This Week
The Omaha men's basketball team (0-0, 0-0 Summit League) opens the 2014-15 season this weekend, welcoming Central Arkansas on Sunday, Nov. 16 with a 4 p.m. tipoff at Ralston Arena. KOIL 1290 AM will carry the radio broadcast live with Gary Sharp and former Maverick Grant Nieland calling the action, and fans can also stream the broadcast on their smartphones by downloading NRG Media's app “The Mighty 1290 KOIL.” Links to live stats, audio and video will be available on OMavs.com.

Fans are encouraged to arrive early, as Ralston Arena will offer $1 hot dogs, sodas and beers from 3 to 4 p.m.

Scouting the Central Arkansas Bears
Central Arkansas enters the weekend with a record of 0-1 (0-0 Southland) after opening the season with a 104-77 loss to Creighton on Friday night at the CenturyLink Center Omaha. Jordan Howard had a game-leading 19 points with four 3-pointers for the Bears, and Boo Milligan added 18 points with 7-of-9 shooting from the field, as well as a team-high seven rebounds.

The Bears have one returnee on their 2014-15 roster, sophomore forward Ethan Lee, who averaged 4.3 points and 2.6 rebounds per game last season. Central Arkansas has 11 newcomers, eight of whom are freshmen and three of whom are transfers.

UCA is led by first-year head coach Russ Pennell. Over one year at Arizona (2008-09) and four seasons at Grand Canyon (2009-13), Pennell has compiled a career record of 93-58.

Omaha leads the all-time series against Central Arkansas, 1-0. The two teams last met on Dec. 28 in Conway, Ark., where the Mavericks earned a 104-88 win.

Quick Hits
•The Mavericks return four letterwinners from the 2013-14 squad, all of whom have starting experience: senior guard CJ Carter, senior forward Mike Rostampour and junior guards Devin Patterson and Marcus Tyus.
•Carter was among six players named to the 2014-15 Preseason All-Summit Second Team. Last season, he was an honorable mention All-Summit pick after averaging 13.5 points, 2.6 rebounds, 3.4 assists and 1.3 steals per game.
•Omaha is coming off a 17-15 (5-9 Summit League) season in 2013-14, during which it made its first Division I postseason appearance with a run in the CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament (CIT).
•The Mavericks were picked sixth in this year's Summit League preseason poll.
•Head coach Derrin Hansen is in his 10th season at the helm of the UNO program, and he carries a career record of 149-121.

Success in Season Openers
Omaha is an outstanding 8-1 in season openers during the Derrin Hansen era, including 2-1 in the Division I transitional years. In 2011-12, the Mavericks fell 83-72 at Fort Wayne. They followed up with a 77-64 season-opening win against Northern Illinois at Ralston Arena in 2012-13, then defeated the Huskies again in DeKalb, Ill., in 2013-14.

Additionally, UNO is 8-1 in home openers at Sapp Fieldhouse and Ralston Arena during Hansen's tenure.

Carter Named to Preseason All-Summit Second Team
Senior guard CJ Carter was among six players named to the Preseason All-Summit Second Team last month. The Mavericks' top returning scorer this season, he ranked eighth among conference scorers in 2013-14 after averaging 13.5 points per game, as well as 2.6 rebounds, 3.4 assists and 1.3 steals per contest. The Omaha Benson product had 25 double-figure scoring efforts, including four with 20 or more points, and he went on to earn honorable mention All-Summit recognition.

Carter passed the 1,000 career points milestone at the end of last season, as his 14-point performance against North Dakota in the CIT put him just over the mark. He is the 35th Maverick in school history to score at least 1,000 points in a career.

Rostampour Back As League's Leading Returning Rebounder
In 2013-14, forward Mike Rostampour started all 32 games of his debut season after redshirting in 2012-13. He averaged 9.2 points and a team-leading 7.5 rebounds per game, the latter of which ranked second in the Summit League. Rostampour's numbers were even better in conference play, during which he averaged 9.5 points and 7.3 boards per contest. The West St. Paul, Minn., native is now the conference's leading returning rebounder in 2014-15.

