Miner Illustrated Magazine: Vol 1, Issue 10

MBB: The Pressure of the C-USA Tourney 7

WBB: Miners Wins Build Momentum 8

MBB: Around the League 9

Softball Loses an Im-portant Piece of the Puzzle 10

The Final Word 15

MINERILLUSTRATED

VOL 1 ISSUE 10 MARCH 9, 2011

MINERILLUSTRATED

MARCH MADNESS begins IN EL PASO!

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f i n d m o r e i n f o a t c o n f e r e n c e u s a . c o m

MINERILLUSTRATED

VOL I ISSUE 10 MARCH 9, 2011

When Chris asked me to be his Editor-in-Chief for Miner Illustrated, I was honored and ecstatic. Honored that Chris would entrust me with such a responsibility and ecstatic because I, truly, love sports. I love watching sports, reading about sports and, most importantly, writing about sports.

In the past, I have written and edited for newspapers, yearbooks and magazines. While a student at the University of Notre Dame, I worked for the school magazine “Scholastic” as its Sports Editor and found my love of sports grew with each piece I wrote. I never expected to be offered the opportunity to do what I love once again, and yet here, I find myself leading MI to newer and greater things.

In my two weeks with MI, I have experienced firsthand the hard work that the entire MI staff puts into producing such an extensive magazine. I was thrown headfirst into editing the Special C-USA Tournament Issue that came out early this week, and though it was stressful and a bit overwhelming at times, I loved every minute it.

This week’s magazine, though much less work than the Special Issue, has been just as exhilarating. Alex writes a feature on softball star Camille Carrera and her unfortunate end to her season. Gus delves into the women’s great OT win over Tulsa, giving them just the momentum they need going into the C-USA Tournament. Chris discusses the pressure the Miners and their fans will have going into the tournament this week, while Josh expounds on what the team needs to do if they expect to hang another championship in the Don Haskins Center.

Of course, this issue will also include the men’s basketball game results from Around the League as well as some NoteWorthy UTEP sports highlights, and let’s not forget, Jeff’s wonderful photography that captures the sports moments we would hate to forget.

I hope that all our readers find reading the MI as exhilarating as I have already found editing it. I hope to continue giving our readers what they want. And finally, I hope that my love of sports allows me to make MI the best sports magazine possible.

Rebecca Frazier Burch

a publication of Shamrock Media LLC

CHRIS AVILAPRESIDENT

REBECCA FRAZIER BURCHEDITOR-IN-CHIEF

JEFF TAYLORCHIEF PHOTOGRAPHER

GUS CONTRERASANGEL LUNA

ALEX MORALESJOSH PUGA“UTEP66”

STAFF WRITERS

DANNY LEVARIODIRECTOR OF BUSINESS

OPERATIONS

ADAM DIAZSALES DIRECTOR

SUZETTE THOMPSONMAGAZINE DESIGN

Letters to the editor, general feedback and advertising

inquiries:[email protected]

Cover photo: Julyan Stone got

an easy layup against Marshall

Wednesday night in the Don

Haskins Center. Jeff Taylor

From The EDITOR

Randy Culpepper has helped carry the Miners this season, and on Senior Night, it was no different as he is seen here driving the lane for a la-yup against Marshall last Wednesday evening in the Don Haskins Center. Jeff Taylor

THE BIG PICK

Christian Polk’s intensity over the last three games helped the Miners earn a first round bye. When UTEP takes on the winner of the Marshall/Hous-ton game, the team will have to remain focused if they wish to advance to the conference championship game. Jeff Taylor

M I N E R I L L U S T R A T E D . C O M

PRESSURE TO WINON UTEP AND ITS FANS

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not easy, but with the help of Miner fans, it is a realistic goal. UTEP won’t take the floor until the second round of the tournament, when they will face the winner of the Marshall/Houston matchup. Both teams provide an interesting challenge for the Miners in that they are both physical teams with a player who can instantly change the outcome of a game in a moment’s notice; in Marshall’s case DeAndre Kane and in Houston’s case Maurice McNeil. Both teams have lost to the Miners and as difficult as it might be to get a second win against Marshall or a third against Houston, it is an accomplishable task. Following that game would be a potential matchup against second-seed Tulsa in the semi-final round. UTEP was a different team between the first game against Tulsa here in El Paso versus the second in Tulsa. In both games, the Miners displayed instances of brilliance but also showed areas of weakness. If UTEP wants to get to the championship game, they will have to play

with the same intensity against Tulsa as so many have expected from the team all season. A championship game appearance would probably sell out the Don Haskins Center, and that’s exactly what the team would need. A matchup against UAB, Memphis or Southern Miss would be difficult and given UTEP’s shaky performance against two of these teams, there is no doubt that the Miners would need the fans to be louder than they were for the Memphis game early this season. The pressure, then, isn’t so much on the team as they have already done as much preparation as they can for their potential opponents. Instead, the pressure is on the fans. UTEP’s success in the conference tournament will be on the shoulders of the players, but the pressure will be on the fans to show up and support their team if they want to enjoy the fruits of UTEP’s success.

