Quick to forget

Amid the joy of having Tim Floyd come back to UTEP as head basketball coach, and the trust fans have already put in him:

The two players who were the main reason for UTEP's 26-7 record, and NCAA appearance, will not return. They represented the best big-man combo here in many years: 6-foot-8 senior-to-be Derrick Caracter and 6-foot-10 junior-to-be Arnett Moultrie. They intimidated the other Conference USA teams, even though Moultrie played soft at times.

Without the two, guard Randy Culpepper would not have led the Miners to the NCAA. He''d have shot them down to third place in Conference USA. Forward Jeremy Williams is a quick baseline slasher, but is a role player. Point guard Julyan Stone is a passer, not a scorer. UTEP would have been weak inside without Caracter and Moultrie.

Generally, posters on Utepia have agreed:

Caracter is making a bad decision to enter the NBA Draft. He's not that good; he has defensive flaws and his half-hooks get blocked by other big guys. He hasn't proved he's mature enough off the court.

Moultrie doesn't have the UTEP fit now that tactician Floyd is coach. He'll transfer. He should have given Floyd a shot at making him an NBA player in two years.

The 26-7 Miners had, technically, everyone returning before Coach Tony Barbee left for Auburn in March (Caracter was believed gone; he didn't come home with the team after the NCAA Tournament).

Now no Moultrie, who some say (me, too) didn't have a good sophomore year, is to transfer.

Bottom line: Yes, Floyd recruited some new guys. But remember these were guys passed over during the early signing period. There usually isn't a whole lot of college-material talent left over when you have to start recruiting in March.

Comments

[MinerMike]

"Quick to forget"

Quick to forget what?! I have no idea what the point of your column was.

[George]

You CONTRADICT YOURSELF!!!
"The two players who were the main reason for UTEP's 26-7 record"

than you write,

"Moultrie, who some say (me, too) didn't have a good sophomore year, is to transfer"

How can he be a main reason for this past seasons success and still have had a bad year?

Your column sucks Joe I just read it to see what random comments you come up with. We did great this past season without Moultrie delivering, Caracter will be missed but that's about it.

[Miner Nation]

Im at a loss for how bad this column is.

[Toasted Whitebred]

The biggest concern as far as the recruits go is getting Harris qualified, motivated, on campus and on the court. Some reports have used the "L" word in describing him. Reports also say he held his own against guys that are in the NBA right now. He has the potential to be a great player here but has lots of ??? attached to his name right now.

Haynes appears to be more solid academically and may also be the best of the incoming recruits. He had a cup of coffee with Duke but wasn't offered even though the rumor was that the reason why he wasn't offered is that he couldn't qualify there academically. Duke standards are a tad higher than UTEPs. He's been described as a relenteless rebounder with a high level of intensity.

Bohannan played well against the number 1 team in the nation in the Texas state championship game so he should be able to develop as he adds muscle to his skinny frame.

Lee could contribute quality minutes as he is used to playing at a high level of competition.

I'm not sure you can say that Harris and Haynes were passed over.

[John C]

We have hammered this topic until it is really a dead issue!!!

We all need to move on from Moultrie and Caracter.

AS per ESPN---WHB Radio (KC): Big Ten has extended offers to Notre Dame, Missouri, Nebraska, & Rutgers to join the league.

Also as per ESPN---Nebraska says it has no offer to join Big Ten; Missouri will not respond!!

Where there is smoke----there is fire!!

Maybe this is the start of the free-for-all!!

[Brazen Bill]

Let's face it. Next year will be a banner CBI year for UTEP. If the Miners couldn't win the WAC tourney AND at least make a decent showing in the first round of the NCAAs with the best group of players top-to-bottom the team had in years, then it's gonna' be a long, long season next year. Plus, who knows what these new guys, so hastily recruited from nowhere, bring to the table. Study habits? Grades? Commitment?

Maybe Floyd will suit up and play the three spot to give the Miners a shot at having a 50-50 season.

[Brazen Bill]

Make that CUSA tourney. They probably would have won the WAC.

[Pugapalooza]

This is atrocious. Really. I think EP High school papers could do better.

You did notice that Moultrie played more on the wing than he did inside, right? Did you watch any games?

Then, you bash Harris, Lee, and Haynes. Haynes had an official visit to DUKE! Harris had offers from SEC/Big East schools!

This blog actually makes people dumber.