Rostampour demolished his previous career best for rebounds in the first round of last year's CIT against North Dakota, pulling down 21 boards. He added another 12 at Murray State in the second round, and his postseason average of 16.5 rebounds per game led all Division I players across all postseason tournaments.

Home Sweet Home
The 2014-15 season marks UNO's third and final season playing at Ralston Arena, which serves as the home of Maverick men's basketball, Omaha Lancers hockey and Omaha Beef indoor football. The Mavs will play a full Summit League schedule this year with eight conference games, and in total they have 13 games on the slate at Ralston. In 2015-16, Omaha will move its games to the on-campus UNO/Community Arena, which is currently being constructed just south of Aksarben Village between 64th and 67th streets on Center Street.

Last season, Omaha was 11-4 at Ralston Arena. UNO's 11 home wins came at an average margin of 21.4 points, and the Mavs scored an average of 82.3 points per game on their home court while holding their opponents to 69.8.

Hansen Guides Mavericks in 10th Season
Head coach Derrin Hansen enters his 10th season at the helm of the Omaha men's basketball program in 2014-15, boasting a career record of 149-121 over his head coaching career. He took the job after serving as an assistant coach for seven years with former Maverick head coaches Kevin McKenna and Kevin Lehman. Hansen has the second-most victories of any coach in program history, behind only Bob Hanson, and Hansen hit the century mark for wins on Jan. 12, 2011.

Hansen has coached or assisted teams that have earned five trips to the NCAA Division II Tournament, while also garnering two regular-season league titles and three tournament crowns. In 2007-08, his squad recorded a school-record 25 wins in its final season of North Central Conference play, and the Mavs won their final NCC Tournament to advance to the NCAA Division II Tournament for the first time since 2004-05. In 2009-10, UNO earned an NCAA Tournament berth by capturing the MIAA Tournament crown in just its second year as a member of the league.

As a player at Nebraska Wesleyan, Hansen's 1988 squad advanced to the NCAA Division III semifinals, and while serving as a student coach, the 1990 Plainsmen advanced to the final 16.

Hansen is assisted by assistant coaches Randall Herbst, Pat Eberhart and Tyler Erwin.

What Makes Up the Mavericks
•UNO returns 52 percent of its offensive production from last season, as this year's returners accounted for 1,338 of the Mavericks' 2,558 points. The returning foursome were also credited for 42 percent (471) of last season's 1,102 rebounds.
•CJ Carter was UNO's leading scorer last season after averaging a team-best 13.5 points per game, which ranked eighth in the Summit League. He was also in the conference's top 10 for steals and assists.
•Carter played the most minutes per game of any Maverick player last season, averaging 30.5 minutes per contest.
•Mike Rostampour is the conference's leading returning rebounder with a team-high 7.5 boards per game last year.
•Devin Patterson swiped 57 steals as a sophomore to rank second in the league last season.
•UNO's 2014-15 roster includes two true freshmen, two redshirt freshmen, one sophomore, six juniors and two seniors.
•The Mavericks hail from eight different states. Four are from Nebraska, and three are from Minnesota, while Oklahoma, Missouri, Virginia, Iowa, Kansas and Montana are all represented once on the roster.

Former Maverick Simmons Taken in 2014 NBA D-League Draft
Former Maverick guard Justin Simmons was selected in the eighth round of the 2014 NBA Development League Draft by the Erie BayHawks on Nov. 1, becoming the first Maverick to be taken in the NBA D-League Draft. A native of Milwaukee, Wis., Simmons was Omaha's first Division I all-conference honoree, earning second-team All-Summit honors as a junior in 2012-13. That season, he ranked fourth in the league in scoring with 16.7 points per game and also averaged 4.0 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 1.2 steals per game while shooting .473 from the floor.

