Per the El Paso Times.. Power Forward Cedrick Lang has suffered a stress fracture in his foot. This is a huge blow to the Miners if he misses any significant playing time. UTEP is already without Hooper Vint, who suffered a bulging disk in his back just before the Diamond Head Classic, and Malcolm Moore who tore his ACL during practice a few weeks ago. The Miners big men during the 11/12 season have been just absolutely snake bitten with injuries.

Lang has been averaging 7.4 points per game while bringing down just under 5 rebounds per game. If Lang misses some playing time, UTEP is going to have to rely heavily on Senior Gabriel McCulley and Sophomore John Bohannon to stay out of foul trouble while having to play small in some minutes to give McCulley and Bohannon breathers.

This is very disappointing news to hear and we at MinerRush wish Cedrick Lang a quick recovery.

We'll update further on Lang's status when we get word.

The NMSU Aggies at the UTEP Miners

THE DON HASKINS CENTER

Sunday, December 11, 2011

3:00 PM MST

TV: Miner TV (All Access $)

Aggies vs Miners Preview

While this was noted in the FanShots yesterday, I thought it was worthy of a full post. Alex Kennedy of HoopsWorld.com reports via twitter, that Julyan Stone's Denver Nuggets contract is for 2 years and is for $1.1 million dollars.

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Thanks so much to a reader for sending this video my way. My post yesterday on Nolan Richardson's jersey retirement incorrectly stated that UTEP had only previously retired the jersey's of Bobby Joe Hill and Jim "Bad News" Barnes. UTEP has in fact also retired the jersey of Naismith Hall of Famer Nate "Tiny" Archibald. Check out this video, made in 1987, that features an interview with Archibald and clips from his UTEP retirement ceremony.

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According to Jon Teicher, the UTEP Miners mens basketball team will honor legendary alum Nolan Richardson by retiring his #42 jersey Sunday at the Don Haskins Center. Richardson will join Bobby Joe Hill (#14) and Jim "Bad News" Barnes (#45), and Nate"Tiny" Archibald (also #14) as the only Miners to have their numbers officially retired. The retiring will take place at halftime of the NMSU game. Tip is slated for 3:00 p.m. MT.

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LINK TO BOX SCORE

The UTEP Miners mens basketball team dropped Part I of the Battle of I-10 to the NMSU Aggies 89-73 at the Pan-American Center in Las Cruces tonight.  D'Von Cambpell and John Bohannon led the Miners with 11 points each.  Jacques Streeter chipped in 6 points and 5 assists.

The Miners started three freshman, Campbell, Julian Washburn, and Cedric Lang.  Bohannon is of course just a sophomore. Other freshman C.J. Cooper and Hooper Vint saw significant playing time. From UTEP's official recap:

Wendell McKines posted a double-double with 23 points and 13 rebounds, and NM State dominated the glass in an 89-73 win over UTEP on Saturday at the Pan American Center.  The Aggies (3-0) outrebounded the Miners 42-27 and had a 22-13 advantage in second chance points. NMSU also scored 24 points off 16 UTEP turnovers.

Thanks again to Duke Keith for the video below of Tim Floyd's post-game press conference.

Well, better late than never right?  As reported by KTSM (among others) and noted in the FanShots by Lebowsky, the UTEP Miners hoops squad signed 6'10 center Hooper Vint from Van Buren, Arkansas.  Here's what Tim Floyd had to say on UTEP's newest big man.

"I'm really thrilled with our latest addition," UTEP coach Tim Floyd said. "I definitely believe he is going to be a guy who impacts winning at some point of his career. His best basketball is in front of him but his base can carry him a long way. He catches the ball and runs the floor well. He has the ability to face up from 15-18 feet to the three-point line and shoot the ball, and he is a developing post player. I love his ability to pass the basketball. Given our situation with the players we lost, he has a great opportunity to play next year. He is a tremendous student and is accountable. He is mature beyond his 18 years, which is extremely important to any player's future development."

No way to not be excited about this.  Vint has told the press that he is working hard to add 15-20 pounds of muscle this summer and hopes to play at 235 as a freshman.  Vint is not rated by Rivals.com or Scout.com.  A diamond in the rough?  A 6'10 guy that has good passing skills and a strong desire to get bigger and stronger might is definitely worth the gamble.