Episode 22: Spring Game is Near

Check Sticher:

Check iTunes

RSS feed

Episode 21: Meltdown

We breakdown the UTSA basketball loss, season, and future.

Grades for players, coaching, also Darrell from Rowdy Report stops by to talk football schedule via Skype.

podcast@cokerchronicles.com

Thanks again for joining us for an entire football and basketball season. Next week we'll begin looking ahead to Season 2 of the football team, looking ahead to spring practice and the spring game.



Stitcher


iTunes

Podcast Feed

Episode 20: Bring On UTA

This week on the podcast:

UCA/TxState Recaps

Shared Scoring

11 minutes for Melvin?

UTA Preview

Katy!

Seeding Scenarios

Kevin Brown

Recruiting with Darrell from Rowdy Report

Schedule Release

NFL Prospects

podcast@cokerchronicles.com


Find the episode here:

Or here

Episode 17: Ugly Games

We fight through some slight technical difficulties. Jalen James in a car wreck, Wilkins granted sixth year, UTSA 59 - SELU 51, Karl Bensen to Sun Belt and the UTSA implications, Basketball Schedule talk and fearless predictions! Also the big Jared Rant about UTSA Athletic Marketing

Audio links:

or here.

We also mentioned contributing: podcast@cokerchronicles.com

You can leave a voicemail for us at 210 701 0763. Keep it under a minute and we may play it on the podcast. Leave a comment, ask a question -- your choice. Bow before the magic of Google Voice!

Episode 13: El Convo Podcast

Hey guys the new podcast is up. Click the link up on the right. Or subscribe via iTunes or Stitcher Radio. I'm making it slightly difficult just so you check it out.

This week, we talk more basketball than football. Adam and Jared are still separated (tear) but send in their segments nonetheless. Listen to the barebones holiday version of the CCP!

-Update!!
So I still haven't fixed the episode but judging from the fact that we've encountered but one complaint, I don't think too many mind.

I'll fix it tonight. It will require reassembling the audio and deleting the unwanted audio.

Link Roundup 8/17/2011 Kangaroos and Tubas Edition

Tyler Wood + Koala

17 days 'til football... the ball is rolling

Roadrunners Down Under: The Australia Chronicles (Day 6) [GoUTSA.com]

UTSA continues their trip abroad, suffering an 84-25 beat down to the Cairns Taipans, a member of Australia's top level of professional basketball. It's pretty cool to check out how different the sport is in other countries. The blaring music during the games makes the Australian league sound like a future destination for washed-up members of the 2004 Pistons championship team. And their infamous PA guy. I love this line from Kyle Stephens-- "Speaking of music, the person running the Clik-FX laptop successfully found the "Beep-Beep" sound byte from that famous Warner Brothers cartoon (or someone from Texas State sent it over). It was played more than once." Honestly, the best part of this running blog is the awesome, embarrassing pictures of players that I'm archiving for once the season starts. Hit the link above for a full recap of Day 6 of the trip.

UTSA's new marching band tuning up for halftime [Kens5.com]

I was very excited to watch the marching band practice for a few minutes on campus today. They surprised me with how crisp all of their movements are and the size of the band. Ron Ellis was able to corral over 200 members in just a few months. Now about those god awful uniforms...

Yahoo! Sports report alleges rampant improprieties at Miami - Dan McCarney [Mysa.com]

I have not been contacted by either the NCAA or the University of Miami, so I am not aware of the details of either organization’s investigation. Compliance issues have always been of utmost importance to me throughout my career. Since I have not been contacted by either the NCAA or Miami, it would be inappropriate for me to discuss any alleged rules violations at another university. - Larry Coker

Well, that's pretty much where we're at right now. Yahoo! has mountains and mountains of evidence without a single mention of Larry Coker anywhere so I'm not too worried. In my (perhaps ignorant) opinion, if Coker was involved in this whole shitstorm then his name would be popping up and Shapiro would be dragging him through the mud. None of that so far. 100+ hours of interviews and 20,000+ documents and no incriminating evidence on Larry Coker. Let's stay tuned to this issue though.