theNOTEBOOKUTEP and Conference TournamentsThe Men’s team has earned a top four seed and first-round bye in the tournament for the fourth time in six seasons as a league member. UTEP was seeded third in 2006, 10th in 2007, sixth in 2008, fourth in 2009 and first in 2010.

UTEP’s all-time record as a No. 3 seed in conference tournaments is 2-3 UTEP lost to Hawaii 66-65 in the 1995 WAC Tournament, beat SMU 74-70 and lost to Tulsa 59-56 in the 2001 WAC Tournament, beat Southern Miss 66-47, and lost to UAB 63-60 in the 2006 C-USA Tournament.

UTEP is 5-5 in C-USA Tournament games, reaching the semifinals in 2006 and 2008 and the final a year ago. The Miners’ all

CHRIS AVILA

The regular season is over. The jockeying for the best tournament seed is in the review mirror and all the individual conference awards have been given. It’s time to lay it all out on the line and make every possession count. There are no tomorrows from here on out for any team; the pressure is on. For the UTEP Miners, there is an even bigger pressure to not only play well but to win the Conference USA tournament. Perhaps the pressure is because they are the defending regular season champions. Perhaps the pressure comes from the fact that UTEP is hosting the tournament. Perhaps it is simply because the citizens of El Paso want, need, a reason to be proud of their hometown university and right now the team most able to bring that warm feeling of success and pride is the men’s basketball team. It’s a task that the Miners can accomplish given their seeding and potential bracket matchups. The road is

time conference tournament record is 32-20 (including a forfeit against Hawaii in the 1996 WAC Tournament). UTEP captured WAC Tournament crowns in 1984, 1986, 1989, 1990 and 2005.

Talking No. 3 SeedsThe No. 3 seed has posted an all-time record of 20-12 in the men’s Conference USA Men’s Championships and has bowed out in the quarterfinals in two of the last three years. In 2008, sixth seed UTEP stunned third seeded Houston in the quarters, 80-77, and last year UAB was upset by sixth seed Southern Miss 58-44.

The third seed has reached the tournament final seven times (Marquette 1996, Charlotte 1997, DePaul 2000,

Charlotte 2001, Louisville 2003, Cincinnati 2004, Houston 2007) and has won the title on three occasions (Charlotte ‘01, Louisville ‘03, Cincinnati ‘04).

Trending With C-USA Women’s Tourneys & Historical BreakdownThis year will mark the 16th Conference USA Tournament since the league’s inception in the 1995-96 season. Squads with first-round byes are just 6-6 in the quarterfinals since the 2008 event. They were 21-3 from 2002-07. Only three times (‘04, ‘05 & ‘08) have the top two seeds met in the title tilt. The host team is 13-14 all time at the event. The host team has advanced to the semifinals four times, with the most-recent occasion coming in 2006.

M I N E R I L L U S T R A T E D . C O M 8

MINER MOMENTUMBUILDS AS TOURNAMENT BEGINSGUS CONTRERAS

The Miners have some momentum going into this week’s conference tournament thanks to a 65-62 OT win at Tulsa on Thursday. Junior forward Gloria Brown recorded her third straight double-double scoring 14 points and 11 rebounds. The Miners were forced into a difficult game against last place Tulsa but were helped out by their play down low. UTEP scored 30 points in the paint compared to Tulsa’s 16 points. The Miners were really helped out by their bench, who scored 28 points. Freshman forward Kayla Thornton, who has performed well since she was put in a starting role, scored 11 points

and nabbed eight rebounds. Thornton had to step up in place of injured Anete Steinberga. Thornton played well and created chances down low. Along with Thornton, there were other great performers in the thrilling OT win. Junior forward Erika Warren scored 10 points and had three assists. Senior forward Ashley Milian scored nine and nabbed six rebounds while junior guard Dietra Caldwell scored nine points. UTEP will need these key players to step up and keep contributing heading into the conference. C-USA released their all-conference teams last weekend, and two Miners were on their lists. Gloria Brown was named to C-USA’s Second All-Conference Team. Brown has come alive since conference

