”

Parrish, a 6-foot-6 athlete with long arms, big hands and quickness, finished with 19 points and three steals at the half.

Alley, a 6-6, 230-pound transfer from Houston, hit three of his first four shots. Alley finished three of 11 from the field, but he filled the box with seven points, five rebounds and three assists, a blocked shot and a steal.

“If I could give myself a grade, I’d give myself a B minus,” he said. “I could have done a little bit more on the defensive end as far as rebounding. I don’t know how many offensive rebounds we gave up, a nice little amount, so I felt I could have brought a little more there.

“But, overall, I felt like I did a pretty good job.”

Playing off their defense, the Roadrunners rolled to a 57-29 halftime lead.

The Roadrunners held the Falcons to 31 percent shooting before intermission and cranked out an 18-2 advantage on fast-break points.

Even though UTSA star Jhivvan Jackson wasn’t playing, sitting out because of a violation of team rules, newcomers Parrish and Alley supplied energy and production from the very start.

Pandemic basketball

Not only was it UTSA’s first game of the season, it was also the team’s first during the Covid-19 pandemic, with attendance limited in the Convocation Center and with chairs on both benches separated to mitigate the risk of virus spread.

The setup present presented some unique challenges.

“You look down at the bench, and the bench is all spread out. (You) Look down to sub someone in and you got to find where they’re sitting,” Henson said. “One of the things we’re going to have to figure out, is how we can get a little more communication with the assistants.

“Usually I’m up quite a bit. Walking up and down. When I do sit, (the other) coaches are giving me some pretty good input. Now, that’s a little harder. They’re farther away. I would have liked to have communicated with them a little bit better … We’re missing that because we’re so spread out.”

Starting over

Because of the pandemic, UTSA’s schedule has already taken a hit.

The Roadrunners took a flight to Oklahoma Tuesday and found out Wednesday morning that their season-opening game that night had been postponed because of Covid-19 issues in the Sooners’ program. So, they boarded a bus Wednesday afternoon and traveled back to San Antonio.

“I feel like it took a lot out of us mentally because we were so well prepared,” Alley said. “But we couldn’t do nothing about it. It’s like a blessing from above because we could have (gone) out there and played (had) someone spread it to the team, and we’d have been out for two weeks. So it’s a blessing that we were able to come back and have a game today.”

Coming up

UTSA (1-0) at UT Rio Grande Valley (0-1), 3 p.m.

UTSA 97, UT Permian Basin 71: photo gallery

UTSA beat UT-Permian Basin 97-71 on Friday, Nov. 27, 2020 in the men's basketball season opener at the Convocation Center.

UTSA tipped off its 2020-21 men’s basketball season on Friday at the Convocation Center.

A day after UTSA had its scheduled season opener on the road cancelled, the Roadrunners opened the season at home on Friday against UT Permian Basin.

Five players made their UTSA debut including freshmen Jaja Sanni, Lachlan Bofinger and Jordan Ivy-Curry. Two new players were in the starting lineup: redshirt juniors Cedrick Alley Jr. and Eric Parrish.

UTSA returns home after postponement of season opener

The UTSA men’s basketball team was on an unscheduled bus trip from Norman, Okla., to San Antonio Wednesday afternoon.

The Roadrunners were in Norman, set to play the Oklahoma Sooners Wednesday night in the season opener for both teams. But the game was called off in the wake Covid-19 issues in the OU program.

A UTSA spokesman said in a text that the two coaching staffs would work to re-schedule the game in the next few months.

As a result, the Roadrunners were traveling back home.

UTSA is now scheduled to open at home against UT Permian Basin at 3 p.m. Friday. Afterward, UTSA will travel to Edinburg, where the team will meet UT Rio Grande Valley at 3 p.m. Saturday.

Before the team left for Oklahoma, UTSA announced that Jhivvan Jackson, the program’s all-time leading scorer, would not play the first two games of the season because of a violation of team rules. The statement said he would be eligible to return against UT Rio Grande Valley.