In 2013-14, Simmons appeared in 30 games but was limited to starting 17 due to injury. He finished his senior campaign averaging 10.2 points, 2.4 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 1.1 steals per game. Simmons helped the Mavericks to their first Division I postseason run with a berth in the CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament (CIT).
    
The Erie BayHawks are the NBA Development League affiliate of the Orlando Magic and are based in Erie, Pa.

Karhoff, Carter Named All-Summit Honorable Mention
Senior guard CJ Carter and former Maverick center John Karhoff were named Honorable Mention All-Summit to cap the 2013-14 season. Carter led Omaha with 13.5 points per game this season, as well as 2.6 rebounds and 3.4 assists per contest. He also shot .422 from the field and .782 from the line, averaging 30.5 minutes per game. Carter was eighth in the conference in assists and points per game, ninth in steals and 10th in total points and 3-pointers made. He notched 25 double-figure scoring games in his junior season.

Karhoff started every game in his senior campaign, averaging 13.2 points, 4.0 rebounds and 1.9 assists over 26.0 minutes per game. The Creighton Prep product had 22 double-figure scoring efforts, including a career-high 28 points against Central Arkansas. Karhoff shot .492 from the field and .824 from the free throw line. He finished the regular season at fourth among league players for field goals made, fifth in free throw percentage and sixth in points per 40 minutes.

League Leaders
In 2013-14, the Mavericks ranked among the top statistical performers in the Summit League all year long. As a team, Omaha topped the league in points per game (79.9), field goals made per game (27.7), free throws made per game (17.8), free throw percentage (.765), offensive rebounds per game (10.6), assists per game (15.4) and steals per game (8.3).

Individually, Mike Rostampour's 91 offensive rebounds were also first in the conference.

Looking Back at 2013-14
•Omaha played its third year as a reclassifying Division I school and its second as a member of the Summit League in 2013-14. The Mavericks went 17-15 (5-9 Summit League) and made their first Division I postseason appearance with a run in the CollegeInsider.com Tournament (CIT).
•According to kenpom.com, UNO ranked third nationally last season in adjusted tempo, which estimates of the possessions per 40 minutes a team would have against a team that wants to play at an average Division I tempo. Omaha's adjusted tempo was listed at 74.8 (possessions per 40 minutes).
•CJ Carter and former Maverick John Karhoff were named honorable mention All-Summit. Karhoff was also an Academic All-Summit selection for the second straight year.
•Omaha lost seven letterwinners from the 2013-14 squad. Five were seniors who departed due to graduation -- Karhoff, Justin Simmons, Alex Phillips, Caleb Steffensmeier and Matt Hagerbaumer. Two sophomores Simon Krych and Jalen Bradley, elected to transfer following the season.
•Karhoff became the 34th Maverick to join the 1,000 Point Club and was the 13th player in school history to reach 1,000 points and 500 rebounds in a career. He amassed 1,348 points and 524 rebounds in four seasons.
•Carter also joined the 1,000 Point Club, finishing his junior year with 1,012 career points to his credit.
•As a team, Omaha was unofficially seventh nationally with .765 free throw percentage, 14th with 8.3 steals per game, 19th in scoring offense with 79.9 points per game and 24th with 15.4 assists per game.
•Junior forward Mike Rostampour pulled down a career-high 21 rebounds against North Dakota in the first round of the CIT, including 14 in the first half alone. His total was the sixth highest in school history and the most of any Maverick since John Skokan had 23 in 1996-97. Rostampour also tied the CIT record for rebounds in a game, matching SMU's Papa Dia vs. Northern Iowa on March 21, 2011.

Fresh Faces
The Mavericks have six new faces on the roster this year: freshman forward Tre'Shawn Thurman, freshman guard Devin Newsome, redshirt freshman forward Daniel Meyer, sophomore guard Alex Allbery and junior guard Tim Smallwood and junior guard/forward Randy Reed II.

Thurman, a hometown product, won three consecutive Class A state championships at Omaha Central High School, where he garnered all-state and All-Metro honors. As a senior, he averaged 16.6 points and 7.9 rebounds per game.

