‘This should be our best team here’: Texan MBB, WBB set expectations on annual WAC basketball preview shows

BY GAVIN PATRICK

Sports Editor

Basketball season is underway, and Tarleton State men’s and women’s basketball got their annual shine in the WAC basketball preview shows on ESPN+ on Oct. 28 and 29.

They may not be the teams on everyone’s radar, as both are picked to finish fifth in the conference in the preseason polls, but expectations have not wavered internally. And with many new faces and a brand-new arena, there may be more eyes on Texan basketball than ever before.

On the men’s side, the Texans welcome 12 newcomers, led by UCF transfer Dior Johnson and last year’s second leading scorer in Division II, Cam McDowell. Johnson was a top 40 prospect coming out of high school in 2022, and McDowell played his first collegiate season at the University of Georgia.

Both have bounced around teams since, but head coach Billy Gillispie welcomes them as key contributors on a team that’s tied for the most players in the nation with 18.

“We're excited about our entire roster,” Gillispie said. “We got by far the best depth that we’ve had, we’ve got the best perimeter that we’ve had and we’ve got some guys that are really getting better on the interior. So, this should be our best team here.”

A key returner for the Texans is senior forward Chris Mpaka, the team-leader in rebounds (169) and blocks (51) from last season.

When at his best, Mpaka has been one of the best post players in the WAC. He scored in double digits 16 times last season, including in a game with this monster dunk that was nominated for WAC Top Play of the week in December.

But Mpaka also played 10 or fewer minutes in eight games last season, due at least in part to injuries. As the team’s most experienced returner, the variance in his play could play a pivotal role in the Texans’ success this season.

“He’s got to be a little bit more consistent,” Gillispie said. “He'll be one of the better athletes in the league; he proved that last year. He had a good year last year. We’re expecting him to do great things this year, not only good.”

Sophomore guard Jordan Mizell is another of the six returners on the team who will have more on his shoulders this season after earning his spot as a walk-on last season.

Mizell said his focus is on doing “the little things,” as Gillispie often preaches, which for him is rebounding and defense.

“A lot of guys might think, ‘Oh, I have to score the most,’” Mizell said, “but I wanna be the guy getting every rebound… getting every steal, giving my team extra possessions.”

The Texans will also be aided by the return of assistant Joseph Jones, who takes over as director of strategic planning after spending last season as an assistant coach at UTSA.

Jones is best remembered in Stephenville for winning WAC Coach of the Year in 2023-24 after stepping in as acting head coach while Gillispie battled health issues. The Texans had their best Division I season under his guidance, going 25-10.

“We're extremely lucky to have him back again,” Gillispie said. “And he makes such an impact on the staff, on the team, on the university, on the whole community. He’s great. Everybody loves Joe.”

Tarleton could also be extremely lucky to add a seventh returner (officially) to their roster in the coming weeks, which could be the biggest of them all.

Freddy Hicks, the Texans’ all-time leading scorer in Division I, was granted temporary eligibility by Erath County’s 266th District Court to play at least the first two weeks of the season. There is pending determination on whether Hicks will be eligible to play the entire season after Tarleton appealed his case on the basis of “medical hardship.” The case is being reviewed by the NCAA.

Hicks already has five years of college experience but only played in seven of the team’s 32 games last season because of a foot injury, which required two surgeries.

“[Tarleton State’s] a team that if they can get it going with only seven teams [in the conference], they can move up into the standings,” WAC basketball analyst Andy Katz said. “I know it’s a little bit of a reshuffle on their roster, but I would not dismiss them.”

Each team in the WAC will play each other three times this year after the conference downsized in the offseason (Grand Canyon moved to the Mountain West, Seattle U moved to the West Coast Conference). 

Although Katz agrees with the top three teams in the preseason poll—California Baptist, Utah Valley, Abilene Christian—having the best chance to compete in March, he also thinks that the WAC will be “one of the hardest leagues to project” with balanced rosters across the board and head-to-head splits having a bigger impact than ever before.

“I think the fact that they’re going to be very familiar with each other, because there’s only seven of them, I think it makes for a very intriguing race and chase to that regular season title,” Katz said.

On the women’s side, it may take fans a while to recognize their team with all the new faces on the roster.

Twelve of the Texans’ 15 players are newcomers, which presents a unique challenge for third-year head coach Bill Brock. Brock has had the program on the upswing through the first two years of his tenure, going a Division-I best 20-14 last season, and he’s been aided tremendously by continuity.

Last season, the team returned each of their top-five scorers from the previous season and the entire coaching staff. This year, they return just one of their top-five scorers. And two of the three returners didn’t start a single game last season and averaged under 10 minutes of playing time per game.

However, they lost only one assistant coach, which will help keep the culture and expectations consistent.

Brock has a motto each year for his teams to capture his message. This year’s motto: “Fill the tank.

“When we took this program over, really, we were 13th out of 13 teams,” Brock said. “And so, our tank was really empty… And so, we thought the first year there, we tried to move the needle a little bit. This year, we’d gone back [to] what it was that first year. We moved the needle, and now hopefully we can contend for a conference championship and fill the tank.”

The unquestioned leader on the Texans, who will be key in helping establish buy-in from the new players, is senior guard Jakoriah Long.

Long is back for her sixth year of college basketball and her third with the Texans after the NCAA granted former junior college players an extra year of eligibility. But she was once a new player who initially struggled to fit Brock’s role for her coming from a junior college.

“Brock is someone who’s very old school, and it was new for me as a player,” Long said. “He was just wanting me to change some of the things that I did to allow me to be more successful at this level.”

The message was received, and Long has developed into one of the best players in the WAC. Now, as she finishes her master’s degree in criminal justice, it’s about sharing her knowledge and reinforcing Brock’s message onto the players she was once in the shoes of.

“We’re just tickled, and I’m just so glad to have her here,” Brock said. “... I believe she has a chance to have an outstanding season.”

One new player to keep an eye on is Gia Adams, a senior guard and former first-team All-WAC selection at UT Arlington. She spent last year at North Texas but didn’t appear in a game.

Brock said he’s excited about the experience Adams brings in the conference and her ability to score at all three levels.

“We had played against her my first year when she was at UTA, and I thought she was a very explosive guard, a lot of athleticism…” Brock said. “You don’t see a lot of people shooting intermediate jump shots now, but she loves to shoot the intermediate jump shot.”

The Texans also added two players with FBS experience: Shadasia Brackens from North Texas and Caroline Lyles, who played two seasons at Tulsa from 2022-24.

It will be important to see how the new talent jells early in the season, as the Texans look to stay on the upward trajectory and build on the values Brock has made clear since helming the program in 2023.

“Let’s fill the tank,” Long said. “Let’s bring home a championship; let’s do it. So, we’re excited.”

Not to mention, all the action in Stephenville will unfold in the new EECU Center, which is bound to bring a tremendous amount of growth to the community and spark enthusiasm for the future of Texan basketball.

“If you took this and dropped this in the majority of Power 4 cities across the country… it wouldn’t be the biggest, but it would certainly be the nicest,” Tarleton State Vice President and Director of Athletics Steve Uryasz said. “And we’re really proud of what Tarleton State has been able to put together.”