The UTPB men’s basketball team enters the 2023-24 season hoping to win with a team made of nearly all new players.
With only one returning player (Keyon Craddock) from last year’s team that went 13-18 overall, 7-15 in the Lone Star Conference, head coach Kyle Tolin is excited about what the Falcons can bring this season.
“They’re all basically new,” Tolin said. “Keyon Craddock started for us last year and was a good player. He’ll be a senior this year. He’s our only returning player. We have a whole new group of guys and they’ve worked hard and they’re a lot of fun to be around.”
UTPB will begin its season with a two-day tournament this week at the South Central Region Challenge in Salt Lake City, Utah.
UTPB will face Adams State at noon Friday before finishing up against Westminster (Utah) at 1 p.m. Saturday.
Adams State, which plays in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference, is coming off a tough 5-23 showing from last season.
“We play Adams State and they played Weber State last week so we got a chance to see some of that,” Tolin said. “They run dribble drive stuff which is a little bit different. There aren’t many teams that will do that but we’ve started prepping for that. … They’re pretty athletic. They have some guys back from last year so we’ll have to be ready for that.”
Westminster is coming off a 13-16 record from last year.
This week’s games will provide the Falcons a chance to see two teams with different styles of play.
“Westminster is always really physical,” Tolin said. “One game is going to be more athletic and up and down and the other is going to be a slow down. That’s one of the beauties of the Lone Star Conference. You have to play lots of ways to win. There are some teams that are more systematic in running their stuff and others are just a fist fight on every possession. You have to play lots of ways to win.”
Tolin enters his third year as UTPB head coach and the Falcons are hoping to improve on last season’s record.
So far, Tolin has liked what he’s seen from his players from practices and scrimmages as the team tries to find its identity.
“It’s a fight everyday just to get up and buy into the culture and buy into how hard how we want to play and buying into something that’s bigger than themselves,” Tolin said. “As far as defining roles, we’ve had guys score in double figures during the scrimmages. … Their roles are being defined as we play and things like that. We have eight or nine guys that are in rotation and their roles are being defined as we scrimmage and practice.”
One of the strengths for this year’s team could be its ability to defend.
“I thought we guarded pretty well in the scrimmages,” Tolin said. “That’s got to be a staple of who you are because you have to be good to compete defensively and all three scrimmages, we guarded pretty well. We out-rebounded all three teams which was a positive. We made more free throws than all three opponents shot which means you’re pretty aggressive on the offensive end if you’re doing that. … We have some guys who can make shots.”
Tolin is eager to see what his freshman class can bring to the court.
“We’ve signed four freshmen and all four have a chance to be good players,” Tolin said. “One of them (Caison Cole) tore his ACL so he’ll be out for the year. He’s a kid out of Norman (Oklahoma). His dad is a coach. He’s a good player and we’re excited about him but he’ll have a chance to come along next year.”
Chuks Ejiofor is one freshman that Tolin expects to get some playing time in this weekend’s opener.
“We’re going to throw him to the fire this weekend to get him ready to play,” Tolin said. “But I think we have some young guys who will hopefully get some minutes and provide some depth or us.”
The team will also be looking to incoming players including junior college transfers Khalil Haywood and DJ Armstrong from Odessa College who were both a part of the Wranglers’ NJCAA tournament quarterfinal run last year.
The Falcons will still be leaning on their lone returning player as Craddock brings plenty of experience from playing at UTPB.
“We’re going to depend on (Keyon) a lot,” Tolin said. “That’s hard when everybody is new because I’m kind of the only one who understands the expectation. Keyon has been with us for five years now. If you watch us practice, he doesn’t sweat. It’s too easy for him. He’s been through it all and understands so we’re really relying on him to convey to those guys what we mean and how we do it like terminology and things like that. You count on guys that are returning and we’re relying heavily on him. He’s a senior and wants to win and do things right.”
Craddock totaled 102 field goals last year for the Falcons and 52 3-pointers.
He played in 31 games during the season, finishing with 314 points-averaging 10.1 per game.
The Falcons’ first home game will be at 5 p.m. Nov. 17 against Sul Ross State at the Falcon Dome.
UTPB will then host the Thanksgiving Classic from Nov. 24-25, facing Northern New Mexico at 4 p.m. Nov. 24 and Southeastern Oklahoma State at 4 p.m. Nov. 25.
