McCollum's Column: UCA basketball teams ready to enter new world
This basketball season marks a different world for University of Central Arkansas basketball coaches Rand Chappell and Matt Daniel.
The perspective for both is a little different.
Chappell, the coach of the Bears, is eager for some shackles to come off.
Daniel, the Sugar Bear coach, is wanting to see who he can turn loose in his revamped program in its second year.
Both teams open the season this weekend and a week later, the Bears are set to play at No. 1 Kansas as part of a preseason event. A few days later, there’s a game against Memphis in the FedEx Forum.
The Bears have generally struggled their initial years in NCAA Division I. This year’s recruiting class is the first to come to UCA with the possibility of postseason play.
During the Southland Conference basketball teleconference this week, Chappell said being ineligible for postseason during the five-year process toward NCAA certification has taken its toll on the program.
Because of its month-long national exposure that produces excitement and gripping drama, even having a remote chance at the NCAA men’s tournament is a requirement on the checklist for most college prospects.
“I felt like this past year, for the first time, we were able to go into some head-to-head recruiting battles and get some guys to come to UCA,” Chappell said. “In some cases, that has been the only thing stopping us before. Every kid who plays in the back yard dreams of playing in the NCAA tournament. In some close calls in the past, that was probably the difference. When it got down to decision time, we didn’t have that to offer.”
After this season, UCA is expected to have full eligibility.
“Particularly as a coaching staff, as we’ve moved through the five-year process, it’s been a long, slow, tough trip,’ said Chappell. “I say that, we’ve had some success along the way and we’ve won some good games, but there’s no question it’s tough on everybody involved with the program.
“I know whenever our last game this season is over in March, I think we’ll feel like the handcuffs are totally off and we’re ready to go.”
After last season, Daniel cleaned out almost his entire roster on the women’s program and began to recruit intensely for players who fit his image and style. He had a lot of success and many of the players he brought in had a high degree of success in strong programs.
By his calcualations, the Sugar Bears have the second-youngest team in the country.
“But absolutely the mindset has changed,” he said. “With their basketball IQ and level of competitiveness, their understanding of the game and just their natural feel for it, I feel like even with the lack of experience we have a chance to be pretty good. Will that equate to wins immediately? I don’t know.”
Right now, it’s a juggling act.
“All of our new players bring something different to the table and right now, they’re all being careful not to stop on each other’s toes,” Daniel said. “We have a total of five years of Division I experience on our roster. There’s not a lot of experience to based leadership on. So, for awhile, we’ll have have leadership by committee.”
The old and the new of UCA basketball is graphically illustrated byh the Bears’ schedule. They open Friday against old Arkansas Intercollegiate Conference rival Hendrix College, the first time the men’s teams from the schools have met since 1992. Less than a week later, the Bears play No. 1-ranked Kansas in Allen Fieldhouse.
During the NCAA transition, the Bears have played at UConn, Kentucky’s Rupp Arena and Vanderbilt’s Memorial Gymnasium.
“Without having the chance to go to the NCAA tournament, we’ve tried to give our guys some of the NCAA experience, with being in the NCAA tournament,” Chappell said. “It gives players a little taste of that NCAA experience without the exact NCAA experience. We’ve been consistent throughout the process in trying to play some of the bigtime programs in the bigtime venues.”
(Sports columnist David McCollum can be reached at 505-1235 or david.mccollum@thecabin.net)
