On Nov. 1 at 8 p.m. a new season will begin in Javelina Nation for the men’s and women’s basketball team at the Gil E. Steinke Physical Education Center (SPEC) on the campus of Texas A&M University – Kingsville with their annual event, Javelina Madness. As for the event, the first 150 fans waiting outside the SPEC in anticipation of Javelina Madness will receive a free Javelina Basketball T-Shirt courtesy of the event. The event will consist of introduction to coaches and players of each team, scrimmage of both teams, door prizes, games that involve players of each teams, three-point contests, a slam dunk contest, a live DJ and a grand prize that’ll be a sound bar with subwoofer and an Amazon echo. There will be free food to people in attendance. As for the teams, each team is looking to regroup after subpar seasons last year. The men’s basketball team under head coach Johnny Estelle, and the women’s basketball team under head coach Wade Scott weren’t able to make the Lone Star Conference tournament, which is considered a below average year after each team made the conference tournament the previous year, and the men’s basketball team was able to capture their first win in the National Tournament in Golden, Colo., against the University of Texas at the Permian Basin for the first time in school history. Over the off season, Estelle welcomed in former graduate assistant coach for three years, Omar Gonzalez as the new assistant coach of the team. Gonzalez expressed his excitement about his return to Kingsville after a one-year departure to Blinn College and his thoughts on the upcoming event by stating, “It’s an honor to have been considered for the job as Coach Estelle’s top assistant. It feels great to be back in Javelina Nation and back with family. Javelina Madness is a milestone marker for us in the basketball world because it let’s us know how close we are to the first game of the year. Our players truly appreciate all the support they receive and enjoy putting on a show as well as participating with the fans in all the competitions.” The men’s basketball team will be led by their seniors consisting of reigning all-defensive team player for the conference, Robert Stevenson (Houston, Texas), Jacolby Harris (Del Ray Beach, Fla.), Elton Dyer (Houston, Texas) and Alex Mills (Lawrence, S.C.), a graduate transfer from NC Central. Entering his fourth and final Javelina Madness for the blue and gold, Stevenson talked about his emotions and his thoughts on the upcoming season. “I have mixed emotions, it is a mixture of being sad and excited,” he said. “I just want to have the most fun as I can. I have been waiting for this moment, but I don’t want it to be my last one. As for this team, I feel like we have the talent to do something special. Everyone is hungry. The returners want to bring the spirit back that we had two years ago when we went to the tournament. We want to do something special.” As for the women’s team, they’ll be looking to make a name for themselves within the conference. As for the team, they’ll be led by their few returners from last year’s team which include Kristina Kana (Mont Belvieu, Texas), Brynae Thompson (Houston, Texas), Bri-Anna Soliz (San Angelo, Texas) and Victoria Salinas (Corpus Christi, Texas). Heading into her second year as graduate assistant for the women’s basketball team under Scott, Meesha Wade talked about her second Javelina Madness and why people should come as well as her thoughts on the upcoming season with a new group. “People should come to Javelina Madness because it gets the community and whole school involved. Both the men’s and women’s team have a lot of new faces. It is a way for the community to get to know our players and can interact with them,” she said. “I think our team has a lot of potential, it is a group of a lot of special young ladies. This team has the potential to be very good.” After the highlighted night of events at the SPEC for Javelina Madness on Nov. 1, the season will kick into full gear as the men’s basketball team will take on South Dakota Mines in Rapid City, S.D., on Friday, Nov. 9. The women’s basketball team will battle Black Hills State at the SPEC in Kingsville on Friday, Nov. 9 for their home opener. Game time is 6 p.m. The men’s basketball team will make their home debut at 7 p.m., Wednesday, Nov. 14 to face the Rattlers of St. Mary’s.