play has started and has stepped up to become one of the best on the team and in conference. Freshman guard Kelli Willingham was named to C-USA’s All-Freshman Team. Willingham, who has been filling in for Briana Green and Whitney Houston, has really had to grow up quickly. Undoubtedly, Willingham and Brown will need to continue playing well for the Miners. The Miners are paired against SMU in the first round of the conference tournament; they are 0-2 against the Mustangs this season. UTEP has played two really tough games against SMU this season but hasn’t managed to get a win yet. In their second meeting with SMU, Mustang Raquel Christian managed to

Junior Guard Kim Smith will need to play a big role in running the floor for the Miners if they want to ad-vance in the Conference USA tournament. Michael P. Reese/UTEP Athletics

knock down 8 three-pointers and handed UTEP a loss. If the Miners can defend the perimeter better and play well offensively down low, UTEP could easily win their first conference game. UTEP will need to rely on three players: Brown, Thornton, and Milian. If these three can play at their highest level, there is no doubt UTEP can win this matchup. The Miners will also need to take their chances below the basket and be aggressive going into the rim. UTEP is one of the best teams scoring in the paint in C-USA; they need to use that ability if they are to advance.

M I N E R I L L U S T R A T E D . C O M 9

MBB: AROUND THELEAGUE

MINER ILLUSTRATED STAFF REPORTS

Rice 72, Houston 57HOUSTON, Texas - Rice junior forward Lucas Kuipers sank a trio of three-point baskets in the first five minutes of the game and went on to score a team-high 15 points in helping lead the Owls to a 72-57 win over Houston Saturday evening in Hofheinz Pavilion. With the victory, Rice improved to 13-17 and 5-11 in Conference USA play. Houston closed out the regular season at 12-17 and 4-12. With Saturday’s win, Rice earned the No. 10 seed at next week’s 2011 Buick Conference USA Tournament in El Paso and will play No. 7 seed SMU Wednesday night at 9 p.m. Central in the last of four, first-round games. Houston was led by Zamal Nixon’s 18 points while Alandise Harris and Darian Thibodeuax each finished with 12 points. Houston has earned the No. 11 seed in the C-USA Tournament and will face No. 6 Marshall Wednesday evening at 6:30 p.m. at the Don Haskins Center in El Paso.

Marshall 83, UCF 69HUNTINGTON, W.Va. - Damier Pitts led the Thundering Herd with 25 points as it grabbed a dominating 83-69 victory over UCF at the Cam Henderson Center on Saturday evening. Johnny Thomas scored 14 points for Marshall (21-10, 9-7 C-USA) while senior Tirrell Baines, playing his final regular season game, chipped in 11. Leading the way for UCF (19-10, 6-10 C-USA) was Marcus Jordan, who led all scorers with 27 points. Keith Clanton was the only other double-digit scorer for the Knights, finishing with 17. On Wednesday, Marshall, who has the No. 6 seed, will begin the 2011 Conference USA Tournament, which will be held in El Paso, Texas at the Don Haskins Center. UCF has been seeded at No. 9 for the C-USA Tournament.

continued on page 14

M I N E R I L L U S T R A T E D . C O M

CURBING CARRERA:SENIOR TO SIT REMAINDER OF SEASON WITH RED SHIRT

1 0

(2009-2010). Her best year statistically was in 2009 when she led the conference in batting average by hitting .417%. Carrera also led the league in home runs with 13 and doubles with 19; in addition, she drove in 44 runs. With all her accomplishments in her collegiate career, Rodriguez believes Carrera has a great chance of playing in the professional level. “Cami truly has a shot at playing professional ball; she truly does,” Rodriguez said. “She hit .571% on the weekend hurt. She went 4-7 with two home runs and eight RBI and that’s her completely in pain. With her doing what she needs to, taking care of rehabilitation which she has been working on already, she’s just going to be better and stronger.” Even though Carrera will be back next season, this year’s team will feel an immediate impact from Carrera not being in the line-up. Players, like junior Chelsea Troupe, will no longer have the protection in the line-up that they had with Carrera. The protection that Carrera provided to Troupe was that Troupe was able to see better pitches to hit. Troupe almost always saw more fastballs in the strike zone. This was because pitchers elected to pitch to Troupe rather than to Carrera. Troupe knows how valuable it was to have Carrera hitting behind her in the line-up. “It is always better to see how many other girls are up in front of me just to see the pitcher a little bit more,” Troupe said. “It’s going to be a hard place to fill on this team. She’s going to be missed obviously. She’s a big bat to our line-up, so it’s going to be a tough season.” With Carrera out of the line-up, the Miners are going to have to find a way to fill the void left by her absence. Young players are going to have to step up and mature faster than the average freshman. One player does not make or break a season, and

