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LOCATION: Edinburg, TX
CONFERENCE: Independent
LAST SEASON: 5-22 (.185)
CONFERENCE RECORD: N/A
STARTERS LOST/RETURNING: 1/4
NICKNAME: Broncs
COLORS: Green & White
HOMECOURT: UTPA Fieldhouse (5,000)
COACH: Bob Hoffman
record at school First year
career record First year
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ASSISTANTS: TBA
TEAM WINS: (last 5 years) 8-9-3-3-5
RPI (last 5 years) 126-239-303-258-278
1998-99 FINISH: Won final regular-season game.
ESPN.com Clubhouse
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With less than a month to go before the start of fall practice, Texas Pan American athletic director William Weidner took steps to finally restore the reputation of his beleaguered basketball program. To do that, he had to hire a coach with character and a winning background. He found his man in former Oklahoma Baptist coach Bob Hoffman, who was hired on Sept. 24. The team had been without a coach since Aug. 24, when former coach Delray Brooks was fired for an alleged misappropriation of program funds. Brooks, the former Indiana and Providence player and Kentucky assistant, appealed the termination, but to no avail. Make no mistake, Hoffman inherits a mess. In 1996, Texas-Pan American lost its NCAA certification after charges that two assistant coaches helped recruits with correspondence course work. The certification was restored in 1998, but then the school was unceremoniously kicked out of the Sun Belt Conference, forcing it to endure Division I purgatory as an independent. Brooks, an assistant at Kentucky under former coach Rick Pitino, was hired to resurrect the program, but compared to other Pitino disciples who have gone on to coaching success (Tubby Smith, Billy Donovan, Herb Sendek, Ralph Willard), Brooks was a disaster. After winning just eight games in two seasons, Brooks found himself in trouble after a check for $25,000 from an appearance in Southwest Missouri State's tournament last season was desposited into his personal account.
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Blue Ribbon Analysis |
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BACKCOURT C- BENCH/DEPTH D+
FRONTCOURT D+ INTANGIBLES D-
Just weeks before the start of preseason practice, Texas-Pan American had no coaching staff. Enter Bob Hoffman, who was hired Sept. 24 and given the task of rebuilding a program that's image is been badly tarnished the last three years. Luckily for Hoffman, the roster seems to be improving. Whether that shows up with more victories for this woeful program is another story. As far as former coach Delray Brooks is concerned, he had used his national status from being a former star college player and high-profile assistant coach on Rick Pitino's staff at Kentucky to open recruiting doors that were never an option for Texas-Pan American. And he had steadily upgraded the roster with decent prospects, although he might have bailed out this time around and gone for the quick fix by signing six junior college prospects. Now, all Hoffman has to do is take another coach's recruits, and, with virtually no time to get to know them, build them into a winner. Hoffman's track record would suggest he knows how to win, and he does it with character. He seems to be in the right place at the right time. |
Brooks claimed he didn't know how the money got there. That didn't stop the school from firing Brooks, and the contracts of his assistants weren't renewed. Enter Hoffman, who comes in with a clean reputation after having coached at church-based colleges most of his career. He brings a 330-95 record after a stint as women's coach at Southern Nazarene where he won the 1989 NAIA championship and a successful stay at Oklahoma Baptist, which he led to the NAIA title game in 1993 and 1997. Last season, Oklahoma Baptist advanced to the NAIA quaterfinals and was 31-7. "We were looking for someone who had unquestioned integrity, someone who truly cares about the student athlete as a person, not just as a basketball player, and has demonstrated that through the years, through actions," Weidner said. How does Hoffman plan to sift through the rubble he inherits? "By just doing the right thing and doing it as often as we can," he said. "We're in this thing together. We're going to be about servant leadership, not power leadership." It sounds as though the school finally made a good decision. Hoffman had three weeks to get to know his players before practice began. The Broncs, provided no one leaves after Hoffman's hiring, return a decent nucleus, with four starters and five of the top six scorers returning from last year's team that went 5-22. That record included only one victory in 18 games away from home. And that came on a neutral site, leaving the Broncs with the dubious distinction of holding an NCAA-record 59 game road losing streak. The team also has another national distinction, and this is a positive one. In 6-3 junior shooting guard Brian Merriweather (23.7, 2.7 rpg), Texas-Pan American has the leading returning scorer in the nation. He was fourth in the country last season and was the top three-point shooter in the nation at 4.1 per game. After failing to reach double digits in the season opener, Merriweather scored in double figures in the rest of the games, including 30 or more points five times. He tossed in a season-high 38 points against nationally ranked New Mexico. He also shot .914 from the free-throw line. Merriweather's most notable statistic might be that he played 40 minutes seven times and averaged 37.3 minutes per game. Just who will run with Merriweather in the backcourt is a concern, considering veteran Broncs point guard Lalo Rios graduated. A candidate at point guard is 6-1 junior Kwasinda Curtis (Northeastern (Colo.) JC), who averaged 8.3 points and 3.8 assists a year ago. A native of Denver, Curtis is a steady, athletic lead guard who has improved his perimeter game. He is also a solid defender. Returning at small forward is 6-4 junior John Braxton (10.4 ppg, 4.8 rpg), who started 20 games and played in all 27. He made an immediate impact in his first season on the team, especially with his outside shooting. His best game last season was a career-high 21 points in UTPA's two-point loss to Arkansas-Little Rock. Kirby Lemons (13.6 ppg, 8.9 rpg), a 6-9, 225-pound sophomore, is back at power forward, where he emerged as a solid force for the Broncs as a freshman. His upside is vast, considering he runs well, has decent range and is not afraid to battle near the basket. Back at center is 6-9, 210-pound Matt Palmquist (8.2 ppg, 6.3 rpg), who blossomed last season in his best effort yet with the Broncs after setting career highs in scoring and rebounding. He can shoot, as evidenced by his .542 field-goal percentage. But he also needs to become more physical around the basket. Providing depth again in the backcourt is 6-4 sophomore guard Watara Banks (6.8 ppg, 2.6 rpg), who was a recruiting gem by Brooks a year ago out of Chicago's Julian High School. He showed his potential against Baylor, making nine of 15 shots for 23 points in 32 minutes. Along with Curtis, the Broncs brought in six players in the recruiting class. And all of them came from junior college. Just where they fit into the scheme of things, however, is a different story, considering a coach who didn't recruit them will lead them. Joining Curtis at UTPA from Northeastern Junior College is 6-3 guard Rashawn Williams, a native of Cincinnati who averaged 10 points and 3.5 rebounds last season. A southpaw with three-point range, Williams is athletic and will be counted upon for scoring and leadership. Providing depth on the wing will be 6-6 Gabe Rhoads (Snow (Utah) College), who averaged 12.8 points and 4.0 rebounds. Possessing good range and deceptive athleticism, he will fit in best in an up-tempo, wide-open style of play. New depth down low will come from 6-11 center Reggie Kuzet (Bossier-Parish (La.) CC) and 6-8 forward Gary Booker (Southwestern (Iowa) CC). A native of Croatia, Kuzet originally committed to LSU when Dale Brown was the head coach. A solid shot blocker with good shooting touch up to about 15 feet, Kuzet helped Bossier-Parish to a 25-3 record and Top 10 national ranking last season. Booker was a two-time all-conference player the last two seasons, averaging 14.5 points and 11.0 rebounds last season as his team went 22-9. Athletic, versatile and possessing the ability to score inside and out, the native of Yonkers, N.Y., is an active offensive rebounder.
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