Conference USA Notebook
Joshua Parrott, Columnist
It took Miguel Paul all of one game to show what he could do as East Carolina’s new point guard.
Paul, a transfer from Missouri, opened this season with 19 points, eight assists and four steals in a 101-45 win over Milligan College on Nov. 11.
“I wanted a place where I could show my full talent and what I can give,” Paul said after that game. “I told coach (Jeff) Lebo if he had faith in me I would get the job done for him.”
Paul is one of numerous transfers getting the job done for schools in Conference USA this season.
Coming into this week, Paul led C-USA this season in assists (5.7 per game) and steals (2.2 per game). The Florida native was also seventh in scoring, averaging 15.5 points for ECU (7-4).
Paul originally signed with Missouri over Clemson, Memphis, Miami, South Florida and St. John’s but averaged only 11.7 minutes in 69 games with the Tigers while playing behind veterans J.T. Tiller and Zaire Taylor.
After sitting out last season, Paul has dominated since stepping on the court for ECU – and he’s not alone among the new faces making a difference for the Pirates. Three of their top four scorers this season are transfers.
Paul is the top scorer and playmaker for a program looking to build off an 18-win campaign in Lebo’s first year. ECU’s top rebounder (6.3 rpg) and second-leading scorer (13.1 ppg) is senior F Darrius Morrow. Junior G Shamarr Bowden, who once played at Charlotte and Chipola College, is third on the squad in scoring (8.9 ppg) and sixth in C-USA in 3-point shooting percentage (.431). Junior F Maurice Kemp is second on the team in rebounding (5.9 rpg) and fourth in scoring (8.7 ppg).
Bowden and Kemp didn’t start as hot as Paul did this season. But both played well to help ECU beat Gardner-Webb, 69-55, on Dec. 22 when Paul had eight assists but only 10 points on 1-of-8 shooting. Kemp logged a double-double with 18 points and 13 rebounds, and Bowden chipped in 13 points that night.
“I just had to get acclimated a little bit,” Kemp said after the Gardner-Webb win. “I’m getting the hang of it now.”
Nearly every team in the conference has an impact transfer this season.
Southern Miss (11-2) and Tulane (11-2) have the top records in C-USA behind the play of first-year transfers.
Senior G Darnell Dodson, a transfer from Kentucky, is averaging 17.7 points and 7.7 rebounds in three games. Sophomore G Neil Watson, formerly of Coffeyville Community College, leads the team in assists (3.7 apg) and adds 10.5 points.
Tulane junior F Josh Davis, a North Carolina State transfer, is C-USA’s fourth-leading rebounder (9.8 rpg) and is third on the squad in scoring (11.4 ppg).
Marshall (9-2) has one of the league’s top big men in junior F Dennis Tinnon, a former Kansas City Kansas Community College standout who is second in C-USA in field-goal percentage (.625) and third in rebounding (10.4 rpg).
Sophomore F Tristan Spurlock is one of UCF’s top role players, averaging 8.4 points and 4.5 rebounds after transferring from Virginia.
Houston’s top scorer this season is junior G/F Jonathon Simmons, who ranks sixth in the conference in scoring (16.0 ppg).
SMU has a pair of quality transfers in junior G London Giles (13.2 ppg, .444 3-point shooting percentage) from Nevada and sophomore F Shawn Williams (8.3 ppg, 3.7 rpg) of Texas.
Junior G Jacques Streeter, a transfer from Cal
State Fullerton, is now at UTEP and leads C-USA in 3-point shooting
percentage (.500) and is third in assists (3.7 apg).
One of the few bright spots for UAB has been Western Kentucky transfer Jordan Swing, a sophomore G/F who is averaging 10.2 points and 3.6 rebounds.
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Required Reading
***Houston holds off North Carolina A&T for a close win after Joseph Young’s 3-pointer in the closing minute.
***Southern Miss rolled to a seventh straight win after knocking off Belhaven on Tuesday.
***UCF coach Donnie Jones plans to give more playing time to his freshmen for the rest of the season.
***First-year Texas A&M-Corpus Christi coach Willis Wilson, formerly of Rice, faced his old school on Wednesday.
***Last week Memphis lost to Georgetown for the second time this season only it was by double digits this time around.
What I Knew …
Houston (7-5) would eventually recover from a tough start. The Cougars have won three straight following Wednesday’s 71-67 win over North Carolina A&T. This hot streak comes on the heels of a stretch in which they lost five of six by a combined 12 points. Houston is fun to watch with players like junior G/F Jonathon Simmons, sophomore F Alandise Harris and freshman F TaShawn Thomas on the floor and has shown improved chemistry in recent weeks.
