Latest Aggie adds much needed athleticism to NMSU backcourt

Dekabrien Eldridge signed with NMSU on Thursday. Photo by Hobbs News-Sun Clayton Jones

With the departure of Bandja Sy and Tyrone Watson, the New Mexico State basketball team doesn’t have an overwhelming amount of athletic ablility in the backcourt after Daniel Mullings.

The Aggies appear to have addressed that with their first signed commit for 2013 — New Mexico Junior College guard Dekabriean Eldridge, who signed at the school in Hobbs on Thursday, a day after committing. 

“It’s (NMSU) is closer to my family so they can come watch me play,” said Eldridge, who attended Dallas Lincoln High and spent the past three years at NMJC. “It was a hard decision for me. Me being the person I am, I don’t want to make the other coaches mad who recruited me but I’m happy and my family is happy and that’s all that matters. NMSU is a good winning program that has been to the Dance the last couple years. I feel like I can help the program out doing what I’m capable of doing, which is playing defense.”

NMJC was 26-7 and played in the same conference as Howard, Odessa, South Plains and Midland. NMJC returned to the National Tournament with seven players who received Division I scholarships, including Desmond Lee, who was second in the conference in scoring at 20 points per game and signed to play at N.C. State. Eldridge didn’t put up huge numbers, averaging 11 points per game, shooting 35 percent from 3-point range. 

“We work harder than any other JUCO, if you talk to other coaches of teams we played,” said Eldridge, commonly referred to as DK by coaches and teammates. “I will miss these guys. It was hard leaving them behind.”

Eldridge went to NMJC as a shooter and developed into a stopper on the wing who can hit the jump shot, get into the lane and finish at the rim.

He went on a visit to Northern Colorado and received interest from multiple schools such as Florida Atlantic, North Texas, Texas-Arlington and Texas State. Eldridge made a visit to Las Cruces in early April.

“He’s a shooting guard, very good defender that shot the 3 at a high percentage,” said NMJC coach James Miller, who was an assistant for three years at the school before taking the head job last year when Chris Tifft took a position on the Tulsa staff. “He’s a very good athlete, a very good on ball defender who was probably the best defender in our league this year.

“He had quite a bit of interest. He really enjoyed his visit to New Mexico State and liked the tradition of winning the last four or five years. He liked Coach (Paul) Weir who recruited him.”

Eldridge spent three years in Hobbs. He broke a bone in his hand his second year and had to redshirt. 

“He has really grown and matured,” Miller said. “He is originally from Dallas and comes from a tough area. He is one of the favorite kids of the administration.”

Eldridge said he used the year off to his advantage.

“I became a better player and more mature,” he said. “Coming out of high school, I was very small physically. My mom didn’t want me to go to college close to home and thought that New Mexico Junior College was the best place for me at the time.”

A look at the NMJC roster reveals a roster that is as diverse as NMSU’s. 

“We built the program back up from the bottom, won the region tournament and went to the national tournament and DK was a huge part of that and what he has done for our program can’t be measured,” Miller said. “He played against top competition and should be able to make the transition.”

“I think New Mexico State has done a great job,” Miller said. “New Mexico is a tricky place because there is not a large number of great players in our vicinity. They have the ability to recruit in untraditional places like Canada and overseas and  in junior college. I’m selfishly excited because I will be able to see him play a couple times.”

CBS Sports has listed Eric Weary among those who have been released from his scholarship and senior BJ West is also believed to be leaving prior to his senior season. I hope to verify their status next week but lets assume they both move on, that would leave three open scholarships by my count. There are several names out there, that I’m aware of and I’m sure you have seen. There are surely more, as Marvin Menzies is currently in Spain.

Eldridge is the first player to sign, but Canadian Matt Taylor should also sign a LOI at some point. Ian Baker was also on campus in the second semester, unclear if he would be eligible at the beginning of the season.

Tanveer Bhullar — Brother of Sim Bhullar. Told me he is a 2014 player, but is still up in the air as to where exactly he will play next year.

Jim Coleman — Tularosa wing. Not sure he would be on the court next year anyway. Could come and sit out a year.

Jaylyn Pennie — He said on Twitter he’s a commit, but never got the impression it was legit. Still in the mix though. 

Rene Esparza — El Paso wing pplayer, another guy I could see coming in and sitting for a year to get his academics in order. 

Menzies talks recruiting, scheduling and more

I spoke with Marvin Menzies for a few minutes the other day on a few offseason topics. Nothing specific but April is a busy month. Coaches were able to start evaluating players on Thursday and the regular signing period begins April 16 and lasts for a month.

"I don't anticipate signing anyone in the first few days," Menzies said. "We will add to the roster but those additions may come in May even in some point."

