Article in today's McAllen paper

[RGV Pony]

It would be nice if the DMN would put this kind of positive spin on SMU...

EDINBURG — Colin Lien, Kano Edwards and any other big man the University of Texas-Pan American can scramble together for tonight’s game against SMU likely will have their hands full.

And if the Broncs can’t find enough bodies to post up on the Mustangs’ Bamba Fall, then there’s a good chance that SMU will depart its 7:30 p.m. game at the UTPA Field House with a victory.

"There’s no question about it, he’s the type of player that can take over a game," said UTPA coach Robert Davenport, whose team enters the game at 5-14. "The thing about him is that you have to be aware of where he’s at on the defensive end just as much as the offensive end.

"He’s definitely an impact-type player for them."Fall, as Davenport is well aware, isn’t an average true freshman. To begin with, he hails from one of the most prestigious basketball prep schools in the nation, Oak Hill Academy in Virginia, where he played the past two seasons. In total, Fall played with eight current NCAA Division I players and one current NBA player, the Atlanta Hawks’ Josh Smith, while at Oak Hill.

But Fall, a 7-foot-1, 200-pound center, hasn’t received his chance to shine for the Mustangs until recently. During his last three games, the first three starts of his career, Fall has averaged 7.3 points, 4.3 rebounds and 3.7 blocks per game against Conference USA competition.

"When I recruited (Fall) I thought he could be a star for us," said SMU coach Jimmy Tubbs, whose team enters the non-conference game at 9-7. "He was dealing with a back injury, but after he returned and got four games under his belt I thought it was in our best interest to start him. It may sound crazy, but his stat line doesn’t come close to showing how valuable he is to us."

To worsen matters, UTPA may be without leading scorer Dexter Shankle. The sophomore shooting guard, averaging 11.0 points per game, collided heads with teammate Cori Gaither during practice Sunday, and both players suffered concussions. Neither player practiced Monday, and Davenport said both will be a game-time decision tonight against the Mustangs.

The Broncs’ only senior, Derrick East, will not dress for tonight’s game, resting a sore knee. If all three miss the game, that will leave the Broncs with just seven scholarship players. Freshman David Burrell is out for the season with a knee injury, freshman Ben Smith is redshirting and junior shooting guard Johnathan Chatman has been suspended from the team for an indefinite period.

"If that happens, I’ll take the seven I’ve got," Davenport said. "You only need five to play a game, but luckily for us it has not gotten that bad yet. But we’re hoping Dexter and Cori will be ready to go. Dexter had a big knot on his head (Monday), and Cori actually looked pretty good.

"We’ll just have to see how they respond (today), and maybe they’ll be cleared to play."

GAME NOTES: SMU has four players averaging double digits scoring, with senior guard Bryan Hopkins (6-0, 195) leading the way with a 17.3 average per game. … SMU leads the all-time series 3-1. The last time the teams met, SMU won 69-59 in 2003 at the South Padre Island Invitational. … UTPA’s last win in the series came during the season opener in 1974, when the Broncs won 76-60 in Dallas

[mrydel]

Can it be true that the all time series is 3-1. It seems we played them at least 3 or 4 times while I was in school (68-72) and I am sure we have some since then. Unless I am mistaken on the school. Isn't this where Abe Lemmons coached for a while? That is why I remember them so well. It was always a joy to ride old Abe. He played with the crowd rather than crying like Bobby Knight. Maybe it was Pan-American University. Better memories than I help please.

[RGV Pony]

You're right about Abe Lemmons, according to the school's web site, and it was once Pan American U. The other well-known coach that I know of who coached at Pan Am was Lon Kruger.

[mrydel]

I had to check on my memory and I was off a little. Lemmons coached at Oklahoma City while I was in school and later coached at Pan American(circa 1974/75). Seems I saw a Pan Am game when he was coaching there so I must have made a trip from Austin where I was living at the time. I believe we used to play Oklahoma City on a regular basis while I was in school and that is when I enjoyed his coaching and his antics.