Numbers don't lie...here are some that proved to be truthful.
40 — the point turnaround on Tuesday. NMSU led 25-3 with 9:58 left in the first half. They led by four at halftime but trailed by 18 at 60-42 with under 13 to play. Here is what it sounded like the Aggies offense was going during the 26-7 Fullerton run in the first 7:30 of the first half. Titans score (they scored on 11 of their first14 possessions in the second half). Aggies come back, put up a shot in the first 8 seconds of the shotclock, miss.
19 and 12 - Hamidu Rahman's point total and rebounds at Fullerton. Rahman was too much for the Titans it sounded like, fouling out their starting center. He scored seven straight points for the Aggies helping the Aggies pull to within four late in the second half. He got the Aggies back into it...with the help of the 3-point shot, but then was quickly forgotten as the Aggies got 3 happy.
Most astounding.... 7 of 35 — The Aggies 3-point shooting (20 percent) After Gibson hit the triple to make it 74-70, the Aggies shot and missed from long range on the next three possessions. The Titans meanwhile, outscored NMSU 10-3 in the last 1:46, hitting 6 OF 10 at the line during that stretch. Live by the 3 die by the 3 I guess.
25-10 — The Titans assists advantage and the 3-point stat bears that out. There wasn't patience on the offensive end in a game that was winnable.
25 comments:
Menzies... play man to man defense! Your team CANT guard the three point shot! How do you lose a 23 point lead?!!! F%#$!!!!!!!!!
I only saw the stat tracker on ESPN. My favorite stat. From the 10 minute mark of the first half to the 10 minute mark of the second, CSF goes from 3 points to 63. That's 60 points in a 20 minutes span! Aggies play any defense during that span, and they have a decent shot to win the game. That is a freaking 120 pace for half the game. This team needs some serious mental toughness.....hopefully McKines can be the on-court leader they need. Unbelievable.
You don't defend, you don't win. Period.
It doesn't matter...by the time McKines and Gillenwater come back, the Aggies will have lost to UNM twice and UTEP once....and they will probably lose to UTEP there because they both will be rusty...any shot of an at large NIT or NCAA bid will be gone by then...and you know the Aggies won't win the WAC tourney with Menzies coaching them...another wasted season under Menzies.
At this juncture, I honestly wish the Aggies would continue to lose and also for attendance to drop. It's the only way to get Menzies the heck out of here.
This game is the tale of two teams...
On one side look how good we can be opening up a 25-3 lead in the first ten minutes of a road game against a good team. A team that beat UCLA at Pauley Pavilion.
Then on the other side the give up some 60 points in 20 minutes. That is unheard of.
To me, this game showed what the Aggies are capable of in both a good and bad way.
I can see why Dr. Boston is losing his patience with Menzo.
He's losing fans and games at an unbelievable rate!
The last time I saw the fan base so down on a BB team was the year (6 wins) before Reggie came to town.
It is disgusting to see what Menso is doing as a coach for our beloved university!
Ahhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!! This is beyond frustrating!! Are you kidding me. To see our huge lead evaporate and we end up losing. At one point we were down by almost 20!!! This coach needs to get off his butt and light a fire!!! The better question is, who's going to light a fire under the coach? his aw shucks attitude has to go. He reminds me of Wade Phillips, and we all know how much success the cowboys have had under him. For those that are interested, Herb Pope is averaging 10 points and 12 boards a game. He is drawing high praise from his head coach, and from his opponents head coaches. His head coach also said that he wouldn't be surprised if he only had him for 1 yr and he left for the NBA.
Can the person that started the FireMumme website please start one for Menzies? I've tried to support this guy, but I'm done with him. Losing a 20+ lead and then falling behind by 18?? How about playing man to man and slowing down the game coach? I know it was early, but your zone does not get executed and it leaves players open constantly. Even Gordo Castillo could drop 20 against your zone--and he cant even create his own shot.
Two of NMSU Athletics' big money programs are football and men's basketball. Football is obviously a wash, but we just hired Walker. So they next thing would be a new basketball coach. I want to be clear that I am not being irrational. We are bleeding money from our two "money-maker" programs and the Athletic Department is already in a ton of debt. I think Dr. Boston is feeling alot of pressure right now, especially with Dr. Couture coming in and ready to do a total evaluation of the Athletic Department. I predict at season's end, Menzies will be packing his bags to go off to be an assistant somewhere.
Dr. Boston needs to hit a home-run with a new men's bball coach to save his job.
Who are some available coaches out there?
JG
Any word on B.J. West? Last thing we heard was that the clearing house was still reviewing his stuff, how long does this process usually take, and what does it mean if it is taking so long? I hope he doesnt have to red shirt this year...
I guess the bright spot so far is the fact that JY, Gib, and Rahman have been consistent, and i think they will continue to do so for the rest of the season. I think Gordo really needs to step it up. Last year he earned his minutes with his scoring ability. This year he flat out sucks. I like they way he plays and he can be a deadly scorer but to this point he hasnt done s*** to help the team, but that goes with the rest of the team too. Someone just needs to step up until Mckines or Gillenwater hopefully come back!!!!
One thing that I dont think anyone has mentioned is that despite losing Wen and Gillenwater for the first games, this team remains unchanged. No one worth mentioning left the team so basically what we had last year remains. I dont understand how this team is playing so poorly with that advantage. Especially since 4/5 starters right now are the same starters from last season. Do Wen and Gillenwater really drain that much talent from this team? I hope they come back with some serious skills because if four of our two year starters cant play defense or offense together, this will be a long year. I'm not jumping on the fire Menzies wagon or anything, but his coaching skills are beginning to pass my mind. This team looks like they have a brand new scheme on the court and are still trying to adjust to the coach. They play without passion really and dont seem to blend well with each other. Only two new player are playing minutes right now, so what is the problem? Menzies had since March to work with this "team" and this is what the offseason brings us? No, I dont think its what we expected and I think that Menzies has some answers to provide. I think despite numbers he gets two more seasons, next season you only lose Gib and after that you better bring in some good recruits because JY and Wen are gone. Hopefully the Aggies can start playing like a team and not like kids who want to win a 3 point shooting contest.