[Rob]

Incredible. Muench, you and others contradict yourselves. During the past 2 seasons people said Moultrie has been a great player for the Miners that would be in the NBA. You would think he was the second coming of Kevin Garnett. Then, once he decides to leave the program he should be helping retrieve items from the top shelves of Toys-R-Us. True, Moultrie and Caracter are not ready for the NBA. And while they did contribute greatly to the Miners' success this season there are other good players on the team and you just dissed nearly all of them in this post.

[Shyminer]

If the Times editor had a brain, he'd give this blog to Toasted Whitebred. It's sad that the commenters put in more effort than the so called writer. You guys should make the miner rush website the UTEP blog.

Moultrie might transfer to a big rival, or to Tony Barbee's team, and Joe only wants to talk about how bad he was, yet he's still somehow responsible for the Miners success, then call the recruits second rate even though Memphis, Minnesota, and others were interested in them.

MAILING IT IN. Joe mailed this thing in. Shocker.

[MinerMike]

"Joe Muench has been a sports writer and a sports editor in El Paso for decades, but he’s best known as the columnist everyone loves to talk about. His UTEP athletics blog starts up the conversation again."

Your caption should read: "Joe Muench has been a writer and editor in El Paso for too many decades, but he's best known as the columnist who rarely writes accurately about UTEP sports. His UTEP athletics blog kills any coherent conversation as usual."

[Lorenzo]

There'll definitely be some question marks next year, but I'll take our team next year over any in C-USA. UAB lost Millsap, Houston lost Coleman and Lewis and their coach, Tulsa lost just about everybody. Memphis will be loaded, but UTEP has an edge over the Tigers in a few ways next year: 1) Floyd is a better coach at this point than Pastner, 2) Memphis will have a bunch of inexperienced freshmen compared to UTEP's seniors, 3) next year's game will be played at the Don Haskins Center. I say a lot will depend on how Floyd wants to schedule for next year. I know the Miners are already committed to playing in a early-season tourney against the likes of Syracuse, Georgia Tech, and Michigan, but other than that, I'd like to see some easy wins early on to let this new group of guys gel.

[Lorenzo]

My preliminary picks for C-USA, just for kicks:

1 Memphis
2 UTEP
3 UAB
4 Southern Miss
5 UCF
6 Houston
7 Tulsa
8 Marshall
9 Rice
10 SMU
11 East Carolina
12 Tulane

Basically, Memphis and UTEP will be the cream of the crop. UAB and Southern Miss will be CBI material. Although I always count UAB out after seeing the players they'll be losing and Mike Davis always has his Blazers at the top... so scratch that. It'll be Memphis, UTEP, and UAB at the top.

[OZ]

Yes, we do contradict ourselves. We bash Memphis about wanting to leave CUSA but if we received a phone call from the BIG-12 (not that it will EVER happen) we would wet our pants and join them immediately.

[CLEOFITZWITZ]

Tim Floyd did an admirable job of getting quality players who were left over. There are a lot of reasons players sign late. Academics, injuries, coaching changes, and just plain waiting to make a decision. It doesn't mean they can't play ball. There is plenty of talent still out there and this class is an example of that.

Coaches are known for taking difficult players and managing them into a unified team. Let's face it. Even the most highly recruited and acamdemically sound players can be difficult to manage. It's just part of coaching. The best coaches do well and I believe Floyd will do well with these guys based on the success he has had in the past.

As far as our enthusiasm for next year, what has caused a buzz is Tim Floyd coming back to El Paso. Any level headed fan knows it's not going to be easy. There is a new coach with a new system with the bulk of the team having been recruited by Barbee. Throw in the key losses of Caracter and Moultrie and you have some work to do.

But we can feel good about next season with or without Joe. Season ticket sales are up and the Don will have a different feel to it next year. I'm excited about it!

[MONCHIS]

Speculation, pure speculation at this juncture!
The off season is always ripe with anticipation for, "next year"!
That being said, it's Joe's job to create interest and start a dialogue about all the posibilities! Hey, it works, doesn't it? It gets you all to start writing!
Every year it's as regular as clock work, wait til next year, and what happens?
Only as the season begins to unfold do we begin to find out the realities that it brings along with it!
Some players flop, or don't pan out or are not as advertised! On the other hand, sometimes we are pleasently surprised by one or two players that weren't expected to do anything and we end up having a successful season!
So for now, speculation is rampant and it only makes good copy! I wouldn't put much value on speculation!
Let's just wait til the season starts. Until then, it's pointless and a complete waste of time to ponder the, what ifs!
But then again, that's my view!

