KINGSVILLE, Texas – In 2016-17, the Texas A&M-Kingsville men's basketball team achieved a program first, picking up their initial NCAA Tournament win in dramatic fashion, as they toppled UT Permian Basin on a buzzer beater by Marcus Frazier. Two years later, every player who played a minute of basketball for that team is gone and coach Johnny Estelle is relying in large part on fresh blood to push the Javelinas back towards the top of the Lone Star Conference.
Estelle and his coaching staff brought in 14 new players to mix with a handful of returners led by 2017 All-LSC Defensive team selection and senior Robert Stevenson (Houston, Texas). The Hogs schedule, one that includes 27 games and takes them to five different states, begins with the Lone Star Conference/Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference crossover. This competition brings the Javelinas to Rapid City, S.D. on Friday for a matchup with South Dakota Mines at 7 p.m. before they travel to Chadron, Neb. for a 6 p.m. clash with Chadron State on Saturday.
The Javelinas graduated their entire starting five after 2017-18, with the only returners who started even a game for the Javelinas being senior Elton Dyer (Houston, Texas) and Stevenson, who made three combined starts a year ago.
TAMUK also brought back the player who was their leading scorer off the bench last season, senior Jacolby Harris (Delray, Fla.). Harris started his first year in Blue and Gold by scoring in double figures five times in nine games, including a season-high 19 points in a November win over Texas A&M International.
Stevenson earned his spot on the conference's all-defensive team by burnishing his reputation as one of the LSC's top rim protectors. His 43 rejections and average of 1.7 blocks per game placed him second in the league and he put up multiple blocks in 14 of 25 games. Stevenson also led the squad in rebounds per game, reaching 10 boards four times, and shooting percentage, sinking nearly 63 percent of his shots.
The new faces in Blue and Gold provide the team with both youth and experience. The newcomers are made up of six freshman and eight transfers. Both groups include players with similar backgrounds. Freshmen Jake Majors (Corpus Christi, Texas) and Will Chayer (Corpus Christi, Texas) come to Kingsville after helping lead Veterans Memorial High School to a pair of district titles. Senior Alex Mills (Laurens, S.C.) and junior Daniel Severo (Osasco, Brazil) both spent time at McLennan Community College, as did Robert Stevenson, before they came to Kingsville.
TAMUK kicks-off their season by taking on two teams that, much like the Javelinas, are looking to take advantage of a clean slate on 2018-19. South Dakota Mines posted only eight wins against 19 losses, with one of those defeats being handed to them by the Javelinas in their first game a season ago. The Hardrockers will have a new coach guiding the ship this season, as Eric Glenn took over the head coaching job. Glenn took over the job after 13 years as an assistant at the school. Glenn will by relying on in large part on guard Troy Brady and forward Logan Elers to recapture their all-conference form from the previous campaign.
In his third season leading the Chadron State Eagles, head coach Houston Reed is attempting to resurrect a program that went 3-25 in 2017-18 and ended the year by losing their last 20 games. Senior Jaisean Jackson will be the man to watch for the Eagles after earning All-RMAC honorable mention recognition as a junior. His average of 12.5 points per game and 84 assists were both tops on the squad.
After each game, check Javelinaathletics.com for a recap of all the action. To keep up with Javelina men's basketball all year long, follow @JavelinaMBB on Twitter and @JavelinaSports on Instagram, like JavelinaMBB on Facebook and visit Javelinaathletics.com.
