Dustdevils looking at spectacular finish

Junior guard Tyree Murray, along with sophomore forward Joe Reid, is a big reason why this year's Dustdevils are destined for an outstanding finish to the season. (PHOTO BY JOEY SANCHEZ | JSPHOTOSTUDIO.COM)

It’s been awhile since I’ve updated on the TAMIU men’s basketball team. It’s been an off-and-on month consisting of a nine-day holiday break and four games against cupcakes so that preparatory work is at a minimum while the team focused on finals and improving on last season’s program-best GPA.

However, these Dustdevils being defense of their conference title on Thursday on a record roll. They stand at 10-3, the best non-conference record in the program’s nine years, barely nipping last year’s 9-4 mark. Among those wins are demonstrative tallies against Incarnate Word, West Texas A&M, Abilene Christian, Notre Dame College, and most recently on Saturday, Cedarville.

In my opinion, Incarnate Word was the most impressive of the bunch, with Cedarville a close, close second.

The Dustdevils are beating their opponents by a little less than 18 points per game. They average 78.2 points on 51 percent shooting (including 40 percent from 3) and also compile an unheard of 18 assists per game. There are NBA teams that don’t even sniff that many.

But, as we know, offense is not what drives TAMIU. It’s defense.

On that end, TAMIU allows just 60.5 points per game on 39 percent shooting. Opponents shoot just 32 percent from deep and have amassed 28 more total turnovers than assists against the Dustdevils.

Every aspect of the game has been upgraded for the Dustdevils’ from last year to this year. But what’s the big difference? In my opinion, it’s the fact that TAMIU has some wild cards this year, and I mean that in the best light possible.

Last year, you knew what you were getting when you faced TAMIU. A precise, halfcourt-oriented team that used defense as its fuel. Aside from Brian Schaeffer, who has almost doubled his scoring average from last year to become a primary scoring threat, most of the eight returners are pretty much set in who they are.

However, this year, there is some nice change of pace off the bench in sophomore forward Joe Reid and junior guard Tyree Murray, both junior college transfers. Reid, in particular, is a huge factor, simply because of his versatility, length and shooting ability. He averages 8.1 points on 57 percent shooting. He takes good, smart shots, but he can really frustrate a defense, particularly off the bench.

Murray is a pure scorer, but he’s really improved as a facilitator. He had big trouble with shot selection earlier this season, but he has moved the ball extremely well and seems to have a much better grasp on when and where to get his shots.

I know for a fact both guys had a real tough time acclimating to coach Shane Rinner’s system earlier this season. At one point, I even thought there was a chance they may not be much of contributors after all. It seemed they were fostering a mindset that Rinner’s emphasis on structure, discipline and teamwork was too much to overcome.

But there’s a reason Rinner recruited them. Of course for their skills, but also because of their toughness. And their ultimate acclimation to buying in and sacrificing numbers and glory for the team is a testament to just that. In fact, how quickly they have turned things around is why I’m even more optimistic this team is more than capable of defending their conference title and winning a NCAA tourney game or two. I seriously thought it wouldn’t be until four or five more games until they really hit their strides, but they’ve proven me wrong.

It’s going to be interesting. I think Arkansas-Fort Smith and St. Mary’s are the top threats to TAMIU’s crown, but at this point, having watched the Dustdevils grow and mature over the last couple of weeks, it’s hard to see anyone taking down TAMIU for the title. TAMIU is well equipped to deal with teams of size, quickness and/or versatility. All I needed to see was the wins over Incarnate Word and Cedarville to know they can really play with anyone. And while it’s fine for me to be optimistic about their chances, I know Rinner isn’t even thinking that far ahead.

“I’m pleased, but nervous,” he said about where his team stands at the moment. “Now it really starts.”