[EP Advocate]

Joe, when will you retire? With the advent of electronic media in recent years, I fear you will be with the UTEP community for much longer than we can tolerate. I know you've heard this a million times before, and hopefully you've started to believe it-you have no place as a journalist. You especially don't have any place writing for a team and community that you hate so much.

[Lorenzo]

Did anyone else picture someone screaming as they read MONCHIS' post... what with all those exclamation points?!!

[JCV]

What's up with Lorenzo putting Memphis #1 in the CUSA? UTEP will be number one in CUSA brother! We got a better coach(let's face it Pastner cant' coach he's a great recruiter but REAL GREEN coach, we're more experienced. They talk a big game but that program is going down the hill along with its hopes of joining the Big East.

[John C]

Muench:

Keep up the work of stirring the pot-----we all need someone to create, speculation, agrivation, etc.... Just take it easy on the coaching staff and athletic department personnel. They work hard, take their jobs seriously and criticism hurts them!!

By the Andy Katz of ESPN has released his top 25 for the 2010/2011 season---even though the first tip-off is six months away!!

He has Memphis at #19 based on their recruiting class this year.

Now I am stirring the pot!!! Let's see what the reaction to this is on this blog.

[just a thought]

Good thing so much is going on with UTEPIA basketball this off-season. It will be August before talk goes to football around here and the usual slow summer blog time will be forgotten.

Joe's point is that everyone is quick to forget that Moultrie (along with Caracter) did more than you think to contribute to our success last year. Can you honestly say UTEP would have still been 26-7 without Moultrie? If so, you need to have your head examined.

I hear Coach Floyd is a good guy and El Paso loves him. That is all well and good but just remember El Paso's love affair with Mike Price wore off as can any relationship. I had to tie football in there somehow.

[Rob]

From a March 19, 2010 Joe Muench post titled "Next For UTEP?:

"Barbee has improved his wins in each of his four seasons here. This year the Miners got 26.

UTEP will be even better next year, even if Caracter doesn't return and Barbee moves up the coaching ladder. Everybody else is due back and there'll be more maturity to go with the talent that won 26 games."

From this Joe you obviously thought Moultrie could carry the team next year. Now, you say he didn't improve. Maybe not but there is talent remaining on this team.

In this post you stated, "Without the two, guard Randy Culpepper would not have led the Miners to the NCAA." Who led the Miners? Caracter, Moultrie, or Culpepper? Was it Barbee? In "Next For UTEP?" you said this team would be even better next year even if "Barbee moves up the coaching ladder." Was Moultrie the key or not? Will his leaving set Floyd back or will they be better than 26-7?

If you want my 2-cents worth I think Caracter was the key to this year's success. Most teams on the Miners' schedule had no one to stop him. I think Barbee didn't have the team pound the ball into him enough. If he returned for the 2010-11 season I think UTEP is a strong Top 20, maybe Top 10 team. Caracter has superior college talent but is not ready for the NBA. He should have stayed another season and worked on his skills but will probably end up in Europe or something.

[Toasted Whitebred]

Monchis does bring up a good point! This string is a colosal waste of time! Just like drinking beer and going to gentlemens clubs! Frankly, I'm ashamed of some of you: Instead of wasting your time reading these insane mindwanderings, why not pick up a good book at the library or bookstore and learning a thing or two'

[Pugapalooza]

Come on Rob, cut Joe some slack he thought Moultrie and Billy Clyde would be here to to get UTEP to the sweet sixteen next year. Seriuosly though, a lot of Miner fans were ready for Dickey to take over, I admit I thought that was the case myself. Plus we all know Joe likes to spin it to get the posters amped up and he actually does a good job. Moultrie will be missed, but I am pretty confident CTF will have the Miners competing for CUSA title. There is a lot that can happen over the next 6 months, but Miner fans have a lot of reasons to be optimistic.

[John C]

To Toasted Whitebread:

I have self-imposed myself as the expert on the happenings at UTEP, CUSA, college basketball, football, NCAA recruiting violations, etc...

This would not have been possible if not for reading and reacting to the various posts on this blog and some of the others around the sports nation.

Now no one can dispute that I am the self-imposed expert on all supjects related to collegiate athletics.

I did all of this to get in shape and be ready for the upcoming football and basketball season (you know there is conditioning drills related to key-boarding and spelling) because-----I purchased season tickets for both football and basketball and I want to be able to compete with all of the other season ticket holders by being able to sports-talk them into submission (I have yet to develop that killer instinct when an issue is on the line).

There is alot of work ahead of me and I have to be really be ready to spend the time at the computer---you know the saying "No Pain--No Gain."