Come out and Support UTEP Basketball! (Houston, San Antonio: how much, big home, school)

[mistabinks]

If possible, please make plans to attend the Men's basketball game this Monday night at The Don Haskins Center. The UNLV Runnin Rebels will be coming to town. This is a BIG non conference game.

Say what you will about the city of El Paso but this team deserves our support. We have one of the highest scorers in the nation on our squad. We have a talented group of freshman players on our team. We (finally) have a couple of legit big men on our squad. This is a talented team that deserves a full house on Monday night.

UTEP vs UNLV Monday
November 24 7:05

Go Miners!

[6 FOOT 3]

What is sad is at their last game they only had around 4,500 in the stands. I miss the 80's and 90's when Haskins always had 12,222 sellouts back then.

[mistabinks]

Originally Posted by 6 FOOT 3

What is sad is at their last game they only had around 4,500 in the stands. I miss the 80's and 90's when Haskins always had 12,222 sellouts back then.

Actually, the attendance was 6,471. Also, as much as The Bear meant to me, he always scheduled cupcake teams in the non-conference, and at no time did UTEP have 12,222 in the stands for teams like Arkansas-Pine Bluff, New Mexican Highlands, or UT-San Antonio. Kudos to Coach Tony Barbee for the non-conference he has scheduled.

El Paso shows up for UTEP athletics. There are teams in bigger markets (Houston) that would kill for 6,500 in the stands for basketball or 24,000 for football (which are low by UTEP standards). Still, we should concentrate on improving and doing better.

Here are the few things I feel work against us.

1. Decades of being conditioned to subpar teams in the non-conference. Coach Barbee has changed that. That is one the main reasons for this thread. To get the word out. El Paso is used to not caring until we play NMSU, UNM, or until conference play starts. Now with the RPI, and having a legitimate shot at a NCAA bid, every game counts!

2. The quick turnover of Coaches. I still don't think El Paso is over losing Billy Gillespie. Since then we have lost Doc Sadler. Success has it's consequences in college athletics. I really think this is the year El Paso bonds with Coach Barbee.

Don't let the above two things fool you though. There is nothing "wrong" or "down" with UTEP basketball. No, we are not Duke or Memphis. Yes, I know the attendance I mentioned above includes season ticket holders. We are a mid major school in a mid major conference. Still, the Miners are our team. Let's get out there and support our team.

[6 FOOT 3]

First your correct on the attendance as i must of been thinking of NMSU attendance the other nite (which was also pathetic). EVERY coach scheduals cupcake teams not just Haskins. I won't put him down as he won El Paso and the state of Texas the only NCAA men's basketball title. I have the utmost respect for him staying here for almost 40 years when he was offered better paying jobs after winning the title and thru out the 70's and 80's.

As for Barbee....i hope he kicks butt and makes UTEP a national power but i'm not getting too excited as i and other miner fans have been burned twice now with both head coaches Gillespi and Doc Saddler leaving once successful. Some ways i don't blame them when the big bucks come a calling as UTEP struggles to match that. Even poorish UNM in Albuquerque pays its curreent coach Steve Alford $1 million a year base salary. Add the perks and he's really collecting ........$$$.

And yes i was in El Paso in the 80's when we almost always had 12,222 in attendance as i and my uncle could rarely get a ticket(s) to any game and when we did it was great with Paul Strelzin working the game with his ''Miner Ballllllllllllllllll'' as he was famous for and also reading the box score the next day in both the EP times and Herald Post newspapers showed 12,222 as we had great teams back especially the year 83/84 when UTEP was AP #4 in the nation with Fred Reynolds as an All American and the other 80's teams with Quinton Gates, Kent Lockhart, Dave Feitl (the cheese), Luster ''pony'' goodwin, Jeep Jackson or late 80's with Mark McCall and Tim Hardaway (NBA) as those 80's and early 90's teams were always in the top 20 then.

Anyway i wish them well as always.

[mistabinks]

I was most certainly not putting Coach Haskins down by stating he scheduled a lot of cupcake teams. Again, it is only because of how much of a fan I am and how much he means to me, that I very comfortable pointing that out. Not every coach schedules a weak non conference schedule. Not by a long shot. Still, that was not a knock on The Bear. He needed those weak non conference games to fine tune his players in time for conference play. It is what he had to do for his players. Great coaching. Just not the type of games that were going to sell out the SEC.

I remember those teams and those players as well. I was also there. You could count on 9 to 10 thousand people on Thursdays and close to a sell out on Saturday. Those were some good times. However, I believe most of the attendance records were broken in Billy Gillespie's last season here. I will have to double check on that.

Still, it doesn't matter how good times used to be, it doesn't matter how small the crowd was last Tuesday. We need to show up this Monday. Go Miners!

Also, congrats to the Lady Miners for defeating NMSU 54-50!

[Caltep]

I am going to the women's game tomorrow. They have had the success and we need to keep supporting them.

I would love UTEP to host a PAC 10 team. At the Haskins memorials, they talked about Georgetown coming here when no one else would. It doesn't always have to be an East team. An Arizona, ASU, or UCLA would really get folks excited...I know I would be.

[mistabinks]

I love going to the Lady Miner games. I went to about 10 last year. The tickets are always very affordable. They also have a big home game coming up that is going to be on ESPN.

[LEVOW]

i still remember that henry hall bounce alley oop to mark mcall i think in 89, thats when they had david van dyke, greg foster,prince stewart, marlon maxie....

[6 FOOT 3]

Originally Posted by LEVOW

i still remember that henry hall bounce alley oop to mark mcall i think in 89, thats when they had david van dyke, greg foster,prince stewart, marlon maxie....

Also i remember UTEP having some good teams in the 70's as they went to the NCAA a couple of times that i remember as a kid watching them back then on TV as i know one year (1975?) they opened the NCAA first round against #1 Indiana which they lost. They had good players like Roshern Amie, Tim Crenshaw, Anthony Burns and the big man Terry White who also played on the Eastwood high basketball team that won the 76/77 Texas 4A Boys basketball championship that season as they are the only team 5A/4A to win the boys basketball title from El Paso.

I think that championship sign is still outside on Eastwood's parking lot after all these years.

[Caltep]

One of the best games I have ever seen, men or women, pro or college, in my life was UTEP women against E. Carolina last year...it was truly Showtime in the second half.

Originally Posted by mistabinks

I love going to the Lady Miner games. I went to about 10 last year. The tickets are always very affordable. They also have a big home game coming up that is going to be on ESPN.