The Redux -- R.J. Delic --

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  • K0ZZ
    The Hard Way
    • Dec 2004
    • 3871

    #1

    The Redux -- R.J. Delic --



    The legacy defined

    San Marcos, TX - On a warm Monday morning, Texas State University got some rather odd news. Their new head coach would be coming in for his first ever fulltime coaching job after pursing athletic based degrees, their choice coming from R.J. Delic, the graduate from the University of Cincinnati will be making the long trip from the midwest to the south.

    The press conference to announce the change went along without much noise, a new coach whose only capability seemed to be his ability to persuade was never much to get very excited over, especially one from abroad. The mentality in Texas was no where what the mentality was in Cincinnati or the Midwest.

    In the south, especially in Texas it was football the ruled with an iron fist over all other sports. Some considered high school football to be more passionately followed in the south rather than collegiate basketball. In some cases, such as Texas State it could be held true. To say that schools like Texas A&M and Tech are in the shadow of the Texas Longhorns is an understatement when compared to Texas State's situation.

    Texas State is so far under the radar, some people probably might not even know they actually exist. They don't play in the Big Twelve, they don't even play in the FBS for football, why care? That made the coaching change occur even more quietly. No one questioned it, their basketball program was non-existent, not even being in the tournament in 14 years.

    Playing in the Southland conference opens up several instate rivalries for the school, Sam Houston State, Stephen F. Austin, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi - UT Arlington - UT San Antonio and Lamar all share the same home state of Texas. The rivalries in the Southland can be considered just as heated as those in the Big Twelve, the fight for state power amongst the small schools grows and elevates especially when tournament time draws near and the opportunity for a small shot at a little bit of the national spotlight being shined upon their school.

    Expectations aren't high, the situation is dire, such that they couldn't attract any coaching talent aside from an unproven college graduate. There is a lot of work to be done, Texas State needs to emerge from the shadows.
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  • K0ZZ
    The Hard Way
    • Dec 2004
    • 3871

    #2
    Re: The Redux -- R.J. Delic --

    Roster Breakdown

    Texas State Bobcats Depth Chart - 2007
    STARTER2ND3RD4TH
    PGEddie Rios (62)Deron Belford (55)Jordan Kirschke (W)(54)Steve Rogers (52)
    SGJohn Bowman (61)Wesley Davis (58)Brooks Ybarra (W)(48)
    SFLuke Mergerson (63)Travis Jones (55)Basil Brown (54)Reid Koenen (53)
    PFDante Bachus (61)Corey Stern (60)Matt Staff (57)
    CCorey Stern (60)Matt Staff (55)Nic Hinton (54)


    12 Players are from Texas
    1 Player is from Washington, Wisconsin and Louisiana

    7 Freshman
    2 Sophomores
    3 Juniors
    3 Seniors

    The starting line up will consist of two freshman and seniors and a one junior. Senior Eddie Rios will take the helm at point with little depth under him aside from a freshman in Belford that won't provide anywhere near the similar level of production. Starting center, Corey Stern out of Seattle, Washington is an extremely undersized player to be a center, at 6'7 his height will be a big disadvantage, yet he will be slightly more agile than his taller counterparts and will most likely use post moves that involve drifting to the sides rather than trying to knock them back.

    Mergerson is a power forward convert to make up for the complete lack of small forwards on the roster, his mid range jump shot is average, but he has very little capability to shoot from the outside and is essentially more of a second power forward on the floor. None the less his contributions still should have him playing towards the top of the team.John Bowman is a 2 guard that can't shoot and will rely on his defensive abilities to keep him in the starting line up. The main issue with this squad is outside of Rios, there isn't anyone who can consistently score which could make things difficult if Rios starts seeing double teams.


