Basketball Builds New Team

The USA men's basketball team that returns to the court this fall will be much different than the one that was last seen losing to Western Kentucky in the Sun Belt Conference Tournament Finals. The combination of graduating seniors and two surprising transfers has gutted last season's nearchampionship winning team.

In response, head coach Ronnie Arrow has brought in a very impressive class of freshmen and junior college transfers in his attempt at a third consecutive 20-win season. Gone are seniors DeAndre Coleman, Dominic Tilford, Brandon Davis and Ronald Douglas. Going elsewhere are transfers DeAndrae Ross and C.J. Garner. That leaves a lot of holes for a team that went 20-13 and was on the verge of a second straight NCAA Tournament appearance.

So how does Arrow plan on fielding another championship-contending team in this third season back? "We're bringing in some different faces this year," Arrow said. "This is a real talented bunch and with hard work and effort we can come a long way."

The new faces include Raymond Sims, a 5'9" guard, out of Paris Junior College in Paris, Texas. "Raymond Sims brings us experience at the point," Arrow said. "He's a leader and a true point guard." Sims averaged 5.5 points and 3.5 rebounds per game last season, leading Paris to a 25-6 record and a trip to the Region XIV Tournament. In addition, he also led the league with 5.9 assists per game. Also joining USA is the versatile Tim Williams. "Tim has great size and the athletic ability to be able to play anywhere on the court,"

Arrow said. "He can shoot the three and can guard on the perimeter or on the inside." Another skill the freshman has is the ability to score. He led Pontiac Northern High School by averaging 21.4 points while converting a team-high 55 3-pointers. Sims and Williams join a very impressive 2009 class that also includes Augustine Rubit, Javier Carter and Andre Gowins.

Despite USA's strong spring, the news has centered on the departures of Ross and Garner. Garner started 16 games for the Jags and appeared in 28. He averaged 4.7 points and 2.3 rebounds per contest while handing out 37 assists. Most of his starts came after January while Douglas and Bryan Sherrer were nursing injuries. His playing time was shortened in the SBC Tournament with a healthy Jag squad.Ross played in 27 games last season with six starts and averaged 3.8 points per game.

"I think, in most cases, kids leave because of playing time," Arrow said. "It's beneficial to move on when you can get more minutes. These were players that got a lot of minutes when some our guys were hurt. But when we got healthy, the playing time decreased." Arrow is confident about his team despite the changes and is looking forward to the fall.

"We won't be as big inside as we were last year, but we'll be bigger outside. We are going to be a stronger, faster team and we are going to be better shooters. This is a talented bunch, and if they come together and work real hard we should have built some real unity by the middle of the season." Assistant Helton leaves for ENMU Former South Alabama assistant head coach Andy Helton was named the new head coach at Eastern New Mexico on April 29.

Helton has been a member of Ronnie Arrow's staff the past eight seasons dating back to their tenure at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi and assisted under Arrow in USA's back-to-back 20-win seasons. "Coach Helton was my right-hand guy," said Arrow. "He understood me despite our being of opposite extremes. We worked really well together, and it is a good time for him to move on." Assistant coach Chuck Taylor is expected to move up with a replacement hire coming in the fall.