Joe on utepia | The place for commentary for UTEP athletics

Next 4 games

Yes, it's the old cliche "one game at a time," but that's no fun. I'm saying UTEP's basketball identity will come to light in the next four games. Is UTEP (9-2) real good, or does UTEP play out its Conference USA schedule and then pray for the the best when post-game tournament committees hand out invitations?<p>

If UTEP stays good, and holds on in the not-real-tough Conference USA, it will have had two solid months of good reviews from the national onlookers and UTEP, as one of the NCAA's good teams, will be notched in the brains of those who run the sport.<p>

Let's look at some numbers, and the opportunities for UTEP:

UTEP (9-2) plays at No. 20-ranked Texas Tech (10-2, 33 RPI) Sunday. UTEP will need to pull an upset, and that would sure help its present RPI rating of 155 out of 347 NCAA Division I teams.<p>

UTEP then plays at home in the CUSA opener vs. SMU (5-5 and a 302 RPI) on Wednesday. Gotta win that one to maintain positioning.<p>

Then BYU (13-1 and getting AP Top 25 votes) comes to The Don Jan. 9. That will be the biggest home game for UTEP in years. UTEP and its fans always roared when hated BYU came to town in the old WAC days. A lot of RPI points could be gained win an upset win. And the home-fan advantage is big here. Note, though, that BYU just beat Arizona in Tucson 99-69. And BYU is getting votes in the AP Top 25. They are No. 30 in that poll.<p>

Finally in the four-game "make a name" stretch is the one that will tell the most, conference-wise. On Jan. 13 UTEP plays at 7-4 Houston, albeit Houston is now lower in RPI than UTEP. Houston is 171 and UTEP is 155. Somebody has to win CUSA and UTEP, Houston and Tulsa are picked to contend for the No. 1 seed in the post-season conference tournament. Add Memphis in there. A road win at Houston would be a gold star on UTEP report card.<p>

Yes, it's "one game at a time," and yes, the season is just getting hot so RPIs will change a lot by the middle of January.<p>

But UTEP needs to stay in the public eye all season. History doesn't show a late-blooming UTEP team catching the fancy of the power people in the NCAA or even NIT tournaments.<p>

UTEP has Caracter

Twice now in three games UTEP transfer Derrick Caracter has had 15 points and 15 rebounds. It looks like he wants to play real basketball, after all. And if he can keep the "h" out of his name (character) UTEP has two exceptionally good big guys — best in a long, long time. Both are even more proficient scorers than the 1988-90 Greg Foster/Antonio Davis duo. Both had long NBA careers.

That 20-point negative turnaround vs. Ole Miss still stings, as does the home loss to New Mexico State. But what has UTEP done lately? The Miners won big at Oklahoma and should win handily vs. Air Force tonight and be 9-2 when they go to Texas Tech Sunday. Tech is 10-1 and ranked No. 20.

We are learning Caracter (who started at Louisville before being kicked to the doghouse there), is showing he's a true big-time talent. Is he a real good talent, or a TOP talent?

If he's a TOP talent, UTEP is among the top 40 or 50 teams in the RPIs this year.

Caracter, Arnett Moultrie and Randy Culpepper (if he's not a wild shootist again), give UTEP the potential to have a TOP 1-2-3, too.

Played great

The obvious: UTEP played up to the loyalists' expectation Monday night in Oklahoma City, beating the Big 12's Oklahoma ... into the ground, 89-74. Oklahoma is a big-time school with modern-day national basketball acclaim. And the game was nationally televised. It was a high-point night in Coach Tony Barbee's four years here.

UTEP's mission now is to be much more consistent. The team is now 7-2. Shall we say it shoulda, coulda been 9-0?

We now know this team might be especially good. Monday is evidence.

But it didn't look that way when UTEP lost at home to down-and-out New Mexico State and again in Mississippi when Ole Miss came from a double-digit deficit to win by 10 in overtime.

We saw UTEP's football team win two games that were considered upsets — Houston and Tulsa. And then finish 4-8.

We've seen some "ups" like this from basketball, and then some "downs."

It was a special win for the Miners, and for their RPI status. And, on paper, this is supposed to be a special team that goes to the NCAA for the first time in Barbee's tenure. It remains to be seen if this truly a special team. On paper, talent-wise, yes. On the floor? Have some more games like Monday's

Women's opportunity

Most are saying this should be a big season for Keitha Adams and the UTEP women's basketball team. Stars, veterans, several 6-footers. The time to win a lot in a row starts now.

If the Miners go into Conference USA play with a so-so record nobody will give them much notice, much pub — or a place in the mind when it comes to the NCAA Tournament.

