Eastern Illinois transfer Preston Turner scored 23 points in a closed scrimmage Sunday against Incarnate Word – Photo by Joe Alexander
By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay
Preparing to open the season Monday in California against the San Jose State Spartans, a revamped UTSA men’s basketball team has generated confidence and momentum coming out of three closed scrimmages.
Roadrunners third-year coach Austin Claunch said Wednesday that he’s “fired up” to tip off the season after playing Division I programs each of the past three weekends, winning two and losing one.
The playing status of power forward Ashton Smith is uncertain leading into Monday’s opener at San Jose State. The 6-9, 265-pound native Texan from the Houston area practiced Wednesday but sat out a segment of five-on-five scrimmage at the end. – Photo by Joe Alexander
From the start of official practice to the scrimmages, the coach said his team has played “really good” basketball.
“These guys have done a great job establishing the identity of what we want our program to be about and how we want to play,” Claunch said.
On top of that, the coach said it’s just a “fun group” to work with on a daily basis.
Over the past three weeks, UTSA opened with a pair of neutral site scrimmages, losing the opener to the UTEP Miners before bouncing back to rout the New Mexico State Aggies.
With Preston Turner scoring 23 points and JJ Kelly 18, the Roadrunners closed with an 85-73 victory on Sunday at the University of the Incarnate Word.
Turner, a 6-6 guard transfer from Eastern Illinois, said it felt good to see his shot start to fall.
“Coach drew up a play to get us going in the second half. (We) came out and executed it and hit the shot,” said Turner, from Ellsinore, Mo. “From there, it started warming up. (I) just started letting it fly.”
Notable
UTSA held a practice open to the media on Wednesday and unveiled its new 15-man roster, working for more than two hours at the Basketball and Volleyball Training Center.
During the practice, 6-foot point guard Josiah LeGree stood out with his aggression, athleticism and both his playmaking and shot-making ability.
Power forward Ashton Smith, recovering from Achilles surgery, ran up and down in most of the drills and dunked a few times.
Smith, originally a Texas A&M recruit out of the Houston area Legacy School of Sport Sciences, sat out at the end when the team engaged in full-on, five-on-five action.
It remains uncertain whether the 6-foot-9, 265-pound transfer from South Dakota will be allowed to play when UTSA opens its 46th season on Monday.
November schedule
(UTSA men’s basketball)
2 – UTSA at San Jose State, 2 p.m.
7 – VMI at UTSA, 4 p.m.
11 – UTSA at Seattle, 9 p.m.
15 – Texas State at UTSA, 7 p.m.
18 – Florida A&M at UTSA, 7 p.m.
21 – Air Force at UTSA, 4 p.m.
26 – Army at UTSA, 11 a.m.
29 – UTSA at Southern Illinois-Edwardsville, 3 p.m.
University of Ohio transfer JJ Kelley, a 6-6 guard, scored 18 points Sunday against Incarnate Word. – Photo by Joe Alexander