    Season Schedule
    11/16 @ Colgate - 100 Club Classic
    11/21 @ UT-Pan American
    11/29 @ Prairie View
    12/5 vs Rice
    12/8 @ Texas A&M
    12/15 @ Texas
    12/17 vs Binghamton
    12/18 vs Kennesaw State
    12/30 @ SMU
    1/2 @ Liberty
    1/4 vs Vermont
    1/5 vs UT-Pan American
    1/10 @ Northwestern State
    1/12 @ Central Arkansas
    1/17 vs SE Louisiana
    1/19 vs Nicholls State
    1/24 vs TXAM-CC
    1/26 @ UTSA
    1/30 @ Stephen F.Austin
    2/2 vs Sam Houston State
    2/9 @ UT-Arlington
    2/13 @ McNeese State
    2/16 vs Lamar
    2/21 @ TXAM-CC
    2/23 vs UTSA
    2/27 vs Stephen F. Austin
    3/1 @ Sam Houston State
    3/8 vs UT-Arlington
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    • K0ZZ
      The Hard Way
      • Dec 2004
      • 3871

      #3
      Re: The Redux -- R.J. Delic --

      The recruiting shortlist

      The Texas State coaching staff has been recruiting across the board and have seemed to have set their mind on three prospective candidates to fill their three scholarships.

      J.P. Howel (C) *** Garland, TX, #135 OVR #11 POS
      Dante Wood (PG) *** Bryan, TX, #134 OVR #41 POS
      Schafer Quick (SF) *** Dallas, TX, #311 OVR #67 POS


      Three players from Texas will help further the locality of the squad and bring a greater level of unity as the team comes from a common state, Howel and Wood figure to be difficult recruits to pull in while Quick coming in the 300's will be less of a battle but no less a need for Texas State to focus on.
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      • K0ZZ
        The Hard Way
        • Dec 2004
        • 3871

        #4
        Re: The Redux -- R.J. Delic --




        Colgate escapes with victory on buzzer beating three

        The essence of basketball being a team game was thrown out the door for Texas State when it quickly became apparent that this teams offense would be only between a select few. Freshman Deron Belford lit up the scoreboard on 11-18 shooting, going 5-5 from the charity stripe while missing both attempts from three. His 27 points would account for just shy of half the teams scoring. John Bowman would add 12, but his points would mainly come from fast break dunks, notoriously missing five wide open shots prompting coach Delic to make a change to the lineup after this loss.

        Mitch Rolls led the Raiders at point with 12 points on .400 shooting and hitting 4 threes, Venezia (SG) would score all of his points on three point shots, mainly including the game winning three to give Colgate a one point escape against the Bobcats. Pascale would add 10 rebounds on a day where the Colgate Raiders would outrebound the Bobcats by six and effectively prevent any form of offense from brewing.

        "It was disappointing. No one wanted to hit shots. We had open opportunities, we were missing good shots..the issue wasn't shot selection, the cast just isn't the best. We have to work on scoring throughout the season otherwise we won't be a factor. Colgate is good on their own right, but we shouldn't be struggling this badly against them" Spoke Delic. Texas State went 0-9 from beyond the arc and shot .387 from the field.

        The Bobcats announced that Belford would be moved to starting point guard and senior guard, Eddie Rios will move to the two as his jump shot is very capable. Bowman was made the back up point and 2 guard and will be looking to influence games with his defensive abilities. "You can't be a shooting guard without being able to shoot, especially in my system. We will work him in, but we can't have him at the 2" Said Delic.


        TEXAS STATE 31-24-55
        COLGATE 25-31-56
        Last edited by K0ZZ; 04-01-2012, 11:07 AM.
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        • K0ZZ
          The Hard Way
          • Dec 2004
          • 3871

          #5
          Re: The Redux -- R.J. Delic --



          Owls finish last in their own tourney

          Deron Belford is quickly proving himself to be a major factor in Texas States' season and only two games into the season he has already made a name for himself. This time by lighting up the Owls for 30 points on 13-19 shooting, with 5 rebounds and 7 assists, notching an additional three steals to bolster his totals. Eddie Rios had some issues with consistency going 3-9 with 9 points, but had seven assists even despite playing at the two slot.

          Luke Mergerson made some big plays at small forward including a three in overtime that propelled the Bobcats to a 12-2 run to close out the game. This coming after yet another scare, after being down by one with ten seconds left, the Owls Romain Henry would knock down a three to give a two point lead with seconds remaining.

