2017-2018 Basketball Preview

BASKETBALL PREVIEW · OCT 31, 2017

CONTENTS

STAFF

3

THE FINAL QUARTER

SPORTS EDITOR

4

GLOBAL CONNECTIONS

KATHLEEN COOK

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THE SEASON OUTLOOK

STAFF WRITERS

6

MEN’S ROSTER AND SCHEDULE

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WOMEN’S ROSTER AND SCHEDULE

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OPPORTUNITY OF A LIFETIME

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BUILDING ON SUCCESS

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SAM PALIAN PATRICK GREEN JAZZ WARREN ZACH TIMMONS

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THE FINAL QUARTER

For six 49er seniors, this season marks their final time in the Charlotte jerseys Story by Sam Palian Photo courtesy Uncle Jut Hudson Price, Corey Bias, and Austin Ajukwa have each reached their final season of college basketball and they are certainly hoping to make their senior year the greatest they’ve seen.

Price, a 6’7” guard from Orlando, Florida who just happens to be the coach’s son, transferred from TCU for the 2015-16 season and would sit out for his redshirt season. He excels academically earning a spot on NABC Honors Court list last year.

“We’ve been through two rebuilding years and this year our goal is definitely to finish in the top four and that’ll give us a bye in the conference tournament and I think we’ll have a great shot to win it,” Price said.

Price saw minutes in 28 games last season with two starts. He had his first career 20 point game at Elon in 2016 with 23 points off the bench, having a a nearly perfect game going 6 for 6 from the field, while going 4 for 4 from the three and 7 for 8 from the free throw line.

Bias, a 6’1” guard from Milwaukee, Wisconsin walked on to the Charlotte men’s basketball team in 2016.

Bias was recently awarded a scholarship for his senior season at Charlotte in September.

“I love the unity here. Everybody likes each other well enough, especially this year everybody’s working hard together moving toward our goals. Committing

Story by Patrick Green Photo courtesy of Charlotte 49ers to that process is something that the team has been working for since Coach Price got here,” Bias said.

Bias saw his first action in a game last season in the final minute of the Niners’ home C-USA win over North Texas. He scored his first two career points going 2 for 2 from the free throw line against Southern Miss in another home win for Charlotte.

A third senior, Ajukwa a 6’7” guard from Columbia, South Carolina sat out the first nine games of the 2016-17 season at Charlotte after transferring from Clemson.

Ajukwa had his first career double double with 13 points and 10 rebounds at North Texas last season. In February of last season he managed to score a career high 30 points and grab 11 rebounds in Charlotte’s win over FIU. “We’re getting better every single day. As seniors, we have to lead by example. We’ve been around the game pretty long you know we have that experience. All of us have to come ready to work in practice everyday and know that new players especially with our big freshman class that our teammates are looking up to us, as leaders and as captains,” Ajukwa said.

Senior year never lasts as long as you hope it will and it will come to an end far too quickly. These seniors have set out to make it last as long as they can and to put Charlotte men’s basketball at the top.

After barely missing the NIT last season, a group of three seniors look to lead a young 49er team to victory this season.

Having previously dominated with Spartanburg Methodist, a private, junior college, Jada Martin emerged as a walk-on last season. She was not just a regular walk-on, however, as she became the first player to walkon under coach Cara Consuegra.

“It’s definitely an honor just for the simple fact it’s not easy being a walkon at a D1 college just in general,” said Martin. “I mean, it take a lot of hard work. It’s a lot of hard work putting in being a walk-on. It’s definitely an honor being the first to walk on under Coach Consuegra.”

Next, forward Nyilah JamisonMyers, the Clemson transfer. Last season was her very first with Charlotte and she saw tremendous success, especially on defense where she earned the distinctive honor of being named to the All-Conference USA Defensive Team.

While the Niners will look to her defensive and scoring abilities for a lot of their success, number 15 will also look to serve as a veteran presence who the young players can learn from.

“I try to, you know, make myself available.

I try to give good advice and things.

You know that I’m old, I’m an old head.

So, like you can come to me and say pretty much anything -- been there done that -- so you can always come and talk to me about it.

