NCDS: Jeremy Ballard, Asst. Coach - Tulsa

During the last couple of years, Conference USA has taken a lot of heat publicly, undeservedly I might add, for being a so called one team conference. The Championship run and overall dominance displayed by Coach John Calipari’s Memphis team’s cast a negative light over the rest of the conference. While Memphis under Coach Josh Pastner’s leadership is still a force to be reckoned with in the conference and on a national level, this season’s Conference USA championship race has truly shaped up to be one of the most competitive and compelling in the country.

Before UAB pulled ahead late, there were five teams coming down the stretch that were tied in the loss column with four defeats – Southern Mississippi, UAB, Tulsa, Memphis, and UTEP.  SMU and Marshall are right on these teams’ heels with five and six conference losses respectively. Being a part of such a hotly contested conference race was truly exciting for our players, coaching staff, and fans. We ultimately finished 11-5 and earned the first round Conference USA Tournament bye that the top 4 teams all receive. 

Our head coach Doug Wojcik has said all season long that our team is on a journey and we have taken each game, whether a win or loss, in stride. We entered this season with five newcomers in our regular rotation and three newcomers in the starting line-up.  While our season has definitely had its fair share of ups and downs, the Golden Hurricane is definitely starting to play its best basketball of the season at seemingly the right time. Our players have worked hard to get a good grasp of all of our offensive and defensive principles that have brought our team success in years’ past.

Proof of the progression that we have made as a team this season can be found through the various team statistics that are kept. Offensively, we finished near the top in scoring offense, scoring margin, and offensive rebounds. Defensively we were also outstanding in rebounding margin, field goal percentage defense, 3-point field goal percentage defense, and scoring defense.  These are areas that our coaching staff truly values because we believe that championships are won through a balanced excellence on offense, defense, and in rebounding. While it may have taken a while for our team to find consistency in those three critical areas, we are starting to find our groove while still striving for an even better effort on a game to game basis in all of those categories.

The most exciting aspect of our season is not what has already transpired but what has yet to come.  Of course, the motto and refrain of every coaching staff in the America is to take it “One game at a time” and that most certainly rings true in Conference USA. 

Enjoy March Madness!