Now comes a five-game homestand, all games winnable for the so-far 7-4 Miners: Friday it's Texas State. Then it's Alcorn State. Then a rematch with New Mexico State (toughest of the five?). UTEP camed from a big deficit to not get blown out at NMSU recently.

Then UTEP continues at home to open C-USA play against 2-6 Rice and 6-3 Houston.

As a season moves into mid-January, good teams had better already be good.

Lost (kicked away) opportunity

This was worse than the el foldo Sunday at home vs. hapless New Mexico State - when UTEP had entered that game at 5-0.

On Wednesday, UTEP held a 12-point lead, with 3:59 to play on the road, vs. No. 20-ranked Ole Miss. And lost by 10.

Stop. Let that soak in: On a neutral court in Mississippi, UTEP came from behind, was surging ... and found a way to bumble the game away.

Stupid plays turned into an overtime game and the 10-point loss, 91-81. How does a good team fold like this? It sounds like unbridled, undiscipled ... can Tony Barbee coach in clutch games? This could have meant some valuable RPI points when it comes to determining who goes to the NCAA Tournament in March.

Here's some clutch, UTEP style: In regulation, in a really close game, Julyan Stone stepped out of bounds for a turnover, but still a 1-point lead. Then Randy Culpepper kicked the ball out of bounds, and soon after fouled. After the free throws, Ole Miss took a 1-point lead. Oops, UTEP Derrick Caracter fouled a Rebel and it turned out to be a 2 point Rebel lead ... and eventually ovetime. This stepping out of bounds/turnovers seems to be happening a lot over the last four seasons. A disciplined team would not give up a 12-point lead late in any game. UTEP, with inside dominater Caracter getting 15 points and 15 rebounds, should have put this game away easily and had a case for being considered one of the good teams in NCAA Division 1.

Now UTEP is 2-5 and not much of an anybody.

Big fold (call it a choke!)

This had to be UTEP's biggest fold in years, losing 87-80 to feeble New Mexico State Sunday - at home! More so it was a choke - with bad repercussions apparent on the horizon.

This was a display of undisciplined play by what had been a 5-0 team vs. five nobodys. Just nine days ago UTEP mopped the NMSU floor with the same NMSU players. And UTEP held a double-digit lead midway into the second half Sunday. Gag on the home floor!

UTEP didn't stop the drive early, didn't stop the baseline. Same old, same old, for Coach Tony Barbee's teams in the past. And then NMSU got hot with 3-point shots and tripled the Miners on the scoreboard when the clock reported that it all counted. Where's the Miner leadership? Where's that inside power? Whatever happened to Arnett Moultree?

This is supposed to be a seasoned UTEP basketball team. But it fumbled, bumbled and missed shots in the clutch vs. New Mexico State. Who does this 5-1 team (vs. nobodys) now defeat? Could it be No. 25 Ole Miss on a neutral floor Wednesday? Or Oklahoma and Texas Tech on the road - or BYU at home? The simpleton opponents are almost gone. Now there's got to be a whole lot more discipline if UTEP can beat even one or two of these non-conference teams.

A 6-0 start would have looked really good for this UTEP team. The win looked in hand. But to fold (choke) like UTEP did against a 2-5 team, missing 40 percent of its starting lineup, is just awful

How does one explain that? Bad night? No, you don't have a bad night vs. a bad team on your home floor when you're 5-0 and looking for some recognition. This is a mental problem.

UTEP played itself into the dumps Sunday. Missed all the shots. Missed all the free throws. Didn't play defense.

Check the mentality of this UTEP team.

Now watch Barbee/Caracter

UTEP has taken another gamble. "Can't miss" player out of high school. He doesn't make at at the first college (football's football's Roush and that big dumbkoff of a basketball inside guy, et al many players in the past. Many, many over the years.).

Transfer "can't miss" Derrick Caracter (6-9 and swarthy) becomes elegible at UTEP to play Sunday vs. archrival New Mexico State. He was a head case at Lousisville, but he did score in double digits more than 10 times over two ricky seasons before Coach Rich Pitino let him go - because it was determined he was a nutcase who didn't fit into college basketball's rigors. But remember, he was a "can't miss" out of high school. And he was a physical talent at upper-class Louisville.

Word is Caracter is a guy who loafs to his own tune off the court. Just give him a game, but don't make him sweat the rest. It didn't work at Louisville.

But if UTEP Coach Tony Barbee can get to Caracter's psyche, and maybe he already has, then UTEP is strong as the Antonio Davis/Greg Foster days of ... it's days of yore, a long, long time ago. Caracter/Moultrie - two big guys with TV talent.