What I Should Have Known …
Rice (9-4) was going to surprise somebody this season and did just that by beating Texas A&M last week. The loss snapped the Aggies’ 80-game winning streak in non-conference regular season games. The Owls have some experienced talent in junior F Arsalan Kazemi and G Tamir Jackson and a strong group of newcomers headlined by freshman G Dylan Ennis.
Stat of the Week
6-2: That was Conference USA’s record on Dec. 22 as Rice (Texas A&M) and UTEP (Clemson) picked up wins over teams from power leagues.
Who’s Hot, Who’s Not
Who’s Hot: Southern Miss (11-2) has won seven straight and would set a school record with its 12th win before January by beating Alcorn State (3-8) on Thursday … Marshall (9-2) and East Carolina (7-4) have also won consecutive games, winning four and three in a row, respectively … UAB senior F Cameron Moore set a school record with 24 rebounds and added 19 points in a 56-49 win at George Washington on Wednesday. The C-USA Preseason Player of the Year leads the league this season in blocks (4.0 per game) and is second in rebounding (10.5 rpg) … Southern Miss senior G Darnell Dodson and UTEP sophomore G Michael Perez recently shared C-USA Player of the Week honors. Dodson, a transfer from Kentucky, averaged 14.5 points, 8.0 rebounds and 1.5 steals, to lift USM to wins over Arizona State and USF in his first action of the season. Perez made the All-Tournament team at the Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic after averaging 17.7 points to lead UTEP to a third-place finish … UTEP freshman F Cedrick Lang is the reigning C-USA Freshman of the Week. Lang averaged 9.8 points and 5.8 rebounds while scoring in double digits in three of four games last week … Rice junior F Arsalan Kazemi logged his 37th career double-double and conference-best 10th of the season with 13 points and 15 rebounds in a 78-66 win over Texas A&M-Corpus Christi on Wednesday. Kazemi, who is five double-doubles shy of the conference record, is the national rebounding leader this season (12.5 rpg) … SMU F Robert Nyakundi is averaging 22.3 points on 59 percent shooting (22-of-37) in the past three games. That includes a 54.5 percent clip from 3-point range (12-of-22).
Who’s Not: Memphis (6-5) is going through some tough times, losing three of its past four games. Keep in mind those losses came to 12-1 Louisville, 13-0 Murray State and 11-1 Georgetown … Tulane F Josh Davis had three points and six rebounds after going 0-of-9 from the floor in an 80-61 loss at Syracuse on Dec. 22 … Tulsa sophomore G Jordan Clarkson is averaging 15.1 points this season but shooting only 38 percent from the floor, including 25.6 percent from 3 … Rice G Connor Frizzelle is shooting 35 percent in the last three games … SMU G London Giles had five points on 2-of-11 shooting, including 0-of-5 from 3-point range in Wednesday’s 68-58 loss to Oklahoma State … UAB G Quincy Taylor has five more turnovers (17) than assists (12) in the past four games … Memphis G Will Barton had 11 rebounds and 12 points in a 70-59 loss to Georgetown on Dec. 22 but shot only 30 percent in the defeat.
Did You Know?
Conference USA has two teams that have already reached the double-digit win mark this season in Southern Miss (11-2) and Tulane (11-2). Marshall (9-3) will join that club with another win.
Games to Watch
Marshall (9-2) at Belmont (8-5), Thursday: Marshall’s two losses came to 11-1 Ohio (70-68) and 14-0 Syracuse (62-56) but beat Belmont by only one on Dec. 19.
Robert Morris (10-3) at Memphis (6-5), Thursday: The Tigers need to get back on track after losing three of their past four games and now faces a Robert Morris team that’s won three straight.
Texas State (6-5) at Houston (7-5), Friday: Houston lost at Texas State 81-78 on Dec. 6 and is eager for some revenge at home in the rematch.
Rice (9-4) at Texas (9-3), Saturday: Texas plays for the first time in 10 days since a 19-point loss to No. 6 North Carolina, while Rice beat Texas A&M last week.
Tulane (11-2) at Texas-Pan American (4-10), Saturday: Tulane is 2-2 away from home this season – losing its last two – and this is a chance to gain some experience.
Parrott’s Take
We’ve seen a lot of parity in the non-conference portion of the Conference USA schedule, but it’s nice to know league play finally starts next week. Southern Miss (11-2), Tulane (11-2), Marshall (9-2), UCF (8-3) and Rice (9-4) are some of the C-USA teams that have started strong, but we’ll find out which teams are pretenders and contenders once conference action gets started.
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Streeter photo courtesy of Ivan Pierre Aguirre