 

Dustdevils right wrongs, get back on track

TAMIU senior guard Brian Schaeffer has emerged as arguably the top leader for the Dustdevils this season. (PHOTO BY CUATE SANTOS | LAREDO MORNING TIMES)

Following a maddening two-game losing streak, complete with everything from poor shooting to a lack of attention to details, the Texas A&M International men’s basketball showed a sense of urgency in practices before departing for a four-game, 11-day road trip last Thursday.
Players spoke up to remind others of what they were there for. They preached of following head coach Shane Rinner’s methods, proven yet demanding. There were one-to-one, heart-to-heart chats.
It was the first true sign of the players policing themselves, and the result was a brilliant two-game weekend that saw the Dustdevils topple Lone Star Conference perennial power West Texas A&M on Friday and then 18 hours later upend promising Abilene Christian on Saturday.
“We played the way I’d envisioned us,” Rinner said. “We were really tough. Our communication was great. We showed a lot of resolve. These were two really good teams. West Texas is a perennial NCAA tournament team and Abilene Christian is actually more talented than West Texas.”
In both games, the Dustdevils’ (3-2) penchants for smart halftime adjustments and closing strong down the stretch were on full display.
In Friday’s 53-50 win against West Texas A&M, the Dustdevils held the Buffs to 26 points on 36.8 percent shooting in the second half. In Saturday’s 71-69 victory against ACU, made possible thanks to Armando Brito’s buzzer-beating bucket as time expired, the Dustdevils held the Wildcats to 25 points on 34.8 percent shooting in the final 20 minutes.
Each of those wins gave defeats to teams that had previously been undefeated. West Texas A&M, which rebounded from the TAMIU loss to beat Heartland Conference power Texas-Permian Basin 81-75 on Saturday, is 4-1 overall. ACU is 3-1.
“Through adversity, you either shrink or you rise up, and this team rose up,” Rinner said. “They did a good job of doing what we do.
“People stepped up. Guys rose up.”
While Rinner applauded the defense, he did mention his team can still be “miserable offensively,” but that improvement is being made in players being patient and being in the right spots more often than not.
The biggest improvement over the last two days has been the leadership, which was practically non-existent through the first three games of the season.
“Our leadership has started to step up and guys are demanding from other people,” Rinner said. “We didn’t do a good job of preparing as a staff against (the two losses to) Texas A&M-Kingsville and we’ve gotten back to the basics and preaching the message.
“Now it’s not just us coaches preaching, it’s the guys themselves. They’re holding each other accountable on the court now and it’s making a big difference.”
Rinner specifically noted senior guard Brian Schaeffer as the one leading the charge. After delivering a passionate and emotional speech emphasizing unselfishness and taking responsibility during last Wednesday’s practice, Schaeffer backed up the talk with a team-best 17 points, 12 rebounds and three steals against West Texas A&M, a LSC juggernaut predicted to place third in the conference in preseason polls.
“He’s been the best leader,” Rinner said. “He’s the guy.”
However, while Rinner expressed a good amount of pleasure with the two wins, he also knows work is far from being done.
It’s been a tough early schedule for TAMIU, and since it figures to get no easier with next week’s slate in the Fresno Pacific Classic starting Friday in California, he knows it’s a team headed in the right direction, but with quite a few more miles to go.
“I thought we had a chance to be 4-1 at this point, maybe 5-0,” he said. “But we also could easily be 1-4 … playing five Lone Star Conference teams in 12 nights is not easy.
“So, it’s a start. This will help get us going to where we need to be.”

Dustdevils stay in the moment as season approaches

After 26 days of practice, including a plethora of two-a-day sessions, the Texas A&M International men's basketball team finally gets to see what it's made of Friday night at home. (PHOTO BY CUATE SANTOS | LAREDO MORNING TIMES)

Fall practices for the 2011-12 men’s college basketball season began 26 days ago, but Friday night’s season opener at home for the TAMIU Dustdevils began as a work in progress on March 13.

As soon as the Dustdevils left Central Oklahoma following a historic campaign that featured a conference championship and NCAA tournament appearance – both firsts for the program – they immediately began work toward Friday night’s contest against regional foe Incarnate Word.