UTEP will beat rival New Mexico State in The Don Sunday, making it a sweep over the struggling football/basketball program in Aggieland. And those Aggies were not expected to have their two ineligible forwards elibible. There's a whole lot of "eligible" and "off-the-court" problems in Aggieland. Caracter got eligible. The Aggies were still waiting as of this blog Saturday evening.

UTEP goes 6-0 tonight, then goes to the bigger time with a road game vs. Ole Miss in Mississippi. Eh. Don't know about 7-0 yet.

Here's what to look for from 6-9 "can't miss" Caracter Sunday: Not much - yet. UTEP is supposed to be a knitting team. The guys have played five games sans "Can't Miss." He will probably be worked into the lineup. If it's a rout, maybe he'll get to show his stuff(ing) and all his "can't miss" ability.

But the whole deal is this. UTEP can be really good this year. Yes, the NCAAs. And it can do it without Caracter being there. But he is. And now it's about Coach Tony Barbee handling the character of Caracter.

If there's indications he's disrupting the team, as he did at Lousiville, Barbee can't let it affect the road to 20-plus wins. And if Caracter is ready to play college basketball, in his head, then ... don't you know there will be sellouts in The Don because the fans will come back.

Theory on Price's strategy

Is UTEP Football Coach Mike Price pulling a Charlie Bailey? Here's a theory that he is:

Price has four straight losing seasons, about like Charlie Bailey two coaches ago. They weren't as bad as all the 1-win seasons of yore; usually both won four or five games.

Bailey, in the late 1990s, heavily recruited quick-fix junior-college players — guys with two years of eligibility. Price says he'll do that this recruiting season.

In his last year here, 1999, Bailey finished 5-7; it was Bailey's best finish in six seasons here. And it wasn't a secret that he would retire after 1999 and leave a real good team to the next coach. It was also no secret that the next coach would be one of his coordinators — Gary Nord (offense) or Ronnie Jones (defense).

Nord got the job because the 1999 offense did better than did Jones' defense that year. And Nord was always a favorite of Bailey.

Nord went 8-3 in the 2000 regular season and lost to Boise State in the Humanitarian Bowl for an 8-4 finish. It was the first bowl appearance for UTEP in eons.

Afterward, Nord immediately said he didn't have much talent coming back. He had to start from scratch and it would take him five years to get good again. There were few seniors and juniors for 2001, because Bailey had loaded up with JCs whose eligibility had run out.

Nord never went the JC route, other than a guy here and there. He built with freshmen. But his five-year plan went awry when his acclaimed quarterback prospect, Jon Schaper, didn't pan out. And Jordan Palmer wasn't Jordan Palmer yet.

Price took over in 2004 and won eight regular season games, finishing 8-4 with a loss to Colorado in the Houston Bowl. Jordan Palmer became Jordan Palmer (NFL bound) under Price.

As did Nord, Price went to a bowl in his first season. Price then did the same in 2005, winning eight regular-season games before losing to Toledo in the GMAC Bowl.

Two straight bowls for Price — with Nord's program of building with freshmen — but not a winning season since.

Now Price is going JC. Will he build up for two years from now, retire, and leave the job to his eldest son, Eric, who's now an assistant coach with the NFL's Kansas City Chiefs? UTEP boosters like Eric.

That keeps the UTEP job in the Price family, and the son gets a good team — for maybe a couple of years.

But then, because of the junior college strategy, its back to major rebuilding again in Utepia.

Point difference only surprise

It was not difficult to figure, on paper, UTEP was better than New Mexico State at this early time of the basketball season. NMSU had no forwards (still ineligible) and UTEP has a tall, fast gymnastics team.<p>

But by a score that flirted with a 30-point margin, and a coast-to win by 21 in Las Cruces? Not since these rivals wore canvas tennies.<p>

Those Aggies, with a low attendance of 7,195 Tuesday, are down. They might has well have been an Arkansas-Little Rock or a Texas Southern on UTEP's schedule. The Miners are up and are now 5-0. They play NMSU again to go 6-0 in El Paso two Sundays from now, then the season starts with a neutral site game vs. ... now it starts to get tough ... Ole Miss in Someplace, Miss. It's the Miners' best start in nine years. And 7-0 would certainly start a drum beating for Top 25 votes.<p>

But let's hit the bottom line here: NMSU is not good this year, and wasn't good last year. Coach Marvin Menzies isn't getting it done in the Land of Lou Henson.<p>

Judging UTEP will start vs. Ole Miss, then the calendar-close games vs. Oklahoma in Oklahoma City, Texas Tech in Lubbock and BYU in El Paso.<p>

Could be a great year in Utepia. Twenty-one points is still a lot over those archrival Aggies.<p>