Nov. 2, 2010
CHICAGO - The Howard Moore era at UIC officially gets underway Wednesday night, when the Flames host UIS in the team's lone exhibition game, beginning at 7:30 p.m. at the UIC Pavilion. The game will be preceded by the UIC women's basketball team hosting St. Xavier (5 p.m.) in the first of its two exhibition contests.
When the Flames and Prairie Stars tip-off, UIC will have participated in 16 practices since Oct. 15. Moore has been pleased with the development he has seen out of his team through the first two and a half weeks of the season.
"Practices are going pretty well," said Moore. "We're continually trying to nail down our best combinations, and looking to see what certain guys can do in certain situations. The setting has been competitive; we're really excited about the fact that these guys are going at each other hard and competing every day."
UIC is coming off last season's 8-22 (3-15 Horizon) campaign -- the Flames finished ninth in the Horizon League regular season standings. But three starters return, including UIC's top-two scorers, senior guard Robo Kreps (15.2 ppg) and junior backcourt mate Zavion Neely, who enjoyed a breakout season by averaging 12.2 points per contest.
Along with six other newcomers, Moore and his staff will also welcome the addition of senior forward Paul Carter, who has already scored more than 300 points and pulled down over 200 rebounds during two years in the rugged Big Ten Conference. He served as Tubby Smith's Sixth Man the past two seasons at Minnesota, was granted a legislative relief waiver by the NCAA, allowing him immediate eligibility for his senior season.
Carter transferred to UIC with one year of eligibility remaining to be closer to his sister, Bria, who was diagnosed with osteosarcoma, a form of bone cancer, last winter. Moore named Carter a co-captain, along with Kreps.
"I've admired those guys (Kreps and Carter) from afar the last few years, having coached against Paul, and seeing Robo play when I was on the recruiting trail, and on film," Moore said. "They are both tremendous leaders, and eager to finish off their careers the right way. We are going to count on those guys to lead by being vocal, but also to lead by example, as well."
Other veteran returnees include senior frontcourt members K.C. Robbins and Brad Birton, senior guards Dipanjot Singh and Jimmy Harding, and sophomore guards Corey Gray, Anthony Kelley and Arman Rasul. Robbins and Birton combined to start 36 games last season, while Gray and Kelley saw action in 28 and 21 contests, respectively.
There will plenty of new faces on the UIC bench when the Flames open the 2010-11 season at No. 4 Pittsburgh in the 2K Sports Classic benefitting Coaches versus Cancer one week from tonight (Nov. 10). Carter leads a group of seven newcomers, including junior college transfers Daniel Barnes (6-2, 180, Jr., G), Paris Carter, (6-7, 230, Jr., F), Dorian Tyler (6-9, 230, Jr., C) and Darrin Williams (6-9, 270, Jr., C), along with freshmen Eddie Denard (6-7, 215, F) and Shawn King (6-4, 200, G).
Moore, a Chicago native that grew up mere blocks from the UIC campus, is proud to return home to lead the UIC program. But along with instituting a form of Wisconsin's Swing offense, he'll also bring many of the defensive principles and fundamentals that helped lead his alma mater to five-consecutive NCAA Tournaments during his time on Bo Ryan's staff. Last year, the Badgers finished in the top-five of the country in scoring defense. "That's (defense) our identity; that's who we are," said Moore. "We're going to be a team that is going to guard; we're going to be stingy defensively; we're going to be disciplined playing with strong fundamentals, and not allow easy shots. That's what I believe in, and I've always played and worked for coaches that felt the same way."
The Flames will play a challenging non-conference schedule that includes the aforementioned season opener at Pitt, along with a trip to Oregon State on Dec. 22. UIC will also take on four other foes from the state of Illinois, including road trips to Illinois State (Dec. 11) and Northern Illinois (Dec. 14), and the highly anticipated match-up against Illinois at the United Center on Dec. 18. The Flames' home season opener is scheduled for Monday, Nov. 15, versus Roosevelt University.
UIS is under the leadership of first-year head coach Ben Wierzba, who was hired as the Prairie Stars' new mentor in early September. Wierzba comes to UIS after spending the previous three seasons as an assistant coach at the University of Evansville under head coach Marty Simmons.
The Prairie Stars finished the 2009-10 season with an 11-13 (7-11 GLVC) record, but returns Brandon Farmer, who averaged 10.3 points per game. UIS also has three Division I transfers on its roster.