Newsome played at Shawnee Mission South High School, and as a junior, he earned second-team all-state and second-team All-Sunflower League awards. Newsome averaged 9.9 points, 2.0 rebounds, 4.8 assists and 2.5 steals per game with a 2.1 assist-to-turnover ratio. He also played AAU ball for his father, Coach Gary Newsome, and the KC Warriors.

Meyer is a transfer from Wright State, where he redshirted in 2013-14, but will be eligible for play right away for UNO after being granted a hardship waiver by the NCAA. As a prep, Meyer played at Central Catholic High School in Billings, Mont., where he was an all-state pick and averaged a double-double with 20.2 points, 13.0 rebounds and 2.2 blocks per game. He is the first Derrin Hansen recruit to hail from the state of Montana.

Allbery joins the Mavericks after beginning his career playing one year of baseball at St. Thomas. He is a product of Creighton Prep, where he averaged 10.0 points per game for the Junior Jays.

Smallwood has also transferred to join the Mavericks this season. He comes from Murray State College in Tishomingo, Okla., where he had 16 points, five rebounds and four assists per game as a sophomore. Previously, Smallwood played at Victory Christian School. He is the first Hansen recruit from the state of Oklahoma.

Reed is a transfer from St. Louis Community College, where he played for his father, Coach Randy Reed Sr. He was a third-team NJCAA All-American in 2013-14 -- averaging 21.2 points, 7.4 boards and 2.4 assists per game -- and helped his team to an eighth-place national finish. Reed previously began his career at Quincy, where he spent two seasons, and was a high school product of Crossroads Prep.

Now Entering the Game
Three players who sat out last season -- redshirt freshman forward Rylan Murry, junior guard Kyler Erickson and junior forward Jake White -- are now eligible to play this year.

Murry redshirted in 2013-14. He was previously an all-state selection at West Branch High School in West Branch, Iowa, where he lettered four years and owns the school's single-game scoring record (45 points).

White, who has come back strong after being sidelined by a knee injury suffered last fall, transferred to UNO in 2013-14 and sat out in accordance with NCAA transfer rule. White spent two years at Wichita State and was part of the Shocker squad that played in the 2013 NCAA Final Four. He previously starred at Chaska High School in Chaska, Minn., where he was a fourth-team Parade All-American and second-team all-state.

Erickson was a member of the Northwest Missouri State program for two seasons before transferring to UNO and also sat out last season due to transfer rules. A native of Omaha, he was second-team All-Nebraska as a senior at Millard South High School and took the Patriots to their first state tournament appearance in eight years.

Mixed Schedule Takes Mavericks Around the Nation
Omaha's 2014-15 schedule includes 29 games, and the team will play in 11 states across the country. The schedule also features games against three 2014 NCAA Tournament teams -- Kansas State, Nebraska and defending Summit League champion North Dakota State. In total, UNO will square off with opponents from seven other conferences.

The Mavericks have never faced two of their opponents: Marquette and Kansas State. They hold a combined all-time record of 181-222 over all teams on the regular-season slate.

No Longer the Newcomers
Omaha is in its fourth and final year as a reclassifying Division I school in 2014-15 and its third as a member of the Summit League. UNO is ineligible for the Summit League Tournament and NCAA/NIT postseason play until 2015-16 but will play a full regular-season conference schedule through last transitional year. It is, however, eligible for the College Basketball Invitational (CBI) and CollegeInsider.com Tournament (CIT) in the postseason. Omaha played in the first and second rebounds of the 2014 CIT, and it was the first reclassifying school to receive an at-large bid in the tournament's history.

Up Next
Omaha returns to action on Wednesday, Nov. 19, traveling to Seattle for the Mavericks' first road game of the season. Tipoff is set for 9 p.m. (CT) at Key Arena in Seattle, Wash., and links to live stats, audio and video will be available on OMavs.com. Gary Sharp will have the call of the game on 1180 AM Zone 2.