Joe on utepia

"Yes we can" uniforms?

Word is the new UTEP slogan and new way of life, "Yes We Can," includes new "surprise" basketball uniforms. They'll be the likes of nothing seen in the past. They're to be a surprise, a Wow!

OK. Go for it.

What if that means the Miners go "street" and wear the trunks down real low — with boxer shorts hanging out and stamped with the slogan, "Yes We Can."

How about digital jerseys? Name on top. And then there'd be one of those ESPN or CNN crawlers at the bottom updating fans on how many points and rebounds that player has so far that game.

We hardly (we didn't) know ya

Tim Hardaway — that's the junior Hardaway — will apparently play college basketball at the University of Michigan.

Did many here know that Tim "UTEP two-step" Hardaway even had a son?

UMHoops.com calls Junior, who is 6-foot-5, a lanky shooting guard who will fit into Coach John Beilein's spread-the-floor offense that relies heavily on 3-pointers.

On the "star" system, where 5 is considered the best, Tim Hardaway Jr. is a 3.That's not anything official, but it's how recruiting fanatics rate players.

He apparently chose Michigan over other offers. We'll not know if Dad's alma mater, UTEP, was among the wooers. Schools can't advertise who they seek. However, Hardaway's name hasn't popped up around UTEP, and there are certainly enough people who follow recruiting and make it their hobby to know who Coach Tony Barbee and his staff are seeking.

Anyway, one of the two most famous UTEP alums (with Nate Archibald), Tim Hardaway, has a son who is talented in basketball.

Podcast: True or false, Trevor Vittatoe is the best UTEP quarterback in history

In case you missed it over at Turn Up the Orange, The El Paso Times' podcasters recently previewed the coming football season with some true or false questions.

The podcasters are Joe on Utepia's Joe Muench, UTEP football beat writer Bret Bloomquist, photo editor Ruben Ramirez and presentation editor Pablo Villa, along with host Jay Koester.

Let us know your answers to the questions in the comment section below.

To listen to the podcast, click here. (or right click, save-target-as to download)

Wise UTEP move

UTEP's new athletic slogan, "Yes We Can," was a wise move because perception can mean so much.

"Yes We Can" is geared toward a lot of endeavors, but the one involving community involvement, I think, is where the Miners hit a 3-pointer. They are now committed to getting to know fans better.

I don't think El Pasoans have been liking UTEP coaches/athletes as much as they have in the past. Basketball Coach Tony Barbee is not out in public a lot, as one example. It's his nature. It's not a fault, but he's not perceived to be an out-with-the-fans sort of guy.

I know its get old comparing everybody to Haskins, but His Coachency was out and about virtually every day in the pickup of his. He got to know so many people, not just those who gave money to the Athletic Department. That's important because it makes a person feel good to be able to say they know the coach, be it basketball or the more out-in-public Football Coach Mike Price.

"Guess you said 'hi' to me today, Dear?"

"Who?"

"Tony Barbee, and he remembered my name."

Getting to know athletes/coaches is a two-way street. It takes the people of El Paso to be friendly, too. And I think they are.

I think more UTEP players/coaches will find that out — and visa versa — now that "Yes We Can" goes out in public.

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Price UTEP's best coach

Playing with some figures here:

Mike Price, with a 30-30 record (.500), is the best football coach Utepia has had in right at two generations. A generation is said to be 21 years and nine months, by the way.

Taking figures for coaches who were here at least five years — in pseudo modern times — nobody else fared better in a five-year Miner span except Bobby Dobbs (31-20-1 from 1965-69). That's a winning percentage of 61.

Bob Stull, of course, was here only three years, going 21-15 (.583) from 1986-88.

If you want the all-time winningest coach, the Athletic Department's office building is named in his honor, and it's a real, real old building. He is Mike Brumbelow. From 1953-57, he won 74 percent of his games.

Note: Dobbs and Brumbelow each coached more than five years at UTEP. I'm just taking five-year totals because that's how long Price has been here. I think Mike Price is the best coach, too, because he fits into El Paso. He generally likes it here. He's out in public. I've never seen him pout. El Pasoans like people like Mike Price.

Although Price hasn't had a winning season since 2005, his job certainly is not on the line. After all, his worst finish is 4-8. There are several coaches between Dobbs and Price who never came close to winning four games in any season while at UTEP.

Some posters on this blog think it's do-or-die for Price in 2009. No way. El Paso likes Mike Price.

Gillispie's next stop?

This is not a prediction. No, I didn't hear this anywhere, either. But:

Some Houston Cougar basketball boosters don't think Coach Tom Penders has lived up to his billing as a builder of a top-25 program. Indeed, Houston is not getting better, even though it's one of the nation's largest cities.

Houston's new AD is former UTEP associate AD Mack Rhoades. He was in Utepia when Billy Gillispie turned the Miners back into an NCAA Tournament team. Gillispie fizzled at Kentucky. Could Houston be more his style.

Word here is that Rhoades liked Gillispie a lot

Surely Penders has a contract. Surely Houston has money.