Texas State still developing identity heading into series with UTA

At 11 a.m. on Monday, the Twitter account for Texas State Men’s Basketball announced that Saturday’s game against UT Arlington would be a black-out game for the Bobcats. The team would wear its all-black uniforms and fans were encouraged to show up to the game garbed in black gear as well.

Former Texas State guard Nijal Pearson, the program’s all-time leading scorer, retweeted the post at 1:25 p.m., adding a photo of himself from a black-out game against the Mavericks on Feb. 2, 2018.

“Black out games used to go crazy,” Pearson said with a fire emoji. “(Them) takers vibes.”

Black out games used to go crazy🔥
Dem takers vibes 😎😎 https://t.co/TFOxqNbQkX pic.twitter.com/2LiCMbMqOb

— 22 (@NijalUno) January 24, 2022

“Takers” was a word the Bobcats once built their entire identity around. It's a reference to something then-assistant coach Terrence Johnson said after Texas State was voted dead last in the 2016-17 Preseason Sun Belt Coaches Poll with just 27 points. The team’s players took offense to the voting — nobody was giving them any respect. Nobody was giving them a chance.

Johnson told them that they couldn’t wait for anything to be given. The only thing they would be given is an opportunity. The players had to take advantage.

They bought into it, dubbing themselves “Takers.” Texas State went 22-14 overall and 11-7 in conference play that season, reaching the Sun Belt championship game and coming up six points short of winning it all. The mentality carried over through the next few years as the team built itself up to be an annual contender for the league title. Black shirts with “TAKERS” in bold,  white, all-capital letters printed on the front above a Bobcat logo were made and then sold at the 2018 black-out game against UT Arlington that Pearson posted a photo of.

But when former guard Marlin Davis chose to end his playing career this offseason, the last member of the original 2016-17 Takers phased out of the program. To Johnson, now Texas State’s head coach, it signaled the need for a change in messaging — it’s tough to say you haven’t been “given respect” when the team was voted No. 3 in the year’s Coaches Poll.

“It's not really with this team. I mean, we've mentioned it but you know, that was solely for (the 2016-17 team) … We just had a different outlook on things like that,” Johnson said. “It's hard to kind of relay that to this group of guys because of the recent success and just because of the mindset that comes along with success.”

The program’s new identity hasn’t fully formed yet as a team with distinct differences. This year’s squad hasn’t matched the same defensive intensity of years past. Per KenPom, the Bobcats are giving up 103.7 points per 100 possessions — the team’s second-worst rating in the past six years. Texas State has, however, become much more efficient on offense, scoring 105.4 points per 100 possessions according to KenPom — the team’s second-highest rating in the past six years and the best mark in the Sun Belt.

Johnson said it’ll take some time to develop. But he doesn’t think it’s actually up to him to define what his team’s identity will be. He’ll decide how he wants the program to be run, what he wants it to stand for, the values that are associated with it.

But it's not his responsibility to decide who they are.

“That's something that needs to be established through difficult times, through adversity … That's something that should be established through the captains, the leaders on the team,” Johnson said. “When it comes down to the identity of the team, you know, it's how you approach every day. It's how you respond to your shortcomings. So we're still trying to figure that out.”

The Bobcats very well could run into adversity this weekend when it plays UT Arlington. It might be the teams’ last time playing each other as conference rivals, with the Mavericks bound for the West Athletic Conference. UTA leads the all-time series, 23-13, though Texas State has claimed the last three games.

Three of the pair’s last eight meetings have all gone to overtime, the third of which ended with an 87-85 triple-OT victory for Texas State in Arlington. The Bobcats won both of last season’s matchups with the Mavericks, but UTA was without its best player in senior guard David Azore in both games.

The Mavericks saw former head coach Chris Ogden leave in the offseason to join Texas’ staff, but the program itself hasn’t suffered much change. Assistant coach Greg Young was promoted to lead the program and the rest of the staff remained largely unchanged. Azore is back and healthy, currently leading the Sun Belt averaging 18.5 points per game, as is sophomore forward Kaodirichi Akobundu-Ehiogu, who leads the league with 2.6 blocks per game. UTA also picked up UTRGV transfer guard Javon Levi, who was second in the nation with 109 steals in 2018-19.

“They're always a good team, they always have a good squad over there. And we play them back-to-back nights. So you play them, go home, play them again the next day. So you already know what they're gonna do,” sophomore forward Nate Martin said. “It's always intense when we play them. So we're expecting a tough, physical game, fast-paced, very competitive. Just gotta do what we do best to win.”

“(The rivalry) goes back to before I even came here,” fifth-year senior forward Isiah Small said. “When I first got here, they were telling me how UTA is a big rival for us. And usually, when I got here, we beat them … So I feel like I was a good luck charm.”

Senior guard Caleb Asberry, the Bobcats’ leading scorer, practiced with the team on Tuesday after missing most of the second half of the team’s loss at Arkansas State on Saturday. Johnson said Asberry's coming along slowly but should be ready to suit up for this week’s games.

Texas State (12-5, 3-2 Sun Belt) and UT Arlington (8-11, 4-4) tipped the series off on Thursday at 7 p.m. in Arlington, the game ending after press time. The Bobcats will host their black-out game against the Mavericks inside Strahan Arena on Saturday at 4 p.m.