GETTING INSIDE

   The Miners have improved from 14 wins to 19 to 23 in Tony Barbee’s first three years as coach. Last season’s squad finished fourth in Conference USA and reached the postseason College Basketball Invitational for the second straight time, losing in the finals.

So what’s next for a proud program?

   “You never know what the next step is,” Barbee said. “What I have been happy with is the progress that we’ve made on a year-to-year basis. In today’s society everybody wants something instantaneously, but it doesn’t work that way in athletics.

   “There’s a process that you have to go through. Every year we have taken another step in a positive direction, and I see no reason why that shouldn’t continue this year. I know the goals that I’ve established for this team, but you never know how things are going to work out until the games are played.”

   The Miners will take those steps with a roster dominated by one class. Of the 13 players, 11 are juniors. The exceptions are freshman Marcus Ruppel and sophomore Arnett Moultrie.

   The 11 juniors represent the largest composition by class in UTEP history. Before this year, the largest class was eight on four occasions. This year’s team is the first with no seniors since 1953-54.

   One senior last season stood out above the rest. Stefon Jackson left UTEP as C-USA’s all-time leading scorer. Replacing that void figures to be a group effort. Julyan Stone, Randy Culpepper and Arnett Moultrie are returning starters. Derrick Caracter and Christian Polk are two high-profile transfers.

   “This team, with our ability to score from guys one through five, should be as balanced as any I’ve been around,” Barbee said. “If we don’t have minimum of five, maybe six guys in double figure scoring for the season, I’ll be shocked.” 

NOTES, QUOTES

  —The Foster Stevens Basketball Complex, in the works for nearly three years, officially opened its doors April 22. UTEP announced plans to build the $14.3 million, 43,000-square-foot complex three years ago. The facility features two practice courts, a strength-and-conditioning center, sports medicine center, academic/film rooms, coaches’ offices, locker rooms, equipment room and lounges for the UTEP basketball programs. 

  —Junior G Randy Culpepper joined UTEP’s 1,000-point club of last season. He became the first player in school history to notch 1,000 points as a sophomore. Only Jim Barnes, Antoine Gillespie and Omar Thomas—all transfers—achieved the milestone in their first two seasons. Culpepper also made his presence felt on the defensive end of the floor, accumulating 67 steals. Only former Miners great Tim Hardaway had more in a season.  

• Junior G Julyan Stone dished out an impressive 236 assists, 6.38 per game, leading the Miners to a 23-14 finish last season. He not only set the school record for most assists in a season but also broke the conference mark previously set by Charlotte’s Sean Colson in 1997-98.   

Last Year:   23-14 overall, 10-6 in C-USA; Lost in finals of CBI.   

Head Coach:   Tony Barbee (career 56-45); Fourth year at UTEP and overall.    QUOTE TO NOTE: “This is the biggest, most athletic, and the longest team that I have had since I’ve been here. It’s a very skilled team. We have multiple guys who can do a variety of different things. This should be the best perimeter shooting team since I’ve been here. I’m excited to get started. We have a lot of pieces in place, and now we need to put it together.”—Coach Tony Barbee on the makeup of his squad.   

STRATEGY AND PERSONNEL

Scouting The Newcomers:   Junior F Derrick Caracter, junior G Christian Polk, freshman G/F Marcus Ruppel, junior G Myron Strong and junior F Jeremy Williams are the five new faces. Caracter is a Louisville transfer who was regarded as one of the nation’s top prep players coming out of Notre Dame Prep School. He averaged over eight points per game in two seasons for the Cardinals (2006-08). Polk averaged 12 points per game as a freshman at Arizona State in 2006-07. Ruppel averaged over 21 points per game his final two high school seasons. Strong and Williams were teammates both in high school and at Southwest Tennessee Community College.  

Key Early-season Games:   Non-conference games are lined up against rival New Mexico State, Mississippi, Oklahoma and Texas Tech. UTEP will play at New Mexico State (Dec. 1) and Texas Tech (Jan. 3). The Miners are also on the road in what they’re billing as neutral-site games against Ole Miss (Dec. 16 in Southhaven, Miss.) and OU (Dec. 21 in Oklahoma City).  

Program Direction:   UTEP earned its second straight berth to the College Basketball Invitational and picked up four wins to advance to the final game of the best-of-three championship series. With their fifth postseason berth in the last six years, the Miners set a number of school records: games played (37), points scored (2,788), field goals made (931), field goals attempted (2,200), free throws made (731) and free throws attempted (1,021).  

Probable Starting Lineup:   PG Julyan Stone, SG Randy Culpepper, SF Christian Polk, PF Arnett Moultrie, C Wayne Portalatin.  

Roster Report:  

• Sophomore F Arnett Moultrie earned a spot on the FIBA U19 Team USA squad that won the gold medal at this year’s World Championships, held in New Zealand. Moultrie had his best performance of the tournament in the 88-80 win over Greece in the gold medal game. He played 21 minutes, his most extensive of the championships, and just missed a double-double with 10 points and nine rebounds.

   —Three returning UTEP players achieved significant milestones last season. G Randy Culpepper established school records for 3-pointers made in a season (89) and a career (170). F Arnett Moultrie became only the third Miner to secure 300 rebounds in a season, and the first since the 1960s. G Julyan Stone dished out 236 assists to eclipse Filiberto Rivera’s season standard of 229 dimes in 2004-05.

   —Junior C Claude Britton returns after missing the last eight games of last season with an illness. He averaged 4.3 points, 2.7 rebounds and 1.1 blocks. His 31 blocks were second on the squad.