UALR scholarship roster trimmed to 12 with departure of Javes

The scholarship situation in college basketball always has a way of working itself out.
After signing day, UALR was two over the NCAA limit of 13 scholarship players. Today, they've only got 12 scholarship players.

First, Taggart Lockhart was not medically cleared to return due to concussions. He elected to transfer to a NCAA Division II school. Earlier today, we told you that sophomore to be John Gillon will transfer. His release is conditional upon completing a summer school course.

And now, Burn The Horse has confirmed that junior to be Michael Javes will not return. Javes was the only Trojan to start all 32 games last season. He averaged 6.0 points and 3.9 rebounds last season.

Javes departure paves the way for UALR to sign another big man to provide depth, providing one remains available. And UALR might have to do that. The 6-10 Javes has been the primary starter at the 5 the past two seasons. UALR's current options are junior Gus Leeper and redshirt freshman Andrew Poulter. Senior Will Neighbour, who can play the 3, 4 and 5 could also be an option for minutes on the block.

Gillon to transfer from UALR

Burn The Horse has confirmed that sophomore to be point guard John Gillon has asked for and received his release from UALR.

Gillon averaged 10.6 points and 2.4 assists in 27 games last season as a freshman. It’s not yet known where he will transfer to. UALR has not officially confirmed Gillon’s departure. 

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Sun Belt extends TV deal

When I said yesterday that I thought the Sun Belt Conference had more important things to work on, this was one of those things. Instead of taking advantage of the changing sports television landscape, the Sun Belt decided more of the same was just fine.

The already bad television deal has been extended:
http://www.sunbeltsports.org/SPORTS/MensSports/Football/Article/tabid/740/article/20211/Extension-of-Sun-Belt-Network-Partnership-Announced.aspx?SPSID=35830&SPID=2855&DB_LANG=C&DB_OEM_ID=7200

The deal is OK if you have Comcast or if you live in an area where truly high-speed internet is available. The rest of us are out of luck.

Sun Belt Conference gets a new logo

Honestly, it seems the Sun Belt Conference has bigger issues than the logo. Yet, here's the new logo the conference spent a bunch of money and time on.

I don't hate it. But I don't exactly love it. Actually, I much prefer that smaller logo at the bottom right (the secondary logo).

UALR guard Taggart Lockhart to transfer

Since signing day we've known UALR would have to reduce its scholarship roster by two players before the fall semester begins. We now can confirm that one of the two players departing will be junior-to-be Taggart Lockhart.


It is believed Lockhart is headed back to his home state of Oklahoma where he will play for a NCAA Division II school Southeastern Oklahoma State.


These were his tweets from Monday as the spring semester wrapped up:

Lockhart averaged 5.1 points and 2.7 rebounds while playing 20.7 minutes per game last season. But concussions cut that season short. He received a concussion in a Feb. 2 game against South Alabama. He returned to action 12 days later against Arkansas State and received another concussion. Lockhart then never received medical clearance to return to practice or game action.

Losing Lockhart's toughness hurt UALR, which went 3-6 down the stretch. The Trojans were 14-9 before Lockhart's injury.

UALR can't say much about Lockhart's medical situation due to HIPAA concerns. But Lockhart's Twitter feed gives a little insight as to what he's been going through:

The bad news is that we won't get to see Lockhart during his junior and senior years. His toughness, and ability to play defense and take a charge will absolutely be missed. The good news is that UALR has options at the 3 guard position where he was most utilized.

Senior Leroy Isler spent a lot of time at both the 2 and 3 last season. Sophomore Stetson Billings filled in at the 3 throughout the year. Freshman Mareik Isom can play either the 2 or the 3. And freshman Maurius Hill is more like a 4 in a 3 body. He could allow senior Will Neighbour to see some more time at the 3.

UALR will play in tournament highlighted by Florida and Middle Tennessee

Last night via Twitter, Jeff Goodman of CBS confirmed what we were already hearing. UALR will participate in a five team round robin exempt tournament this year.
We can also fill in some details. The past two years, UALR has been able to secure a couple of home games by playing in tournaments. Last year, UALR hosted Wisconsin-Milwaukee and Jacksonville. This season, the Trojans were only able to get one home game via the tournament. UALR will host North Florida. That means UALR is going on the road to Florida, Middle Tennesee and Southern. All three were NCAA Tournament teams a year ago.

UALR will get at least one bonus out of it. This tournament is in some way connected to a preseason trip to Canada, which UALR is expected to take around Labor Day. That will allow the Trojans to get in 10 practice days leading up to those games.

The rest of the UALR schedule remains pretty much a mystery. It's believed that UALR and Tulsa renewed their series. If they stay on schedule, that would put UALR traveling to Tulsa this season.
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