BASKETBALL PREVIEW · OCT 31, 2017

And on the court, I always try to do what the coaches say. Like, we give reminders, showing people where to go, giving positive encouragement to make sure nobody gets down and it’s like ‘oh this is too much’,” JamisonMyers said.

The last member of this senior group is guard Amaya Ransom, who has spent all four year of her collegiate career with the 49ers.

Playing on this squad since 2014, she has the most experience as a member of this team. She has been invaluable in her commitment to mentoring and helping the new players.

When asked about what individual accomplishment she looks to improve upon most, she immediately talked about being a leader to them with so much enthusiasm it was contagious.

Four years is a long time to grow alongside this women’s basketball program.While the hours of practices and games are significant to Ransom’s basketball career, the most imperative part is what this team has done for her on a personal level.

“The culture is not only preparing me for basketball, but it’s also preparing me for life after basketball,” Ransom said. “Just how we go about things each and every day, I feel like it’s molded me into a better basketball player and a better person overall. So, I’m just very blessed to be rewarded this opportunity and making the most of it.”

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GLOBAL CONNECTIONS After living around the world, assistant coach Ivo Simovic now calls Charlotte home

By Kathleen Cook Photo courtesy of Uncle Jut Basketball is a global game, just ask new assistant basketball coach Ivo Simovic. After growing up and playing in Serbia, then coaching in Spain and Connecticut, he now calls Charlotte home.

Simovic began playing basketball when he was in sixth grade and continued throughout high school.

During that time in Simovic’s life, a civil war within the Yugoslovian countries created a tough situation.

During the wartime period there was also an economic crisis. With lack of funds and the chaos of war, Simovic saw basketball as an out.

“That was an escape, not only from bombing. We didn’t have enough money in that moment to go watch a movie or invite your girlfriend to dinner. You just spend time playing basketball, that was our reality,” Simovic said. “We didn’t go drink or smoke because we didn’t like it and also we didn’t have the money to do that stuff. We just have money to buy a ball, sneakers and play basketball.

That’s what we did.”

After the Civil War concluded in 1995, bombings in Serbia began again

by NATO in 1999. Now at university in the country’s capital, coaching basketball, instead of playing, was used as an escape for Simovic.

“I couldn’t believe what was going on. You see airplanes dropping bombs all over the country, it was a really weird situation. All during that period of time, I tried to keep my mindset thinking about basketball, playing basketball, teaching young guys,” Simovic said.

After spending a few years with a small team in Belgrade, at 23 years old, Simovic got the opportunity to coach with one of Serbia’s top

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programs, Red Star. Achieving his new position was “like a dream” for Simovic.

During his eight seasons with the Red Star club the team won the 2004 National Championship and was the runner-up for the 2007 championship.

After his time with the Serbian team, Simovic was given the opportunity to coach in Spain. There was one main issue with the move to Spain: the language.

worked for the team, the Spurs won the NBA Championship. Simovic was rewarded for his hardwork by receiving a ring.

After getting he was settled in Madrid, some of Simovic’s colleagues had jumped the pond and began coaching in America. Though he hesitated about going to the States, an sense of comfort created the urge to move.

“I think that was the reason why I

“I didn’t know a word of Spanish,” Simovic said. “It was an interesting experience. I tried to learn Spanish in five or six months, just to be able to speak it at practice, some terminology stuff like stop, run, shoot, because it’s tough if you don’t speak a language.”

While working in Madrid, Simovic was asked to be a international scout and assistant coach for the summer league with the San Antonio Spurs organization in 2013 and 2014. During the two years he

decided to move from Spain, because I felt really comfortable there. I said, you know what Ivo, you’re 35, 34 years old, you need to move forward if you want to get better and learn things, move forward. I said, why not, let’s move to the states,” Simovic said.

Simovic and his family moved to Connecticut and he became an assistant coach at Hartford. After two seasons there, they made the shift down south and is now the new assistant coach at Charlotte.

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Simovic isn’t the only Serbian new to Charlotte this season either.

Freshmen Milos Supica and Luka Vasic both hail from Serbia, but now call themselves a 49er.