          This was enough time for Belford to drive the lane and knock down a layup to tie the game at 70 a piece. The overtime period was just a disaster for the Owls who despite keeping at pace with the Bobcats for nearly half of it showed signs of the weariness and started allowing mismatches to form. This loss knocks Kennesaw State down to 1-3 while the Bobcats improve to 1-1 and finish third in the tournament.

          "Third is never ideal but we made the best of our situation. I do feel that if we had this level of performance against the Raiders we would be enjoying a championship right now, but we have to take what we can. We are 1-1, with a whole lot of season left we can't grind on one loss" Spoke Delic.


          Texas State 43 - 27 - 17 - 87
          Kennesaw State 38 - 32 - 11 - 81
          Top Performers
          Points: Belford - 30
          Rebounds: Bachus - 9
          Assists: Dixon - 10
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          • K0ZZ
            The Hard Way
            • Dec 2004
            • 3871

            #6
            Re: The Redux -- R.J. Delic --



            Belford led Bobcats keep Pan-American winless

            His scoring total fell below twenty for the first time in his career but that isn't a horrible thing. Texas State proceeded to knock off Pan-American 66-49, Urbanus shut out against Belford, whereas Rios would struggle against Brandon Provost who would score 11 points, but on the positive side, Rios did hold him to 3-11 from the field, a clear majority of his points coming from the charity stripe.

            This was an absolutely beautiful defensive showcase from Delic's squad. "Rarely will you have a day where you can rely only on your defense, at least with the talents our squad has but they proved to anyone that you can't underestimate their abilities on the defensive end of the court" Spoke Delic.

            Belford who was one assist shy of a triple double, would score 13 from 4-9 shooting, 12 rebounds, 9 assists 4 steals and three blocks his role playing huge in the victory for Texas State. Rios continues to show some struggles at the two guard going 0-6 from the field and 0-3 from beyond the arc his only two points coming from the line.

            "It was just one of those days man, I couldnt hit anything luckily the rest of the guys picked up the slack and we won comfortably" Spoke captain Eddie Rios to a school journalist. The Bobcats are now 2-1, with an easy matchup against winless Prairie View on the horizon. Texas State sits at 1-0 in the state of Texas, a good start but a lot of games remain as they look forward towards March and beyond.


            Texas State 28 - 28 - 66
            UT-Pan American 25 - 24 - 49
            Top Performers:
            Points: Belford 13
            Rebounds: Belford 12
            Assists: Belford 9
            Last edited by K0ZZ; 04-01-2012, 04:14 PM.
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            • K0ZZ
              The Hard Way
              • Dec 2004
              • 3871

              #7
              Re: The Redux -- R.J. Delic --



              Rios and Davis return to form lighting up the scoreboard against Prairie View

              In a battle with another Texas school, it was Texas State showcasing their dominance with a huge victory over Prairie View. Traveling to Prairie View, Texas it was the Bobcats putting a show on for the home crowd. Oddly enough, point guard Belford would get 12 more rebounds, his point total dipping to only 8 on .666 shooting as he focused more on distributing the ball to the hot hands.

              Eddie Rios scored 18 on 5-9 from the field shooting .500 from beyond the arc, while Wesley Davis scored 19 off .800 shooting from the field and .666 from three. It was a beautiful game where the full offensive unit came together as a single cohesive unit. It didn't take Belford putting up thirty to escape and the team played as a joint whole. Corey Stern, the junior power forward has quietly been having a good season at the center slot, putting up another 11 point game with seven rebounds, the second most consistent player behind Belford.

              Michael Griffin lit up the scoreboard for Prairie View, the California native however got almost not other help, his 19 points were tied for a game high, while no other player managed to break into the double digits, the next closest was Meadows and Duplessis with six a piece. Prairie View shot an awful 15-50 from the field, nearly .250, where as Texas State went 29-55.

