A story far from finished

Last season, the UTRGV Men’s Basketball Team dealt with COVID-19 canceling practices, games and meetings, and the sudden death of head coach Lew Hill, but the team does not want its story to end that way.

Last Season

The Vaqueros started last year’s COVID-strained season with a program record 8-3 but fell to 9-10, losing seven of the last eight games.

Graduate forward Marek Nelson comes back for his third season with UTRGV and said this is where he wants to continue writing his story and finish things on a good note.

There was a sour taste to how the season ended with everything that went on, Nelson said.

“With all things considered, if you put any team in the country in the position that we were in, they would have similar results,” he said. “There was a lot of adversity. Those are some of the toughest moments of my career and I think that goes for everyone that was a part of that team.”

When Hill, 55, died on Feb. 7, the team lost its figurehead and leader, Nelson said.

“There was a little bit of, you know, soul searching going on whenever you lose your coach like that,” he said.
“Guys are now looking for leadership and whatever the case may be, but it was tough, of course.”

Asked how they cope with his death today, Nelson said it “motivates us.”

“It’s more of a positive effect now,” he said. “We remember his legacy and we try to honor that each and every day but I think that, for me, personally, it motivates me. … Of course, we wish we would have finished the season out a little bit stronger last year and made a bigger splash, but I think, like I said, the story is still being written and that’s one of the main reasons I’m excited to be back here.”

New head coach Matt Figger, who spent the last four years as head coach at Austin Peay State University, said last year was an anomaly to him.

There was so much adversity that 18-to 20-year-olds had to deal with, Figger said.

“I think last year, the [season] record, you can just throw that out because there’s no continuity,” he said.

Nelson said the team will not dwell on last season but will remember what happened and believes this season is a clean slate to continue building the foundation the players built.

“So, I feel like that story is still, you know, not finished being written yet,” he said. “I think we have something special planned for us.”

Clean Slate

With seven returning players, four freshmen and four transfer students, Figger said he is excited to have an older group of experienced players who have played in the Western Athletic Conference and know what to expect.

Having a situation where it’s not a total rebuild, the head coach is excited to take the next step forward and compete for a WAC championship, he said.

“That’s a lot of experience coming back,” Figger said. “So we need to make sure that experience is to
our advantage.”

Asked what his plans are for the offense and defense, Figger replied, “I’m just bringing the things that we had success with in my last job.”

As head coach for Austin Peay, he compiled a 76-51 (.598) record, including being 2017-18 Ohio Valley Conference Coach of the Year.

“We’re trying to score the ball inside, play at the rim, shoot open threes, share the ball,” Figger said. “You know, we want to play fast tempo on the offensive side, and we want to make teams uncomfortable defensively. … And we don’t want teams to score layups and threes.”

He said he wants his players to make his job hard when it comes down to decide who plays and who does not.

“If they make my job easy, then that means there’s four or five guys that stand out,” Figger said. “And right now, I want to make sure that everybody’s contributing. Because we recruited them here, and the guys that stayed, we think they’re good enough to play … and right now, they are doing that at the
beginning stages.”

Redshirt sophomore guard Quinton Johnson II said he feels good coming back for his fourth season and a new start.

Johnson scored an average of 9.9 points per game throughout 16 games last season.

“I’m just getting mentally prepared for the games, you know, getting in shape, and then just working on the new stuff that coaches [are] working on and just working on my shot,” he said.

With a brand-new team, Johnson said he thinks he just needs to focus on getting in where he fits best in the team, winning and improving.

“I feel like it’s gonna be challenging because we have a lot of new teams in the conference, but I feel like it’s gonna also be fun,” Johnson said. “I feel like I’m ready to show the conference and, you know, the fans, what we have for this year’s team. I think we’re gonna be pretty good.”

Another quality that Figger is trying to instill in the team is learning to trust one another.

“Trust takes time, proof and consistency,” he said. “Once we establish that as a team, you know, then we’re going to be loyal to one another and you’re gonna want to be able to fight and not ever give up.

Nelson said something that each player has been focused on this offseason is becoming more familiar with how they want to play with each other.

“Just building on that trust and building with each other and building that continuity,” he said. “Obviously, there’s a lot of moving pieces and there’s some returners and new guys coming in and transfers and freshmen. So, there’s a lot of chemistry that needs to be built in order to have success this season.”

Fans and Schedule

Having attended soccer and volleyball games this semester, Figger said the student body and fans get loud and have a fun time. He said it is a great sight to see and hopes for that environment at basketball games.

“We want to build that same momentum going into the basketball season, where our student body becomes our sixth man and I know these guys will be very appreciative,” he said.

Johnson said last season with the pandemic, the team did not get to fully experience home games.

“So, I feel like this year, with the stuff going on at the university and with the new team, it’s going to be very exciting,” he said.

Figger said he wants the team to resemble the Rio Grande Valley, which is hardworking, blue-collar people who get up every morning to provide for their families.

“We want to work hard,” he said. “We want to provide for one another as a team. We want to get out to the community and make our presence felt. We want this to be a special team that the community identifies with and rallies around.”

UTRGV will play 31 games leading up to the WAC tournament with its season opener against Texas A&M International University at 7 p.m. Nov. 9 in the UTRGV Fieldhouse.

“I think the schedule is very competitive,” Figger said. “I think it’s going to prepare us to jump into the new WAC, which, if you look at this league now as a whole, [it has] six or seven Texas teams … which is more Texas teams than any other league in the country. So, I think you’re going to have an opportunity to develop great rivalries within the league.”

Nelson encourages the UTRGV community to come to the games this year and to bring friends and family.

“We’re gonna put on a show and I’m really excited for what we got going on this year,” he said. “And it’s going to
be worth it. It’s gonna be worth coming and setting that time and taking that time out to come and support the university.”