Having that comfort of home gives the group of guys a special bond.

“All of us are trying to learn how to speak English or Spanish, but at the end of the day you can express yourself the best when you speak your language. We feel free when it’s the three of us and we’re talking Serbian, that’s a good feeling,” Simovic said.

Though he has numerous basketball seasons already under his belt, Simovic is still eager for the 2017-18 season to commence.

“I think we have really talented kids on our roster, we have a young roster,” Simovic said. “I cant wait to see how they’re going to adjust offensively, defeinsivey. I’m excited to see these young guys get better every day, at the end of the day that’s our goal.”

By living in multiple countries on various continents, Simovic has been exposed to many different ways of life. The one common aspect of all of the cultures he experienced: the game of basketball.

“It’s an interesting story how basketball can connect, like sports in general, can connect different cultures, different languages, different colors,” Simovic said. “I believe we have in this life, the opportunity to see different things and learn different things. You need to be able to recognize all those opportunities. I was lucky to travel all over the world playing basketball, so that’s beautiful for me.”

BASKETBALL PREVIEW · OCT 31, 2017

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2017-18 MEN’S ROSTER 0 JAILAN HASLEM 1 NAJEE GAVIN 2 ANDRIEN WHITE 3 JON DAVIS 5 AUSTIN AJUKWA 10 COREY BIAS 11 BO BLIGHT

12 JAYLAN MCGILL 15 MILOS SUPICA 21 HUDSON PRICE 24 RYAN MURPHY 30 BRYANT THOMAS 35 LUKA VASIC

Photo from NT File

2017-18 HOME SCHEDULE 11/10 VS. METHODIST

1/13 VS. WKU

11/18 VS. COLLEGE OF

1/27 VS. ODU

CHARLESTON

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2/1 VS. UAB

11/20 VS. PRESBYTERIAN

2/3 VS. MIDDLE TENNESSEE

11/24 VS. HIGH POINT

2/15 VS. UTEP

11/28 VS. DaVIDSON

2/17 VS. UTSA

12/5 VS. WAKE FOREST

3/1 VS. FIU

1/11 VS. MARSHALL

3/3 VS. FAU

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2017-18 WOMEN’S ROSTER 2 CHRISTIAN HITHE 3 MARIAH LINNEY 4 LAIA RAVENTOS 5 JADE PHILLIPS 10 JADA MARTIN 13 OCTAVIA WILSON 15 NYILAH JAMISON-MYERS

22 LAUREN HARLEY 24 LYRISSA DEANS 30 JAIDA ROBINSON 34 DARA PEARSON 44 AMAYA RANSOM 45 KA’NEESHIA BROWN

Photo from NT File

2017-18 HOME SCHEDULE 11/4 VS. COKER (EXHIBITION)

1/20 VS. RICE

11/10 VS. DUQUESNE

2/2 VS. MARSHALL

11/16 VS. RUTGERS

2/4 VS. FIU

12/3 VS. COPPIN STATE

2/10 VS. UTSA

12/28 VS. SOUTH CAROLINA STATE 2/25 VS. MIDDLE TENNESSEE 12/30 VS. MERCER

3/1 VS. ODU

1/4 VS. SOUTHERN MISS

3/3 VS. FAU

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THE SEASON OUTLOOK

By Jazz Warren Photos by Chris Crews and from NT File The 2017-18 Men’s basketball season is just a few weeks away and all eyes are on the 49ers. Coming off of a 13-17 (C-USA 7-11) season filled with high offensive triumphs, defensive struggles and a first round exit from the Conference USA tournament, the 49ers look to make some changes. The 2016-17 season was the year Coach Price was able to truly begin to mold the program in his image, this year he seeks to reap the benefits.

The theme of last season, without a doubt, was transfers. This year, the name of the game is freshmen. With incoming first years such as 6’2” wing Jaylan McGill, 6’9” forward Bryant Thomas and forward Milos Supica walking into the program, a new wave of energy is on the horizon for Niner Nation.

McGill, a young guard out of Olympic High School in Charlotte, will be a breath of fresh air to the 49ers already strong backcourt.

