The Mavs continue to put together a deep roster (and one of the taller teams with in recent memory) after adding 6’8 forward Jorge Bilbao from Spain. Averaging over 30 points and 13 rebounds during the 2012-2013 season, he can score from the perimeter or closer in. Big question for opposing defenses: how do you guard a 6’8 player that has good range from all over the court? Bring a post defender out a bit and open up the paint as a trade-off? Hope a quick guard can disrupt his shot? Looks like another great signing for a program that could be one of the best teams in the Sun Belt next year.
* Here is a link to the school’s story on the UTA website: http://www.utamavs.com/sports/m-baskbl/spec-rel/052113aaa.html
* Some video of Jorge:
* An interview with Jorge at SoloBasket.com:
(in Spanish): http://www.solobasket.com/internacional/espanoles-en-usa-jorge-bilbao-se-decide-por-texas-arlington
(Google English translation): http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=es&tl=en&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.solobasket.com%2Finternacional%2Fespanoles-en-usa-jorge-bilbao-se-decide-por-texas-arlington
The Rusty Maverick 
I’ve been a fan of UTA Basketball since I was in jr. high. I guess I went to most of the home games beginning with Willie Brand’s senior year. Being a proud alumni of UTA, and a huge fan of the program I’ve noticed the level of athlete has improved every year since Coach Cross took the head job. The one thing this program needs to do is get that first statement win. Knocking off a top 25 team, or winning a NCAA tourney game. This years team played remarkably well and won a lot of games in a “rebuilding” year. This was the first team I remember in a long time that there wasn’t a go to scorer. We had been spoiled having Reed, Haynes, Vareen, And several others going back to McCarters teams. So this upcoming year could be a good one, on paper they seem deep and long. Could be a fun year at the CPC.
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James, thanks for visiting my blog!
I couldn’t have said it better myself. I think I went to my first game in fifth or sixth grade–maybe about the time they went to the NIT. Willie Brand was playing when I was attending UTA.
I think our statement win is probably right around the corner–we had a chance against New Mexico on the stage a few years ago and came really close to beating OU this year. We’ve shown we can consistently play at the level of good mid-majors like NMSU and Utah State. With better teams coming to CPC and our teams getting deeper each year, I’m convinced a basketball powerhouse be defeated by the mighty Mavericks sooner rather than later, maybe even this season.
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Yeah, the OU game was a good one. We had a stretch in the first half for about 5 minutes where OU went a little run and that was the difference. But I do think they are going to get the better of a top team pretty soon. I’d love to see them knock off Kentucky. Catch the Freshmen on a bad night.
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