UAPB hoops roster is redone

As practice for the 202223 men’s basketball season has started, Coach Solomon Bozeman’s second team at the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff looks much different from his first.

Bozeman had to do more than find athletes who could fill the scoring shoes of the graduating DeQuan Morris and Shawn Williams, as well as classmates Travonta Doolittle and Omar Parchman. Nine underclassmen have left the team, with key contributors Trey Sampson, Brandon Brown and Kshun Stokes heading into the NCAA transfer portal.

So, this season’s Golden Lions includes 12 new faces and the return of a star from George Ivory’s last season at the helm.

“I think we have some guys who can score the basketball,” Bozeman said Tuesday during the Southwestern Athletic Conference men’s basketball Zoom conference. “We have some guys who can fit our personality on defense, being able to get some stops and being able to rebound.”

Shaun Doss has returned

to Pine Bluff for his extra season of eligibility after spending last season at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville. Doss, who lettered three years at UAPB, was the Lions’ leading scorer in 2020-21 (15.9 points per game) and second on the SIUE team last season (12).

“It was a blessing to get Shaun Doss back,” Bozeman said. “He’s a former first-team all-conference guy. He’s a guy who loves to put in the work. He’s an everyday guy. He’s just been a phenomenal leader for us. The guys listen to him. Whatever he says, goes. Just to have a guy like that back in your program who wants to win — one of the things he expressed when he came back was that he wants to win — we’re blessed to have him back.”

Doss’ experience could be key in helping the Golden Lions surge from a 7-24 overall mark (5-13 in SWAC). Sophomore guard Kylen Milton, the team’s third-leading scorer last season (12 ppg) and senior forward Brahm Harris (4.5) are the only returnees from Bozeman’s first UAPB team.

Bozeman reached into the transfer pool himself and picked up 5-foot-9 guard Trejon Ware from Arkansas Baptist College, 6-1 guard Orion Virden from Collin College in Texas, 6-2 guard Rashad Williams from Saint Louis University, 6-8 graduate forward Chris Greene from Cleveland State University, 6-5 forward A.C. Curry from Otero Junior College in Colorado, 6-8 forward Caleb Stokes from Southern Arkansas University Tech and 6-8 Dutch forward Ishmael Plet from Oral Roberts University.

“We feel good about our guys and we feel good about this group,” Bozeman said. “We’ve got a young group mixed with some veteran guys, so we want to continue to get these guys better each and every day.”

Among Bozeman’s second freshman class is 6-9 forward Robert Lewis, who starred for St. Louis’ Cardinal Ritter College Prep in last year’s King Cotton Holiday Classic; 6-9 Brazilian forward Samuel Ribeiro; 6-8 Swiss forward Rafael Martinez; 6-4 guard Kuron Coleman of Newport News, Va.; and 6-6 guard Zach Reinhart of Orlando.

“I got the job late last year, so I thought it was very important our staff come in and recruit the players that can fit our system and style of play,” said Bozeman, who was hired in June 2021.

SCHEDULE

UAPB’s 2022-23 schedule contains the usual games against big-name competition, tipping off Nov. 7 at Texas Christian University. The University of Oklahoma, Mississippi State University, University of Nebraska, U.S. Air Force Academy, University of Texas and University of Minnesota are among nonconference teams the Lions will visit, while non-Division I Arkansas teams Champion Christian College, Crowley’s Ridge College, Arkansas Baptist and Ecclesia College come to Pine Bluff before the Lions begin SWAC play Jan. 2 at Alabama A&M University.

“With the nonconference schedule, we wanted to schedule really tough opponents that we’re going to face on the road,” Bozeman said. “And then at home, we want to face some opponents where we can come in and try to get some victories.”

HOME IN THE VALLEY

Ivory, 57, took over his alma mater Mississippi Valley State University’s team in late February after the school placed Lindsey Hunter, a former NBA player, on administrative leave. Hunter eventually resigned and Ivory was elevated to full-time head coach in March.

Ivory resigned as UAPB coach in April 2021, citing tiredness after a season met with challenges related to covid-19 protocols less than a year into the pandemic. He was hired as director of alumni relations and did not work with the basketball team until he asked to coach the Delta Devils in the interim.

He had to get back in the groove of coaching really quickly. Valley finished the season 0-3 under Ivory, but the last two games against instate rivals Alcorn State and Jackson State universities were decided by a total of 10 points after UAPB beat the Devils 93-79 on Feb. 26.

“There was a quick turnaround, and working with those young men three days was really good to get back into the move of coaching, and trying to learn a new team that quick was tough,” Ivory said, “but like I said, I have a great group of guys. The administration was very supportive. Those three games were about trying to get us over the hump.”

Ivory led Valley to the 1986 SWAC tournament championship and was the conference’s 1987 player of the year. He had been an assistant at both UAPB and Valley before becoming the Lions’ head coach in 2008.

Now, he’s back home in the Valley.

“It has always crossed my mind every time the job came open, but like I say, UAPB was a great situation,” Ivory said. “I love the people in Pine Bluff. I thought the administration was tremendous. It’s hard to leave the city itself, but it was just a chance for me to get back home as director of alumni relations here at Mississippi Valley and start working toward my retirement.”