By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay
The acting head coach of the UTSA men’s basketball program on Thursday expressed confidence in his ability to lead the team into Monday’s season opener at San Jose State. For Nick Bowman, it’ll be an emotional moment as he steps in for suspended head coach Austin Claunch.
UTSA assistant Nick Bowman has been elevated to acting head coach as the Roadrunners prepare for their season opener at San Jose State. – Courtesy photo
Claunch was arrested by Corpus Christi police at 6:07 a.m. Tuesday on suspicion of driving while intoxicated. The third-year coach of the Roadrunners spent 13 hours at the Nueces County jail before his release at 7:05 p.m., a county spokeswoman said.
After Claunch ran a practice Wednesday at UTSA afternoon, the university announced the arrest and the suspension a few hours later.
In a news release, athletic director Dr. Lisa Campos said that Bowman would move up from assistant’s role to be the acting head coach as the situation is reviewed.
Bowman, an Ohio native who has known Claunch for almost a dozen years and has worked on his staff at both Nicholls State (La.) and UTSA, seemed at ease as he discussed the situation in a telephone interview Thursday afternoon.
“I feel confident,” he said. “We have a team of really, really good guys. Really, really good kids and good players, and more than that, we have a (coaching) staff of great men.
“So I’ve leaned on the team and leaned on the staff and tried to support them, really, with whatever I can do to help them be as comfortable as they can be as we open our season on Monday on the road.”
Bowman said he met with several players individually Thursday morning but won’t see them as a group until Thursday night.
In initial meetings, Bowman said he told players that the Roadrunners won’t change anything.
“I just told them, in my mind, our style is our style,” he said. “We’re not one player and we’re not one coach. Obviously, coach Claunch is the leader, and he guides this program.
“But from a basketball standpoint, from a style of play standpoint, the guys know what we want to do. They know what we are trying to achieve every time we step out there.”
Coming off a 4-25 record last year, the Roadrunners have revamped the roster with 14 new players, heavy on shot-making and playmaking guards.
“We’ve had a great preseason, and I think what we’ve been able to do this summer and this fall, is to really develop the identity that coach Claunch has wanted to develop since he got here,” he said. “This group more than the previous two have bought into that. And so we’re just going to play UTSA basketball on Monday.”
Asked to describe the overall mood of the players, Bowman said, “I don’t know if I have an overall mood, but I think the players care deeply about coach Claunch. So the word I would use is just supportive. They’re supportive.”
The Roadrunners have posted a 16-44 record in the past two years, including 4-25 last season. Now with the uncertainty surrounding Claunch, Bowman fielded a question on what he would tell the fans, and he said to tell them the coaches remain excited about the program’s upside.
“We think we have made a lot of progress in this offseason with this team that we’ve put together,” he said. “We are incredibly excited about the 14 new players that have come in. We’re excited about our returner, Dorian Hayes. We feel like we have a balanced non-conference schedule, and it feels like a lot of work in previous years is about to really pay off for us.”