I'm aware of the commits that I've written about here. Point guard Ian Baker, wings Jim Coleman and Matt Taylor. I learned of another target this week and I'm sure there are others but as far as who is put on scholarship and who sits out is anyone's guess at this point.

On the scheduling front, the games we know of are a road game at Drake for the BracketBuster two years ago and a return game from South Alabama in addition to the four rivalry games. I think NMSU could get one money game, potentially play in a tournament, but we know the WAC is a one bid league and the league RPI will likely make any jump in a potential NCAA seed impossible. I think the Aggies need a similar schedule as last year, but obviously it would be nice for the Aggies to win one or two of those games.

"It's more important to get maybe one marquee game with a very high RPI and then go get some competitive RPI," Menzies said. "You have to be ready to go beat them and if you do it puts you in a good position. I thought we did a good job but we dropped the ball with a few games early on so we have to try to do that again if given the opportunity."

Menzies said the school is starting the process to get a redshirt year from Chili Nephawe, but he has been cleared to practice fully.

There were some rumors about assistant coach Paul Weir to UNM last week. I don't see that happening, although there were some relationships there. Also, it wouldn't be unheard of to have movement since this particular staff has been together for a couple years now and all three assistants are quality guys.

"It's heavy time will all the movement," Menzies said. "Some guys have been contacted but there is nothing concrete with interviews or anything. Now the staff is the same but that can always change."

Another possible NMSU recruiting target

The Aggies enjoyed a level of success from the junior college ranks last season with shooter Kevin Aronis.

The Aggies are interested in New Mexico Junior College combo guard Dekabriean Eldridge, a 6-3, 175 pound sophomore from Dallas Lincoln. NMJC went to the National Tournament and Eldridge was the second leading scorer with 11 ppg behind NC State commit Desmond Lee. Eldridge played last season but sat out the season before with a wrist injury. He was described to me as a physical guard who went to NMJC as a shooter (he shot 35 percent from 3-pt range) and developed into a defensive player who could get to the paint. 

McKines Part Deux

Wendell McKines is at it again.

McKines is going for his second straight Player of the Month Award in the Pro B league in France. McKines averaged 19 and 9 in March for Rouen. Here is the link to vote. McKines is third in a three-man race as I write this.

Interviewing a question of semantics

First regarding Marvin Menzies' trip to Lubbock last week. People have reached out to me on Twitter asking did Menzies lie etc. Not sure I would call it a lie. But coaches talking to other schools while they are still employed is a slippery situation but it's fairly common in college athletics — look no further than Tim Floyd's meeting with USC when the Miners were still playing games. Meeting, conversations, consulting, call it whatever you want, but obviously Texas Tech gave Menzies a look but it didn't get further than that according to Menzies on Tuesday.

In looking at Menzies contract closer, there is a section that says the coach must inform the Athletics Director of other opportunities or interest before any discussions or interviews,  however initial contacts are not included in that. McKinley Boston said on Tuesday that Texas Tech hadn't requested to talk to Menzies, but the reality is that aside from a professional courtesy, they weren't required to. On Friday, Boston told me however, that he was indeed aware that Menzies was in Lubbock having a conversation with Tech officials. With three WAC championships in four years, Boston said he wasn't surprised that Menzies is listening to what other schools have to say.

"I am surprised that there has only been one discussion," Boston said. "I thought there would have been more if you look at the full body of work, he has done a credible job building the program."

To my understanding, there isn't a technical definition of an 'official interview' so it basically comes down to how those parties involved decide to describe it publicly. It probably is not the last time Menzies' name turns up officially or otherwise. I think he would certainly be interested in the UCLA or USC job if they came calling, but according to Menzies, at least, he won't be leaving for Texas Tech. Boston said that to date no other schools have contacted him regarding Menzies.

Also looking at Menzies contract, he earned $40,000 in performance incentives this year. There will likely be another $20,000 for academic incentives that will kick in this fall.

WAC Tournament — $10,000 for winning the WAC Tournament
Win total — $10,000 for winning 17 or more games
NCAA Tournament — $20,000 for reaching the NCAA Tournament
Academic bonuses — $10,000 for a multi year APR score above 900 and $10,000 for maintaining the number of at risk athletes to no more than four. At risk athletes are defined as scholarship players who are on academic probation, suspension, or a semester GPA below 2.0.

Highs and lows of a rebuilding year

This year’s Aggies lived up to lofty expectations that in reality shouldn’t have been as high as they were.

Aggies fans knew that last year’s team would reach the postseason. This year, not so much.

Considering New Mexico State was replacing three of the most productive four-year players in program history, winning a conference championship and reaching a second straight NCAA Tournament is a significant achievement.