Averaging 17 points and five assist his junior year in high school, the wing will offer Charlotte another high volume shooter who is able to distribute and handle the basketball off of the bench.

Thomas, a 6’9” big man also from Charlotte, lead the nation with 7.7 blocks per game. The forward will bring a presence to the paint that the 49ers lost with Anthony Vanhook.

Averaging a double double in high school with 17 points per game and 10 boards, the combination of Thomas and 6’7” sophomore Najee Garvin will prove to be a huge problem, matchup wise for many teams in the conference.

In addition to the growing

Charlotte frontcourt, is junior transfer Jailan Haslem, a 6’10”, 260 pound center out of Warner Robins Georgia. Haslem offers another big body to the charlotte interior and is a presence not easily ignored.

Averaging 7.9 boards along with nine points at Gordon State college, Haslem has the ability to collect ball on both side of play, and put up consistent second chance points.

With a 6’9” wingspan, he also shows proficient rim protecting ability, having averaged 1.2 blocks at Gordon.

The 49ers will look to their returning on-court leaders to set the pace in terms of morale. Junior guard Jon Davis is the prime example.

Coming off from a stellar sophomore season where Davis led the team in scoring, shooting 38 percent from behind the arc, Davis undoubtley is the leader of the pack.

Averaging 19 points per game off of 35 minutes, which allowed the guard to finish second in scoring for C-USA, the then sophomore made a habit of taking over games in the second half. Finishing the season with two buzzer beaters, one at home against ODU and another against the UTSA Roadrunners, Davis has shown that not only does he have the ability to take over games, but also to finish them, something we will undoubtley be seeing more of this coming season.

6’7” redshirt junior Austin Ajukwa is definitely another component to keep your eye on this coming season.

Transferring from Clemson earlier in the season, Ajukwa quickly found his niche among the team in his first game, played against Florida.

Averaging 11 points and four boards, Ajukwa was able to offer high energy and a high level of play on

BASKETBALL PREVIEW · OCT 31, 2017

both ends of the floor.

Recording two double doubles and scoring in double digits over 10 times, Ajukwa will walk into the season in a new role of leadership that he is sure to thrive in. Junior shooting guard, Andrien White will also play a key role this season as both a veteran and key role player.

Coming off a season averaging 11 points and four rebounds with 19 double figure games, the guard’s role will only expand from there. With all three if these key pieces returning to the program and the 49ers have strong foundation to build off of.

Last season, the 49ers averaged 76.5 points per game, placing fourth overall in C-USA basketball in terms of scoring, second overall in terms of three point percentage as well as free throw shooting. With three of those major contributing pieces returning to the program, Mark Price and his coaching staff have a strong foundation to build off of.

As new faces and new talent walk into the door of Niner Nation, Price has the chance to not only renew his game plan, but to revitalize the winning culture of Charlotte 49er men’s basketball program.

Consistency will be key for Mark Price and his boys this coming season both in the record books and off the court, in order to see a deep conference run come March. With high hopes and even higher spirits, the team looks to be in good condition to “stake their claim” in conference play and show the rest of C-USA what it means to be a Charlotte 49er.

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PPORTUNITY OF A LIFETIME

By Kathleen Cook Photo courtesy of Charlotte 49ers and CC0 Public Domain The Olympics are a premeire event that only some athletes get the opportunity to compete in. Joanne Aluka-White, an assistant coach for women’s basketball, was able to participate in the 2004 Olympics by playing basketball with Nigeria.

After beginning her basketball career in middle school, Aluka-White said she “wasn’t very good.”

She improved enough to continue playing in high school, but not at the level she aspired to be at.

In the summer between her freshman and sophomore years in high school, her friend Itoro Umoh groomed her into a starting player.

“She picked me up every day over the summer and we went and played basketball. That’s how I grew as a basketball player. She told me certain things to do and we’d go play grown men. She would pick me up at one o’clock, we wouldn’t get back until eight o’clock. We just played all day, that’s where I grew as a player,” Aluka-White said.

After finishing up her high school career, AlukaWhite continued playing at Middle Tennessee.

