Wednesday, August 1, 2007

Nelson’s gone

You can’t be surprised by the decision to drop Tyrone Nelson by the NMSU administration.

I don’t think McKinley Boston and Marvin Menzies would have done it if they didn’t feel comfortable with what they have in place. They will lean heavily on Herb Pope as a freshman and have nice depth upfront. Wendell McKines will also see time and they expect him to be a rugged player who could mix it up down low if need be.

Obviously Tyrone is talented and averaged close to a double-double two years ago. You don’t just find players who average 17 and 9 and pick them up off the street. But he became a liability and the staff could not count on him after a period of time. It’s a talented team with a strong freshman class coming in. You can’t have bad examples polluting the roster and sending a message of accountability was a must. And there was no guarantee that Nelson would even return to previous form – his performance slipped last year.

Having him around would have been nice if they knew what they were going to get. But things became too unpredictable with Tyrone. They couldn’t rely on him. Now, they’ll play without him.

10 comments:

Anonymous said...

Everyone backed him till the very end and Tyrone waited until the last minute to cut a deal. What gives!?

I hope he get's his act together. His name will be stained for a long time.

Herb Pope and that McKines kid (35ppg/ 15rbs) will help us immensely.

Anonymous said...

its to bad to have tyrone leave given that he would have provided much talent and experience. but what happen is in the past and now its time to move forward! GO AGGIES!

Anonymous said...

You said, "I don’t think McKinley Boston and Marvin Menzies would have done it if they didn’t feel comfortable with what they have in place."
This issue has nothing to due with the above comment. The guy comitted a felony. The handbook/policy clearly spells out the consequences for a felony. It's black and white. Quit trying to make it sound like Boston and Menzies would have pulled something shady to keep T.Y. on the team.

Teddy said...

You’re right. It is spelled out. And if it wasn’t I’m sure they would have found a way to keep him.

Anonymous said...

This was a serious mistake not to take this case to trial, and offer up such a sweet plea agreement. Drunk drivers get treated worse in this state. HUGE mistake.

Anonymous said...

can you give us some information about the hiring of spooner as the new associate athletic trainer? who else will menzies be bringing as assistants?

go aggies!

Teddy said...

As far as assistants, we have reported that Matt Grady has come in from the University of Cincinnati. Grady was director of basketball operations for the Bearcats last season. He also has Louisville ties, spending two seasons as a graduate assistant at Louisville with Rick Pitino prior to his time in Cinci.

Jason Groves reported on Grady in the Aug. 2 addition of the Sun-News as a sub-head in his Gus Hauser story. A follow up concerning Grady will be in the Sun-News shortly.

As for the other assistant, John McMullen appears to be the guy, but nothing will be announced until the middle of the month. That leaves the bench as Grady, McMullen and Pompey along with Menzies.

As for Spooner, I haven’t heard anything. There is a vacancy at director of basketball operations. Brian Mallory is gone and Hauser was supposed to fill that role. Since he left, the team will need to find someone.

Anonymous said...

is there anything behind the rumors of pope wanting to be released, so he can tranfer to west virginia? or is this just an old rumor?

Teddy said...

I feel like that’s an old rumor. I hope it’s not true. All the recruits that have come in for visits at NMSU have said that Herb has been one of most accommodating players on the team, if not the most. And I think I heard rumblings about West Virginia, only to realize that they were false. But if I hear anything else I’ll be sure to keep you informed.

The team will need Herb big time this year, especially without Nelson. He has big shoes to fill.

Anonymous said...

Here's a different twist:

http://cbs.sportsline.com/collegebasketball/story/10277157