Following Thursday's Nevada game, there has been a lot of chatter questioning Menzies' during that particular game which is fine since he's the head coach. But I don't think he got outcoached in this particular game because the simple fact is the players didn't rebound. The Aggies were up with a chance to win even at the very end and one player beat three Aggies to the ball and then another offensive rebound sent it to overtime. Menzies can't rebound from the bench.
I was critical of Menzies after the UNM game but I think Menzies did some good things on thursday although that opinion is in the minority. I liked the fact that Menzies shortened his bench to three. Gabriel didn't fit in for that game but he could see mmore time against Utah State, and Lumpkins shouldn't be near the court unless it's garbage time. Eight is a good number for this team...His use of timeouts was solid although they didn't execute coming out of them. He had to call his last timeout as Laroche got stuck and it kept them from a turnover.
Now if you want to talk about getting outcoached on a preparation basis leading up to the game, I can see that point as far as an offense that struggles in the halfcourt and failing to get active on the boards, but I don't think Fox drew up any big adjustments at halftime because their offense was basically let babbitt or johnson drive and crash the boards. NMSU just didn't rebound.
9 comments:
I commented on Teddy's blog that Menzies was outcoached. But I was reffering to the time in practice. Rebounding has been a problem, since the season started. They need to address this in practice. Fox did what he had to do to get his team to rebound(no pun intended) from back to back home losses. They came to town and won a game that they shouldnt have won.
NMSU let one get away.
Well Reggie still has a home in Las Cruces and he has told friends he would love to come back,so if Menzies does not take us to the NCAA, we might make a move the fans are not coming out we are losing $$$.
I've been critical of Menzies since he got here but, NO, he did NOT get outcoached by Fox!
It's not his fault JY took the night off or his team got out rebounded!
McKines is a tremendous player but, when a 6'5" player is your leading rebounder, it spells trouble!
There's a couple of 7ft players and a 6'9" player that should be crashing the boards and are getting PUNKED under the basket.
Menzies off season priority will be to bring a JUCO that eats up rebounds and take some pressure off Wendell because, no one else in this roster is a rebounder!
JG, I think you are right on most of the time, but I want to dispute a couple of your comments. Don't be misled by Gabriel's lack of playing time at the moment. He needs more because I believe that in the long run, he will be the better center. When he is in there, he keeps the ball alive inside, and he has by far much better footwork. Lets hope he gets more minutes tonight as you suggest he might. I am not sure why you are so negative about Lumpkins. He has energy and there was none in evidence during the second half against Nevada. He should have been playing in place of Gordo who had one of his worst games on record. Gordo has been better, but Thursday night was not one of those improved nights. In fact, I would have preferred seeing Merker play in place of Gordo because he is quicker and hustles as much as Gordo. Giving these other guys time on the floor is just an investment in the future, whether it pays off at the end of the season as insurance against injuries or if pays off next year in developing a young player.
I agree with Anon 7:54. I dont see the point in limiting our bench to 3 when it could be 5. Rahman has been scoring points but still looks weak and scared when its time to rebound. If he has defined himself as a better center than Gabriel this season that is just competition. But at the same time, why are you going to prevent Gabriel from growing as a player by sitting him out in a game like this? I also think that Gordo should definetely be not getting the attention that he is in this team. Lumpkins has a better 3 point %, less TO's, has one less assist than him and is only ten points behind in total scored. The numbers between these two are close and yet Gordo has played 137 more minutes than Lumpkins. I just dont see why Lumpkins should only be playing in garbage time when Gordo cant even get a shot off in this last game, hes only the hometown kid.
Seriously, some people need to lay off the Reggie Theus flavored milk.
He's not coming back, his brand of ball although exciting was bad for the University long run.
He screwed our APR, he brought in players with major off court issues.
We had a shooting, dui, Weinerschnitzling, pizza robbery and countless headaches under his reign. APR issues, countless transfers.
Could he recruit? You bet. Were those recruits the type of young citizens we want at NMSU? No, thanks.
I'll take the class act Menzies is and his, in my mind superior on and off the court recruited players any day.
If Reggie did come back he'd be gone in 2 years again, and we'd face another flurry of transfers, and legal issues.
Thanks Reginald, but no thanks.
Jason agree with you on rebounding. Charles Barkley was a beast in rebounding at 6'4". Mckines is a beast and likes to scrap. Rahman as tall as he is does not scrap. Blame the Nevada loss on rebounding. The free throw miss by Babbitt and the end, only Mckines battled for the rebound. Gillenwater on the opposite lane stood by while the ball went by him. Please no more Theus talk. He left the program a mess when left.
I agree with anon 7:54. Lumpkins should have played instead of Gordo. Lumpkins should be in the game.
Why are you so negative about Lumpkins? In the games I have seen him play, he has been a spark off the bench. I think that is what the Aggies are missing. If a player is not being productive in a game, Menzies should give another player like Lumpkins an opportunity. He possibly could be the missing ingrediant the Aggies need at a time right now.
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