Oh and congrats to UTSA for selling its 10,000th season ticket

A look at UTSA's APR

UTSA's Academic Progress Rate

In a summer that nearly turned college athletics on its head, one seemingly small story that could have a monumental impact on the underpinnings of collegiate athletics has flown under the radar. In an effort to increase accountability for both Student Athletes and their respective institutions, the NCAA committee has approved a new rule that will prohibit any collegiate athletic team with a four year Academic Progress Rate below 930 to compete in any post-season events. The implications? Schools are now being forced to get serious about fostering academic growth in their athletes or miss out on the sweet, sweet revenue that post-season play provides.

Had these new policies been in place during the previous academic year, UTSA would not have been able to compete in the NCAA Basketball tournament in 2010 (Women's Soccer and Volleyball would have been good, though). There's no beating around this bush: UTSA's APR needs to improve. Seven UTSA teams are currently below the 930 threshold (Baseball, Men's Basketball, Men's Outdoor Track, Men's Cross Country, Women's Cross Country, Women's Indoor Track, and Women's Outdoor Track), while Women's Basketball is just barely etching it out at 930.25. While UTSA has been steadily improving in terms of APR, it still has a ways to go before several programs are up to speed.

Most disturbing of all programs is Men's Basketball. In the 2005-2006 season the Roadrunners posted a measly 818, one of the worst numbers I could find in the NCAA database. This pathetic display of academic responsibility resulted in two dropped scholarships for UTSA as well as a decrease in allotted practice time.

UTSA Men's Basketball APR

As shown in the chart above, Brooks Thompson has done a decent job of increasing the program's APR since his hire in 2006, with a great growth rate since his own recruits have began to count towards the team's APR. With a 927 APR in 2010 and a four year average of 874.5, Thompson still has quite a bit of work to do before he can be satisfied with his team's academic performance. Hopefully these new bylaws will not take effect until 2013 or '14 which will allow Thompson some time to get his athletes in the right place without risking a wasted season.

Some Men's Basketball four year APRs of note:
UTA: 943
SJSU: 903.5
USU: 932.75
TXST: 893.75

Oddities

WOAH DUDE. Click here for more information and download instructions.

The Loss of Larry Wilkins

Wilkins scores an easy basket against future WAC opponents, SJSU in a  72-63 victorious effort. Photo courtesy of mysa.com

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but Larry Wilkins is in all likelihood out for the season. I've heard that Larry ruptured his Achilles tendon during an early season workout on Saturday. Wilkins had surgery today and is expected to be granted a medical redshirt in order to return for his senior year in 2012. Achilles tendon injuries most often take several months to recover from, and have even been known to end some athletes' careers in extreme cases. Needless to say, this is a huge loss for Brooks Thompson's promising 2011 squad. Wilkins averaged 3.6 ppg and 3.7 rpg while shooting at a 60.2% clip. While his statistics are not overtly impressive, Wilkins' greatest impact is a physical one, as he is able to use his bulky frame to work posts out of the lane and prevent offensive rebounds from the opposition. Wilkins also brings a strong sense of hustle to the court and provides a vocal, veteran presence to a young Roadrunner team. Larry had an excellent string of games at the end of the season and seemed to be developing into one of Thompson's more dependable options on the court.

