JeeberD
11-16-2003, 07:59 PM
I'm trying to not get too excited, but last night UTEP beat the Harlem Globetrotters competitive squad. This is the same Globetrotters squad that had won 288 straight games, including wins this year over Syracuse, UMass, and Michigan State. I was hoping that the Miners would be able to keep the game within 20 points, bu they did the seemingly impossible and pulled out the win.
Head coach Billy Gillispie (I know you Illinois fans know who he is) is on the track to becoming a great coach, and he's already proven himself an amazing recruiter (bringing in two of UTEP's best recruiting classes ever in his first two years). If we can keep him in El Paso and not lose him to a bigger school I think he could bring UTEP basketball back to the glory days of the eighties and early nineties when the Miners were a mainstay in the Top 25.
Here are a couple of stories about the game...
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From an El Paso perspective
UTEP men impressive in edging Harlem Globetrotters (http://www.borderlandnews.com/stories/sports/todaysstories/20031116-45594.shtml)
On the record books it will forever go down as simply an exhibition game. Nothing more. Nothing less.
But, for the 8,294 UTEP fans who came to the Don Haskins Center Saturday night, it was more like a revival -- a revival of Miner basketball glory days.
UTEP outhustled, outbattled, outscrapped and outscored the Harlem Globetrotters 89-88 on this Saturday night. The Miners were playing men, a squad with huge players from the NBA, from the European professional leagues.
And they won. And the crowd went noisy, crazy.
UTEP's junior college transfers were key. Jason Williams had 19 points, eight rebounds. Point guard Filiberto Rivera had 16 points, making 11-of-14 free throws. And Omar Thomas had 16 points, seven rebounds. Senior Roy Smallwood was strong, scoring 13 points and sophomore Giovanni St. Amant had 11 points.
But no line was more impressive, more important than Rivera's assists to turnovers -- five assists, no turnovers. And few things were more impressive, more important than something Williams did that will not be in the line -- he defended well all evening, defended with a passion and forced talented Globetrotter Darrick Martin to give up the ball on the last possession, then heave up a bad, off-balance, errant shot at the buzzer.
"What a game, what a good test for us," said UTEP coach Billy Gillispie. "And we passed. We made about a million mistakes, but our guys battled, battled as hard as they could."
How impressive was this game?
The Globetrotters, playing their final game of the college tour, came in at 7-0 -- with victories over defending national champion Syracuse (83-70), over nationally ranked Michigan State (97-83), over always tough Massachusetts (77-68). No team had even played to within single digits, save that nine-point loss by UMass. They also had lopsided wins like 108-75 over Siena and 95-67 over North Dakota.
On the one hand, it was like old-time Miner basketball -- players defending for all their worth, diving on the floor for every loose ball and simply keeping the intensity knob cranked to high for 40 minutes. On the other hand, it was something new -- a fast flurry of uptempo basketball.
"We always want to try to push it," Gillispie said of the tempo. "We've got a point guard who doesn't turn it over much. We've got guys who can get out and fill the wings. And we've got big men who can run down the middle of the floor."
Talking about the talented Globetrotters, Williams said, "I just wanted to come out and play and play as hard as I could. I was so focused I didn't know who I was playing against."
Rivera said, "I have no words for this right now. It's unbelievable. We beat them. But now it's over. Right now we are 0-0 going into the season. So we've just got to continue to work hard in practice and continue to play hard."
The 8,294 fans continued to raise the decibel level as the Miners continued to cling to their second half lead. When it ended and victory was theirs, the crowd found an even louder level.
It was just an exhibition game. Yes.
It was just an exhibition game. Hardly.
From the Globetrotters perspective...
Globetrotters Drop 89-88 Decision to Texas-El Paso (http://www.harlemglobetrotters.com/news/index.php3?id=60&item=60)
(EL PASO, Texas, Nov. 15, 2003) – The Harlem Globetrotters concluded their 2003 Fall College Tour on Saturday with their only loss of the tour, an 89-88 defeat at the hands of the University of Texas-El Paso. The Globetrotters finished the 2003 Fall College Tour with a 7-1 record, including victories over preseason top-10 ranked Michigan State and Syracuse, the defending national champions.
