Nov. 27, 2010
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CHICAGO - The UIC men's basketball team will look to wrap up the month of November with its fourth win of the season, when the Flames host Toledo in a Sunday matinee at the UIC Pavilion beginning at 3 p.m.
UIC'S PROBABLE STARTERS/BIO INFORMATION
#2 Paul Carter (Sr., F)
NOTES: Has recorded five-straight double-digit scoring outputs, including a season-high tying 24 points against Rhode Island (11/21/10) ... Tallied his first-career double-double with 17 points and 11 rebounds against the College of Charleston (11/20/10) ... Pulled down nine rebounds Wednesday against Central Michigan.
#3 Robo Kreps (Sr., G)
NOTES: Has scored 20 or more points in four-of the last five contests, and recorded five-straight double-digit scoring efforts ... MVP of the 2K Sports Classic Toledo Sub-regional ... the current Horizon League Player of the Week ... Tallied his 400th career field goal Wednesday night against Central Michigan.
#23 Zavion Neely (Jr., G)
NOTES: Has started all six games, often drawing the assignment as the Flames' "chaser" on defense ... Has played 30 or more minutes in each of the last four games ... Two double-digit scoring outputs (10 points), against Roosevelt (11/15/10) and Toledo (11/19/10).
#32 Darrin Williams (Jr., C)
NOTES: Averaging 7.0 points per game over the last four contests ... Has started all six games of his UIC career ... Scored nine points and corralled nine rebounds against Rhode Island (11/21/10) ... Ripped down eight caroms in the first meeting against Toledo (11/19/10).
#35 Brad Birton (Sr., F)
NOTES: Averaging 5.8 rebounds over the past five games ... Can defend multiple positions ... Has a combined 12 assists in the last three games ... Has drawn a team-high 14 charges this season ... Shooting 44.4 percent from the field.
THE COACHES
UIC: Howard Moore is in his first season as a college head coach. Moore, 37, comes to UIC after spending the previous five seasons as an assistant coach at Wisconsin, his alma mater, under head coach Bo Ryan.
Moore joined the Badgers staff in 2005 and helped lead them to the NCAA Tournament in each of his five seasons in Madison. The team advanced past the first round of the Big Dance in each of the last four seasons and produced a memorable Sweet 16 run in 2008.
With Moore on the bench, Wisconsin posted three of the top five winningest seasons in school history, including a historic 2007-08 campaign that saw the Badgers win a school-record 31 games en route to Big Ten regular season and tournament championships.
Under Ryan's tutelage Moore established himself as one of the top recruiters in the Big Ten by utilizing the Chicagoland area as a main pipeline for talent.
Toledo: Toledo head coach Tod Kowalczyk took over the reins of the University of Toledo men's basketball program on March 30, 2010, after spending the previous eight seasons as the mentor at Horizon League member Green Bay. Kowalczyk posted a 136-112 (.548) win-loss mark with the Phoenix, including a pair of 22-win campaigns in his final two seasons.
SCOUTING THE FLAMES
UIC is off to a 3-3 start, and is 1-1 inside the confines of the UIC Pavilion early on this season. The Flames are coming off Wednesday night's 62-52 loss at the hands of visiting Central Michigan.
Senior guard Robo Kreps is leading the Flames offensively, scoring 114 points (19.0 ppg) just six games into the season -- he has also dished out a team-high 20 assists in his first full season running the point. Senior forward Paul Carter, in his first season in a UIC uniform, is averaging 15.8 points per game, while also leading the Flames in rebounding with 7.2 caroms per contest.
Junior guard Zavion Neely, who scored 12.2 points per game as a sophomore last season, is averaging 8.3 points per contest early this season.
UIC is averaging 66.2 points per game, and allowing its opponents to score 68.3 points per contest. The Flames are on the positive side of the ledger in both rebounding (+0.4) and turnover margin (+2.2), and are shooting nearly 43 percent (.423) from the field,
SCOUTING THE ROCKETS
Toledo is 0-6 on the season, including an 0-3 mark in true road games. The Rockets are coming off a 73-67 loss at Youngstown State (11/24/10), a game in which UT owned a 40-29 rebounding advantage.
Toledo, a member of the Mid-American Conference West Division, is being led offensively by Chicago native Malcolm Griffin (10.3 ppg), who played for current UIC assistant coach Donnie Kirksey at Hyde Park High School. Zack Leahy has added 9.3 points per contest, while Anthony Wright (8.8), Chicago native Delino Dear (8.5) and Hayden Humes (7.0) are all averaging at least seven points per game.
The Rockets are averaging 54.7 points per game, while giving up 72.7 points per contest to their opponents. Through six games, Toledo has shot 40.3 percent from the field, 31.5 percent from three-point range and 62.6 percent from the free throw line.
BREAKING DOWN THE CENTRAL MICHIGAN GAME
There were a combined three ties and lead changes in the game, with UIC holding its largest lead of six (10-4) with 13:11 remaining in the first half ... CMU recorded a 30-10 scoring advantage in the paint, and also out-paced the Flames on second-chance points (9-5) on through the fast break (12-0) ... UIC recorded season lows in points (52), field goals (18) and field goal percentage (.327) against the Chippewas ... Seniors Robo Kreps (14) and Paul Carter (10) both scored in double figures for the fifth-consecutive game ... Eight of Carter's 10 points came in the second half ... Freshman guard Shawn King (Gilbert, Ariz./Gilbert) saw his first action in a Flames uniform, scoring four points ... King was sidelined for the first five games of the season due to a knee injury.