GS
You said it, UNBELIEVABLE! I hope McKines and Gillenwater become eligible, because if they do, Aggies could be dangerous. If not, this season is over!
Great substantive analysis, JG. Stats don't always tell the story in basketball as they do in baseball, but in this case, the stats show exactly why the Aggies lost. I did not see the game, so I wonder what Menzies was doing during this 40 point swing. What was he doing when his team was jacking up 35 3-pointers? A good coach would nip that sort of play in the bud.
You know how to lose a 26 point lead???
Don't play ANY Defense!!!!!!
We have a NO Defense Coach!!!!
Maybe Henson could be hired as a Defensive Consulant!!!
This team could lose 20 Games this year!!!!
Menzies HAS GOT TO GO!!!!
Good analysis, JG-
well this game answered he question: do the Aggies have heart?, because the Titans pulled them out and showed 'em to them, still beating, on either side of halftime. Aggies were beaten but apparently do not know the meaning of "quit." Two buckets in the last three minutes might have allowed time for the defense to get set and have a chance at the two critical stops that was the difference in the game. JY definitely gambled with low percentage shots and it didn't work out for him. The upside would have been a nice W with UCLA looking to destroy NMSU for the common opponent aspect of RPI. But at least JY's willing to shoulder the leadership role with Gibson right now. Gibson will lead, he led them as a freshman.
Hey Menzies you have some UNLV ties right??? How about trying the Amoeba Defence that they used in the late 80's and early 90's. It worked for them. Maybe it will work for you.
Does anyone have Nolan Richardson's number????? Boston might need it.
Defense is a lot easier to set up if the ball goes through the hoop. True. Notice that early in the game the Titans could not trade buckets with the Aggies? Defense depends on offense. Can Menzies teach size? No. That's why he likes Rahman. Rahman was great and got Webster to foul out, then dominated. Notice all of the other fouls as Fullerton just played an overagressive intimidation game. That's kind of how the PAC-10 is and why they hung with UCLA.
Thank you, another Nolan Richardson supporter..lol...I told y'all that Richardson should have gotten the job to begin with. I know the Aggies would be winning under Nolan. How can the NM State admin be so smug to not even consider a coach with an NCAA title on his resume? Richardson really likes Las Cruces and he wanted the job badly.
I used to volunteer coach with the Boys and Girls Club back in the
90's and I took that more serious than Menzies seems to be taking his six figure income job with NM State. He might not be the highest paid coach in D-I but he makes a hell of a lot more money than the average working person. I have no sympathy for Menzies, he deserves all the criticism he's getting right now. He needs to man up and do his job...it also wouldn't hurt him to cut down on the enchiladas and tacos....his appearance is as sloppy as his coaching.
Anon 11:40 that was Theus with the UNLV background. How 'bout if Menzies found old blueprints for 'the Web' defense that McCarthy countered Tarkanian with?
JG- you are right of course that they couldn't stop Rahman from dunking in close at the end. But whether Hamidu got two points or three, Titans came back down and hit a three. So Hamidu was dominating but unable to close the gap on the scoreboard with about 3 mins to go. Aggies countered with long-range bombs themselves but they were not on target. I'd say the Titans lived by the three and the Aggies didn't have much of a choice. It's like getting behind in a game to Peyton Manning at that point.
Anon at 2:31 p.m. I don't really have a problem with shooting the 3, especially when the Aggies have guys who you have to think will eventually start knocking them down, but the way it sounded as I was not at the game, was that the Aggies settled for the 3 late when it was close. And not only settle for the 3, but settle way too early...why not give Rahman a touch? Again, I wasn't there and Coach Menzies said Fullerton was packing in a zone but it just sounded like the Aggies had no patience after fighting back into the game at such a furious pace.
JG - your stats on assists do back up your points about settling too quick. Oftentimes I think you see those shots because the hope is that jacking a quick 3 might demoralize the other team, especially if challenged. It's a macho thing. Odds are die-ing by the three results. So I agree with you.
If they had shot 30% that'd be like nine more points. I'd rather see the assists, too, but of course you can get an assist by dishing to a guy open in transition for a trey. Sounded very winnable to me as well. Especially with refs trying to keep control of the Titans and consequent foul trouble. Jack commented on the rough stuff.
I'll be honest, I don't know the exact shooting percentages of NM State, but the Aggies don't appear to be a good outside shooting team. Gordo is the only real outside threat the Aggies have and he seems to have lost all his confidence and his touch. I wish the Aggies would move away from jacking up so many 3's and work harder on defense and attacking the basket on offense (defense creates offense). They panic and always seem to want to get all their points in one possession.
I watched the game on line. Two things I noticed. The Aggies were up 25-3 and played man-to-man that whole time. When they went to zone is when CSF came back. Doesn't seem like it takes a rocket scientist to figure out which was working better. The other thing I noticed was Rahman was out for CSF's comeback as well with 2 fouls. I think the zone was because Rahman was out and two "hide" him from getting a foul the second half. I think that backfired. I'd like to see the score with Rahman in and with him on the bench.
ANON 8:37 - This same bunch was 9th in 3 point shooting percentage so I think they are just slumping. That said, they did settle way to much for the 3.
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