              Prairie View had 15 team rebounds, Texas State had 40, led by Bachus with 14, Stern adding 7. Byron Rimm II spoke to reporters after the game saying "We deserved to lose after this one, its embarrassing, its unacceptable. A team finishing with fifteen rebounds? Making only fifteen shots? A single player could pull off either of that. That was our whole team. It explains where were sitting at 0-5 we need to fix things, fast."


              Texas State (3-1) 46 - 39 - 85
              Prairie View (0-5) 23 - 27 - 50

              Top Performers:
              Points: T- Michael Griffin (PV) & Wesley Davis (TST) 19
              Rebounds: Bachus 14
              Assists: Belford 7
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              • K0ZZ
                The Hard Way
                • Dec 2004
                • 3871

                #8
                Re: The Redux -- R.J. Delic --



                Texas State inks two recruits

                The initial targets were misguided but with a new slew of recruits selected, Delic managed to get two to sign their letter of intent to play at Texas State next season. Both are Texas natives, small forward, Trace Caskill (SF) comes in as a three star and ranked 65th at his position. His height of 6'5 will most likely mean he will be moved to a 2-guard, a spot of need for next season, as his skill set closer mirrors that of a 2-guard in college than a small forward. He is somewhat athletic and a decent shooter, he is as average as you could get, expect him to start down the road.

                Bubba Fitch of San Antonio, Texas comes in as a three star power forward who is only 6'5. His height will make it a need to move him to small forward if his skillset permits once he transfers to the college level. Although the same height as Caskill, his skill set as a power forward would be remotely similar to that of a small forward albeit being slightly undersized.

                The Bobcats have one scholarship offer still extended, Mitch Niang out of Senegal, is a 5'9 point guard that will be expected to step into a starting role next season at either guard spot. Niang is a relative unkown but his passing and defensive skills are well above average making it clear he should be a day one starter assuming the rest of his skills translate just as well.
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                • VandyRedskins21
                  MVP
                  • Dec 2010
                  • 1898

                  #9
                  Re: The Redux -- R.J. Delic --

                  Wow good job at snatching up a couple 3* recruits off the bat like that. Good luck with the season!
                  “If you’re true to yourself, you’re going to be true to everyone else.”

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                  • K0ZZ
                    The Hard Way
                    • Dec 2004
                    • 3871

                    #10
                    Re: The Redux -- R.J. Delic --

                    I'm really hoping potential plays a big factor, they both are undersized and their skill set isn't great, but one has a B+ and the other a A+ potential.

                    I'm being somewhat gamey with going after the world recruit (to gain that extra skill point) but he does fill a need, so hopefully I grab him.
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                    • K0ZZ
                      The Hard Way
                      • Dec 2004
                      • 3871

                      #11
                      Re: The Redux -- R.J. Delic --



                      Kazemi leads Owls past upset-minded Bobcats

                      Houston, Texas - It was going to happen eventually and in the first game that in over the next two weeks, the Bobcats face top Texas schools, it was the Bobcats who couldn't pull off the upset of the Rice Owls, falling in the final seconds 3-2. Both their loses this season have come on game winners with less than five seconds left. The Owls managed to contain Belford to 4 points until midway through the second half where he would catch fire and pull the teams together. Belford would finish with 21 points, 5 rebounds, 6 assists and 3 steals.

                      Oddly enough, even without Belford, the Bobcats weren't having too much issues offensively. Luke Mergerson would put up 16 points on 6-11 from the field and 4-7 from beyond the three point line. Wesley Davis would add thirteen more off the bench, even more amazing was that the Bobcats kept this close without their second scoring option in Eddie Rios being shut out.

                      "There was an opportunity to pull off an upset all night, the Owls were basically handing us the game, when it mattered most though, they were the better team. We can't grind on that and move forward, were still holding a winning record, two losses isn't enough to start thinking about derailing our season" Delic was quoted as saying, Delic has been having a very successful first season at Texas State.