LET'S PLAY TWO
UIC and Toledo will be playing for the second time in the past nine days when the Flames and Rockets go head-to-head at the UIC Pavilion Sunday. UIC posted a 57-51 win over Toledo in the first-round of last weekend's (11/19/10) 2K Sports Classic benefiting Coaches versus Cancer.
In that contest, senior guard Robo Kreps poured in a game-high 20 points, and drilled five free throws in the final 2:35, to hold off a late rally by Toledo. The Flames never trailed in the game. UIC tallied a stingy defensive effort, holding the Rockets to a 39.5 percent effort from the field, forcing 17 turnovers and swiping eight steals. Toledo was also held without a field goal for the opening six-plus minutes in both halves.
The Rockets were led by Anthony Wright's 15 points on four three pointers; he was joined in double figures by Hayden Humes (12) and point guard J.T. Thomas (10), who was making his first-career start.
ATTACK ON THE MAC
UIC will be playing its third game against a Mid-American Conference West Division opponent on Sunday, after defeating Toledo (57-51) on Nov. 19, and dropping a 62-52 decision versus Central Michigan at home on Wednesday. The Flames will also take on Akron at the UIC Pavilion on Dec. 4, and travel to DeKalb, Ill., to face Northern Illinois on Dec. 14.
GIVING THANKS
With a win over Toledo on Sunday, UIC would secure its fourth win during the month of November. The last time the Flames captured four or more wins in the opening month of the season was during the 2003-04 campaign, when UIC went 5-1 in the month of November. That team finished the season with a 24-8 record (12-4 Horizon) and made UIC's last NCAA Tournament appearance.
KREPS NAMED HORIZON LEAGUE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
After leading the UIC men's basketball team to three non-conference wins and earning Most Valuable Player Honors at the 2K Sports Classic Toledo Sub-regional, senior guard Robo Kreps was named the Horizon League Player of the Week, the conference office announced Monday morning.
In four games, Kreps averaged 23.3 points per game on a 57.1 percent clip from the field, including a near 55 percent (.542) mark from three-point range. He also dished out 4.0 assists per game, corralled 20 rebounds (5.0 rpg), and recorded a 1.6 assist/turnover ratio. Kreps played an average of 36.5 minutes per contest.
THREES-A-PLENTY
First-year head coach Howard Moore guided UIC to a 3-2 record through its first five games and in doing so, secured the best five-game start for a first-year Flames mentor since Willie Little (1983-87) coached the 1983-84 team to a 5-2 start. Little took over a team that won 16 games the year before (1982-83).
CHARGING TO VICTORY
When people talk about doing the little things that "don't show up in the stat sheet," they may all be referring to UIC senior forward Brad Birton. The Windy City native is averaging just 2.8 points per game and has only taken 18 shots on the season, but could arguably be the Flames' MVP through six games. Birton's 16 assists rank second only behind senior guard Robo Kreps, and perhaps most impressively, he has already drawn a team-high 14 charges on the season. Birton is also averaging 5.3 rebounds per contest, ranking second behind only Paul Carter (7.2 rpg).
THE DEVELOPMENT CONTINUES
In the first two games of the season for first-year junior center Darrin Williams, he was plagued by early foul trouble. But in each of the past four contests, Williams' minutes have increased, capped off by a nine-point, nine-rebound performance in a season-high 25 minutes of action versus Rhode Island last Sunday. Williams, who has started all six games, scored seven points and corralled six rebounds on Wednesday against Central Michigan.
CLIMBING THE CHARTS
Senior guard Robo Kreps enters Sunday's game against Toledo with 1,219 points, which ranks 14th on the all-time scoring list at UIC. He needs 12 points to tie Nate Chambers (1984-88) for 13th, and is just 14 points away from equaling Armond Williams' (2001-05) career scoring output (1,233), which ranks 12th all time. Kreps has recorded 60 double-digit scoring efforts over the past three seasons, while scoring 20 or more points 18 times.
THE NEWEST FLAMES
Head coach Howard Moore started from the confines of his home, and then headed South and East to complete his first recruiting class, one that he hopes will fulfill his aggressive vision to rebuild the UIC men's basketball program.
Moore announced the newest additions to his 2011-12 team on November 11, a five-player class that covers all five positions on the court. Chicago Public League (CPL) players Jerome Brown (6-4, SG, Morgan Park H.S.), Ahman Fells (6-5, G/F, Simeon) and Greg Travis (6-0, PG, Curie) all officially joined the program, along with 6-foot-5 shooting guard Marc Brown, out of Dallas, and Will Simonton, a 6-11 center from Fishburne Military Academy in Virginia.
CARTER'S JOURNEY
First-year head coach Howard Moore and the UIC men's basketball program received some great news in late September, when Minnesota transfer Paul Carter was granted a legislative relief waiver by the NCAA, allowing him immediate eligibility at UIC for his senior season.
Carter is a versatile 6-8, 203-pound forward who played a key role as the Sixth Man for Minnesota head coach Tubby Smith the past two seasons, helping the Golden Gophers reach a pair of NCAA Tournament berths. With the Golden Gophers, Carter scored more than 300 points and corralled over 200 rebounds.
Carter transferred to UIC with one year of eligibility remaining to be near his sister, Bria, who was diagnosed with osteosarcoma, a form of bone cancer, last winter. Since Carter joined the Flames, Bria has completed chemotherapy, received a temporary prosthetic leg after amputation, and is planning to begin her high school career at King High School in Chicago next semester.
Carter comes from a strong sports family. Ron Carter, Paul's father, was drafted by the Los Angeles Lakers in 1978, and his older brother, Ron III, was an All-American triple jumper at California State-Long Beach.