Now that the OU game has been scrapped, it’s uncertain when Jackson will see his first action of the season, whether it’s on Saturday against UTPB or on Dec. 4 in a home game against Sul Ross.

Armed with an improved Jacob Germany, UTSA to open at OU

Jacob Germany. UAB beat UTSA in CUSA on Thursday. - photo by Joe Alexander

Expectations are high for sophomore center Jacob Germany as UTSA opens the season Wednesday night at the University of Oklahoma. — Photo by Joe Alexander.

Who says a kid from a small town in Oklahoma can’t learn how to become a man of the world?

Jacob Germany is doing just that after spending only one year in the UTSA basketball program.

Jacob Germany. Prarie View A&M beat UTSA 79-72 on Saturday night at the UTSA Convocation Center. - photo by Joe Alexander

UTSA fans remember Jacob Germany’s attacks at the rim last season. He averaged 5.5 points as a freshman – Photo by Joe Alexander

“One of my roommates (Erik Czumbel) is actually from Italy,” Germany told a television reporter over the summer. “He’s teaching me Italian on the low. That’s fun.

“It’s crazy to see the different cultures on the team and see how basketball can bring other cultures together.”

Not only is Germany growing as a person, he’s made significant strides on the hardwood, as well.
The 6-foot-11 sophomore from Kingston, Okla., is emerging as the type of impact player in college that was expected of him after leading his high school to the Class 3A state title in 2018-19.

“Jacob’s doing great,” UTSA coach Steve Henson said. “He gained some weight. Gained some muscle. You know, he’s so talented. It’s amazing the things he can do that look so easy.

Ja - photo by Joe Alexander

Germany entered high school at 6-foot-5 but kept on growing into a lanky, 6-11 frame. After a year at UTSA, he’s gained almost 20 pounds, up to 234. — Photo by Joe Alexander

“We’re just trying to get him to go harder, play with energy, fly around. He’s literally the fastest guy on the team, on turf, in 20-yard sprints. He’s an amazing athlete.

“We’re just trying to get him to play hard every single possession.”

The Roadrunners open the season Wednesday night in Germany’s home state, at the University of Oklahoma.

Fans at OU will see a different athlete than the one that led Kingston to a 28-2 record a few years ago.

He’s packed on about 20 pounds, which, along with the 31 games he played last year, has added an entirely different dimension to his game.

Adding more to his game

“With Jacob, the big thing for him is experience,” UTSA assistant Scott Thompson said. “You know, playing at our level last year was so important for him.”

Reports out of the weight room suggest that he has also emerged as one of the strongest players on the team.

“He’s a guy that’s benefited so much from coach (Christian) Wood’s strength program,” Thompson said. “His body continues to change. He’s been up to 234, I think, at one point. For his length and height, to be able to run and move like he does, you know, is unbelievable.

“This offseason, he spent a lot of time working on his ball skills. I think you’re going to see him score a lot more in the paint. Facing up at 10 and 12 feet, he’s shooting his jumper so much more consistently.”

Germany averaged 5.5 points and 4.5 rebounds last season, but he showed last week that he is capable of more, contributing 24 points in an intra-squad scrimmage at UTSA.

“The game is so easy for him,” UTSA forward Adrian Rodriguez said. “He’s so big, so athletic, all you have to do is throw it up (for him). When he jumps, there’s not much else anybody can do.”

Becoming a prep star

Kingston coach Taylor Wiebener said it was “a lot of fun” to coach Germany in high school.

“To be able to put a 6-10 or 6-11 guy on the floor, you know, there’s not a lot of high schools around here able to do that,” he said Monday in a telephone interview. “Throw on top of that, (that) Jacob is very skilled for a big man (and) he moves around so well. So, that was kind of icing on the cake.

“We felt good having him on the floor, just protecting the rim, and (scoring), as well. I mean, Jacob was fun to coach.

