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LOCATION: El Paso, TX
CONFERENCE: Western Athletic (WAC)
LAST SEASON: 16-12 (.571)
CONFERENCE RECORD: 8-6 (4th, Pacific)
STARTERS LOST/RETURNING: 1/4
NICKNAME: Miners
COLORS: Orange, White and Blue
HOMECOURT: Don Haskins Center (12,222)
COACH: Jason Rabedeaux (UC Davis '88)
record at school First year
career record First year
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ASSISTANTS: Eddie Hill (Washington State '84)
Guy Beach (Weber State '88)
Luster Goodwin (UTEP '86)
TEAM WINS: (last 5 years) 20-12-13-12-16
RPI (last 5 years) 69-174-99-148-104
1998-99 FINISH: Lost in WAC first round.
ESPN.com Clubhouse
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Don Haskins retired after one of the most illustrious careers in college basketball. The 69-year-old UTEP coach will be remembered most for his 1966 national championship at Texas Western when he started an all-black team against Adolph Rupp's all-white Kentucky Wildcats. He should also be remembered as one of the best defensive coaches and a master at making the most out of sub-par talent. UTEP was one of the toughest outs in the WAC the last decade, even though the Miners haven't made it to the NCAA Tournament since 1992 (a second-round victory over Kansas to get to the Sweet 16). Haskins always came up with something different like a four-man weave around the perimeter when he had to go small or fool his colleagues with a box-and-one or triangle-and-two gimmick defense. However, successive NCAA penalties and poor recruiting rocked the Miners. Haskins' health stabilized after heart surgery and an ongoing battle with diabetes. But that's not the reason the Hall of Fame coach left. He wanted to get out on his terms and reward the loyalty of his assistant, G. Ray Johnson, who filled in for him a number of times when Haskins was ill. Johnson knows the game but couldn't convince athletic director Bob Stull to hire him full-time and is out of the program. Instead, Stull went with Jason Rabedeaux, Kelvin Sampson's top assistant from Oklahoma. He inherits a team that has four starters back.
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Blue Ribbon Analysis |
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BACKCOURT C BENCH/DEPTH D
FRONTCOURT D+ INTANGIBLES C
Don Haskins didn't leave Jason Rabedeaux much inside, but the guards will keep them competitive. Eggie McRae, William Smith, Rico Nelson, Jarvis Mullahon and, to some extent Brandon Wolfram, are enough to keep the Miners in the race for sixth. The lack of frontcourt scoring and rebounding will hurt UTEP's chances against the top four teams in the league. The bench is too weak to help. The homecourt is still one of the toughest in the WAC and Haskins' defensive intensity is instilled in this group. They'll be a rebuilding team, but one that shouldn't be overlooked. |
It's a tough job. UTEP is one of the most remote major universities, with hundreds of miles separating it from anything resembling civilization. What people don't understand is that without Haskins, UTEP wouldn't even be on the college basketball map, let alone on a standard Rand McNally. Haskins made UTEP men's basketball what it is. He coached Miners since 1961, his only head coaching job. What Haskins did at UTEP is similar to what Denny Crum did at Louisville, what Al McGuire did at Marquette, John Thompson at Georgetown and Jerry Tarkanian at UNLV. All of them have been or will be nearly impossible to replace. Following legends at North Carolina (Bill Guthridge for Dean Smith) and Indiana (whomever takes over for Bob Knight) won't be as tough a task. Both state schools have won national championships before the arrival of their legendary coaches. The recoveries at Marquette and UNLV are still ongoing, and it's too early to judge Georgetown after Thompson resigned last season. UTEP's road back in a post-Haskins era will present major obstacles. Recruiting will be the primary concern. UTEP was able to lock into a pipeline of players from Chicago during the 1980s. Tim Floyd, the former Iowa State and present Bulls coach, was the lead recruiter. When Floyd left, Rus Bradburd and Greg Lakey continued the trend to some extent, but got into trouble with the NCAA in the early '90s. They were eventually fired and UTEP spent most