So what do we know of these ’11-12 Dustdevils? Well, we know they’re more athletic and versatile, thanks to junior college transfers Joe Reid (sophomore forward), Jayvin Reynolds (junior center) and Tyree Murray (junior guard). We know, in spite of the graduation of their top two scorers in Will Faiivae and Luis Gomez, they return a great chunk of last year’s core in senior center Evan Matteson, senior forward Armando Brito and senior guards Ryan McLucas and Scottie Payne. We know that they have issues communicating on the floor consistently, talking and directing, and they had turnover troubles during recent practices.

Most importantly, however, we know they’re all on the same page. Even for the newcomers, it didn’t take long for them to buy into head coach Shane Rinner’s mindset.

“Excellence is the standard,” Murray said. “That’s our motto and that’s what’s on our posters everywhere. He doesn’t expect anything less, and that’s good. Even if you’re not excellent, you’ll fall somewhere around there.”

Coaches are generally pessimistic by nature. but even TAMIU’s leaders are having a difficult time pinpointing much to be concerned with.

“Our practices are more consistent and the unity and the closeness of the group is a lot higher than at the beginning of the year last year,” associate head coach Bryan Weakley said. “We have eight seniors preaching our system daily and that’s a huge benefit. Now we’ve got to see who steps up in a leadership role.”

Even Rinner, normally high strung and as stressed as can be about his team, is relatively assured. Perhaps that comes with having 12 returners, including eight seniors. Perhaps that comes with not having to preach about effort or intensity, two things the Dustdevils do well. Or perhaps he finally sees a complete team with size, shooting, athleticism, scoring and versatility.

“I like where we’re at,” Rinner said. “The guys are getting better and they’re really working. You just have to try and get them to be as edgy as you can, so you overemphasize everything to make sure they can get there. But I like where they are.”

If you’d like to know where these Dustdevils compare to last year’s record-setting unit or of any in Rinner’s tenure here, don’t bother. Rinner loathes comparing teams and is all about the process, the journey, opposed to the destination.

He literally lives day by day, practice by practice. In practices he encourages players by saying he sees them getting better, which is perhaps the highest compliment you can receive from Rinner, who scrutinizes everything to the max and prioritizes detail after detail after detail.

“I don’t get caught up in wins or losses or anything like that,” he said. “I always try to stay involved in the process instead of setting my eyes on the destination. When you set in on the destination, it’s easy to skip steps and there are no steps you can skip. If you climb a ladder, you go one rung at a time. If you miss one, you fall down.”

The most glaring flaw of these Dustdevils, from what I’ve seen through six preseason practices and a scrimmage, is they don’t communicate consistently. There are bursts where everyone is talking, directing, in sync like an orchestra. And there are others where there’s, well, nothing. No talking, no anything.

For a team predicated upon defense and spacing and movement on offense, communication is absolutely a necessity. It’s not to say the Dustdevils are bad at it, not by any means. It’s my opinion, however, that they’re not communicating up to the standards of last year’s bunch or even other Rinner teams in the past.

Rinner, for his part, does not see it as a significant issue.

“If the average person came into our practice, they’d say we communicate at an above-average rate,” he said. “As a coach, it’s not what you coach, it’s what you emphasize. We emphasize communication, so I’ll hit them over the head with it every day.

“We’re pretty good at communicating. But we want to be the best.”

That’s fair. And it’s, to be honest, nit-picking. This Dustdevils team is tantalizing because it, for the first time in Rinner’s tenure, has the ability to make up for mistakes due to its speed, athleticism and quickness. While it’s not something you’d like for them to fall back upon, at least it’s there.

TAMIU tips off its season Friday against Incarnate Word at home. The Cardinals were ranked No. 15 in the country last season before injuries precipitated a drop from the rankings. They opened some eyes in the exhibition season with a 69-65 win over NCAA DI A&M-Corpus Christi, though they were picked to place seventh in their 10-team conference’s preseason poll.