The Aggies were picked to win the Western Athletic Conference. They didn’t, instead winning the third Western Athletic Conference Tournament championship under head coach Marvin Menzies.

How the Aggies got to their second straight conference championship was anything but smooth.

Here are a few highlights and lowlights from NMSU’s 2013 basketball season:

Slow starters

NMSU didn’t exactly get off to a start worthy of a NCAA Tournament team.

NMSU entered conference play 5-8 against Division I opponents, including going 0-3 to start against regional rivals New Mexico and UTEP.

It’s a trend that has developed at NMSU under Menzies. The Lobos turned out to have a nice little year for themselves, but NMSU could have won the game in Las Cruces. The Aggies should have won the first meeting against UTEP in El Paso, losing a two-possession lead in the final minute.

The slow start continued into WAC play with the Aggies losing road games at Texas-Arlington and Louisiana Tech to open conference play. It was starting to near panic mode, but the Aggies proved to be a WAC contender after all.

The streak

If there was a turning point to the season, it may well have been NMSU’s early January road sweep at Seattle and Idaho. Bandja Sy hit a 3-pointer with seven seconds left to send the Aggies into overtime and ultimately a win. Two nights later, Daniel Mullings knocked down two free throws in the final seconds to escape Idaho with a win.

Seattle and Idaho were two of a season-long 12-game win streak that propelled the Aggies to the conversation for a league title. It was the school’s longest streak since the 2006-07 season.

Dealing with injury and distractions

Two Aggies basketball players have pending felony charges. Walk-on guard Emory Coleman was arrested in January for homicide by vehicle a year after a fatal accident that killed an Alamogordo man. Coleman’s situation was overshadowed by a felony battery charge against three-year starter Tyrone Watson. Watson has pleaded not guilty after his involvement in an incident at a house party in February where a fellow student was beaten. Watson missed seven games due to suspension and returned on March 2 against Denver.

Watson played two games after his suspension was lifted, but went down in the second game with a high ankle sprain against Louisiana Tech that ultimately ended his career.

Watson did play seven minutes against Saint Louis, but he wasn’t the only Aggies player to go down to injury. Junior center Tshilidzi Nephawe played nine games before undergoing season ending injury to repair torn ligaments in his hand. Point guard K.C. Ross-Miller also missed games this year due to injury.

Solid seniors

Watson and Sy enjoyed productive careers at NMSU. Both were on three NCAA Tournament teams. Watson was an all-around player for the Aggies and Sy was a highlight dunk waiting to happen. Sy ended his career perfectly with a game-winner against UTA at home on Feb. 23 and was the only Aggies player to register double figures on Thursday.

Eyes to the future

The injuries and suspension opened the door for role players to develop into future starters. Sim Bhullar put the Aggies on his 7-foot-5 frame and carried NMSU to a conference title in Las Vegas, earning Tournament MVP honors in his first season on the basketball court in nearly two years. With another off season to continue to develop his fitness and skill level, Bhullar should be a preseason WAC Player of the Year candidate, as will Mullings as a junior. Mullings improved at the foul line and the field while continuing to defend and rebound at an elite level. Juniors Renaldo Dixon and Remi Barry will replace Watson at the four next year to form a strong nucleus.

The Aggies need to find consistency at the point guard position, but with the state of the WAC next year, the Aggies should be runaway favorites next year where the expectations should have high expectations to match their experience and talent level.

Jason Groves can be reached at (575) 541-5459. Follow him on Twitter @jpgroves.

NMSU offense exposed, shut down

It's probably not a coincidence that New Mexico State played its worst offensive game of the season against the best defensive team the Aggies have faced this year.

The Aggies recorded season lows in points in a half (16), points for a game (44) and field goal percentage (27.9 percent) in a 64-44 loss to Saint Louis on Thursday.

We all know that the Aggies aren't a prolific offensive team in the half court. But the only criticism I had was a lack of involvement of Sim Bhullar. NMSU plays much better when Bhullar touches the ball. He was obviously a focus of the Saint Louis defense, but four shots?

"I thought we were very good against him," SLU coach Jim Crews said. "When you start watching film, our assistants had seen film, and the first thing they said is don't just pay attention to him. They have other guys, not only long, but they were very good and very quick. So it was going to be a team situation."

St. Louis made it hard on NMSU's offensive players to even look inside. NMSU's 16 turnovers and the 20 points off them was the key to the game, especially since NMSU was doing a fine job defensively in the first half to keep them in the game.

Aside from a brief stretch from Bandja Sy, NMSU's offense lost them the game.

But this was the first time in the past three tournament appearances, the Aggies seemed like they believed they belonged on the court. That's what tournament experience does for you. Moving forward, they need to add to their system offensively. Last year, Indiana was calling their plays during a possession and this year Saint Louis was more than ready.