First, the UTEP Miners basketball team received a commitment from 6'5 swingman Twymond Howard.  Howard,  a Rivals 4 star recruit, chose the Miners over offers from the Baylor Bears, Tennessee Volunteers, Georgetown Hoyas, and Arkansas Razorbacks among others.  Now, another four star forward, Winston Shepard, is considering UTEP.  According to Rivals.com's Eric Bossi, Shepard has UTEP in his top six along with Oklahoma State, New Mexico, San Diego State, UNLV, and Georgia.  Now, Shepard himself is reaching out to the Miner Nation by seeking UTEP fans to follow him on Twitter.   Here are the highlights of the 6'8 forward from Findlay Prep.

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With National Signing Day approaching on February 2, the UTEP Miners may have found themselves in an awkward position.  It seems the Miners may have more incoming recruits who have committed to UTEP than scholarships available for them.  Consequently, UTEP coaches are now reportedly pulling scholarship offers from at least two verbal commits and instead asking them to grayshirt during the Fall 2011 semester. 

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[Note by Adrian Mac, 10/21/10 12:12 PM CDT ]  Update:  I have spoken with Daz Sparke and can confirm that he has committed to the UTEP Miners basketball team.  Sparke confirmed that he visited UTEP last weekend and Tim Floyd was the lead recruiter.

"I'm glad to be a Miner.  I love everything about the community and the campus and the history that the school carries."  When I asked Daz whether he saw himself playing small or power forward at UTEP, he said, "Its hard to tell right now because I'm still growing as a player. But, I play whatever Coach Floyd needs me to play."  

Good answer, Daz.  Miner fans, be sure to follow Daz on twitter here.  

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Tim Floyd is here to help.  Nothing can take the pain away from yesterdays horrific football effort at UAB than some good basketball news.  And, today the Miners received some when La Verne, California, point guard C.J. Cooper committed to the UTEP Miners today after visiting UTEP this weekend.  Cooper confirmed his commitment via his twitter account.  A California recruiting website, Full Court Press,  ranks Cooper as the 3rd best point guard in the state in this years class.

The site had this to say about Cooper's game: 

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 3 Star Prospect Campbell is Rated the 28th Best Point Guard in the Nation by Rivals

Thank you sir, may I have another?

Tim Floyd's first full recruiting class at UTEP received yet another boost today when he received a commitment from D'Von Campbell, a 6'0, 155 lb. point guard.   Rivals.com ranks D'Von as the 28th best point guard in the nation and the 140th best overall prospect in the 2011 class.  ESPN notes that NY2LA.com was first to report the commitment but Fox Sports' Jeff Goodman was also on it.

Campbell chose to become a Miner over offers from the Big 12's (or Pac 10's) Colorado and perennial basketball contender Creighton.  There's no doubt about it, Tim Floyd is battling with the best of them across the country and is starting to gain some serious momentum on the recruiting trail.  Check out the list of Rivals.com's Top 30 national point guards.  The only schools from outside the Big 6 conferences to have a commit from one of these athletes so far are UTEP and Xavier.  

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Tim Floyd is hitting the national recruiting trail full speed ahead.  And, if coaches from BCS schools weren't paying attention before, they surely now.  Friday, Floyd received a commitment from Sacramento, CA forward Darius Nelson.  Nelson is the younger brother of former Duke star DeMarcus Nelson.  He's a 6'5 forward with a strong outside shot who could play any of three positions with the Miners.  Rivals was first to report the commitment and they rank him a 3 Star Recruit overall.

According to Rivals.com, Nelson, elected to be a Miner over offers from Georgetown, Kentucky, N.C. State, Oregon, Tennessee, Texas, USC, Oklahoma, and Villanova.  Did you read that list?  Read it again:  Georgetown, Kentucky, N.C. State, Oregon, Tennessee, Texas, USC, Oklahoma, and Villanova.  He's a UTEP Miner.  

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Tim Floyd has received a commitment from Jalen Ragland, a 6'5" small forward from Chillicothe Ohio.   Ragland was drawing interest from schools across the beltway.  He selected UTEP over heavy interest from Virginia Commonwealth, Duquesne, Wright State, Tulane, Marshall, Ohio, Kent State and others.  He told Ohio Hoops that he selected UTEP after visiting El Paso over the weekend.

Jalen hasn't yet received a "star" grade from Rivals.com but ESPN's Scouts Inc. grades him at a very impressive 85.  ESPN (Insider) had this to say about Ragland:

Jaylen is one of the top sleepers in the state of Ohio. He is a long and lanky wing with developing skills. He continues to grow as he has grown 2 inches in the past 12 months. He is a good but streaky shooter with range to 20 feet....

Jackets Online, a Georgia Tech Rivals site, had this to say on Ragland:

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