“Early in his career, I made it basically my mission to try to make him tougher, because he had the tools … But,the one thing he was going to have to have, was some toughness.”

Basically, Wiebener tried to get maximum effort out of his lanky center.

‘In the gym constantly’

“That was kind of our goal,” Wiebener said. “He took care of a lot of the fundamental skills on his own. He was a gym rat. I mean, he was in the gym constantly, working on things. So that part, we didn’t have to worry about.”

Initially, Wiebener didn’t know what he had in Germany, who was about 6-foot-5 as a high school freshman.

“Honestly, he was a little awkward,” Wiebener said. “Like, eighth and ninth grade, he was tall (and) real skinny. Kind of awkward. So I said, ‘He’s fixing to stop growing pretty quick.’ But, every summer … I wouldn’t see him, (and when) he’d come back, it seemed like he’d grown another 2-3 inches.

“By the time he graduated, he was a legit 6-10 or 6-11.”

Coaching Germany at the high school level was an adventure in terms of trying to get him to add weight, Wiebener said.

“I remember his sophomore or junior year, we had been on him about it,” the coach said. “I told him, ‘Your dad is a chef. You’re the only kid I know that, your dad’s a chef, and you’re as skinny as you are.’ Once he hit that 200-pound mark, that was kind of a milestone for us.”

Winning a state title

As a junior, Germany used the added strength in leading Kingston to the state finals.

He also saw his name rise on the prospect lists. As a senior, Germany paced his team all the way to the title, producing 21 points and 12 rebounds in the 3A championship game.

Another challenge for him as he entered college last year came in adjusting to the speed of the game.

Because the Roadrunners play at a tempo that is rated as one of the fastest in NCAA Division I, Henson’s players need to have the ability to run well and run hard for sustained periods of time.

By the end of last season, Germany was picking it up on that front. He had gained a better feel for everything, really, and as a result, he was able to move into UTSA’s starting lineup.

Now, he wants to take another step as he starts his sophomore year.

“All around, really, I’ve been putting on some weight,” he said Monday on a Zoom conference call. “I’ve been working on my motor. Going (hard) all the time. Not taking plays off. Just being that energetic guy that the coaches want me to be.

“That’s really where I’ve stepped up.”

Growing as a person

Asked how his Italian language skills are coming along, he shrugged and said he’s made “very little” progress along those lines.

“It’s probably words I can’t say on camera,” Germany said, smiling.

During the offseason, Germany said he worked out at a gym at his church back home in Kingston, a town of about 1,700 people nestled near Lake Texoma, just to the north of the Red River in southern Oklahoma.

He worked on some moves on the court, but, mainly, he said he worked on his mental game.

“It was hard being a freshman and everyone expected me to do all this stuff,” he said. “Especially being from a small town, coming to this big, big city … Especially coming from a small school where there’s not so much competition.

“There was a lot of pressure on me last year. If I did anything bad, I would get really mad. I wouldn’t necessarily show it. But, like, I had real bad anger issues. Over quarantine I was able to grow mentally and mature a little bit.”

Earning a starting job

Germany, who started 10 games at the end of last season, is expected to start in the post for the Roadrunners against the Sooners.

Alongside Germany, the others in the first five are expected to include Cedrick Alley Jr. at a forward position, plus Jhivvan Jackson, Keaton Wallace and Eric Parrish at guards.

Jackson and Wallace formed the highest-scoring backcourt duo in the nation last year. Parrish and Alley are transfers playing in their first games for UTSA.

Henson said Germany has been “really, really good” in preseason workouts.

“Our expectations of him are so high, higher than he has of himself, even,” Henson said. “Every now and then, we’ll think, ‘He didn’t have the greatest practice.’ And then we’ll look and (we ask), ‘What did he look like a year ago? (The difference) is phenomenal, (in) the improvement he’s made.

“So, the sky’s the limit for him. He’s just barely scratching his potential.”