UALR Coach Wes Flanigan has waited more than a year for Dayshawn Watkins to make his debut for the Trojans. The anticipation isn't ending any time soon.
Watkins, a North Little Rock High School graduate who sat out last season after transferring from Florida State, will have surgery on his left big toe next week and won't play for the Trojans this season, Flanigan said Wednesday.
Watkins, who sat out last season per transfer rules, has yet to play in games for UALR since breaking his toe in a November practice.
"I hate it," Flanigan said. "Because I think he would have been a valuable asset for this ball club with his experience, give us a little bit more depth at the perimeter spot. But, we had to move forward."
Watkins, who began his career at Holmes (Miss.) Community College, was thought to be the Trojans' starting point guard this season before being injured. Flanigan said he at first hoped for a post-Thanksgiving return, then said a return was expected in early January.
"But that bone wasn't healing," he said.
The injury moved Marcus Johnson Jr. into that role full-time, where Flanigan said he's struggled to get involved in the offense as both a scorer and a distributor.
UALR has used sophomore Deondre Burns and senior Kemy Osse in that role at times this season, but the spot will belong to Johnson. He averaged 12.5 points and shot 46.6 percent from three-point range last season.
"There's no other option," Flanigan said. "He has to do it. He knows that. I think the biggest thing is limiting his minutes a little bit. We're playing him [33.3] minutes right now, and if we can get him to around 30, keep him a little fresher, that'll help him."
ASU MEN
Devin's defense
Devin Carter has been Arkansas State's biggest offensive threat in a surprising nonconference season.
The senior guard heads into Saturday's Sun Belt opener averaging 17.8 points per game, second among league players, and his 45 made three-pointers lead the league as the Red Wolves have raced to a 9-4 start.
Coach Grant McCasland said he has been impressed with Carter's improved defense just as much. He's not the best defender on the team, but McCasland has seen strides from when the season began.
"It's not like he's out there guarding the other team's best player every night," McCasland said. "But, his awareness has improved, and his on-the-ball position and effort has improved. Those two areas to me have given him a chance."
Carter's overall improvement has contributed to ASU holding teams to 69.0 points per game, down from 75.9 last year, and to 27.9 percent from three-point range, down from 35.2 last year. And while McCasland said ASU's 15.1 turnovers per game are too many, its plus-0.2 turnover margin is up from minus-1.4 last year, thanks in part to 6.7 steals per game, up from 5.1 last year.
"I don't think he's great yet," McCasland said. "But by the end of the year I can see him becoming a great defender."
UCA WOMEN
Confidence builders
Sandra Rushing didn't have too many complaints about her team's 6-2 start. The Sugar Bears were playing good defense, getting just enough offense and received a boost by the emergence of forward Kierra Jordan, who sat out the first semester after transferring from Southern Mississippi.
But Rushing, UCA's fifth-year coach, was curious how the Sugar Bears would stack up against tougher competition. Of UCA's first six victories, four came to nonDivision I teams and the other two came against 0-10 Alcorn State.
That's why Rushing was so thrilled with their performance at the Texas-San Antonio Tournament before Christmas. UCA beat Liberty, 61-41 and then Houston, 69-55. That's two victories against Division I opponents, with good defensive performances both times.
UCA, which opens Southland opener on Saturday against Lamar, is fourth nationally in scoring defense at 50.0 points per game.
"We went in knowing that that was going to be a measuring tool for us," Rushing said. "We still have a long way to go, but it was really great to see how we competed and did the things that we are working on.
"I don't feel like our schedule has been strong this year, but I do believe those two games going into Christmas gave us a lot of confidence."
UALR WOMEN
Familiar face
Carolee Dillard is still making the adjustment from volleyball to basketball.
"She's used to hitting the ball instead of putting it in the basket," UALR women's coach Joe Foley said. "Getting it in the hole right now is a little bit of a struggle."
Dillard is 3 of 12 shooting in her first four games since rejoining Foley's team. But another statistic from UALR's Dec. 21 loss to LSU might be more important: 17. That's how many minutes Dillard played, signifying Foley's growing trust in his newest forward.
Dillard signed with Foley's team in 2012 and played parts of two seasons with the Trojans. She left the basketball team in December 2013 and joined the volleyball team, where Dillard became the Trojans' all-time leader in blocks with 587. Foley said Dillard approached assistant coach Alicia Cash last month, after her volleyball career ended, saying she would like to play professional basketball overseas.
Never one to turn down depth or size, Foley let Dillard, a 6-2 forward, back on the team.
Dillard hasn't shown much production yet, but Foley has seen enough to think it'll come in time.
"She's done better than I thought she would," he said. "I say in a couple of weeks, she'll be back to where she can make some things happen for us."
Sports on 12/29/2016