During her first year in Memphis and under new head coach Stephany Smith, the team made it to the NCAA tournament and faced a dominant Duke team.

“We got our heads blown off, but it was exciting because that was the first time in a while that Middle went to the NCAA Tournament and won the OVC Tournament,” Aluka-White said.

Once she had attained her undergrad degree and Master’s degree, Aluka-White went on to play abroad in Portugal. When she returned to the States, Aluka-White received a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity: playing for the Olympics.

Both of her parents had migrated to the United States from Nigeria to attend college, this qualified Aluka-White to be a member of the Nigerian National team. Umoh, the same friend that molded her into a player back in high school, was already playing for the squad. When the team was looking for players to fill out their roster for the Olympic games, Umoh recommended her former teammate.

“It was a great opportunity that came out of nowhere. It was a blessing. That type of opportunity doesn’t happen to a lot of people. For that to happen without even me really trying, I was

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really fortunate,” Aluka-White said.

Playing for the Nigerian team gave her an opportunity for more traveling while playing a sport she loved. After traveling around for tournaments, finally, Aluka-White arrived in Greece for the Olympics.

Growing up, her parent’s stressed the importance of education. Playing basketball, especially for her parent’s home country, allowed her family to connect.

“Basketball was never supposed to be a thing for me,” Aluka-White said. “My parents really stressed education. I could have been a doctor, an engineer or a lawyer, that’s the direction I was supposed to go in. For him to see me experience a lot of success from being a collegiate athlete, going on to play professionally and then also represent his country, our country, in the Olympics was really special.”

While training with the national team two years later, she made the decision to coach instead of play.

“I feel good about what I was able to do as an athlete. I had the opportunity to travel the world, experience different cultures, meet a lot of different people. I got a chance to sight-see and do a lot that I wouldn’t have been able to without basketball. It wasn’t a hard decision. I wanted to coach,” AlukaWhite said.

She spent the next six years coaching down in Miami. During her time there, she developed her coaching style.

“I was able to find my voice, find who I was as a coach and how I wanted to be with young people,” Aluka-White said.

Eventually, with having two kids and no family close by, Aluka-White sought to move closer to family. Charlotte, which is about three hours away from her mom, piqued her interest. After a conversation on the phone with Cara Consuegra, the two just clicked.

“I got her and she got me as far as why we’re in it. It wasn’t just about wins and losses, it was about developing young women, relationships, impacting lives and empowering young women to be positive reflections of this university and of this basketball program,” Aluka-White said.

Going out on a limb, she took a job in Charlotte without her husband having a job.

“Within two days, he had two or three interviews lined up. It was a God thing, it wasn’t just for us. God has his ways of putting you in the best situations without you knowing,” Aluka-White said.

Though she loves basketball and winning, the personal aspect of the team is something she enjoys as well.

“I love seeing players develop. I love that relationship part of it, I love watching young people develop during their time here. How you come in is not how you leave, on the court, off the court and in the classroom,” AlukaWhite said.

With as many seasons under her belt, there is still an excitement in the air with a new season looming.

“It’s not easy and it can be tiring,” Aluka-White said. “I’m excited about what this season holds for our girls and what they can expereince as players.”

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BUILDING ON SUCCESS

By Zach Timmons Photo from NT File It’s finally October.

Football may be in full swing, but college basketball is finally here as well. The Charlotte 49ers women’s team, as well as other schools across the country, opened their first official practices to the media a few weeks ago and Charlotte coach Cara Consuegra has her team primed and ready for action.

“It’s awesome to be back. I think every year, there’s always excitement this time of year,” Consuegra said after the team’s first practice. “I think this year is a little bit different, just with us having so many newcomers. Just the excitement of figuring that all out, and what people’s roles are gonna be... getting the chemistry of this team together, I think, makes it even more exciting.”

That upbeat positivity will be key for Charlotte as they will look to build on last year’s impressive 21-10 finish. The Niners finished 12-6 in conference play and posted a 10-4 record at home, as well as a 10-3 record on the road and went 1-3 at neutral sites. Though they lost four players in the offseason, the coaching staff recruited six new players and they will lean on the upperclassmen as the season goes along.