                      The Bobcats slip to 3-2, where-as the Rice Owls improved to 5-2 thanks in large part to the presence of Arsalan Kazemi, who absolutely tore apart the low post of the Bobcats. Kazemi would score 24 points on 11-19 shooting and pull in 20 boards, an absolutely amazing double-double. Kazemi has opened the season on fire, averaging 19.4 PPG and 14.3 RPG, no one has had an answer to stopping the junior, its starting to look as if no one will.


                      Rice Owls (5-2) 35 - 37 - 72
                      Texas State Bobcats (3-2) 32 - 37 - 69
                      Top Performers:
                      Scoring: Kazemi 24
                      Rebounds: Kazemi 20
                      Assists:T- Deron Belford (TSU) & Tamir Jackson (RICE) 6
                      Last edited by K0ZZ; 04-02-2012, 09:50 AM.
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                      • K0ZZ
                        The Hard Way
                        • Dec 2004
                        • 3871

                        #12
                        Re: The Redux -- R.J. Delic --



                        Belford leads Texas State in upset of Aggies with double double

                        It was one of those days where everything went right and just about everything went wrong for the opposition. Texas State nearly surrendered a three point lead at the end of the first half to lose yet another upset in the final seconds, after a late three by Middleton (who would finish with 26) put Texas A&M up by one. There was still ten seconds left and Deron Belford after a timeout and the ball at half court managed to drive the line and go up taking an attempt at basket, getting hit as he would go up (pictured) heading to the line.

                        Deron Belford despite being a freshman at a small school, the stadium screaming hoping to make the young point miss the free throws would hit both free throws with ease, putting Texas State up by one. Instead of using their last time out to set up a half court play, Texas A&M opted to go for a full court heave that obviously was missed.

                        Texas A&M falls to 1-5, a dismal season that was just further beaten down with their shortcoming against the Bobcats, where as the Bobcats improve to 4-2. "It's insane, to win on their court, those shots..I just cleared my mind..I didn't even hear the crowd..I zoned out" Spoke Belford who put up 21 with 13 assists, 7 rebounds and 4 steals to earn player of the game honors.

                        Khris Middleton stood at center court as the buzzer sounded in disbelief. The Junior small forward put up a season high 26 points on 10-21 shooting, Loubeau pulled in twelve boards alongside Roberson's 9, yet his team couldn't beat the lowly Texas State Bobcats. "I couldn't believe it, I stood there.. starting at that backboard.. when I walked out seeing the scoreboard..I couldn't...It's unbelievable.." Spoke a shocked Middleton.

                        The big challenge lies ahead for Texas State as they travel to Austin, Texas to take on the big program in the state, the Longhorns. The Longhorns at 3-5 are off to a bad start as well, losing games against North Texas, Rice and Texas Southern which will have a huge negative impact come March if they are on the bubble.


                        Texas State (4-2) 37 - 34 - 71
                        Texas A&M (1-5) 34 - 36 - 70

                        Top Performers:
                        Points: Middleton (TAMU) 26
                        Rebounds: Roberson (TAMU) 12
                        Assists: Belford (TST) 13
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                        • K0ZZ
                          The Hard Way
                          • Dec 2004
                          • 3871

                          #13
                          Re: The Redux -- R.J. Delic --



                          Texas rallies back behind Jonathan Holmes unlikely 27

                          (Austin, Texas) - On a mild December night, the Bobcats traveled to Austin with one goal on their mind, upset. Throughout the first half that logic seemed to carry away as the Bobcats absolutely steam rolled through the Longhorns in the first half, yet things wouldn't continue that way for long. Freshman power forward Jonathan Holmes had a lot to say about that.

                          Holmes, coming off the bench, would score 20 of his 27 in the second half sparking a massive rally that turned a 7 point deficit into a 17 point victory. "I'm just happy to be out on that court man, my shots were falling I was getting down low and hitting the boards. Just proving I earned my spot on this roster" Said an out of breath Holmes.

                          Deron Belford had enough to say about the freshman's performance, with a personal 17 point, 10 rebound 9 assist performance that was again so close to a career first triple double. "These stats don't matter when your team can't win.." He said to a school journalist after the game. The Bobcats are on a somewhat rough stretch having gone 1-2 in the past two weeks, but their talent admittedly included a mid-major and two power conference squads and a win against a Big Twelve squad was huge.

