Trojans coach not fazed by Lubbock
Chris Beard will take his UALR men’s basketball team into a familiar environment for its final nonconference game today, but he is insistent there’s nothing emotional about his return to west Texas.
“I view this as a business trip,” Beard said.
Beard spent seven seasons as an assistant coach under Bobby Knight and three under Pat Knight, helping the Red Raiders to four NCAA Tournaments during that period. At 2 p.m. today, he’ll return to United Supermarkets Arena for the first time as a Division I head coach — and
this time he’s bringing his 10-0 Trojans.
But Beard said he’s not sentimental about his return.
“That’s a fair question,” Beard said. “But we took the bus to the hotel, we’ll take the bus to the gym. Lubbock is a place I enjoy
coming to in the summers, but this is strictly a business trip.”
Beard has plenty to keep him focused.
UALR won again Sunday — 84-57 over Northern Arizona — leaving it among six undefeated teams remaining in Division I men’s basketball. The victory helped the Trojans retain 14 points in The Associated Press poll, same as last week, with one vote ranking them as high as 22nd.
A victory today would give UALR its first undefeated record in nonconference games and could edge the Trojans closer to breaking into the poll.
The Trojans will have to beat a Texas Tech team (81) that is off to a solid start of its own. The Red Raiders finished 13-19 last season and were picked last in the Big 12 this season, but their only loss so far was to No. 24 Utah on Nov. 19.
They’ve done it by playing solid defense — they’re
holding teams to 37.8 percent shooting from the field — and taking care of the ball — they’re averaging 11.4 turnovers per game — the same blueprint Beard wants UALR to follow. It’s one of the reasons Beard said assistant coach Mark Adams, who spent the past two seasons as the Red Raiders’ director of basketball operations, scheduled the game.
“They’re not overcomplicated,” Beard said of Texas Tech. “They really, really guard, they share the ball on offense, they play the game the right way. That’s kind of what we’re trying to do in Little Rock. It’ll be a great measuring stick for us.”
UALR’s defense gets a lot of credit for the Trojans’ undefeated record, but the offense is coming into its own, too.
The Trojans lead Division I in scoring defense (53.7 points allowed per game), but they scored a season-high against a Division I team and shot 50.0 percent from the field (33-for66) in Sunday’s 84-57 victory over Northern Arizona.
Just as pleasing to Beard was that their four leading
scorers — Marcus Johnson Jr. (15), Jalen Jackson (14), Roger Woods (13) and Mareik Isom (12) — came off the bench.
That 50 percent mark from the floor is a goal that Beard said he gives for his team in every practice, scrimmage and game. It’s happened three times in games — in victories at Tulsa and at Idaho, too — but he said it’s been even more rare in practice. Beard said he was concerned at first, but then conceded it’s because his team is defending well.
“There’s a certain chemistry to basketball, and there’s a certain familiarity with your teammates that brings good shots selection and good opportunities,” he said. “That’s one exciting thing about our team is we think we can improve as the year goes on just naturally, because the guys get to play with each other more.”