I plan on putting some stuff out on here in the next few days on the WAC based on the preview that the league released on Monday. People have been asking me about Lamine Diame, a 6-6 forward and Jacoby Patton, a guard from New Orleans. Patton won't be a factor this year, he will redshirt and when he does join the Aggies, it seems like he will be a player who adds depth in practice. Diame has a chance to help, but he won't be cleared until the second semester at the earliest. Both players are not scholarship guys and it's frustrating to admit, but I was just as surprised to see those guys pop up on the roster as you.
Another minor tidbit is Abdoulaye Ndoye tweaked his knee and will undergo minor surgery on Wednesday to repair a torn meniscus ... he could be ready when practice starts in less than a month. ... Someone asked about eligibility. Menzies said all of the new players have their materials turned in and he doesn't anticipate any taking longer than normal
9 comments:
Last year was a little disappointing, but I'm getting excited about this upcoming season.
Man that is frustrating. Frustrating to me is how on Earth Gillenwater and Wen managed to not get cleared academically. Seriously I would understand if the did some stupid crap and got suspended because thats normal for our basketball team in the last years. But the basketball staf really cant allow these type of things to happen. Hopefully other players step up and by the second semester the team can perform well in the WAC
GS
I think the Aggies will do just fine without Gillenwater or McKines. They both put up good numbers, but the team as a whole usually suffers for them to get their numbers. I'm excited to see some other guys get the chance to contribute.
Yes, the basketball staff is responsible for the kids taking care of their responsibilities. We've been over this time and again. It sucks, but the only people you can truly place blame on is Wen and TG.
I'm going to disagree slightly with Anon 8:52. Gillenwater is a black hole in the post, agreed, but Wendell not only moves the ball around from the high post, he is really the only competent rebounder on one of the nations worst rebounding teams. Our first 10 games depend almost entirely on how well Rahman, West, Sy, and N'doye can get to boards and keep the opponents off the offensive glass.
I saw on http://parsingthewac.blogspot.com that Blue Ribbon Basketball magazine has the Aggies winning the wac this year. I wasn't surprised considering the loads of talent we have at NMSU. If these guys can stay out of trouble and play some defence, I think we should win the league. I understand the cynicism of our fans but we have too many weapons to not be expected to win the league.
I totally understand your point of view Anon 2:35 PM. McKines is a hard worker and I don't think he intentionally throws the other players off balance, but I still think his style of play is a little wild and out of control sometimes. It's hard for the big men to get in a groove when he gets every rebound. I'd rather have 4 or 5 different guys average about 5 or 6 rebounds a game.
Honestly, I think we had the talent to win the WAC last year...that's why I was so disappointed with the season. I think we have an excellent chance this year.
Interesting point on McKines' superlative rebounding preventing his teammates from finding a rebounding groove. It makes sense to me, much like a player taking every shot won't allow his teammates to find their stroke. And I agree that Wendell is prone to the LeBron-style "put your head down and bull rush the rim" move.
Really though, it's not Wendell's fault that he's the best rebounder on the floor. Others, especially Rahman, need to step up their game in this regard. Often times last year, it looked like players expected Wendell to grab every board and didn't give full effort as a result. Also important is having our guards step up and rebound. One of our major problems last year was not having Hawk and Peete, both fantastic rebounders for their position.
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