Tuesday, July 7, 2009

Notes

Here is my story on the new women's hoops assistant hired this week. ... I spoke with Coach Menzies as he travels to the King James tournament in Cleveland this weekend. July is a big recruiting month and I hope to catch up with him late next week on this summer's recruiting trips and what they are looking for down the line. ... Despite his optimism on his blog, I don't know if we will see Wendell McKines on the court this season. Perhaps I'm pessimistic. I think it's also possible that Troy Gillenwater could also miss some games early in the season due to grades. As you know, he was a redshirt freshman last season so he doesnt have the same luxury as Wendell, who could sit out and improve on the court and in the classroom. Menzies feels like Gillenwater's academic situation can improve prior to the season, but it's a possibility he could miss some time as well. ... Menzies said his approach to fill the Aggies' remaining two games on the schedule is to try to get a winnable game at home with one and trying to land a home-and-home series with a regional opponent.

32 comments:

Anonymous said...

Reggie used to pull scholarships from kids who couldn't cut it in the classroom and get the most out of his players on the court!

Marvin Menzo is used to mediocrity, on the court and in the classroom!!
Get rid of this JOKE of a coach!!

Anonymous said...

I hope winnable means good competition. Why not get some games we will probably lose against better competition. Playing the Little Sisters of the Poor JV squad does nada for the Aggies run to the tournament.

Unknown said...

Reggie pulling scholarships to get his players in here is why we are down a scholarship... 2006 was devastating to our MBB APR.

If we are going to play the first half of the year (or more) sans McKines, I think we're better off with some winnable games than games we will almost certainly lose, but that's just my opinion. Losing games by 20 doesn't do much for your tournament chances either. Without Wendell, I think we're once again looking for the WAC autobid, since we won't do enough in November and December to earn an at large.

Anonymous said...

Marvin Menzo, jeez that is SOOO clever. What grade school do you attend?

Anonymous said...

Jason,
Since your pretty green, naive and weren't around at the time. Let me educate you a little bit on MBB APR.

The APR issues are mostly from the Lou Henson era. Yes, Reggie pulled scholarships and yes, we are down one but, he took scholarships from kids that were liabilities in the classroom.

Student athletes get a full ride to play. If you can't cut it in class, why should the university pay your way?? Reggie did the right thing.

Reggie got the most out his players/ fans and we shared the nations longest home win streak in the nation w/ Wisconsin at 17 straight and took us to the big dance in two years!!

Menzies get's nothing out of his players and the fans don't respond to him, especially when Utep sweeps you one year and UNM the next.
His teams are usually in the .500% mark during the season and then get hot the last week of the season.

Fans want to buy tickets to see excitement and winning.
A .500% team that gets hot the last week of the year, does NOTHING in tickets sales.

Now your educated.

Regards,
Tu Papi

Anonymous said...

Tu Papi,

Twice, you incorrectly used the possessive form, "your," instead of the correct contraction, "you're." Just thought you would like to know since you seem to be in the education business. :-)

Jason, keep up the good work.

Anonymous said...

someone in that athletic department needs to get a handle on some things. between the law run-ins and poor academic work, i'm not sure where we are headed. when they come out with the report on how well the athletes are doing in the classroom and their grades, they must be talking about the;volleyball,softball,womens basketball,tennis teams,golf teams,track/cross country and equestrian because our mens hoops,baseball and football programs sure aren't pulling the truck up the hill.go aggies.

Anonymous said...

I love how Reggie's proponents forget about all the bad thing about him. Give Menzies a chance. It took Coach K 4 years at Duke before he got the ball rolling.

Anonymous said...

The ball was already rolling before he got here. He is no coach K please dont compare the two. Every program and every coach has its troubles and if iam wrong please name one. Menzies has one year to do something other wise fans will call for a change. I hope for the program sake they have a great season. From the looks of things we maybe starting off in a whole and looking at this groups past history once they get in a whole too deep they fight back but ultimately fail. Good luck and go Aggies.

Anonymous said...

It took Reggie 1.5 years to get the ball rolling!

Anonymous said...

Have you heard anything about the 7'1 center who was suppose to be in Las Cruces already???

Anonymous said...

Anonymous Anonymous said...

It took Reggie 1.5 years to get the ball rolling!

July 11, 2009 3:06 AM

----------------------

And about that long to dump the Aggies like an ugly second cousin.

Aggie007 said...

Dump the Aggies like an ugly second cousin? Anybody, and I mean ANYBODY including yourself would've taken the Sac-Kings job ... it would've been a huge mistake NOT to take the job. So don't fault Reggie for doing that ... because Menzies would've done the same thing in a heartbeat. I WISH Menzies received that kind of attention from other programs; it would mean he was doing his job well. But there isn't any interest in him. Does that tell you something?

Corn said...

Reggie was just using the NM A&M job as a stepping stone to the AAU level where he'll do just fine. Even Coach Henson took a job in the Big 10, so what's the big deal about being a competitive team in a mid-major conference? Do fans wan to dominate the WAC like Memphis dominates UTEP et al.? The UNM game should be close until near the end, then either Aggies win or lose as time runs out. That's called competitive and worth paying for to see live.

