UC's Deshawn Pace out to make his name plus UC women's hoops to go tropical

For three days in April, Deshawn Pace shared a couch with his brother Ivan in their Colerain Township home watching the NFL Draft.. In their one year playing together at the University of Cincinnati, Ivan was the American Athletic Conference Defensive Player of the Year. He became UC's first unanimous First Team All-American. He later was named the defensive MVP of the Senior Bowl.

Based on the accolades, the family watched the opening night of the draft Thursday, April 27 hoping to hear his name. The second night, they heard teammate Tre Tucker's name late. Surely Saturday, April 29 would be the day Ivan Pace's name would be read. Instead, the family heard UC's Tyler Scott get called, then Josh Whyle. In the seventh and final round, a call came, but it was a promise not delivered.

Agent Roosevelt Barnes then held a front yard summit with the family, explaining that not being drafted would allow Ivan more choices. Eventually, the Vikings signed Ivan Pace and many have called him the best undrafted free agent in the league. Deshawn agrees and repeats words of wisdom his father passed on to the two boys who are 15 months apart.

"My dad always told us 'can't' isn't in a man's vocabulary," Pace said. "Whenever somebody tells you (that) you can't do something, you're going to prove that you're different."

Listed at 6-foot and 240 pounds by UC, Ivan Pace measured 5-foot-10 and 231-pounds at the NFL Combine. The Combine doesn't measure heart and desire which is plentiful in the Pace brothers. Deshawn Pace is now a UC senior and has a more "draftable" size at 6-foot-2 and 215 pounds. He is slated to be at the star position in an attacking defense run by new defensive coordinator Bryan Brown. He was recruited by current Notre Dame coach Marcus Freeman to come to UC, while Ivan's best offer was with the Miami RedHawks. At Miami, Ivan was also the Mid-American Conference Defensive Player of the Year.

Deshawn Pace out to make a statement

Deshawn has seen the struggle and the effort of his brother and is out to show there is something to the family name that NFL scouts need to realize.

"You don't take a day for granted," Pace said. "You go to work and be the hardest working man in the room."

This spring, Pace appeared to be the hardest worker. During one of the sessions, Scott Satterfield came to Brown and said he had never seen a defensive player have the type of practices he was having, not at Appalachian State or Louisville. They were interceptions, forced fumbles, fumble recoveries and sacks.

"He just balled!" Brown said. "He gives me the flexibility to do so much defensively that I don't have to do a whole of subbing."

Deshawn likes finding the football and often does. If he doesn't recover the pumpkin, he still enjoys the by-product.

"I like to hit!" he said. "I like to hit somebody!"

Perhaps not by coincidence. Pace is a huge fan of the Batman villain, The Joker. That would be the Heath Ledger version for clarification. He's used to being on top and for two seasons at Colerain and one at UC he was able to share the spotlight with his brother.

This 'Cat is a top dog

"Every level that me and Ivan played on it's always been top dogs," Pace said. "I feel that every level we touch it's going to be top dogs."

This coming season, Deshawn Pace will switch from No. 20 to the No. 3 he wore at Colerain High School. Defensive lineman Jowon Briggs will take over the No. 0 Ivan Pace Jr. wore. Deshawn calls it a donation.

"Briggs says he's going to beat Ivan's sack record," Pace said.

Though he would have two years of eligibility, Deshawn Pace hopes to hear his name called on Draft Day next spring. Defensive coordinator Brown knows his star will do right by his team but also understands his motivation to do right for his family.

"In the back of his mind, he's thinking, 'Hey these guys didn't draft my brother!'" Brown said. "'I've got to go a little bit over and beyond to be able to get drafted. One of these Pace brothers is going to get drafted and it's going to be me!'"

Merriweather will see merry weather come November

First-year Cincinnati women's basketball coach Katrina Merriweather will be taking her squad to the Virgin Islands Nov. 23-25 for the Paradise Jam. The event will be held at the University of Virgin Islands Sports and Fitness Center in St. Thomas and televised on ESPN networks.

Coach Merriweather's "Sisterhood" will face Colorado and NC State, both 2023 NCAA tournament teams, in addition to Kentucky in round-robin action on the Island Tournament side of the bracket. UC returns seven from last year including senior Jillian Hayes (Loveland) who led the team in several categories and junior Clarissa Craig (Roger Bacon). Merriweather added Memphis transfer Destiny Thomas (All-AAC Freshman Team) and Aicha Dia from Penn State.

"I'm excited for them to have an opportunity and very excited for the level of play," Merriweather said. "It will be a great measuring stick for us to find out what we're good at and the things we need to improve on."

While Merriweather knows the science of scheduling, she also knows the Big 12 slate will be demanding, much like this holiday run in the tropics.

"You can't play against 13 teams with a NET of 200 and expect to be prepared to go into Big 12 play," Merriweather said. "You absolutely have to play against top-tier teams in order to have some idea of what your team looks like. We want them to be confident, but we don't want it to be false confidence. There's a balance there."

Before fall ball in St. Thomas, a summer opportunity in Mexico

Soon, Merriweather will be part of the coaching staff of the USA Basketball AmeriCup tournament in Mexico as one of two assistants for Washington State head coach Kamie Ethridge (Pac-12 Coach of the Year).

Merriweather may "borrow" a few ideas from head coach Ethridge.

"There's a lot of things that Kamie does offensively that's going to stretch me a little bit," she said. "I think we'll see some of our stuff be Washington State stuff simply because it works and it works really well. I think we (UC) have a team that can execute some of those things."

She'll also be observing some of the better players on and off the court. The talent will include LSU's Angel Reese and other top women's collegiate players. Practice begins in Colorado June 21 with the FIBA AmeriCup in Mexico running July 1-9.

"It has everything to do with opening your eyes to different things," Merriweather said of the benefits of being on staff. "Sometimes we only see our program. If you don't have the time or take the time to visit other people you don't know what anyone else is doing. As you interact with these players, they share things with you too. It just stretches you. If you're going to be any good you've got to keep learning and growing."

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Deshawn Pace on a mission to mash for new Cincinnati Bearcat defense