A-STATE/UT MARTIN SERIES HISTORY
A-State and UT Martin have met 21 times in history with the Red Wolves holding a 15-5 mark over the Skyhawks (one A-State win was later vacated). The first games in the series occurred in the 1935-36 seasons when the two teams split two meetings. The two squads didn't meet again until the 1966-67 season when A-State won 76-67 in Jonesboro.
The Red Wolves are 9-1 all-time against UT Martin in Jonesboro and defeated the Skyhawks last season in Jonesboro by a score of 72-62. The UTM game was A-State's second game of the season and home opener a season ago.
The Red Wolves had four scorers in double-figures in last season's win versus UTM. Kirk Van Slyke led the team with 16 points, while Melvin Johnson III (15), Cameron Golden (13), and Brandon Reed (10) all scored at least 10 points. Golden is the only returner to this season's squad of that group. Marshun Newell led all scorers with 18 points and returns for the Skyhawks this season.
A-State has won seven straight contests against UT Martin with UTM's last victory coming in the 2005-06 season when the Skyhawks won an 80-77 decision in overtime in Martin, Tenn. A-State coach John Brady is 5-0 against UT Martin since becoming the Red Wolves' head coach and 7-1 against UTM all-time as a head coach.
LAST TIME OUT
The Red Wolves lost their first exhibition game of the John Brady era Nov. 12 to Southern Arkansas 69-67. A-State led SAU 40-30 at halftime, but the Muleriders fought back to lead most of the second half. Sean Gardner tied the game on a deep three-pointer with eight seconds left, but SAU's Tyrell Taylor drove coast- to-coast and hit a game-winning floater as time expired.
The loss to SAU was only Arkansas State's second exhibition loss in its last 22 games with the other coming to Arkansas-Monticello before the 2004-05 season (71-66).
SCOUTING UT MARTIN
UT Martin enters the contest having already played their season opener back on Friday, Nov. 14 at Marquette. The Skyhawks trailed 38-30 at halftime and were outscored by eight points in the second half as well (41-33) to lose to the Golden Eagles by a final of 79-63. Deville Smith led the team with 12 points, while Twymond Howard chipped in with 11 points. Alex Anderson also scored 11 points after coming off the bench in the game. Myles Taylor grabbed 11 rebounds to lead the team and Marshun Newell dished out three assists and had one block to lead the team in both categories.
The Skyhawks were an 8-23 team last season with a 3-13 mark in the Ohio Valley Conference, which was sixth place in the west division and 12th overall. UTM returns seven lettermen and three starters from a season ago. The Skyhawks also added 10 newcomers and have a new head coach.
Heath Schroyer was named UT Martin's ninth men's basketball coach in history on March 20, 2014. He most recently was the Associate Head Coach at UNLV for three seasons. The Runnin' Rebels made two NCAA tournament appearances during his time there. Schroyer also had stints as a head coach at Portland State from 2002-2005 and Wyoming (2007-2011). In eight total seasons as head coach, he has compiled an 84-116 record with one conference championship (Portland State '04-'05) and one postseason appearance (Wyoming '08-'09 CBI Postseason Tournament).
What's Returning: A-State returns three players from the 2013-14 team in juniors Cameron Golden, Kelvin Downs, and Josh Pierre as the Red Wolves' top five scoring leaders graduated. The trio combined to account for 13.4 percent (325-2,432) of the Red Wolves' scoring output from a season ago. Golden returns as A-State's leader in scoring (7.6 ppg.), rebounding (2.5), assists (2.5), and steals (1.1).
New Assistants: Carlos Wilson and Mike Scutero will begin their first season at A-State in 2014-15 as assistants on head coach John Brady's staff. Wilson previously was an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator at Odessa (Texas) College while Scutero spent the 2013-14 season as an assistant at Kennesaw (Ga.) State. Prior to KSU, Scutero was an assistant to the head coach (Kermit Davis) and director of basketball operations at Middle Tennessee State from 2010-13.
