Sun Belt Basketball: In-depth look at UT-Arlington star David Azore
By Andrew Tineo
UT-Arlington looks to remain near the top of Sun Belt Basketball thanks to junior star guard David Azore.
For the Mavericks, it’s been a rather successful transition to Sun Belt Basketball in terms of performance. It’s been frustrating, however seeing the success the team has when they play in the Sun Belt Tournament.
Back to back seasons, the Mavericks have made the championship game, falling both times to Georgia State, in hopes of reaching the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2007-2008.
Even with missing out on the tournament, they still have had a good amount of success within the conference. UT-Arlington has had an above .500 record in conference play every year since joining the Sun Belt and finished with an overall record over .500 in 6 of their 8 seasons in the conference.
That included three 20-win seasons, headlined by a 27-9 campaign in 2016-2017.
With the tournament being canceled in 2020, another run similar to that had not been out of the question for a Sun Belt Tournament Championship. A key part of last season’s team was the emergence of Guard David Azore.
The sophomore guard from Clear Brook High School in Houston led the team in points and assists while putting up some great performances. Azore’s performance toward the end of the season had taken a minimal nosedive but doesn’t take away from his full body of work.
Ever since the 2016-2017 season, the Mavericks have not had the success out of conference, winning just four games last season. Prior to that, the Mavericks had two seasons of 10+ out of conference wins, including a 3rd round NIT performance under star G Kevin Hervey
With the Mavericks losing four seniors from a season ago, how much can Azore provide for his Junior campaign?