by James Pelech
After missing the spring semester of his junior season, senior Terry Fields has returned to the UTSA lineup with a vengeance in 2009-10. The Headland, Ala., native is having an impact on both ends of the floor, averaging 10.4 points per game while shooting 59.8 percent from the field. The 6-7 forward transfer from the College of Southern Idaho also has grabbed a team-high 108 rebounds (6.4 rpg), including a career-best 12 in the Oklahoma State loss, and recorded 21 steals and a team-best nine blocks. Fields recently sat down with goUTSA.com to discuss his thoughts on the Roadrunners’ success this season, the team’s camaraderie and his career plans.
The team is currently off to one of its best starts in school history. How does that make you feel?
“As a team we all feel good about the way we’ve started this season. Beating Iowa on the road in our first game and beating some of the other good teams like Houston before conference, that’s been real big for the program. We just have to keep doing what we are doing in practice each day and keep working hard the rest of the season.”
How far do you see this team going this year?
“I’d like to see us in the NCAA Tournament. We have to continue to play ball and take it one game at a time, though. Right now we have more lows than highs, but our offense keeps the game going. If we keep up our highs and keep our lows out of the way, everything will be good. I’d really like to see us make the NCAA Tournament or at least earn an NIT bid.”
The defense is currently holding teams to around 62 points per game. Besides just labeling it good defense, what specific things does the team do to keep up the intensity on the defensive end?
“Basically, we study the scouting report the coaches give us. If the guy is a shooter, you do your best to not let him get the shot off. If the guy is a driver, you do your best to not give him any open lanes and no angles to score. If the guy is a mid-range shooter, you make him do what he doesn’t want to do. We play defense, have a lot of help from teammates and take charges. A lot of teams don’t take charges, but we do, so that cuts off a lot of what our opponents want to do.”
You scored a career-high 16 points against McMurry on Jan. 3 and had a career-high 12 rebounds against Oklahoma State on Dec. 5. How do you feel about your play this season so far?
“My play this season has been good, but it can be a lot better. It is just basically getting in the gym when we don’t have practice or on days that we do practice, getting here an hour or two earlier to get in some shots. All I have to do is put both of those together and I will be fine. I want to work hard to get better, because that helps us be better as a team.”
Last spring you had to sit out. How tough was it watching the games from the sidelines and only being able to practice?
“Practice really wasn’t too difficult, because my teammates gave me more confidence. Not being able to go play with the guys hurt a lot. It hurt a lot in practice too, but not as much because I was able to be out there trying to help make the other players better. Anyone out there in practice would tell you last year that our coaches assigned me the role of the best player for whoever we were playing. So, I was able to make everyone else better and instead of my teammates saying ‘dang T, you messed up with your books,’ they were encouraging me to get my books together and it would all work out. It really made me hungry to take care of things off the court this year, so I could contribute to the team.”
In your two years at UTSA, what do you like most about the team and the school?
“Most of all, I like the brotherhood we have as a team. At times we disagree with each other, but at the end of the day we are all friends. As far as school and campus go, I am more motivated now, because I have my kid and my fiancée here now and I took care of my books. This time last year, I was sitting out having to watch the games. This year, I am playing and contributing to the team.”
You are an American Studies major. What are your plans after graduation?
“I really want the basketball to keep bouncing for me for at least a few more years. If not that, I want to be an assistant or head basketball coach somewhere. That is what I want to do, but right now I just really want to graduate and then hopefully find somewhere to keep playing, whether it is here or overseas.”
So if you do go into coaching, do you have any preference where you would like to coach?
“I would like to go back to CSI (College of Southern Idaho) to coach. I loved that school. I was 2,485 miles away from my hometown, but those people made us feel like we were at home. I have the same situation here, too, which is nice. I would rather go back to CSI to start my coaching career, but if not there just wherever the opportunity arises.”