The Dustdevils then play A&M-Kingsville on Saturday before going up there to play them again on Tuesday. Then they head next week to Odessa for a tournament to play West Texas A&M and Abilene Christian.

These next two weeks are absolutely crucial. All four teams are Lone Star Conference foes, which, if TAMIU is to do well and thrive, could help in its bid for an at-large spot for the NCAA tourney.

All four are picked within the bottom half of their 10-team conference, though the conference is said to be 5-6 deep in title contenders.

“If we want to accomplish what we hope to accomplish in the preseason and get some regional points so we can get an at-large bid for the NCAA, that’s what we’re urgent about,” Weakley said. “Ever since (Rinner) called the team out a couple of weeks ago on the lack of urgency, that’s risen. But it’s still not where we want it to be.

“We measure this team to the team in Alaska when we went to the (NCAA Division II) Final Four (in 2008, with the University of Alaska-Anchorage), where we had great practices and the leadership was intact.”

It remains to be seen whether these Dustdevils are deserving of being mentioned in the same sentence as that UAA squad. But the mentality is right, the tools are in place and the system is proven.

“I just take it game by game,” Payne said. “Every game plays out a different way and it’s a long season, man. The focus is winning every game you can so that when the big games come you’ve been through the battles and you can compete.

“It’s about the process. You can’t look down the line.”

 

NCAA finally hands out punishment for TAMIU

On Friday afternoon, the NCAA finally handed out its punishment to Texas A&M International due to the cheating scandal that took place two years ago.

The NCAA  forced TAMIU to vacate all nine victories from the 2008-09 season and the men’s basketball program is on probation the next two years, effective Aug. 18.

The scandal involved six student-athletes from various sports, including men’s and women’s basketball, baseball, volleyball and men’s golf. The reason the men’s basketball program was hit hard was because it had two athletes involved, and both apparently competed while ineligible that season.

Here is the formal report from the NCAA: TAMIU case.

You can read a detailed report of the NCAA’s findings here.

Now, a couple of things: To TAMIU’s credit, immediately after the scandal was revealed and brought to their attention in April 2009, they fired those involved – former men’s basketball coach Stephon Leary, athletic director Debbie Snell and others.

The athletic department underwent an entire overhaul that summer.  The probation depicted upon now current coach Shane Rinner’s program is strictly a compliance one. The Dustdevils are still eligible for the postseason and can go forward as it has been since Rinner and his staff had nothing to do with the scandal; they were hired four months after it took place.

In fact, the only player remaining from that ’08-09 Dustdevils team is junior forward Justin Lafitte, who redshirted that season and was not one of the student-athletes involved. None of the student-athletes involved, in fact, remain at the university.

The past two years, TAMIU athletics has been clean. In fact, 2010-11 was a banner year for the university, with three conference champions (men’s soccer, men’s basketball and softball) and NCAA tournament appearances by the men’s basketball and softball teams.

So while, at first glance, this may seem like a big deal, it’s really not. The NCAA has merely finally handed out its punishment for a disgusting incident that took place in April 2009, and that punishment is considerably light due to the fact that none of the perpetrators are still with TAMIU.

I can’t say enough about the job TAMIU President Ray Keck and interim athletic director Claudio Arias did in quickly doing what it took to get the right people in place and pave the way for a cleaner, more organized and committed department.

The good news is this sage is officially complete. TAMIU, the athletics department, Rinner … they can all move forward and put this behind them once and for all.

Since their hirings in the summer of 2009 or later, they’ve been given the task of rebuilding the department. They have done so admirably, in my opinion, and quickly, with a sense of purpose and commitment to bringing the department back to its feet.

In a matter of two years, TAMIU has transferred majestically from mediocrity to elite competitors in a tough Heartland Conference. They have worked tirelessly to move forward quickly from the mess that was left for them.

While “probation” is never a healthy word – particularly when associated with sports – Friday’s was simply a declaration of closure, for the better of the university.