>>2007-08 SEASON PREVIEW
Comet Youngsters Have Big Shoes To Fill
UTD Has Plenty of Options; But Must Find New Identity in 2007-08
RICHARDSON, TX - The 2007-08 University of Texas at Dallas men’s basketball season definitely presents one of those “good news-bad news” scenarios for Coach Terry Butterfield (pictured right).
Getting the “bad news” out of the way first.
Butterfield is trying to figure out how to replace a pair of seniors who were pivotal parts of his team making four straight post-season appearances and winning the 2005 American Southwest Conference championship in 2005. “You can’t just go out and easily replace your team’s starting point guard (Travis Carruthers) and your program’s all-time leading scorer (Martin Salinas),” the coach explains. “They were the heart and soul of our team the last few years.”
“On the good side, though, we’ve got lots of talented, experienced guys coming back – guys who are capable of filling that void,” he continues. “But they will all have to step up their game to make that happen.”
It’s little wonder Butterfield is unable to let go of what his team has lost. Carruthers (who is serving as an assistant coach this year) guided the Comets’ offense for much of the last three seasons, dishing out 411 assists and capping off his career last year averaging 12.5 points per game. Salinas rewrote the UTD offensive record book, finishing his career with 1336 points and 469 three-point shots made. That’s a lot of offense to replace.
The Comets have high hopes that the slack can be taken up by a group of nine returning players, who have all seen substantial playing time during the last few years. “We’d like someone to step forward to become the ‘go-to’ guy,” Butterfield explains. “But it will probably be more of a team effort.
Sophomore post Jordan Eppink (Spring, TX) (pictured) and senior wing Mike McKee (Houston, TX) seem the most logical choices. Eppink, an agile 6-5 inside player, was the ASC East Division Freshman of the Year last season, averaging 9.5 points and 3.1 rebounds per game. His .622 field goal shooting percentage was the best in school history. McKee, who averaged 8.8 points and 3.9 boards in 2006-07, is extremely athletic and can play several positions.
The Comets have considerable depth at both positions behind Eppink and McKee. In the post, UTD can easily go “big” with sophomore reserves Garrett Hillen (Austin, TX) and Andy Maish (The Woodlands, TX). The 6-9 Hillen showed promise before an injury ended his freshman year 14 games in. Maish, who is 6-7 and 250, is more of a physical player and got 21 games of experience as a freshman.
The wing position is also loaded with returners like junior Ernie Lowery (Spring, TX) and sophomores Scott Rodgers (The Woodlands, TX) and Brandon Greene (Houston, TX). Lowery started every game for the Comets last season, averaging 6.5 points and 3.5 rebounds. Rodgers was the first man off the bench last season, averaging 6.8 ppg. Greene became more of a factor for the Comets late last season, and is athletic enough to fill in for the Comets at almost every position on the floor.
“These guys can all play, and will all contribute,” Butterfield says. “They give us any number of combinations we can put out on the floor. The challenge early in the season will be figuring out which combinations work best.”
Filling Carruthers’ shoes at the point, however, may be a more difficult question to answer. Returners Jared Fleming (Hawkins, TX) and Paul Chapinduka (Arlington, TX), who both came off the bench last season, are battling with Clarendon College transfer Temaine Wright (Odessa, TX) to take over the starting role. “We just don’t have a lot of experience in the position right now,” the coach explains. “Hopefully, someone will step forward.”
Wright is just one of several newcomers who might become key players before the season is over. Freshman wing/post Jimmy Witten (Houston, TX) is 6-6 and has adjusted well to the college game during pre-season workouts. Dalroy Hunter (Houston, TX), another freshman, has a good shooting touch and is yet another option at the wing.
“One thing I can say about this group is that we should be better defensively,” Butterfield explains. “This group has a lot more speed and quickness than we’ve had in a while. But, remember, we’re still a very young team (with only two juniors and two seniors on the roster). These young guys are going to need to build on their prior success and take another step forward in order for us to be successful again this year.”
The Comets open their 2007-08 season this weekend at the Buffalo State Tournament in New York. The home owner is set for Tuesday, Nov. 20, against Austin College.