ALEX MORALES

Coming into the season, accolades were flowing in from every direction for senior Camille Carrera. She was given the Pre-Season Conference USA Player of the Year Award and figured to be an essential piece of the UTEP softball team. Carrera was excited about the season and all the opportunity it presented. She felt this was going to be another stellar year. However, what Carrera didn’t know was that a back injury she suffered during the fall would end up playing such a significant role to the point that it would cut Carrera’s season short. Carrera suffered an injury to her back during a weight lifting session in the off-season. After undergoing surgery, treatment and rehabilitation sessions, the accident limited her mobility and ability to play softball. This, along with the pain Carrera has had to endure, was the reason head coach Kathleen Rodriguez decided to shut her down for the remainder of the season. “My biggest thing is the pain and the pain that she has,” Rodriguez said. “She was out for seven weeks, so that seven weeks took us all the way through Christmas. She had a lot of recovery time and a little bit of rehab so I think that is what held us back; we just didn’t have enough time. If we would have had this same injury in the summer time, I think we be completely different.” With Rodriguez’s decision to keep Carrera out for the rest of the year, she was able to give Carrera another year of eligibility. This will allow Carrera to completely heal while the softball team matures in time for her return next year. Carrera has had an outstanding career at UTEP. She is a three-time All-Conference USA First Team selection (2008-2010), and she was named Conference USA Player of the Year in 2009. Carrera is also a two-time NFCA All-Midwest Region Selection

continued on page 12

bigLOSSWith Camilla Carrera out of the line up for the rest of the season, co-head coaches James and Kathleen Rodriguez will have some big shoes to fill. In the three years that Carrera has been with the Miners, she has accumulated a number of awards as an important cog in the UTEP machine.

Her awards include being named to the All-Conference USA First Team for 2008, 2009, 2010, was named the 2009 Conference USA Player of the Year, a two-Time NFCA All-Midwest Region Selection (2009, 2010), has been named Conference USA Player of the Week (3/10/08, 3/1/10, 3/22/10), named to the Conference USA Commissioner’s Honor Roll (2008, 2009, 2010), a 2009 Conference USA All-Tournament Selection and a 2008 Conference USA All-Freshman Team Selection.

In 12 games played this season, Carerra already had a batting average of .375 with 2 home runs and 13 RBI on 12 hits.

Camilla Carrera, seen here cel-ebrating a home run during the 2010 season against Nebraska, will miss the remainder of the 2011 season after suffereing a back injury during the offsea-son. The redshirt will allow her to play in 2012. Brian Kanof

M I N E R I L L U S T R A T E D . C O M 1 2

Being red-shirted is not a bad thing in the eyes of Carrera. The way she looks at it is that she gets to spend one more year with the program’s family-like atmosphere and in the city of El Paso, which she considers her home away from home. “Just the fact that I get to spend another year with these girls,” Carrera said. “I am going to miss the seniors, and I’m going to miss the fact that they were my class. When you are here for so many years, you gain just a family aspect of everybody who is around you and the fact that I get to be out on the field with everybody, who is going to be more mature as a team for one more year, is amazing.” While she is out, Carrera is going to have to get accustomed to being off the field. She is used to playing inside of the chalk, but now she will have to do her

best imitation of a cheerleader and give the support her teammates need. “I’m going to be the biggest cheerleader in the dugout that’s for sure,” Carrera said. “I never would have thought I would say I’d be a cheerleader, but I’ll just do whatever I can to help out my team, whether they need me to help them with stretching or whatever it is, I’ll be there for my team.” Carrera looks at life with a positive outlook despite everything that has transpired this season. Even though she is not playing, she is going to continue to do what is necessary to get back on the field and be the ultimate team player. Carrera will be back on the field soon enough and plans to be better than ever when she returns. Miner fans will just have to wait one more year to see her out there.