                          Kevin Thomas, another back up freshman power forward out of Ottawa, Canada would have a pretty game off the bench with 14 points and 9 rebounds in another rare performance. Holmes has been averaging 18 Points a game this far, but Thomas who was drifting around 6, bumped his average up in a huge way.

                          The Longhorns improve to 4-5, while the Bobcats fall to 4-3. Texas State has a Kennesaw State squad that they have already beaten once this season up next. "You can't underestimate anyone, every game is 100% effort" Said Delic when a reporter brought up that the Bobcats had already picked up a W earlier this season against the Owls.


                          Texas State (4-3) 45 - 28 - 73
                          Texas (4-5) 37 - 53 - 90

                          Leaders:
                          Points: Holmes (TEXAS) 27
                          Rebounds: Belford (TSU) 10
                          Assists: T - Myck Kabongo (TEXAS) & Deron Belford (TSU) 9
                          Last edited by K0ZZ; 04-03-2012, 10:50 PM.
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                          • K0ZZ
                            The Hard Way
                            • Dec 2004
                            • 3871

                            #14
                            Re: The Redux -- R.J. Delic --



                            Redeemed: Owls beat Bobcats by 13

                            Memories of the 87-81 Bobcat win to finish third in the Kennesaw State hosted tournament were put to rest, after the Bobcats humiliated the Owls with a fourth place finish, it was their turn, taking out Texas State in San Marcos. Winning 63-50 largely by keeping the Bobcat offense in check. Belford was held to his lowest total of the whole season with only 4 points, managing twelve rebounds and five assists.

                            Eddie Rios would be shut out going 0-6 from the field with three attempts beyond the arc missing. No player aside from Matt Staff shot well, Staff finished 4-6 from the field with a missed three point attempt included.

                            There was no clearly dominant player for the Owls, it was a solid group effort that brought down the Bobcats, who were stymied especially when their best offensive weapon in Belford was held to 4 points the entire game. "It was a great defensive effort, you rarely see a guy playing as good as [Deron] Belford get held to a terrible night like that but we did it. We have that to be proud of" Spoke Tony Ingle, head coach of the Owls.


                            Kennesaw State (7-5) 35 - 28 - 63
                            Texas State (4-4) 23 - 27 - 50


                            Top Performers:
                            Points: Henry (KEN) 12
                            Rebounds: Cummings (KEN) 13
                            Assists: T- Markeith Cummings (KEN) & Deron Belford (TSU) 5
                            Last edited by K0ZZ; 04-03-2012, 10:50 PM.
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                            • K0ZZ
                              The Hard Way
                              • Dec 2004
                              • 3871

                              #15
                              Re: The Redux -- R.J. Delic --



                              Nyakundi puts up career bests as SMU escapes with W

                              Robert Nyankundi is a talented athlete but no one could've saw the onslaught of scoring he put on against the Bobcats as a possibility, at least one that could be considered realistic. Nyakundi put up a career best in points with 33 and added a career best 10 rebounds for a night that will go down in his memory as one of the greatest in his career.

                              The entire Bobcats team tried to stop him, their solid team performance only slightly stopped with their terrible performance at the power forward position, both offensively and defensively that made things very difficult for them to manage to come out on top.

                              Their lack of depth is clear and apparent, with a 35-25 lead at the end of the half, similar to their loss to Texas, they completely were blown out of the water in the second half, with the Mustangs going off for 44 points including a late shot by Nyakundi to give the go ahead lead. The Bobcats are on a season worst three game losing streak, with only one out of conference game remaining, they are hoping to right the ship before the conference schedule comes up.


                              Texas State (4-5) 35 - 32 - 67
                              SMU (6-4) 25 - 44 - 69

                              Top Performers:
                              Points: Nyakundi (SMU) 33
                              Rebounds: Belford (TSU) 11
                              Assists: Clinkscales (SMU) 6
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