Coupled with the departure of TJ Williams from the program, the loss of Wilkins is particularly painful. After deciding to pass on recruiting more big bodies this recruiting cycle, Brooks Thompson is left with just Alex Vouyoukas and Michael White (Non-Scholarship) to fill the Center slot in 2011. Vouyoukas, who looks the part of a dominative mid-major center at 6'9, 235lbs, originally started the 2010 season at center, however a lack of physicality and offensive prowess forced Thompson to insert the under-sized Wilkins as his starting #5 for the remainder of the season. Vouyoukas certainly has the capacity to play at a much higher level than he has shown throughout his tenure at UTSA. At certain points down the stretch of the season Vouyoukas looked like the Greek incarnation of Hakeem Olajuwon, only to be subbed out within minutes after sitting out a play or carelessly handing away a turnover. Vouyoukas seemed to have matured during the Southland Conference tournament , most memorably during the Sam Houston St. game, where Alex racked up 7 points, 4 boards, and a block in just 12 minutes... all while locking done of the Southland Conference's most prolific players in Gilberto Clavell. If Vouyoukas can manage to build on these flashes of brilliance (and Brooks Thompson is on the hot seat here) then the Runners should be able to continue building on last season's success.

Oddities


Some sleuthing from Darrell Williams at utsafootball.wordpress.com shows us that four players from UTSA's 2010 fall squad will not be returning for 2011. No big losses here, several guys probably saw the writing on the wall that they would have been lucky to be third string once the second recruiting class reports on Sunday. I must admit, I'm a bit surprised that Robert Chapman is leaving the program. Chapman was one of UTSA's first signees and played his high school ball in the shadow of campus at Clark High School. So much for all this. Best of luck to Robert in pursuing a walk-on position at TAMU. David Farris leaving for Texas State stings, but I would have done the same considering he was not offered a scholarship after his impressive fall performance.

Coach Coker got some love from USA Today this afternoon.

Click here to check out a scan of the UTSA season ticket package. Or check it out for yourself by buying your own season tickets. Almost 8,000 season tickets packages sold already.

Lastly, I want to thank all of you that have been following our posts religiously and leaving us loving comments. You're all true sweethearts.

32 days 'till kick off.

Link Roundup - 8/1/11

Picture courtesy of UTSA Athletics

Dan McCarney - The Dawn of UTSA football approaches [mySA.com]


We got our first post-WAC media day check-in from dear friend Dan McCarney over at the Express News UTSA sports blog. Dan points out the general sense of optimism from WAC officials in Las Vegas, the uphill battle administration faces in raising funds for D1 caliber football facilities, and touches on upcoming position battles afoot.

On the more practical matters, specifically UTSA’s first season, which will get underway on Sunday with the first official workout.

The Roadrunners are expecting 90 players to report on Friday. The vast majority of this year’s signing class have already been on campus with summer school, with the only absences being Madison RB Troy Williams (academics, legal issues) and Brenham DB Desmon Mathis (academics).

It’s the first of nine scheduled practices — all of which will be closed to the public and media, save the first 30 minutes — before the first game on Sept. 3, against Northeastern St.

Media day is next Tuesday, but considering how drastically the team is going to change with the influx of new players, I’m probably going to wait for a week or two before providing any significant preview material.

There are a handful of guys you can pretty safely pencil in for starting positions barring injury — players like QB Eric Soza, LB Steven Kurfehs and DB Mark Waters — but otherwise, I expect things will be fairly wide open.

As such, those position battles will even more notable than they would on a more established team. That should make for an interesting camp.

Wasn't aware that Desmon Mathis didn't qualify. Big loss from a talent perspective, but Coach Neathery has a swarm of stud secondary players to work with. Hopefully Desmon was able to get some work done in community college this summer and will be good to go for the fall. For those that hadn't heard, Troy Williams is currently facing sexual assault charges. I think the story sounds fishy so I'm going to reserve judgement until Troy has his day in court. Actually, I don't really care since it's safe to say he's DOA at UTSA. Yet again, a big loss in talent at a position the Runners are thankfully stacked at. These two hombres are case exhibit 1.0 as to why college football fans must curb their excitement when a 17 year old kids decides to play ball at your university of choice.