Ready To Play: Guards PJ Hardwick and Sean Gardner are both eligible for competition this 2014-15 season after not playing in the 2013-14 campaign. Hardwick, a transfer from North Texas, sat out due to the NCAA Division I Transfer Rule while Gardner was redshirted after signing with the Red Wolves prior to the 2013-14 season. Hardwick, who started in 17 of UNT's 32 games for the 2012-13 season, scored a team seventh-best 3.7 points (118 pts.) and 2.9 rebounds (92 rebs.) while averaging 23.7 minutes per contest (758 total). Gardner compiled per game averages of 10.7 points (320 pts.), 3.6 rebounds (108 rebs.), and 3.0 assists (89 ast.) in 30 2012-13 outings at Motlow Community College, coached by former A-State men's basketball player Jerry Nichols (2005-06).
Productive Helper: Cameron Golden's team-leading 81 assists in 32 appearances last season represented a personal single-season best, bettering his 65 assists in 31 games for the 2012-13 campaign. Golden set personal season highs in points (244), steals (36), field goals made (81), free throws made (39), minutes played (768), and games played (32) this past 2013-14 season.
One More: Head coach John Brady enters the 2014-15 season one win shy of registering his 100th victory at Arkansas State. Brady has presently compiled a 99-91 mark (.521) in seven seasons at A-State and is 12 wins away from tying Marvin Adams (1976-84; 111 wins) for fourth place on the program's all-time coaching wins leaders list. The 2009-10 Sun Belt Conference Coach of the Year Award recipient has amassed a 66-21 record (.759) in home matchups.
Did You Know?: Junior forwards Ronnie White and Nouhoum Bocoum were teammates at Paris (Texas) Junior College this past 2013-14 season ... Sophomore guard Daijon Macklien played football at NCAA Divsiion I North Alabama in the 2012 season ... Sean Gardner and junior forward Charles Waters are stepbrothers Nouhoum Bocoum wears size 18 shoes ... Cameron Golden has switched his jersey number to one for this upcoming season after wearing zero this past 2013-14 campaign.
Golden Performer: Cameron Golden averaged a team fifth-best 8.5 points (153 pts.), 3.0 rebounds (54 rebs.), a squad-high 2.8 assists (50 ast.), and 1.2 steals (21 stl.) per game in 18 Sun Belt Conference contests last season compared to 6.5 points (91 pts.), 1.8 rebounds (25 rebs.), 1.6 assists (31 ast.), and 1.1 steals (15 stl.) in 14 non-conference outings. Golden accumulated double-figure scoring 13 times in the 2013-14 campaign, which included a career-high 20 points at Texas State (1/4).
Among The Best: Arkansas State was one of the nation's top three-point shooting teams in the 2013-14 season as the Red Wolves ranked 12th among the final NCAA Division I leaders in three-point field goals per game (8.8), 22nd in three-point field goals made (282), 36th in three-point field goal attempts (737), and 40th in three-point field goal percentage (38.3 percent).
Shot Blocker: Kelvin Downs' 19 blocked shots in 32 games for the 2013-14 season not only was a personal single-season high, but ranked second among A-State's team leaders. He compiled 10 blocks in 29 2012-13 season outings.
Monthly Records: The Red Wolves are 18-16 in November games, 25-19 in December, 28-22 in January, 22-23 in February, and 6-11 in March contests since head coach John Brady's arrival in the 2008-09 season. A-State went 4-2 in November encounters this past season.
Scoring Machine: A-State's 2,432 points scored in the 2013-14 season is a program all-time best, surpassing the 2,392 points set by the 2006-07 team. The Red Wolves averaged 76.0 points a contest in 32 games, which represented the program's highest scoring average since the 2004-05 team scored an average of 76.1 points per game (2,207 pts.) in 29 outings.
Close Ties: Guard Josh Pierre's father, Butch, will embark on his seventh season as the associate men's basketball head coach at Oklahoma State University. Butch spent 11 seasons (1997-08) at LSU as a member of current A-State head coach John Brady's staff, including six as an associate head coach. Josh has a twin brother, Joseph III. Pierre doubled his points production last season by tallying 12 points in eight games after netting six points in four appearances for the 2012-13 campaign.
