UTEP Men’s Basketball Standouts Jones, Watson And West Jr. Recognized By CUSA
DALLAS, Texas – UTEP men’s basketball standouts Elijah Jones, Kaseem Watson and Jamal West Jr. have secured All-Conference USA Honorable-Mention accolades, the league office revealed Monday afternoon.
The trio was a consistent force for the Miners throughout the year. West Jr. (14.5 ppg-11th CUSA), Jones (13.1 ppg-19th CUSA) and Watson (12.5 ppg-22nd CUSA) all averaged better than 12.0 ppg. The last time UTEP had at least three players produce 12.0 ppg or more in a season was in 2021-22, which was head coach Joe Golding’s first year in the Sun City. They all grabbed at least 5.0 rpg. It marked the first occasion at the school that three players snagged 5.0 rpg or more since 2018-19. Furthermore, Jones and West Jr. helped this year’s squad become the initial UTEP team since 2000-01 with multiple Miners swatting at least 35 shots.
Jones had a breakout year on the way to finishing second on the squad in points (13.1 ppg-19th CUSA), blocked shots (1.1-10th CUSA, rebounding (5.4 rpg), field-goal percentage (47.9 percent-sixth and 3-pointers made (49). He posted a team-leading 24 double-digit scoring efforts, including doing so over the first 13 games of the year. That was the longest streak out of the gates by a Miner since Randy Culpepper (14, 2009-10). Jones surpassed 20 points in six different contests (three in CUSA), including going off for a career-high 25 points at regular-season champion Liberty (1/17). Each of his double-doubles occurred within CUSA action. He was the top 3-point shooter on the team by percentage for both overall (38.6 percent) and within CUSA play (41.1 percent).
Watson, a transfer from Delaware State, made an immediate impact in his first year in the Sun City. He finished tied for second on the team with 23 double-digit scoring efforts on the way to averaging 12.5 ppg-second CUSA. All five of his 20+point efforts came against CUSA opposition, helping him account for 13.8 ppg in league action. He topped the team in 3-pointers made and attempted (58-152) while rating second on the squad for 3-point percentage (38.2 percent). None were bigger than his game-tying triple to send things to OT in an eventual win against I-10 rival NM State. Watson was especially locked in from distance in league action, nailing 48-123 (39.0 percent) of his tries. He also got after it on the glass, snagging 5.0 rpg (third on team). Watson was clutch at the charity stripe on the way to sinking a team-best 81.7 percent (76-93) from the line. That was helped by drilling 33 straight free throws at one point, the longest streak for consecutive free throws made by a Miner since 1999-2000.
West Jr., a transfer from Nicholls State, was stellar in his lone season with the Orange and Blue. He paced the team in scoring (14.5 ppg-11th CUSA), aided by eight 20+ point efforts (most by a Miner in two years), field-goal percentage (55.0 percent-second CUSA/63rd NCAA), rebounding (6.6 rpg-12th CUSA) and blocked shots (1.32 bpg-sixth CUSA). He produced five double-doubles, the most by a Miner since Bryson Williams (five). West Jr. put up 23 double-digit scoring efforts (tied second on team), with 15 of those coming during CUSA play. He attacked the opposition throughout the campaign, pacing the Miners in free throws made and attempted (120-181). He was also a rim protector, with his 41 total blocks being the most at the school since 2016-17 and tying for fourth on the program’s single-season list for seniors.
