RGV Capsules: Four 20-win teams to compete at SPI Invitational

The Missouri Tigers and Mississippi State Bulldogs headline the 7th annual South Padre Island Invitational Basketball Tournament, scheduled for Nov. 27 and 28 at the SPI Convention Centre. Both Missouri (31-7 last year) and Mississippi State (23-13 last year) are considered among the nation’s elite college teams entering the new season.

Two other SPI Invitational teams, however, also had outstanding seasons last year.

Old Dominion (Norfolk, VA) was 25-10 last year, won the College Basketball Invitational Tournament title and returns all five starters. They have been picked to win the Colonial Athletic Conference championship behind forwards Gerald Lee (15.5 ppg) and Frank Hassell.

The University of Richmond (Va.), representing the Atlantic 10 Conference, finished 2008-09 at 20-16 and return the All-Conference backcourt of Kevin Anderson and David Gonzalvez.

The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga (18-7), Bethune-Cookman (17-16), Longwood College of Virginia (17-4) and University of Texas-Pan American (10-17), under new coach Ryan Marks, also will be in the field

Missouri is led by guard J.T. Tiller, the co-defensive player of the year in the Big 12 and a preseason top 50 finalist for this year’s Wooden Award. The Tigers’ 31-win season and run to the NCAA Elite Eight made coach Mike Anderson a hot commodity in college coaching. However, Mizzou responded with a new 7-year contract to keep him in Columbia.

Anderson’s fast-paced style of basketball creates havoc all over the court and makes the game extremely exciting for all in attendance.

Mississippi State has been picked by one national publication to make it to the Sweet 16 of this year’s NCAA Tournament. Five starters return from last year’s team, which peaked during the SEC and NCAA tournaments, including Jarvis Varnado, the nation’s premier shot-blocker who also led the Bulldogs in both scoring (12.9 ppg) and rebounding (8.8 rpg).

Eight Division I games will be played, four with the first game starting at noon Nov. 27, and four with the first game starting at 11:30 a.m. Saturday. The championship game is at 7 p.m.

Tournament passes are $55 for all eight games and can be ordered by calling the SPI Convention Centre box office at (888) 774-8587, or via the SPI Web site at www.sopadre.com.

UTPA

Jones happy to be playing D-I basketball at UTPA

EDINBURG — ChaRunn Jones jumped at the opportunity to play men’s basketball for the University of Texas-Pan American.

Competing at the Division I level had always been a dream of his, even it meant playing for a school located in deep South Texas.

His dream will become reality when UTPA plays host to St. Edward’s in an exhibition game at 7 tonight at the UTPA Field House.

"My dad didn’t get to play Division I basketball," Jones said about his father, C.J. "That was his dream. He had some setbacks. He is kind of living that dream through me. He had me working out crazy all the time, shooting jump shots. (Today) is a big day for my family and for me."

Last season, Jones was playing in the junior college ranks for Pasadena City College in California.

Jones is not a player that too many D-I schools took a long look at, But Broncs coach Ryan Marks said he is an impact player.

"I think something you always have to put into the formula of success for a student athlete is their real desire to be in the place they’ve chosen," Marks said. "Recruiting is an interesting process. Depending on who you ask, some kids are over exposed and some are under exposed."

Another player that didn’t have too many D-I offers thrown his way was Aaron Urbanus. The Austin Bowie graduate refused to play for a school in a lower division and said he would have rather walked on and earn a scholarship than to have played D-II.

Marks showed interest in Urbanus when he coached at St. Edward’s last season, which carried over to when he took over for UTPA.

Marks said the 6-foot, 147-pound freshman should receive playing time this season. Part of the reason Urbanus wanted to play D-I badly was because his older brother Zach is a junior on The Citadel men’s basketball team.

"We have always wanted to play D-I," Urbanus said. "I had some D-II offers but I didn’t want to go."

Peter Rasmussen covers UTPA athletics for Valley Freedom Newspapers. You can reach him at (956) 683-4448 or via e-mail at prasmussen@themonitor.com.

NBA D-League

Vipers deal Marcus Hubbard for Reno’s Haminn Quaintance

The NBA Development League Rio Grande Valley Vipers announced Friday they have acquired forward Haminn Quaintance, the second-round pick of the Reno Bighorns in last night’s NBA Development League draft, for forward Marcus Hubbard, who was on the Vipers’ returning players list.

A 6-foot-7, 195 pound 24-year old out of Kent State, Quaintance played for Bnei Hasharon (Israel-Premier League, starting five) last season before moving onto Kiryat Ata in the same league, where he averaged 9.7 points, 8.8 rebounds, 2.2 assists and 2.0 steals per game in 13 contests.

