UALR basketball has fresh approach

PETE PERKINS
ARKANSAS DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE

Introductions were necessary.
Seven true freshmen on the men's side, and seven first-year players for the women, were presented Tuesday at Fast Break 2000, a rally for UALR Trojans supporters at downtown Little Rock's River Market.
Five women returned from last season's Trojans, the first women's basketball team at UALR since 1988. Rarely fielding more than seven scholarship players, UALR struggled to a 5-23 record.
"The ladies never gave up," Coach Tracy Stewart-Lange said. "You can build some very good things on what they did last year.
"But what a difference a year makes. We had a great recruiting class. I'm very excited about this group."
Along with nine new players, the men's team has a new coach for the second consecutive season.
When Sidney Moncrief resigned last May after one season, assistant coach Porter Moser was promoted as his replacement.
"I definitely want people to know these guys," Moser said. "They've been working so hard, and I have them doing things around the community. I want people to come in the arena and say, 'I know [senior forward] Stan Blackman. I know [freshman center] Jake Yancey.' If people can get to know them, they'll want to come support them.
"And there are a lot of new faces."
And a few prematurely gone.
Rod Nealy transferred to McLennan Community College in Waco, Texas. Adrian Brown will play at Central Arkansas. Troy Moore will play his senior season at NCAA Division II Lincoln in Jefferson City, Mo., and Roman Brown transferred to Southwest Missouri State-West Plains.
"We've never had this many young guys," Moser said. "We're trying to build a foundation with the kind of values we want to have. We're trying to show the kind of work ethic we want, the kind of unity, the togetherness we'll need."
UALR's men's team finished 4-24 last season, and its top three scorers return for their senior seasons.
Blackmon averaged 15.9 points a game, followed by Laverne Smith with 15.8 points. Alan Barksdale, listed as a senior last season, was granted another season of eligibility by the NCAA, which granted him a medical hardship from his freshman season at Colorado.
Barksdale ranked eighth in NCAA Division I last season with an average of 3.33 three-pointers a game. Through two seasons at UALR, Barksdale has made 175 three-pointers, second-most for a career in UALR history, behind Malik Dixon's 199.
Moser interviewed his players on the River Market stage in front of the crowd of about 300. He asked Barksdale what he had learned from last season.
"Last season I was too serious about everything," Barksdale said. "I didn't have any fun. You have to have fun playing basketball, and that's what I'm going to do this year."
"Alan needs to have more fun," Moser said. "Last year, he'd miss a shot and get too down on himself. That's not what a shooter needs to do. If you miss a shot, you just have to put that behind you, and step up and make the next shot."
Blackmon, Barksdale, and Smith will be joined by true freshmen Bryan Crislip, Darius Eason, Richard Hardman, Jermain Speights, Columbus Willis, Nick Zachery and Yancey.
First-year players for the women are Chandra Carey, Alicia Cash, Alexandria Hepburn, Asten Kennedy, Mariel Lanza, Roberta Sarti and Lee Ann Stephenson.
"I'm really excited about this group," Stewart-Lange said. "They're working very hard, and I know they'll give it their all."

This article was published on Wednesday, October 4, 2000

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