Dec. 15, 2009

By Josh Bowe for utamavs.com

ARLINGTON, Texas - Cameron Catlett is 6'3'' and listed as a guard. The freshman from San Antonio has played along the perimeter for most of his basketball career.

As if learning to play Division I basketball wasn't hard enough for his freshman season, Catlett, along with the rest of the UT Arlington bench, are going to have to adjust big time: literally.

Junior forward and leading rebounder Tommy Moffitt has a broken left foot and is out six to eight weeks, which means everyone on the Maverick's roster is going to have to play a little bit bigger.

"Seeing that I get a couple of looks at the four that means I have to step up," Catlett said. "That was his [Moffitt's] main position so that means I might get some more minutes there."

Moffitt lead UTA with 7.7 rebounds per game. No one else on the Mavericks averages more than senior guard Marquez Haynes' 4.7. Catlett understands the importance of doing the "dirty work", as coach Scott Cross described, in Moffitt's absence.

"There's a lot of stuff you don't see in the stat book that's just as important," Catlett said. "We're going to have to get tough and be a presence on the court no matter where you are."

Cross didn't point out a single person to step up. With over 10 of his players averaging at least 10 minutes a game, Cross obviously has found trust in plenty of players on his deep roster.

"Everybody, it's got to be all 12 guys have got to step up," Cross said. "Especially on the rebounding, because that's the one thing Tommy did so well.

"Everybody's going to have to grab one extra rebound."

Besides replacing the rebounding, a more daunting challenge for Cross will be replacing Moffitt's offense. Although he was struggling from the field, shooting 39.6 percent, Moffitt was often the third option behind Haynes and senior guard Brandon Long.

"The scheme is going to change a bit, we're probably going to play some more small ball," Haynes said. "He was averaging close to a double-double, but I think everyone can pick it up."

Haynes' echoed his coach's sediments as well to the simplest terms of just everyone getting an extra rebound. Even if you're a 6'3'' guard.

"Everybody get one more rebound," Haynes said. "If you look at it like that, everybody grab one more rebound, score one more point."