As far as position battles go, I've got my eye on Blake Terry vs. Brandon Reeves for the second linebacker spot. Reeves brings some valuable experience from his JUCO days in SoCal, while Blake is a high-ceiling athlete and extremely motivated. Reeves didn't do too much during this year's spring game, but it's hard to fault a guy that only had a few weeks of practice with the current regime. Some more promising battles are Josiah Monroe vs. Kam Jones at slot receiver and the two defensive end spots. I really like Jason Neill as a true freshman-- great frame and a nose for the ball. Kristian Bryant has a very high ceiling, while Marlon Smith showed great improvement throughout the past year. Ole Miss transfer Lekenwic Haynes will man one of the slots if he is not used as a Super Strong Safety™ in the 4-2-5. It's nice to have choices.

Tyler Mayforth -  The WAC's Future Salvation [San Marcos Daily Record]

Texas State and UTSA will save the Western Athletic Conference.

Think about it: What does the WAC need other than two football-playing schools?

Here’s a hint — it’s called a rivalry.

Right now, every other conference in the Football Bowl Subdivision has one.

cont.

In 335 days, the WAC will finally have two schools that are developing animosity for each other join its ranks. The Bobcats and Roadrunners can’t wait to get on the field with each other.

“It’s going to be a lot of fun,” Texas State head coach Dennis Franchione said, downplaying his seething hatred for all things UTSA. “From what I watched during basketball season, this rivalry can get testy and adding football can only make it better.” 

Some good thoughts here from Texas State's resident beat writer, Tyler Mayforth. I'm glad he's starting to ditch his previously held pessimism regarding the WAC. This conference still has plenty of life and equity, despite however ugly 2012 might be. Rivalries are an excellent way to generate interest from fringe fans and instill pride in students. Ain't nothing more American than hatin' on the guy next to you. The I-35 rivalry is already a very good rivalry. I once watched Rowdy dip a bobcat doll in fake blood then rip it apart in front of the UTSA student section at a freaking volleyball game. Football is going to take this to whole new paradigms. I've already heard a lot of people with no connections to UTSA or State express interest in attending the first I-35 game in the Alamodome next year which is GREAT for both schools. I just hope ESPN picks it up.

Darrell Williams - Projected 2011 Two-Deep Roster [utsafootball.wordpress.com]

Roster projections are next to impossible for UTSA right now. So many moving parts and an infinitely small sample size to draw from. Check out Darrell's projections and let him know what you think, but don't be an anonymous ass wipe like "nobody" and bash him without offering up any alternatives, kapish? A few of my thoughts-- I have Josiah Monroe returning kicks and punts, Brandon Armstrong is definitely option #2 though. Have a feeling that Jason Neill is going to get a lot more burn this year than most are expecting. Darrell didn't even list him in his top four for D Ends. While Nielsen and Kazen are sure-fire tight ends, I think David Morgan is going to make some big catches when Coach Bush throws out a spread offense. I guess he technically wouldn't be a tight end in that situation though, huh? Charting out the offense and defense likes this really hammers home just how thin the Runners are going to be for the next two years. Keep the voodoo dolls on the shelf because injuries could decimate this team in a week's time.

UTSATailgaters - BREAKING NEWS!! UTSA vs UTEP (b-ball) [UTSATailgaters.com]
Really dig this. Always good to establish rivalries with fellow UT system schools. UTEP fans pack their stadium and it should be a great game considering how similar the two schools' seasons were last year. Thought about making the road trip but... yeah.

Oddities

I can't remember where I read this and my Google-fu is failing me, but I believe Football jerseys are being officially revealed on August 3rd. Don't quote me on that though.


Edit: Thanks Darrell, you're the man.

Episode 4 of "Birth of a Program" was the best in the series so far. Loved the music choices- Kid Cudi, Phoenix, etc. I've been really surprised at how often Fox Sports Southwest has been showing the program, ratings must be fairly decent. Incredible tool for UTSA. Can't wait to see the show continue to develop and improve with episode 5.

If you haven't heard already, UTSA landed a huge pick up in Ashaad Mabry recently. Mabry could be a game changer for the defense. Might do a full post on this at some point in time. Hat tip to Darrell at utsafootball.wordpress.com (Bookmark his site, dammit).