Note: Kaden Archie will be eligible in December after transferring from TCU mid-year.

Outlook: Last year’s UTEP season was a lot like The Battle of Helm’s Deep (I’m a nerd – bear with me). In a dire situation (new coach, tons of roster turnover), too many youngsters were pressed into duty (344th in experience), and the night grew dark despite a valiant defense (3-15 in C-USA with the league’s worst offense). After the terrors of the night, though, the sun rises on a new season with a bevy of reinforcements arriving to support the cause (hello, Éomer/transfers!), and the outlook suddenly looks much brighter for Rohan/UTEP.

Tangent: I always laugh thinking about the off-screen conversation where, prior to the final cavalry charge, Aragorn and Theoden tell Gimli, “sorry bud, you’ll be useless on a horse…but you can go blow a horn!!”

Have I annoyed all of the Miner fans reading this yet? Hopefully not - I promise I’m saying your team will be categorically better than last year!

After coming over from Fresno St., Rodney Terry accepted that his team would take some lumps in season one, taking four sit-out transfers and tossing his freshmen into the fire. Those decisions will now pay huge dividends, as the Miners, suddenly flush with talent, look to make a giant leap up the C-USA standings.

Despite that talent influx, though, UTEP’s identity will remain on the defensive end. Terry is a devout man-to-man acolyte, using his athletic rosters to extend pressure out to (and sometimes beyond) half court. Sophomore point guard Jordan Lathon will set the tone there, and though none of the expected wing rotation – sophomore Nigel Hawkins, San Francisco transfer Souley Boum, NJIT transfer Anthony Tarke, freshman Deon Stroud – are particularly known for their defensive capabilities, Terry’s scheme should prevent that from being an issue. Tarke’s size and anticipation are intriguing fits, and redshirt senior Ountae Campbell will probably earn some minutes just for his prowess on that end.

The paint defense will be intimidating, as well: likely starting pair Efe Odigie and Bryson Williams (who came with Terry from Fresno) boast over 500 pounds of raw power, and they’ll dominate the glass on both ends of the court. Terry also brings in Tydus Verhoeven from Duquesne, one of the nation’s best shot-blockers on a per-minute basis as a freshman, to come off the bench and erase the hopes of opponents who manage to crack the Miners’ perimeter shell. JUCO transfer Eric Vila is more of a skilled four option, while sophomore Kaosi Ezeagu will have to fight for any minutes he can find behind that foursome. Having so much size plays into Terry’s plan to force opponents into inefficient midrange jump shots.

Offensively, the turnaround should be one of the largest in the country after the Miners stumbled to a nightmarish 343rd in the nation, per KenPom’s AdjOE. Tarke and Williams are proven offensive weapons, and Boum and Hawkins should be far more efficient in their second collegiate campaigns. Terry wants to spread the court and play through his bigs in the post; Odigie struggled mightily with his efficiency as a freshman (far too many midrange jumpers, 3.0 turnovers per game), but his development and the addition of Williams should reinforce the Miners’ interior scoring.

The biggest question will be if UTEP can shoot it from deep well enough to prevent teams from blanketing the bigs. Boum and Lathon have at least had respectable shooting seasons in the past, but Hawkins, Tarke, and the non-Vila bigs won’t scare anyone. If that becomes an issue, Vila may play more than expected.

Bottom Line: Terry loaded up last offseason, knowing full well that his team would experience growing pains in his first year. Seeing a team go from dead last to top 3 in a 14-team conference is extremely rare, but when factoring in transfers and fresman-to-sophomore development, this year’s team will barely even resemble last year’s disaster. UTEP may face some role allocation questions – most of the players will expect a considerable share of the team’s shots – but if Terry can get them to embrace team > me, UTEP has the talent to contend with the best of C-USA.







4. UTSA

Key Returners: Jhivvan Jackson, Keaton Wallace, Byron Frohnen, Atem Bior, Adokiye Iyaye

Key Losses: Nick Allen, Giovanni De Nicolao (pro)

Key Newcomers: Knox Hellums (Pepperdine), Luka Barisic (JUCO), Jacob Germany, Makani Whiteside, Phoenix Ford (JUCO)

Lineup: