San Antonio Express-News (Sunday)
Transfers ready to lead the way
Medor, Buggs bring a spark to the Roadrunners as the new starting backcourt
For the first time in his life, UTSA senior Jacob Germany wasn't having fun playing basketball.
The Roadrunners dropped their first seven Conference USA games in 2021-22, eventually slogging to a 3-15 record. At some point, Germany lost the desire to show up to practice every day, feeling drained by a group that “was just so down and in their own selfpity.”
Returning to UTSA for summer workouts, Germany noticed the tide starting to turn. Incoming junior college transfers John Buggs III and Japhet Medor brought a fresh maturity and commitment that spread through the roster, spurring the group to meet their offseason commitment of getting up 10,000 shots.
With Buggs and Medor poised to make up UTSA's starting backcourt, the Roadrunners feel a renewed sense of optimism entering their season opener against Trinity at 7 p.m. Monday in the Convocation Center.
“Last year, with just how bad it was and how bad we were, them bringing in that good spirit and high hopes, that picks everyone up,” Germany said. “Seeing their work ethic, their attitude toward the game, what they bring to the game, just reenergized me to want to get better. It just made everyone get that hunger back, that want to.”
UTSA coach Steve Henson said the lift Buggs and Medor provided was a natural product of their age and experience rather than a conscious choice.
Medor played two years at Santa Fe College in Florida before spending the 2021-22 season at Hillsborough, where he averaged 22.9 points, 5.2 rebounds and 6.5 assists per game.
Buggs started his college career at UMass, missing most of the 201920 season due to a right ACL tear before transferring to Hill College, where he sat out 2020-21 because of a left ACL tear. He returned to the court last year and averaged 15.2 points per game, hitting 47.3 percent from 3-point range to rank 11th nationally in JUCO.
“We needed them to turn the page and move on,” Henson said. “The intangibles, the leadership, all of those things they bring are fantastic, and two key guys on the court, as well. Those guys have really delivered in better ways than we envisioned.”
The duo is expected to help UTSA make up for the loss of four of its five leaders in average scoring from last year's team, complementing Germany's return after leading UTSA in points per game (15.2), rebounds per game (7.3) and blocked shots (25).
The Roadrunners ranked 340th out of 350 Division I teams with a 39.55 shooting percentage, checking in 338th with 29.41 percent 3-point shooting.
Graduating the program's two all-time scoring leaders in Jhivvan Jackson and Keaton Wallace after the 2020-21 season, UTSA struggled to find a new flow without the ball-dominant guards.
“We got off track,” Henson said. “Jhivvan and Keaton had so much freedom. We recruited guys to come replace them, but we just couldn't get back on track after that.”
UTSA spent much of the summer working on a more analytical approach to shot selection, Henson said, drilling players on the value of getting to the free-throw line or finding open 3s. After one June practice session, the Roadrunners met and ranked every shot attempt from best to worst.
Buggs said Medor's point guard play “gets so many easy shots” for the Roadrunners. The two guards developed their bond by going out to watch every game of the NBA Finals, with Buggs cheering the Celtics and Medor pulling for the Warriors.
Germany hopes the addition of guards with a range of offensive skills can help him find easier shots after he felt pressured to create individually late last season.
“I thought that's what we needed to win,” Germany said. “That was our best chance to win, if I took those hard shots and made half of them. I'm not really looking to do that again this year. I'm not going to go out here looking to be Jhivvan Jackson, scoring every time.”
Henson also pinned down elements of Roadrunners basketball culture built around the acronym PACE: Process, Accountability, Consistency, Excellence.
UTSA highlights a different aspect of the culture each week, and Germany said conversations about the values happen almost daily.
“The attitude toward everything in practice, we've picked up that culture,” Germany said. “I think that will stick here.”
The Roadrunners open with seven of their first eight games at home, embarking on just two road trips during the nonconference season.
Henson hopes the slate will help UTSA avoid wear and tear as the Roadrunners look to eclipse their last-place projection in the Conference USA preseason poll.
“I expected it,” Germany said. “It's just fuel to the fire. We're all hungry every day. It almost gets us excited to prove people wrong.”
“We needed them to turn the page
and move on.” Steve Henson, UTSA coach