of the '90s on probation. When the first probation ended, another one was tacked on for problems on the academic side (a miscalculation of a player's eligibility eventually led to an embarrassing forfeiture in the WAC Tournament). Those transgressions kept UTEP from having any kind of depth in the late '90s. The results were fewer high-profile players and only two postseason appearances both in the NIT since '92. In fact, the Miners went two straight years, in '97 and '98, when they didn't even make the WAC Tournament. "It killed our numbers," Johnson said. "The only thing we got in the headlines for was the NCAA stuff and the forfeiture and the positive things that happened with coach Haskins. That's how we kept UTEP on the map." The isolation and the lack of decent high school players in El Paso make recruiting by airplane, not car, a must. It doesn't help that there isn't a junior college in the area to place players before they're ready for a four-year school. The tougher academic standards in the last five years, especially the 75 percent rule that forces players to be on track to graduate by the beginning of their fifth year, hurts UTEP, too. Rabedeaux may have the patience to get it done. "The way I look at it, this is still a program where there's tradition," Rabedeaux said. "It's been to the postseason 14-15 times, won WAC titles and a national title. There's a great basketball following in this community and I feel fortunate to have this job." Expectations will be high on the 35-year old Rabedeaux. "Coach Haskins did the hard part by establishing the tradition," Rabedeaux said. "The tough part for me was getting the job so late (in September). I haven't had time to sit down and plan. We had to hit the road recruiting and practice was only 19 days away. The urgency and the immediacy of everything are tough. We're behind and now we're playing catch up." UTEP returns four starters, losing only forward Sharif Fajardo (14.3 ppg, 5.8 rpg). But there's not much depth, making Rabedeaux's job tough to swallow if anyone gets in foul trouble. The backcourt could be solid and pestering in the WAC with 6-1 senior Eggie McRae (8.6 ppg, 2.9 rpg, 118 assists, 64 turnovers, 34.8 3-PT) at the point, 6-4 senior Jarvis Mullahon (8.5 ppg, 2.1 rpg, 38.2 3-PT) at one wing and 6-1 senior Rico Nelson (7 ppg, 1 rpg, 37.9 3-PT) at the other wing. The inside game is set with 6-2 senior William Smith (11 ppg, 6.3 rpg, 49.1 FG) and 6-9 junior Brandon Wolfram (12.9 ppg, 6.1 rpg, 60.7 FG, 74.6 FT). That's no joke with Smith inside. He will have to play with his back to the basket. McRae is a tough point guard who can get inside the lane and create. His shot still needs to improve, but he is one of the most improved players in the league. Mullahon is a streaky shooter and still needs to work on defending quicker guards. Nelson is a combo guard who can play pressure defense as well as get the fast break going if McRae is on the wing. Smith is a tenacious slasher, but needs to play more physical. Wolfram is a skilled power forward, but he doesn't like to get too dirty inside. He has to get more garbage points instead of just free-lancing on the perimeter. Wolfram will be hurt most by not having Fajardo on the floor. The rest of the depth is questionable with 6-8 senior Jose Escobedo (3 ppg, 2.3 rpg), 6-9 junior Damond Gregory (0.3 ppg, 0.7 rpg), 6-3 freshman Drew Price (Silver HS/Deming, N.M.) and 6-6 freshman Roy Smallwood (Milby HS/Houston, Texas). There are also four walk-ons: 6-2 junior Parker Vandivort (0.7 ppg, 0.4 rpg), 6-1 sophomore Victor Luces (1.6 ppg, 0.7 rpg), 6-0, sophomore Stafford Gunning (0.5 ppg, 0.5 rpg), and 6-2 sophomore Javier Mendoza (1.3 ppg, 0.2 rpg). The Miners didn't have a choice with scholarship reductions. Rabedeaux has eight scholarships to give this season. First, he's got to keep the Miners competitive in the WAC. They should battle San Jose State for seventh. "The cupboard isn't bare," Rabedeaux said. "Coach Haskins left a disciplined team that understands hard work. This team has to have an identity. We've got to guard people, rebound and play hard. That was the foundation of our teams at Oklahoma. The style of play will change with the personnel, but the main thing is we will rebound and defend."
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