Men's basketball opens preseason camp this weekend
10/14/2010 1:36:00 PM | Men's Basketball
New Bearkat head coach Jason Hooten can't wait to get started.
"This really is an exciting time for the coaching staff," Hooten said. "I've always believed a coach is a teacher and I'm ready to start teaching. We have a great group of players back from last year plus a lot of newcomers who have a lot of talent. There are a lot of things we can do with this team. The staff is ready to get out and figure out what is the best way to utilize the talent we have."
Jason Hooten, assistant coach for Sam Houston State the past six years, was named as the head coach in April when Bob Marlin left to become head coach at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. In his six seasons with the Bearkats, Hooten has played a major role in directing the program to a 127-59 record, four 20-plus victory seasons, Southland Conference regular season and tournament championships and an NCAA tournament appearance in 2010.
"I'm grateful for Sam Houston to give me the opportunity to be head coach here," Hooten said. "And to have three outstanding seniors returning as our team co-captains is also something to be extremely thankful about. Gilberto Clavell, Josten Crow and Lance Pevehouse are three outstanding young men. They are leaders on the floor and in the class room who everyone on the team looks up to and respects. They are taking their roles as captains seriously. Every player has worked hard during the off-season. Now they can wait to get started."
The 25-8 record for Sam Houston in 2009-10 marks the highest victory total for a Bearkat squad in SHSU's 23 seasons at the NCAA Division I level. Sam Houston stands as one of only 52 programs out of the 340 teams in Division I basketball that have posted 20 or more wins four of the last five years. Among those 52 teams, the Kats have the 28th-best winning percentage.
Sam Houston rolled up a 14-2 record to claim the regular season title, then knocked off Nicholls, Southeastern Louisiana and defending champion Stephen F. Austin to win the Southland post-season tournament. In their second NCAA appearance, Sam Houston threw a scare into eventual Elite Eight participant Baylor in New Orleans before falling 68-59.
Clavell and Crow both were starters last year. Clavell was Southland Conference "Newcomer of the Year." The 6-7 225 senior forward was the leading scorer (16.9 points) and leading rebounder (6.3 boards) for the conference titlists. Crow, a 6-4 senior forward, ranked No. 1 in the Southland and No. 2 nationally in assist/turnover ratio. Pevehouse, a 6-2 senior guard, has provided a perimeter scoring threat off the bench the past two seasons.
Also returning from the 2010 championship team are Drae Murray, a 5-10 junior guard who ranked No. 3 in the Southland in assists (4.0); 6-7 center Antuan Bootle who led the Bearkats in rebounding (6.3) during Southland action and Aaron Thompson, a 6-9 sophomore center.
To fill the gap left by the graduation of All-Southland Conference guards Corey Allmond (15.8 points) and Ashton Mitchell (12.4) points and senior forward Preston Brown (9.1 points), Hooten has recruited three junior college transfers and a pair of freshmen. Kelly Lawson, a 6-8 redshirt freshman from Pearland also returns.
The junior college transfers include 5-10 guard Marcus Williams from Cochise College in Douglas, Ariz. , 6-1 guard Nafis Richardson from McLennan Community College and 6-7 forward Marcus James from Seward County in Kansas. Last season Williams averaged 20.3 points, Richardson 14.4, and James 12.3. Freshmen 6-3 Byron Randle from Friendswood was an early signing for the Bearkats.
"Even though I was an assistant last year and all the returning players know me, it's always different when a new coach takes over," Hooten said. "What has impressed me during our individual work with the players in September and October is the great attitude of the players, their willingness to learn and their work ethic. Our workouts are going to be very competitive and the players are reacting well to that."
The Bearkat squad will have just under a month to prepare for the start of the 2010-11 regular season. Sam Houston's first men's basketball game is Saturday, November 13 against Mary Hardin-Baylor at 7 p.m. at Johnson Coliseum.
Sam Houston will play 14 home games this year. Season tickets for Bearkat men's basketball are now on sale either online at www.gobearkats.com or at the SHSU athletic ticket office at the Ron Mafrige Field House in Bowers Stadium. Ticket office hours are 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. The ticket office telephone is (936) 294-1729.