Familiar Faces Consuegra welcomes back seven returners from last year’s squad, including redshirt senior forward Nyilah Jamison-Myers and junior guard Laia Raventos. Myers, who was named to the 2017 All-Conference USA Defensive team, will be the team’s anchor in the post. Myers averaged 11.2 points, 6.0 rebounds and 2.0 blocks last season, and she converted 49.3 percent of her field goals.

The conference took note of her play, and she was recently named to the 2017-18 Preseason All-CUSA Team.

Meanwhile, Raventos returns to the squad after posting averages of 8.0 points, 4.6 dimes and 3.6 assist per contest as a sophomore. The Spaniard also played for her native country in

the U20 European Championships this summer, and Spain won the gold medal after Spain rolled through the tournament with a 7-0 record. The extra competition will certainly pay dividends for Raventos, as she will be counted on to score a bit more this year given the younger roster.

Joining these two are seniors Amaya Ransom and Jada Martin, redshirt sophomores Jaida Robinson and Dara Pearson and sophomore Lauren Harley. Ransom mostly came off the bench as a junior and she averaged 5.0 points and 4.1 boards.

She led the team in rebounding in four games and is one of the team’s best defenders. Martin, a former walk-on who earned a scholarship in the spring semester, played in 10 games and scored her first points against UTSA. Robinson, a talented stretch-four who has range, also returns for the Niners. She led the team in rebounding three times last season and will be counted on to space the floor. Pearson, a forward, also emerged as a solid rebounder, and Harley is an athletic guard who thrives on getting to the basket. All of the returners will be needed to continue Charlotte’s tradition of a fast-paced, high scoring offense. As long as these players contribute, Charlotte will be in good hands.

The Newcomers Charlotte welcomed six new players, including three true freshmen during the offseason. The freshmen include guards Mariah Linney and Octavia Wilson and forward Lyrissa Deans.

Linney, a highly-touted prospect from Goose Creek, SC, comes to Charlotte after winning the Miss Basketball for South Carolina Award. Linney averaged 16.2 points, 5.3 boards, 4.9 steals and 4.4 dimes in her final year at Goose Creek and she was also named the Class 5A Player of the Year by the SC Basketball Coaches Association.

Meanwhile, Wilson is an established winner with a knack for scoring. The guard averaged 18 points as a senior, 23 points as a junior and won state BASKETBALL PREVIEW · OCT 31, 2017

titles as a sophomore and freshman. In addition, she was a nominee for the McDonald’s AllAmerican Game. Deans, a forward, averaged 15.7 points, 6.7 boards and 2.1 during her junior year and will be a key post player for the Niners.

Consuegra also brought three transfers aboard.

Ka’Neeshia Brown, a junior forward from Daytona State Junior College, averaged 10.7 points and 13.5 rebounds last season and will be eligible to play this season. Meanwhile, Christian Hithe (Central Florida) and Jade Phillips (Syracuse) will have to sit out this year to abide by NCAA rules.

Lastly, the coaching staff welcomed three new additions. Sarah Smoak, who comes from the University of Miami, will serve as the head of program development, and Chris Ekwueme is the new strength and conditioning coach. Tanishia Wright, a 12-year WNBA veteran, joins as an assistant coach.

Save The Date The Niners will play 13 non-conference games this season and will play an exhibition contest against Coker on November 4. Some of the opponents include Wisconsin (who recruited Linney) and Rutgers, and the team will also play Iowa and South Dakota State in the Puetro Rico Classico Tournament in Fort Lauderdale, FL. Six teams in the non-conference portion of the schedule participated in postseason play last year.

The Niners open Conference play on Jan. 4 at home versus Southern Miss, and the conference tournament opens March 7 in Frisco, Texas. The team will look to get hot in the tournament, as they lost in the quarterfinals to Lousiana Tech last season. While the team can’t get ahead of themselves, they know that winning a conference title is a realistic goal within their range. The team opens their season officially on Nov. 10 against the Duquesne Dukes. While the team is focusing on improving day by day, they know that the path to the postseason starts now.

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