The Tribune

By RENALDO DORSETT

Sports Reporter

rdorsett@tribunemedia.net

Bahamian basketball player Shaquille Cleare and his Texas Longhorns continue to stockpile signature wins in his first year with the programme and under head coach Shaka Smart.

Cleare finished with four points and four rebounds in 22 minutes as the Longhorns took a 56-49 win over the No.6 West Virginia Mountaineers on the road at the WVU Coliseum in West Virginia Tuesday night. The Longhorns improved to 12-6 on the season and 4-2 in Big 12 conference play.

Despite a few questionable losses on its schedule, Texas is 4-1 against top 25 teams this season. They lost to No. 15 Texas A&M 84-73 but have defeated No. 3 North Carolina 84-82, No.17 Iowa State Cyclones 94-91 and now the Mountaineers.

Cleare said the team has accepted the challenge of conference play. “When you get into conference play things get intense. The Big 12 is arguably one of the best conferences in the country, so there are no more cupcake games, every night is a dog fight,” he said. “A lot of freshmen coming in don’t know that this division I level you can get upset by anyone. You have to play hard every night and you can’t worry about the names on the front of the jersey. Conference play is more physical, more aggressive, there’s a lot of preparation that goes into it. This is big boy play and it’s a lot of fun.”

Cleare also outlined two wins in the Big 12 he wants more than any other game.

“The first team I want to go and beat them at their place is Kansas. Everyone wants to beat Kansas and I want to beat Oklahoma as well,” he said. “Buddy is my buddy but we’re from the same country and it’s all about competing. That game won’t be an easy game but I’m excited. He’s been playing terrific basketball and I’m really proud of his improvement and I wish nothing but good things for him toward the end of the season, but those are two wins I really want this year.”

After sitting out last season due to transferring from Maryland, Cleare returned to the court this season and is averaging 3.1 points and 2.9 rebounds in 11.2 minutes per game.

Cleare continues to make the most of his opportunities with starting centre Cameron Ridley sidelined with a broken foot. “I’m a veteran on the team, so when incidents like this happen, I’m ready from the get go. Whether he’s injured or playing I’m always ready. I would never wish anything bad on a player and fellow teammates but of course I feel like it’s my time. Coach didn’t have to tell me to get ready, I already know that. That doesn’t mean I go out there and do things I normally don’t do. I do what I’ve been doing but try to do it at a higher level. Getting rebounds, being more physical, fighting for post position, running the floor harder, sealing harder, just being nasty in the paint,” he said. “Losing Cam was a big thing but as a vet you have to have that mentality to be ready. When my name is called I try to produce. We’ve had some games we’ve won and some games we lost with him on the sideline but we’re in a good place right now. I’m going to try to pick up my play, the other bigs they’ll pick up their play and we still have time to get this thing on a roll.”

After opening the season at 2-3, the Longhorns reeled off six consecutive wins before losing three out of four games in a 12-day span.

“Coach Smart is always on us about dropping our heads and getting bummed out easily. When you face adversity pick your head up and keep moving. He also teaches us to stay connected and lifting players up. He’s really big on enthusiasm and playing through adversity. Coach Smart has done an awesome job so far and the players have bought into his system, we believe in him and what he can accomplish here,” he said. “We dont worry about outsiders, they can’t win us games. If you buy into what others are saying you will start to fall off.  They don’t know the grind behind the scenes, that’s why coach Smart engrained in us to stay connected and worry about our circle. We just worry about the things we can control and that’s our team growing and becoming better as the season goes on.”

Cleare will have an opportunity to go after one of those highly coveted wins this Saturday when the Longhorns travel to face the aforementioned No.3 ranked Jayhawks on the road at Allen Fieldhouse.