Sports

GOLDEN LIONS OUT FOR SWAC TITLE

By Troy Schulte/OF THE COMMERCIAL STAFF
Sunday, October 18, 2009 12:06 AM CDT

Members of the Arkansas-Pine Bluff men’s basketball team broke down their first post-practice huddle of the season with a simple message that, even just one day into the season, illustrates where it thinks it can end up.

Arkansas-Pine Bluff guard Terrance Calvin is one of five starters who return for the Golden Lions in 2009. PINE BLUFF COMMERCIAL/RALPH FITZGERALD.

“SWAC champs,” said 11 returning players and five newcomers at the end of a three-hour workout at H.O. Clemmons Arena Saturday morning, as they made no secret as to what they think they can accomplish.

Such lofty goals shouldn’t be a surprise. The Golden Lions set the bar just as high last season when they had 10 newcomers and a first-year coach. Now, with George Ivory entering his second season as coach with seven players who averaged at least 19 minutes for a team that finished fourth in the Southwest ern Athletic Conference standings a year ago, such accomplishments are to be expected.

Ivory thinks making such wishes public shouldn’t be a problem for a team with such experience.

A young team with new players? Maybe. But one whose leaders are already established and even whose role players are recognized, Ivory thinks his players can be as open as they want about where they want their season to go.

“That’s our ultimate goal,” Ivory said. “Whatever sport you play in, (your) ultimate goal is to win the championship of your conference. That doesn’t change.”

What Ivory led on Saturday was by far a smoother opening practice than a year ago. The amount of experience he had on the floor with him was one of the reasons for that. Savalace Townsend, now a sophomore guard who started 28 games last year, said there wasn’t much talk through the day, mostly because, everybody knew what to do.

Last season Townsend was one of 10 newcomers still adjusting to a new coach and new teammates. Now, the familiarity with each other can be noticed, and Townsend and his teammates think it will begin to pay off starting Nov. 13 when they open the season at Colorado.

“Chemistry plays a big part,” said Townsend, who averaged 8.3 points per game in SWAC play last year. “Winning is not all talent. (It’s) a lot of chemistry and teamwork.”

Townsend said the Golden Lions’ chemistry was improved even more this summer when he, Terrance Calvin and Tavaris Washington spent most of their time on campus. Now, they make up two-thirds of a returning group that started the majority of UAPB’s games last season.

Forwards Tyree Glass and Lebaron Weathers also return to make up a starting lineup that consists of four seniors.

“When you have a feel of where everyone is going to be on the floor at certain times,” said Calvin, who averaged 14.1 points in conference and was named third-team All-SWAC, “then execution is just easier.”

Other than the starters, six reserves return to make up a rotation that will try to infuse five newcomers.

Though their amount of time and in what situations won’t be known until closer to the season-opener, Ivory said forward Terry Tidwell, of North Little Rock, and guard Vincent Martin, of Marietta, Ga., impressed during offseason workouts.

Pine Bluff High School-graduate Stephan Collins could also see time, as well as Dominic Moore, a 6-10 forward from Otero (Colo.) Junior College.

“I know we’ve got a lot of guys coming back, but we’ve got some real talented young kids,” Ivory said. “They’re exciting and they bring a lot of energy to the game. We’re going to get them in there.”

No matter how much the newcomers play, Ivory’s team will still be one of the most experienced in the league. And that’s what has him and his team so excited.

The only player who played significant minutes late last season who was not practicing on Saturday is Eric Brooks, a guard from Little Rock who averaged 21.7 minutes and 7.1 points during conference play.

Ivory said Brooks is “having some personal issues,” but is enrolled in classes and is expected to join the team at some point this season.

With or without Brooks, the Golden Lions are expected to contend in the SWAC after being picked ninth in the preseason last year before losing to Alabama State in the semifinals of the SWAC Tournament.

That’s part of why Ivory doesn’t mind his players talking about winning a SWAC Championship three months before the conference season starts. The expectation is there, there’s no use ignoring it.

“They think they deserve (to be) No. 1. We want to be No. 1,” Ivory said. “I tell the guys ‘We want to come in everyday and work hard and improve every day on what we need to improve on.’

“I think it will take care of itself in the long run.”

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