“Tonight was an exciting and very physical basketball game,” said Globetrotter Owner and Chairman Mannie Jackson. “Even though we out-rebounded them 44-29, UTEP is well coached and played an aggressive smart game. There were 59 fouls called, 31 on the Globetrotters. The Miners should be a force this year; they are a very determined young team.”
The Globetrotters, who led 48-46 at the intermission, had the final possession of the game, but a Darrick Martin 15-foot jumper caromed off the right side of the rim as the final horn sounded. UTEP took their first lead of the game, 72-71, with 9:08 remaining in the game off a steal by Jason Williams who hit Roy Smallwood for a layup. The Miners built a seven-point lead on three occasions in the final seven minutes, the latest at the 5:20 mark, 84-77. Martin, who led all scorers with 25 points, closed the gap to one point twice in the final minutes, the first on a three-pointer with 2:36 left, 87-86. He connected on a pair of free throws at 1:06 to draw within one again, 89-88. Williams led the Miners with 19 points.
The 2003 Fall College Tour began on Oct. 27th with the Globetrotters posting a 95-67 win over the University of North Dakota, followed by a 97-82 victory over Michigan State University on Sunday, Nov. 2nd. The Globetrotters won their third consecutive game on Nov. 4th with a 108-75 win over Siena College in Albany, N.Y., and their four straight on Nov. 8th over Williams College, 104-79, the defending NCAA Division III national champions. On Nov. 9th they continued the winning streak with a 77-68 victory over the University of Massachusetts. Before a crowd of 20,000-plus and a live television audience, the Globetrotters defeated Syracuse 83-70 at the Carrier Dome on Nov. 11th. The Globetrotters ran their unbeaten streak to 288 games on Thursday (Nov. 13) with a 89-57 win over the IPFW Mastodons.
Inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in 2002, the Globetrotters will begin their 2003-2004 North American exhibition tour on December 26th with games in more than 200 cities through April of 2004.
Head coach Billy Gillispie (I know you Illinois fans know who he is) is on the track to becoming a great coach, and he's already proven himself an amazing recruiter (bringing in two of UTEP's best recruiting classes ever in his first two years). If we can keep him in El Paso and not lose him to a bigger school I think he could bring UTEP basketball back to the glory days of the eighties and early nineties when the Miners were a mainstay in the Top 25.
Here are a couple of stories about the game...
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
From an El Paso perspective
UTEP men impressive in edging Harlem Globetrotters (http://www.borderlandnews.com/stories/sports/todaysstories/20031116-45594.shtml)
On the record books it will forever go down as simply an exhibition game. Nothing more. Nothing less.
But, for the 8,294 UTEP fans who came to the Don Haskins Center Saturday night, it was more like a revival -- a revival of Miner basketball glory days.
UTEP outhustled, outbattled, outscrapped and outscored the Harlem Globetrotters 89-88 on this Saturday night. The Miners were playing men, a squad with huge players from the NBA, from the European professional leagues.
And they won. And the crowd went noisy, crazy.
UTEP's junior college transfers were key. Jason Williams had 19 points, eight rebounds. Point guard Filiberto Rivera had 16 points, making 11-of-14 free throws. And Omar Thomas had 16 points, seven rebounds. Senior Roy Smallwood was strong, scoring 13 points and sophomore Giovanni St. Amant had 11 points.
But no line was more impressive, more important than Rivera's assists to turnovers -- five assists, no turnovers. And few things were more impressive, more important than something Williams did that will not be in the line -- he defended well all evening, defended with a passion and forced talented Globetrotter Darrick Martin to give up the ball on the last possession, then heave up a bad, off-balance, errant shot at the buzzer.