Anonymous said...

Lets see, did Reggie dump NMSU?

No! Since day one he said he was an NBA guy and that's what he wanted to do.

He made us champs, took us dancing and never denied being contacted by the Kings.
The guy is a straight shooter.

Anonymous said...

The Kings was a terrible job to take, and he was set up for failure. If he would have stayed in Cruces and paid his dues he would have gotten a legitimate chance at success at the NBA level. Instead he rushed off to the first suitor and is now coaching AAU. Lets not revise history already. Love the guy while he was at NMSU, but now Marvin the guy and he deserves a fair shake to do it his way.

Jason Groves said...

Anon July 11, 2009 7:36 PM, here you go


http://crucessports.blogspot.com/2009/07/abdoulaye-ndoye.html

Anonymous said...

Aggie007,

If I had as much head coaching experience as Reggie Theus, I would have stuck around a little longer to gain more. So, no, you are mistaken when you say "ANYBODY" would have done the same. I would say there are a fair number of people who wouldn't have.

So, yes, he dumped the Aggies to go rushing off to the pros. Can you imagine had he made the program into something, how much his stock as a coach would have risen? But no, he chose what he chose and didn't get the job done.

Aggie007 said...

Theus was making $400K a year here in Cruces, which is a helluvalot for Cruces ... however, when the Kings offered him the chance to go from Las Cruces to the NBA, for $2 million, how could he not accept that? It would take him 4 years to make that much here in Cruces. And coaching is just like any other job. It's a business. If another employer offered you that kind of pay raise, but said it was 2 year deal, I'm sure you'd take more than a minute to sit down and think about it and in the end, you'd take it. His name is now out there and he will get another chance to take over another program. It was a good move on his part.

Anonymous said...

Actually, I would not have taken a job for more money when I didn't have enough experience to do the job successfully. But that's me. Maybe you are different.

Theus had about 25 minutes of head coaching experience when he was offered the pro job.

So no, your statement is still incorrect. Maybe many would take a job as Theus did. But to intimate that everyone would do the same thing is simply wrong.

Was it a good move on Theus' part? I don't know. If he isn't coaching at the college level after next season, my opinion would be "no." I don't see that leaving a college program after a a couple years, and then failing at a pro job necessarily makes him the ideal coach. As a matter of fact, it might just do the opposite. It might show that he has itchy feet and can't coach in the big league. Neither instance will make him a particularly hot "must have" coach.

Anonymous said...

I think what Aggie007 means when he says ANYBODY would take the job is that HE would take the job.

I am going to guess that Aggie007 is still young and bit wet behind the ears.

AJ.

Anonymous said...

Alford's salary played a role. O.K.,...played under Bob Knight, won an NCAA title as maybe next best pure shooter in history next to Pete Marovich, solid NBA player, got back into the Big 10 as a coach and hung in there at Iowa for years -until they had to run him out! Reggie cannot swallow all of his pride and get paid THAT much less compared to the instate rival coach - especially one he probably posterized at some point. Reggie was not a perfect fit for NMSU because UNM gets all of the extra perks. But of course his street cred for recruiting, like Alford's, is better than Menzies because of the NBA experience and contacts. Menzies is a better fit and happy with the salary and hopefully can make a difference with kids who think their only way out of poverty is to win championships for the fickle Aggie fans. Some of Marvin's kids are great and study hard. Lumpkins got academic recognition with kids like the swimmers and golfers last year, as I recall.

Anonymous said...

Lump came to play for Reggie. He was here before Marvin got the job..... I hear he is a good kid. Go Aggies

Anonymous said...

I have heard from Wendell McKines blog that Hamidu Rahman dropped 30 pounds. I think we will see a totally different Rahman if he did lose that much weight.

Anonymous said...

Lump is a good kid who never get a chance to show us what he can do. For some reason Marvin just doesn't want to play him even though he keeps saying Lump is the one that works the hardest and is something like a gym rat. remember when Lump raised to the challenge after Troy and Terrance both missed a road game? he deserves to play

Anonymous said...

...point being that hopefully the guys on the team at least come away with some education if not any WAC championships. Even after NBA careers apparently Alford and Theus still need income.

Anonymous said...

lets get billy clyde here he is available now. he will bring the studs.

Anonymous said...

we have a coach right now anon 10:54

Anonymous said...

how can I get to the Wendell McKines blog?

Anonymous said...

What's the deal with N'Doye, a follow up post is sorely needed.

Corn Dog said...

there's some pros to these small market, mid-major jobs. Tim Floyd could have had the UNM or NMSU job but was looking beyond land of manana to the glitter of Pasadena or the glitz of Neverland Ranch. Look what he had to compromise to keep up with the big boys (get the studs). Some of you guys in this blog keep a mild heat simmering under Menzies, but it's nowhere near enough to sell his soul and violate NCAA rules to save his job. Marvin is building a career and from here Tim will have to focus on re-building his... most offers are off the table.

Anonymous said...

Lump deserves to be on that court.