Rodriguez is relying on her new starting nine to get the job done. “We still have our leader on the team,” Rodriguez said. “Of course we are going to miss her power at the plate and what she is able to do on defense, but the girls understand and I thought they did a great job this weekend because they knew after Friday’s game that she was gone so they were going to have to try and figure out how it was going to be Saturday and Sunday. I thought they did well.” The power Rodriguez was referring to was what Carrera did while she was in the line-up this year. Carrera hit .375% with two home runs, 13 RBI, and with a .625 slugging percentage, which she managed to do in only 13 games. Despite all of her early season success, Carrera knew there was a possibility that she could be red-shirted. “I saw it coming just because it had kind of been discussed a little bit,” Carrera said. “My back is just not the same, and it needed to happen. I don’t feel the same, and I’m hurting so I think it’s just for the best at this point.” Carrera didn’t want her future to be hampered by this injury. This was one of the main reasons she was okay with being red-shirted. “It was the pain and not being able to get as much recovery time as we would have liked,” Carrera said. “We put everything out on the table, and it ended up where red-shirting would be better off for me, my health, and for all in general. Not just for softball, but for the future when it comes to me going out in the professional world trying to get a job; I can’t have my back messed up.”

Camille Carrera’s grand slam swing against NMSU this season. Michael P. Resse/UTEP Athletics

Track and Field: All-American Risper Kimaiyo (left) set a new UTEP record in the women’s 5,000-meter run on her way to clocking in an automatic time for the NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships at Columbia’s Last Chance meet in New York, New York.

Kimaiyo was the second collegiate runner to cross the finish line at 15:59.56 breaking fellow teammate Kathya Garcia’s school record of 16:14.06 set February 12th at the Husky Invitational. Garcia followed Kimaiyo as the third collegiate runner across the finish line with a time of 16:16.26.

“Risper will make her first appearance at the indoor national meet,” said associate head coach Paul Ereng. “This time is also her all-time best. I am proud of the way these two ladies continue to represent our institution and our track program.”

Kimaiyo will join Endurance Abinuwa as the only Miners to represent UTEP at the NCAA championships.

Softball: UUTEP bats were not silent this past weekend when the Miners participated in the North Texas Courtyard Classic in Denton, Texas.

Junior Chelsea Troupe finished the day Saturday with three home runs while freshman Kayla Black (left) recorded her first collegiate home run of her career in the Miner’s loss to Ole Miss this past weekend during play at the North Texas Courtyard Classic.

The Miners will be on the road this weekend as they open up Conference USA play with a three-game match against UCF in Orlando, Florida.Photos: Kimaiyo - UTEP Athletics; Black - Jeff Taylor

noteWORTHYM I N E R I L L U S T R A T E D . C O M 1 3

M I N E R I L L U S T R A T E D . C O M 1 4

MBB: AROUND THE LEAGUE (continued)

Memphis 66, Tulane 61MEMPHIS, Tenn. - Freshmen Tarik Black and Will Barton, who combined for 39 of the Tigers’ 66 points, led the way en route to a 66-61 Memphis (22-9, 10-6 C-USA) victory over Tulane. Black finished with his first career double-double of 24 points and 11 rebounds in 31 minutes of action. Barton finished with 15 points on 7-of-14 shooting to go along with six assists, five rebounds and three blocks. Johnny Mayhane led Tulane (13-16, 3-13 C-USA) making 5-of-7 from beyond the arc and finishing with 15 points in a game-high 39 minutes. All five of the Green Wave’s starters finished in double-digits as Tulane made an impressive 9-of-18 from beyond the arc. The Tigers’ first game will be played on Thursday at the Don Haskins Center. Tulane goes into the tournament as No. 12 seed and will face No. 5 Southern Miss on Wednesday.

Tulsa 78, Southern Miss 70TULSA, Okla. - Justin Hurtt scored 25 in his final home game and freshman Jordan Clarkson scored 15 of his 18 points in the second half as Tulsa rallied past Southern Mississippi 78-70 on Saturday. The win gave the Golden Hurricane (18-12, 11-5) the second seed behind Alabama-Birmingham in the Conference USA Tournament next week in El Paso, Texas. Tulsa has a first-round bye in the tournament and will face the winner of the Rice-SMU game. R.L. Horton scored 18 points, Gary Flowers had 15 points and LaShay Page had 12 points for Southern Miss (21-9, 9-7). Southern Miss earned the No. 5 seed in the C-USA Tournament and will face No. 12 Tulane on Wednesday in the Don Haskins Center.

