Sun Belt report

LITTLE ROCK — ASU eyes victories in close ones

In a season defined by close loses, none might have been more emblematic and gut-churning for Arkansas State than its visit to rival UALR.

With three seconds remaining, Trojans guardAlex Garcia-Mendoza grabbed a missed free throw, dribbled uncontested up the floor and heaved a desperation three-pointer aloft justinside half-court.

The junior’s shot hit the front of the rim, bounced off the backboard and dropped through.

UALR 79, Arkansas State 77. Pandemonium ensued.

It was that type of year for the Red Wolves, who finished 17-14 overall and second in the Sun Belt Conference West Division.

ASU beat conference champion North Texas twice, but the Red Wolves dropped three games by a combined six points.

“Where do we win the close games to put us in the conversation for the conference title and get into the NCAA Tournament?” ASU Coach John Brady said Tuesday during Sun Belt basketball media day. “That remains to be seen.”

The pieces are in place for the Red Wolves to push the Mean Green, who return four starters from an NCAA Tournament team and are unanimous favorites in the West. Five of ASU’s top six scorers - a group that provided 65 percent of the team’s nearly 70 points a game - return to the fold, led by junior forward Martavius Adams.

Adams, who averaged 11.6 points and a team-leading 7.5 rebounds a game, is one of two preseason secondteam All-Sun Belt picks for Arkansas State, joining junior guard Donald Boone.

But Brady pointed to junior guard Daniel Bryant (10.5 points per game) when typifying the potential his team has to make a breakthrough in his third year at the helm.

“Daniel Bryant was our leading scorer for the first 12 games, and people forget that,” he said. “He dislocated his shoulder and played sporadically down the stretch.”

Three or four more victories might be within reach for ASU.

“We’re fortunate to be where we are after our second year here,” Brady said. “That shows progress. We’ve stabilized this program and, hopefully, every year we’ll be in the conversation as one of the top three or four teams in the conference.”The mandate

On Monday, the conference unveiled a new scheduling policy mandating its men’s basketball teams aim to schedule opponents that push their Ratings Percentage Index standing to No. 150 or better over four years.

The reaction by coaches was less than receptive, hinting at the mandate as hierarchical policy that strips some programs of control and would cost teams home games - and ticket revenue - by hitting the road against tougher foes.

But a recommendation that programs aim to lure 5,000 fans to home games raised eyebrows, too.

For North Texas Coach Johnny Jones, whose Mean Green visited Kansas and LSU along with hosting Texas Tech, hitting the attendance mark will require the Sun Belt to pitch in with marketing assistance.

“I’m hopeful we won’t wait for that,” Jones said. “We’ve got some very talented kids that people need to see.”

The Sun Belt has a long way to go to reach the 5,000-fan benchmark, after averaging 2,900 last season. Western Kentucky led the way with 4,461 fans.

In Denton, the Mean Green averaged 2,706 fans, ranking sixth in the league. UALR averaged 3,360 fans and ASU checked in at 3,326

“We’ve tried to put the right product on the floor,” he said. “We’ve reached out to our students. We’ve gone to different venues to speak.

At the same time, you have to make sure the teams you’re playing are attractive.”

Defense, please

There was a youth movement in Boca Raton, Fla., a season ago.

And with it a dearth of defense for Florida Atlantic Coach Mike Jarvis. A fact, well, the third-year coach doesn’t couch.

“We were lousy on defense, obviously one of the worst defensive teams I’ve ever coached,” he said.

The Owls’ lineup, which featured eight freshmen, averaged the third-mostpoints per game at roughly 74 behind nowdeparted Greg Gantt and Raymond Taylor, who averaged 14.2 points a game.

Too badJarvis’ players were next to last in scoring defense (73.5 points), 10th in field-goal defense (45.5 percent) along with being last in three-point defense (40.6 percent) and rebounding (38.5) a game.

Florida Atlantic (14-16, 10-8 Sun Belt) was in contention for a division title until the last two weeks of the season.

The Owls dropped three of their final games by 13 points, unable to salt away leads.

“Most kids today don’t play defense on any level,” said Jarvis, whose team is picked second in the East Division. “We’ve got more bodies, we’re going to go much deeper and be able to play bodies when they’re fresh. Less people have excuses for not playing defense.”A little help?

On the cusp of his first season, new Louisiana-Monroe Coach Keith Richard has plenty of challenges ahead.

The Warhawks (12-19 last season) are cycling in seven new players and will take the floor with only 11 players on scholarship after the NCAA revoked two full scholarships when the program failed to hit academic benchmarks.

ULM’s four returners bring back an average of 21.5 points and 11.5 rebounds per game. Of that group, 6-4 senior forward Tommie Sykes averaged 11.3 points but only started in seven games and would be a shooting guard on most other teams.

For Richard, a ULM alumnus, the challenge facing his staff is simple.

“We need a full year of recruiting,” he said. “It’s what we need to do over the next year: put in a base of players that we want here at this school and think can be successful on and off the floor.”