Where in the world is the University of Tampa men’s basketball team? This past season the Spartans were the cellar-dwellers in the Sunshine State Conference by four games. They finished 2-14 in the conference, with Lynn and Barry Universities eons ahead at 6-10 above UT in the standings. Tampa went 6-20 on the year. It was a dismal season.
Head Coach Richard Schmidt lost more games this season than in any other season in his career. So what went wrong this year?
“Two of our transfers never made it to the court,” Schmidt said. “One of them was a seven-footer from Mississippi State, but due to an eligibility mix-up he took two years in junior college rather than one in Division II. The other guy just decided to head to junior college as well, but it was a week before school started.”
It was a big blow to Schmidt and the team losing out on those two transfers at the beginning of the season, but that couldn’t possibly be the only reason the Spartans struggled so terribly this year. They had other recruits come in that helped out.
“We signed two freshmen in the offseason and had a few more walk on,” Schmidt said. “One of them was Jon Riles. He starts at point guard now.
“We’ve also got Terrell [Pritchett] and Jason [Brown], and they both have a good future ahead of them.”
The future of the team will eventually be the veterans.
“We had four new starters this year,” Schmidt said. “But it helps that we’ll have that same core next year.”
They are all tough pills to swallow. For a team that went 22-7 in the 2010-2011 season, dropping to 6-20 is a major turnaround in the wrong direction. With senior guard from the 2010-2011 season Rashad Callaway graduating and moving to the bench, it’s hard to believe that a team can go from a .759 win percentage to .231 because of one player. Is the personnel to blame? Or is a question of coaching tact and philosophy?
“It was tough to replace those four starters,” Schmidt said. “We just have to move forward.”
Richard Schmidt has been coaching basketball since 1964. He’s had great seasons and mediocre ones.
However, he’s never had a season as bad as this. He started at UT after coaching Division I Vanderbilt, to resurrect a basketball program that had been in the dumps for years. Since coming to Tampa in 1982, he’s amassed an impressive .692 win percentage, and even recorded his 500th win in 2005 as well as his 600th this season.
But for sports fans, especially students, a 20-loss season would have anybody wondering if the coach deserved to stay. It’s the world of sports; what have you done for me lately? Coach Schmidt won six games this season, so lately, it hasn’t been great.
The question now is, does he have a few more quality seasons left in him?
For next season, though, Schmidt and the remaining Spartans have their hopes high for a quick and impressive turnaround. The young core that played in so many games this season has experience on the court, and now knows what it takes to win games in the SSC.
“Hopefully we can make some moves recruiting,” Schmidt said. “Jon Riles and Terrell Pritchett should be key role players next year.”
Hopefully, next year’s team can improve on their record from this past season. It shouldn’t be unattainable to win more than six games.
Greg Spracklin can be reached at gspracklin@spartans.ut.edu.