Wednesday, October 28, 2009

Notes

It seems like the two things people want to read about the most are the clearinghouse issues and Jahmar Young. Following are some quotes from Menzies on both situations and I have a story on Sy and Tyrone Watson probably Saturday or Sunday. Sy practiced for the first time on Wednesday since the team normally takes Tuesday off. He was cleared to practice all year but he can't play in games yet. I don't know if you read my story on the Aggies 3-point shooting/3-point shooting defense, but here it is. It seemed to me that rebounding and transition defense were the biggest weaknesses last year and hopefully they address those two things early on. We get to see for the first time in Monday's exhibition game.

Menzies on Bandja Sy's eligibility
"He has been cleared to receive his scholarship and practice for the whole year. There is a portion of the Clearinghouse where they have to check your amateurism to make sure you were never a professional and being that he was a international student and we recruited him so late, you fill out that paperwork and the process of checking and going through the background that the NCAA has to do, we are still in the balance there so we are kind of at their mercy. It's just a matter of time with him. He has got through on the academic piece. Worst case scenario he redshirts this year and he's ready to go next year and that's not all bad either. I'm OK with redshirting guys except for the fact that without Troy and Wendell we could probably use him."

BJ West has all of his paperwork submitted to the NCAA.


Menzies on reports that Jahmar Young will sit on Monday
"I haven't made a decision. He doesn't have to. That's my call. He was going to have some trouble with his ankle a little bit and we have so many guys that I have to take a look at and it's an exhibition game. We have a lot of new guys who have to get their feet wet. Everybody else is good to go. As of today, as far as I know, that is the only one that had a question mark and he got that resolved."


Menzies on addressing the rebounding
"You have to get out there and emphasize things. We talked about it last year but obviously we didn't emphasize it enough. We didn't drill it enough. Every single possession, whether you're talking about offense or defense, is an opportunity to rebound so we have tweaked some of our drills so the rebound is the completion of the drill. A lot of times, certain drills end with the shot. Now we secure the rebound and try to push it to halfcourt or get the outlet pass before the drill is over. Who knows if it will work or not. At the end of the day you have to have guys who make that a priority. Just like defensively, they want to get stops so it's not like let me survive this possession so I can go score again. When you look at the total body of work from last year and you show your players that and they see they could have done a better team if they had done these things, that in itself should be enough of a motivator for them to be more consistent in practice."



Finally I have a question. Last year I did a little running blog entry for the games I was at. I enjoyed doing it and plan to do it again. Do you have any suggestions? I tried to update at every media timeout as long as the game was competitive. Do you follow them during games or are you at the same game? anything you would want added? Keeping in mind that I'm working on the story for the paper so go easy on me....

10 comments:

chilero said...

Thanks for the updates Jason - it is all about the clearinghouse.

The rebounding comments from MM aren't exactly confidence inspiring. Good that they've adjusted drills, but it'll take more than drills to drill in the mental shift required to shore up our woeful rebounding.

On the blog... for internet types like myself it can be interesting. But not as interesting as posting yourself. I'd save the enery -unless it helps you collect your thoughts ex-post?

IndyAg said...

Thanks for the update, Jason. I always enjoy coming here and reading your posts. I'm glad to hear the JY situation is all OK.

Keep up the good work!

Anonymous said...

Jason,
May be to close to the season, but I like what the writer in the Reno paper did. A series of questions to the players so that community would get to know them and the team better. We are clearly excited about the season. You could do a lot to generate excitement and buzz for the team. I love your normal work too, so dont misinterpret my post.

Anonymous said...

Did Menzies say anything about a Crimson & White Game to introduce the new players.

Jason Groves said...

Anon 2:19. There is not a Crimson and White scrimmage scheduled this year

Anonymous said...

That is pretty lame for NMSU not to have a crimson and white scrimmage. We might just be the only basketball program in the nation now to have one. How freaking sad.

Anonymous said...

This is a much more positive blog than the football blog and I'm more excited about basketball than I have been in years. I'm ready for this season to get underway.

Anonymous said...

What is really said is the fact that hardly anyone would show up to the event (Crimson v. White). So why have one if no one shows up? Las Cruces needs to be more consistent in their support before we start having events like that.

Anonymous said...

Not having the Crimson & White scrimmage night was Menzies call and it was the wrong call. Yes, it needed to be done better than in the past couple of years, but it is that signal to all that the hoop season is here. They should have done it to help create more enthusiasm. The WBB team was ready to go, but it was Menzies call. Thats too bad. Next year it needs to happen for sure.

Lobos Steve said...

Crimson and White would have been on Oct. 17, traditionally, the first day of NCAA sanctioned practice. Or even better, Midnight Madness on the night of the 16th, a.k.a. Lobo Howl.

UNM understands tha you let the arena fill up on the first night of practice, have the fans and the players go crazy, and those fans keep coming back, players get pumped, etc.

The perceived NMSU message to fans is: we want fans if you can shell out $100 a plate to meet the Aggies and hork some food...
Woof! Woof! Woof!
Thanx NMSU for leaving primo seats for when the Lobos fans invade the Pan American Center on Nov. 17th!