UTEP basketball fans will have their first opportunity to get a glimpse of the team and the newly designed floor at the Don Haskins Center this Saturday as the Miners will host its annual Orange and White scrimmage.
The scrimmage will serve as a showcase for the team’s talents and freshmen recruits. The Miners are coming off an 18-14 season and will return five of their most experienced players back from last year.
It was all business for head coach Tim Floyd and the team late Tuesday night, when he instructed the team to sprint after their rebounds during shoot-a-rounds before practice.
“We are three weeks in, the challenge now is to see if we can keep the pace going,” Floyd said. “I’m hoping that we can make some 3-point shots because we’ll need them during the season.”
With a new court and new season ahead, junior forward Cedrick Lang said that the team is eager to get on the court. Lang said the forward/center position is stacked this year and that the team is ready to demonstrate what they are capable of this season.
“We have been getting after it, mostly on defense,” Lang said. “We have a lot of guys who can go back and get a couple of offensive rebounds, so I feel like it’s going to be a good year for us.”
Floyd said that the two 20-minute halves in the scrimmage will be an up-and-down competition, with each side competing to win the game. Before the scrimmage, there will be a slam-dunk and 3-point contest featuring senior forward Julian Washburn, freshmen forwards Vince Hunter and Jake Flaggert, and junior guards C.J. Cooper, McKenzie Moore and Jalen Ragland.
Ragland said that he has been anxious to play since their last game in the C-USA tournament, where the Miners fell 85-67 in the semifinals to Southern Mississippi. Ragland was redshirted during the 2012 season due to a limit on scholarships, but returned this year with what he said is a good group.
“It feels good to be on the floor,” Ragland said. “There’s no pressure, we have a good group of guys and we just got to play together and stay solid.”
The event will begin at 6 p.m., admission and open seating is free and the doors of the Don Haskins open at 4:30 p.m.
Aaron Montes may be reached at [email protected].
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