"What a game, what a good test for us," said UTEP coach Billy Gillispie. "And we passed. We made about a million mistakes, but our guys battled, battled as hard as they could."
How impressive was this game?
The Globetrotters, playing their final game of the college tour, came in at 7-0 -- with victories over defending national champion Syracuse (83-70), over nationally ranked Michigan State (97-83), over always tough Massachusetts (77-68). No team had even played to within single digits, save that nine-point loss by UMass. They also had lopsided wins like 108-75 over Siena and 95-67 over North Dakota.
On the one hand, it was like old-time Miner basketball -- players defending for all their worth, diving on the floor for every loose ball and simply keeping the intensity knob cranked to high for 40 minutes. On the other hand, it was something new -- a fast flurry of uptempo basketball.
"We always want to try to push it," Gillispie said of the tempo. "We've got a point guard who doesn't turn it over much. We've got guys who can get out and fill the wings. And we've got big men who can run down the middle of the floor."
Talking about the talented Globetrotters, Williams said, "I just wanted to come out and play and play as hard as I could. I was so focused I didn't know who I was playing against."
Rivera said, "I have no words for this right now. It's unbelievable. We beat them. But now it's over. Right now we are 0-0 going into the season. So we've just got to continue to work hard in practice and continue to play hard."
The 8,294 fans continued to raise the decibel level as the Miners continued to cling to their second half lead. When it ended and victory was theirs, the crowd found an even louder level.
It was just an exhibition game. Yes.
It was just an exhibition game. Hardly.
From the Globetrotters perspective...
Globetrotters Drop 89-88 Decision to Texas-El Paso (http://www.harlemglobetrotters.com/news/index.php3?id=60&item=60)
(EL PASO, Texas, Nov. 15, 2003) – The Harlem Globetrotters concluded their 2003 Fall College Tour on Saturday with their only loss of the tour, an 89-88 defeat at the hands of the University of Texas-El Paso. The Globetrotters finished the 2003 Fall College Tour with a 7-1 record, including victories over preseason top-10 ranked Michigan State and Syracuse, the defending national champions.
“Tonight was an exciting and very physical basketball game,” said Globetrotter Owner and Chairman Mannie Jackson. “Even though we out-rebounded them 44-29, UTEP is well coached and played an aggressive smart game. There were 59 fouls called, 31 on the Globetrotters. The Miners should be a force this year; they are a very determined young team.”
The Globetrotters, who led 48-46 at the intermission, had the final possession of the game, but a Darrick Martin 15-foot jumper caromed off the right side of the rim as the final horn sounded. UTEP took their first lead of the game, 72-71, with 9:08 remaining in the game off a steal by Jason Williams who hit Roy Smallwood for a layup. The Miners built a seven-point lead on three occasions in the final seven minutes, the latest at the 5:20 mark, 84-77. Martin, who led all scorers with 25 points, closed the gap to one point twice in the final minutes, the first on a three-pointer with 2:36 left, 87-86. He connected on a pair of free throws at 1:06 to draw within one again, 89-88. Williams led the Miners with 19 points.
The 2003 Fall College Tour began on Oct. 27th with the Globetrotters posting a 95-67 win over the University of North Dakota, followed by a 97-82 victory over Michigan State University on Sunday, Nov. 2nd. The Globetrotters won their third consecutive game on Nov. 4th with a 108-75 win over Siena College in Albany, N.Y., and their four straight on Nov. 8th over Williams College, 104-79, the defending NCAA Division III national champions. On Nov. 9th they continued the winning streak with a 77-68 victory over the University of Massachusetts. Before a crowd of 20,000-plus and a live television audience, the Globetrotters defeated Syracuse 83-70 at the Carrier Dome on Nov. 11th. The Globetrotters ran their unbeaten streak to 288 games on Thursday (Nov. 13) with a 89-57 win over the IPFW Mastodons.
Inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in 2002, the Globetrotters will begin their 2003-2004 North American exhibition tour on December 26th with games in more than 200 cities through April of 2004.