UTEP vs. UTPB Game Notes
EL PASO – After months of uncertainty, the 100
th season of UTEP men's basketball will tipoff Wednesday night as it plays host to UT-Permian Basin. The season opener is set for a 7 p.m. tilt in the Haskins Center.
UTEP
Head Coach Rodney Terry and his squad, after months of practice, will finally see outside competition rather than each other.
"This will be our 18
th week and we've had our guys back on campus for an extended period of time," Terry said. "Usually we've played a couple scrimmage games, and maybe an exhibition game to get ready for the start of the season. We go straight into game one, but we've had plenty of time to prepare. Our guys right now are ready to play against anyone. It really doesn't matter, they just need some competition outside of themselves. Our guys have done a great job during this pandemic and with all the new protocols that we've had to do this year with the testing and keeping each other safe. But we're eagerly excited about the start of the season come Wednesday night."
The contest can be heard on 600 ESPN El Paso with "The Voice of the Miners"
Jon Teicher starting his 40
thseason behind the mic. The Miners and Falcons will also be streamed on CUSA.tv.
Terry enters his third year at the helm for the Miners and 10
th overall as a collegiate head coach. Returning for the Miners are seniors
Bryson Williams and
Eric Vila, and juniors
Souley Boum,
Tydus Verhoeven,
Efe Odigie and
Gilles Dekoninck (redshirted during the 2019-20 season). Nine new faces will also grace the 2020-21 roster as transfers junior
Jamal Bieniemy (Oklahoma) and sophomore
Kristian Sjolund (Georgia Tech) were recently announced immediately eligible to play this season. Transfers junior
Emmanuel White (Coastal Bend College) and sophomore
Adam Hess (Salt Lake CC) are also eligible to play, while junior
Christian Agnew (North Alabama) is awaiting his status for this season. Sophomore
Keonte Kennedy transferred to UTEP from Xavier prior to last season and is eligible to play after redshirting last year. A trio of freshmen also made their way to the Sun City.
Vuk Vulikic is a 21-year old freshman from Belgrade, Serbia, while
Cam Clardy (Bridgeland HS – Cypress) and
Ze'Rik Onyema (John Jay HS – San Antonio) stayed in the great state of Texas to continue their basketball careers.
"I'm excited about his team," Terry said. "We've had a chance to work with these guys for 18 weeks now. When you recruit guys, you have a certain feel for them. Once you're with them day in and day out, you really get a great feel for the intangibles they bring to the table. We have some newcomers who came in and will be impact guys for us this season."
The Miners are coming off a 17-win season in 2019-20, which was the biggest improvement of any team in Conference USA, and most wins in four seasons. UTEP also returned to the C-USA Championships for the first team in two years.
Williams, a 2020 All-C-USA first team and NABC All-District performer, led the Miners in scoring (17.8 ppg) and rebounding (7.2 rpg). He was the only player in C-USA to rank in the top five in both categories, rating third in points per game and fifth in rebounds per contest. Boum led C-USA in free-throw shooting, hitting 87.8 percent from the charity stripe, and ranked second on the team in scoring (12.9 ppg). Verhoeven ranked second on the team in blocked shots, and shot over 58 percent from the field. Odigie averaged 6.0 points per game and added a three-point shot to his game, going 4-of-6 from downtown. Vila averaged 5.0 rebounds per game and dished out 48 assists in 26 games played.
As far as the newcomers, Terry brought in a lot of size. Bieniemy is a 6-foot-5 point guard who started in 47 games at OU. Sjolund is a 6-foot-8 forward who can spread the floor with his perimeter game as he possesses the ability to shoot the ball. White is a 6-foot-5 guard who averaged over 13 points last season, and Agnew is a 6-foot-2 guard who led North Alabama in scoring last year. Hess is a 6-foot-5 guard who specializes in three-point shooting, making over 41 percent from beyond the arc at Salt Lake CC. Kennedy is a lengthy 6-foot-5 guard who played at Xavier during the 2018-19 season. He appeared in 22 games and averaged over 12 minutes played per contest. Vulikic is a 6-foot-4 point guard who comes to the program with a wealth of international experience.
The Miners last faced UTPB on Nov. 6, 2018, Terry's first game as the program's head coach. UTEP defeated the Falcons, 90-63, in the Haskins Center. Odigie also opened his UTEP career that night, scoring 23 points and grabbing nine boards.
Last season, UTPB finished 16-16 and 9-13 in the Lone Star Conference. The Falcons lost four of their top five scorers from a season ago. Senior Jordan Horn ranked second on the team last year, averaging 13.7 points per game. Horn averaged 2.0 assists and shot over 48 percent from the field. Senior Adam Rivera also returns after averaging 8.2 points per game and 5.3 rebounds per contest. UTPB
Head Coach Josh Newman brought in a trio of key transfers. The newest Falcons include 6-foot-5 guard Trevion Lamar from Georgia Southern, 6-foot-9 big man Malik Brikat from Howard College, and 6-foot-4 guard Israel Barnes from Weber State.
UTEP leads the all-time series 3-0.
TICKETING INFORMATION
Due to social distancing guidelines and COVID-19 protocols, the Don Haskins Center has a very limited capacity this year for fans and is currently sold out. At this time, single game tickets will not be made available for sale. It is recommended that fans who are still interested in potentially attending games sign up on the men's basketball
season ticket waitlist. Should seats become available, individuals on the waitlist will be contacted and provided with more information at that time. Additionally, fans are encouraged to participate in the virtual "
Defend The Don" campaign where they can receive exclusive Miners merchandise, gifts and virtual experiences while supporting the UTEP men's basketball program. For questions and more information, fans should call (915) 747-UTEP.
