Men's Basketball 11/10/2021 8:00:00 AM Chris Brannick

Central Begins New Season Friday Night

UCO Hosts Central Region Classic Tipoff Event At Hamilton Field House

EDMOND – The University of Central Oklahoma men's basketball team tips off the 2021-22 season Friday night at Hamilton Field House. The Bronchos open with Northwestern Oklahoma State in the first of two games as part of this weekend's Central Region Classic.

Central is hosting the three-conference crossover event. Fellow MIAA school Northeastern State and Mary (N.D.) of the NSIC will play earlier Friday. The Bronchos will also face Mary Saturday evening after Northeastern and Northwestern square off.

Tipoff for both UCO games this weekend is 7:30 p.m.

"We're ready to go," UCO head men's basketball coach Bob Hoffman said. "We're really looking forward to this season. We've got some guys that are just going to fight for everything. Some really hard-working guys. They want to win so badly and they have that opportunity to. When you play up to your potential, good things usually happen.

"The guys that came back, we're excited about them," Hardaker continued. "We used more than one starting lineup last year but we got a lot of guys back that have started a game for us. That kind of experience should help. We like our new guys too. We've added some pieces that help us in different ways. We're just ready to get it started."

Central Oklahoma returns 11 lettermen from last season's team that went 13-11 and finished fifth in the MIAA. UCO, which also returns four players that started at least 19 of 24 games and four more players that started at least once, was picked to finish third in this season's MIAA Preseason Coaches' Poll. UCO finished fifth in the regular season last year but went on the road in the playoffs and won a game before ending its season to eventual national champion Northwest Missouri.

Among the returning players for Central are the top four scorers from last year's squad.

Callen Haydon led the team at 15.6 points per game, Isaiah Wade chipped in 14.8, Camryn Givens scored 13.4, and Jaden Wells added 11.1 points per game. Wade, at 9.0 rebounds per game, and Givens, at 7.2, were also the team's leading rebounders a year ago. Haydon led Central with 5.1 assists per contest while Wells hit 59 threes on the season.

Haydon also put up ridiculous shooting numbers, hitting 53.8 percent of his 223 shots. He not only was among the league leaders in field goal percentage as a point guard, but also was among the best from behind the arc. He knocked down 33 of 57 shots for a 57.9 3-point field goal percentage. That marksmanship continued at the free-throw line. Haydon hit a team-high 102 from the stripe on a team-high 117 attempts. That mark, 87.2, was among the best in the MIAA too.

Wade posted multiple double-doubles in points and rebounds. He skied over the opposition for 208 total rebounds a year ago, including 70 offensive boards. He was second on the team with 73 made free-throws too on 115 attempts.

Givens is the veteran on the club entering his third season under the third-year head coach, Hoffman. And he has been steady. Givens scored 13.4 points per game last season to go with 7.2 rebounds per game. He played 27.8 minutes per game and hit 36 threes, nearly one in every game.

Wells burst onto the scene. After tearing up the Dallas Metroplex two years ago in high school, the 6-foot-4 guard proved ready at the college level. Wells hit 59 3-pointers, making six in a game on two different occasions. He hit 37.3 percent of shots outside the arc too. Wells also led the team in steals, creating 35 more chances for the Bronchos with his high-intenstiy defense.

Hoffman will look to several other key returners.

Davon Richardson scored 6.4 points per game to go with 2.3 rebounds per game as a true freshman a year ago. Jalyn Turner averaged 3.4 points per game in a second season that revealed growth and consistency. Seth Hurd is also back for a third year and looks to continue growing into a key post presence.

Richarsdon made seven starts last season, Turner made a dozen, and Hurd made one after starting 19 games as a true freshman in 2019-20.

Carson Calavan is the one of two players left on the roster that predates the coach. Landon Streich is the other. Both sat out redshirt seasons in 2018-19. Calavan averaged 3.4 points per game and is a capable 3-point shooter in addition to his facilitation abilities at the point guard spot.

Carson's little brother, Conner Calavan, got to play in 15 games a year ago and is also a deadly sharp shooter. He went 9-for-22 from the floor on the season and all nine makes and 20 attempts were from behind the arc.

Junior College transfer Preston Aymond, who spent a year at Paris JC in Texas, will contend for regular minutes at a forward position. He has the ability to work around the paint but can also step outside and shoot. His heads-up style of play helps the UCO high-low game too.

Austin Fenton is back for a second season looking to increase his role. Danquez Dawsey is a true freshman that might find some minutes thanks to a highly-athletic skillset. Burke Bailey and Bryce Brister are also newcomers helping the Bronchos this winter.

Central Oklahoma is back at home next week with a midweek matchup against NAIA Jarvis Christian. The Bronchos visit Midwestern State before hosting Cameron later this month. UCO opens its 22-game MIAA schedule in December.

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Players Mentioned

#13 Carson Calavan: G; 5' 11"; Sophomore

#3 Conner Calavan: G; 6' 5"; Freshman

#32 Austin Fenton: F; 6' 8"; Freshman

#33 Camryn Givens: F; 6' 6"; Junior

#14 Callen Haydon: G; 5' 11"; Junior

#5 Seth Hurd: F; 6' 6"; Sophomore

#1 Davon Richardson: G; 6' 3"; Freshman

#11 Landon Streich: G; 6' 1"; Sophomore

#10 Jalyn Turner: F; 6' 6"; Sophomore

#2 Isaiah Wade: F; 6' 7"; Senior

Players Mentioned

#13 Carson Calavan
: 5' 11"; Sophomore
: G

#3 Conner Calavan
: 6' 5"; Freshman
: G

#32 Austin Fenton
: 6' 8"; Freshman
: F

#33 Camryn Givens
: 6' 6"; Junior
: F

#14 Callen Haydon
: 5' 11"; Junior
: G

#5 Seth Hurd
: 6' 6"; Sophomore
: F

#1 Davon Richardson
: 6' 3"; Freshman
: G

#11 Landon Streich
: 6' 1"; Sophomore
: G

#10 Jalyn Turner
: 6' 6"; Sophomore
: F

#2 Isaiah Wade
: 6' 7"; Senior
: F