As a senior at Kent State during the 2007-08 season, Quaintance was named MAC Defensive Player of the Year, MAC Tournament MVP, second-team All-Mac, Midmajority.com MAC Co-Players of the Year, MAC Report Online Defensive Player of the Year, and preseason best shot blocker in the MAC by The Sporting News.

Quaitance played his first two season for Jacksonville as a two-time All-Atlantic Sun performer during the 2003-04 and 2004-05 seasons. As a freshman, Quaintance averaged a career-high 14.3 points, 8.8 rebounds, and 3.0 blocked shots per game. For his collegiate career, the Bradenton, Florida native averaged 11.4 points, 7.6 rebounds and 2.24 blocked shots per game in 119 contests.

Hubbard averaged 8.2 points and 4.1 rebounds per game, including 9.0 points and 4.7 rebounds in 27 contests (eight starts) with the Vipers, after being traded from the Dakota Wizards on January 7. He scored a season-high 20 points against the Colorado 14ers on Jan. 14 and recorded two double-doubles, including an 11-point, 17-rebound performance against the Tulsa 66ers on Jan. 21. Both games were at Dodge Arena.

The Vipers open training camp Nov. 14.

Vipers add Madkins, Johnson and Jabour to basketball operations staff

The Rio Grande Valley Vipers and Houston Rockets announced today that Rockets personnel members Gerald Madkins, Brent "B.J." Johnson and Phillip Jabour will be joining the Vipers’ basketball operations staff. Madkins will serve as Director of Player Personnel, Johnson will serve as Director of Player Development and Jabour will serve as Director of Scouting for Rio Grande Valley.

"The Rockets basketball operations staff has been working since June towards the Vipers’ on-court success, and the addition of Gerald, B.J. and Phil to the franchise is one of the strongest indicators that the Rockets intend to place the best product possible on the court in 2009-10," Vipers President Brian Michael Cooper said.

Madkins, Johnson and Jabour will work with Rockets Vice President of Player Personnel Gersson Rosas, who is also the General Manager of the Vipers, as well as Vipers head coach Chris Finch and assistant coach Paul Mokeski.

"Gerald, Brent and Phil bring with them a wealth of basketball knowledge and experience in developing young talent. All three have played a vital role in the recent success of the Rockets and I’m looking forward to their input as we assemble our roster in the coming days. Their combined expertise will be a valuable asset as we continue building the Vipers into a perennial championship contender," Rosas said.

In his role of Director of Scouting with the Rockets, Madkins is responsible for scouting colleges and developmental leagues. Madkins joined the Rockets after serving as the Director of West Coast College Scouting for the Seattle SuperSonics during the 2007-08 season and as a scout for the New York Knicks from 2003-07.

Previously, Madkins served as an assistant coach for the men’s basketball team at his alma mater, UCLA, from 2001-2003 and at California State University from 2000-01. After a stellar playing career with the Bruins, Madkins began an eight-year professional career in 1992 that included stints in the Continental Basketball Association (Grand Rapids, Rockford), NBA (Cleveland, Miami and Golden State), Spanish Basketball League (Joventut Badelona), and French Basketball League (Pitch Cholet).

Johnson is in his 16th year as a scout with the Rockets and his 14th as a full-time member of the team’s basketball staff. Johnson focuses his efforts on scouting talent at the high school, college and minor league levels. Johnson is a 1979 graduate of East Tennessee State, where he played guard for the Buccaneers and was a graduate assistant during the 1978-79 season. His coach at East Tennessee State was Sonny Smith, who was Charles Barkley’s coach at Auburn.

Upon graduation, Johnson played on Meadowlark Lemon’s exhibition teams that toured throughout the world. He also played professionally in Mexico and Ecuador. After his playing days, Johnson worked for Schoenfeld Sports, a sports agent firm, until he got his start in scouting.

Jabour oversees all video projects regarding draft prospects, free agency, trade and NBA Development League player acquisitions with the Rockets. He travels regularly to scout the top talents in the NBA Development League and college. An intern with the Rockets during the 2006-07 season, Jabour was promoted to the fulltime position as Personnel Video Coordinator in Sept. 2007. The 2006 Arizona State University Graduate worked as a member of the support staff for the 2006 USA Basketball Men’s U18 National Team that featured future NBA draft selections Michael Beasley (Miami Heat), Spencer Hawes (Sacramento Kings), Jonny Flynn (Minnesota Timerwolves), Donte Greene (Kings), DaJuan Summers (Detroit Pistons), and Jerryd Bayless (Portland Trail Blazers).