Saturday, December 13, 2008

NMSU men's hoops

Sunday will be a good test for the Aggie basketball team.

I felt like the team has had two legitimate tests all year. At Long Beach and at North Texas. Both games, they lost in the closing seconds.

Sunday's contest will be against their rivals and UTEP could have a slightly better team. Still, not by much, and NMSU gets them at the Pan American Center. I expect to see a competitive game and if the Aggies can win, it would be a nice feather in their cap.

What does NMSU need? Strong performances from its starting five, particularly Jonathan Gibson, Jahmar Young, Troy Gillenwater and Wendell McKines. These four consistently carry the team and they will have to be at it again.

We know what we're going to get out of Wendell. Probably a double-double and a workman-like performance no matter what. Jahmar too. He's been a money scorer for the Aggies and I expect him to rise to the occasion once again against the Miners. He seems to like the spotlight.

Troy has been solid. We will learn more about him on Sunday. As for Jonathan, he's the wild card. He can be a very effective player, but sometimes he gets carried away. He will take some crazy shots - early in the shot clock, no real regard for anything else on the court. When they go in, it's great. When they don't, it's incredibly frustrating. He needs to hit them Sunday.

I am looking forward to the game a lot. It will be a good test for the team and its a rivalry match. Doesn't get much better.

10 comments:

Anonymous said...

It's going to be about our defense. If we can get some stops and can guard a bit, we'll win.

Anonymous said...

I'm really worried about our team.
No rebounders and no defenders and MM gets out coached on a daily basis. This is a terrible combination.

Menzies,
You better not go 0-3 to the minors or else we will start calling for your head, ala, Mumme!

Anonymous said...

anon 4:46

Perfect example of a person who simply talks to talk. 0-3? we only play two games with UTEP per year. Unless you count last years, but we lost both so it would be 0-4? get your facts straight. And thanks for implying that Menzies deserves the same treatment that Mumme did. You're such a powerful man that you see the correleation between winning 11 games in four years and winning 30 in a year and a quarter. Excellent work buddy. Let Menzies do his work, the team has its problems because it is young and its the start of the year. Support the Aggies you fool.

GS

Anonymous said...

DUDE! You need to stop all that Mumme talk as it pertains to Menzies. MM is a class act who cares about what is going on in this community, this university and with his basketball team. You are a FREAKING IDIOT and you need to get a life.
It amazes me how some of you get on this thing, hide, and drop negative talk on people who you don't know, don't know what they do nor do you have a clue about it. Grow up and be a positive member of the Aggie Nation why don't you! OR, just go away.

Anonymous said...

Good win against Utep.
Not bad for a bunch of freshmen and sophomores! Go Aggies!

Anonymous said...

Interesting to see someone say Menzies is getting out coached. Minor fans are saying the exact opposite.

Anonymous said...

It was a good victory for the Aggies today. We played well as a team I thought and they didnt cool off when they had that lead. I still dont see Castillo as a threat at all and you guys can rag on me but I simply dont see it. He looked scared when he had an open shot, only took one 3 point shot which he missed and had 4 points in 26 minutes. Jackson and Culpepper kept draining three's while the crowd behind me kept yelling shoot everytime Castillo had the ball but he never did. Our big men need to start stepping up and score because we cant play a small line so much with Gillenwater at center. The media kept ragging on about the crowd, (I felt like I was at an Aggie football game- Fred Albers) but we knew this was happening in order to play Kansas and USC. Only time can tell if those games did the team any good but in my opinion so far I dont see it. You dont play hard at USC in that environment and lose your next road game at LBS. It should be a good game next Saturday again and hopefully we can sweep the Miners. Go aggies

GS

Anonymous said...

What environment do you speak of in regards to USC. They dont' have much fan support for basketball. Their arena is not very big, and it wasn't a sell out. I think you are being overly critical with regard to the play. Gordo stepped up, didn't drain shots, but did the little things. Why don't you mention his steals or timely rebounding?

And the big men are improving. They are freshmen, and you have to know it takes longer for big guys to develop. They are playing solid for the most part. They need to work on footwork and positioning, but all that can be taught.

Anonymous said...

Ok you're right. He led the team in steals with 2 and had 4 rebounds. Just because he is the hometown kid I'm not going to be all excited about him getting two steals and 4 points when he is supposed to be one of our biggest threats from beyond the arc. And USC was still the #13 team in the country when we played them in their house. Anywhere you go to play a ranked team is going to be good environment for you to learn on how to get used to it and not let it get it to you. We still havent won on the road and we need to keep playing the way we did yesterday when we're no in the Pan Am. Saturday will be a good road test that we have to win.

Anonymous said...

Man get a clue. Read around the Aggie sites. Gordo did the little things that need to be done to help the team win. He's not shooting well, which is his biggest asset, but he compensating and being a valuable player. And this is coming from a guy who did't think he deserved a scholarship right away. Remember all the talk about Theus wanting him to go to prep school, so he can work other aspects of the game? Well he's doing all that and helping the Aggies win. Color me surprised and happy.