UAB 66, ECU 48BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - Jamarr Sanders scored 15 points and fellow senior Aaron Johnson had 11 points and nine assists to lead UAB to a 66-48 victory over East Carolina on Saturday night, giving the Blazers the Conference USA regular-season championship. UAB is the No. 1 seed in the 2011 Buick Conference USA Tournament. The Blazers will take on the winner of the East Carolina-UCF contest on Thursday morning. Darrius Morrow finished with 13 points, surpassing the 1,000-point plateau for his career and becoming the 26th player in ECU history to reach the mark. ECU has the No. 8 seed in the C-USA Tournament. ECU will face ninth-seeded UCF at 11 a.m. Wednesday in the opening game of the 2011 Tournament.

M I N E R I L L U S T R A T E D . C O M 1 5

THE FINAL WORD:Much Left to be Done Before the MadnessJOSH PUGA

Let the madness begin. After a hard fought victory in Dallas over SMU, 59-56, the regular season is in the books and the Miners shift their

All kidding aside though; you hear all the time in sports about turning points or momentum changers and depending how the rest of this season turns out, the ECU loss followed by the beat down of Memphis may be called the “spark” that

ignited the Miners. The season has had its share of ups and downs with a handful of close losses that could have turned a good season into a

Julyan Stone will need to contin-ue to play with the same defen-sive intensity he has shown all season in the C-USA tournament. Jeff Taylor

continued on page 16

focus to winning three games in three nights as the Conference USA Tournament comes to the Don Haskins Center. The Miners just missed on their goal to repeat as regular season Conference USA Champions after UAB’s win over East Carolina put them in first. But a new season starts on Thursday night as UTEP, who is seeded third for the tournament, will play the winner of Wednesday’s matchup between Marshall and Houston. UTEP is familiar with both opponents, sweeping Houston 57-52 in Houston (Jan. 22) and defeating them again 76-64 in El Paso (Feb. 19). The Miners beat Marshall 82-74 last Wednesday in El Paso in their only meeting of the season. Most Miner fans are expecting the Miners to be one of the teams playing for the championship on Saturday ,and who could blame them, as UTEP is coming off an impressive three-game win streak to end the regular season with victories over Memphis, Marshall, and SMU. How quickly things can change in little over a week. A week ago, some were writing off the Miners after losing on the road to ECU, but Coach Tim Floyd and his staff went to work to get the team back on track. Personally, I think the Miners’ faithful fans should write thank you letters to the officiating crew from the UTEP-ECU fiasco for turning around the end of their season.

M I N E R I L L U S T R A T E D . C O M 1 6

THE FINAL WORDcontinuedgreat season, similar to last year’s season. By no means, am I saying this season has been a disappointment, but there were more than a few missed opportunities to say the least. But I don’t need to rehash the past; that was then and this is now. The Miners are in a great position to win this tournament and, more importantly, punch their ticket into the Big Dance. UTEP is playing well at the right time and that will go a long way in determining how far UTEP will go in the tournament. It may sound cliché, but Floyd and his staff will have to instill in this team the “one game at a time” mentality. Luckily for the Miners, they have plenty of senior leadership to assist Floyd with this task.

Speaking of seniors, the Miners are led by recently selected All-Conference guards Randy Culpepper (1st team selection) and Julyan Stone (2nd team). Culpepper remains the Miners top scoring option and has had some big scoring outputs at home against possible tournament opponents. He scored 33 points in a win against Houston, dropped 29 points in a Tulsa win and most recently scored 24 points on Senior Night in a win over Marshall. Culpepper’s scoring will be a huge factor in how far the Miners advance. As for Stone, he will be called upon to continue his great work on both ends of the court. He has been the glue that has kept this team together and without

his contributions game after game who knows where the Miners would be this season. No disrespect to any other player on the team, but Stone is UTEP’s most valuable player for his overall performance on offense and defense. I realize it will take a total team effort to win the CUSA tournament, but the Miners will need Stone and Culpepper to play at their best for UTEP to place another conference tournament championship banner up in the rafters of the Don Haskins Center.

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Basketball isn’t over, but in Texas, football is a year-round sport and UTEP is no different. We’re getting ready by putting together our thoughts and analysis for a Spring Football edition.

We’ll break down what happened with the team lastseason and look to the future as Mike Price begins tomold his team for Fall 2011.

Football news, analysis and more on March 30.

signing OFF

Jeff Taylor