Saturday, December 5, 2009

Rock bottom?

After the game, Menzies said that it was possible that Troy and Wendell could play on Sunday at UTEP. How much difference will it make? 58 points for the second straight game. Teams are zeroing in on JY and Gibson and Hamidu was off tonight. It just seems like there is too much one-on-one going on in the halfcourt. I'm all for it and the Aggies guards can do it but they seem predictable to me right now. That's all I have right now. I have to drive home after being in Albuquerque for 12 straight hours after driving up for the state championship football game earlier in the day. I'll post some quotes sometime Sunday. Now some notes:

The Lobos have defeated the Aggies five straight, the longest run since winning seven straight from 95-99

UNM has defeated NMSU seven straight times at the Pit, their longest streak in the series since 10 straight from 41-51

UNM's 15 steals were a season high, led by Roman Martinez's five

NMSU was the second team this season to outrebound UNM (36-32)

UNM is 45-2 in its last 47 non-conference games at the PIT where they won for the 15th straight time on Saturday

15 comments:

Patrick said...

What can you say about a game like tonight? 31 turn-overs speaks volumes to the type of undisciplined, sloppy play that this team displays on a regular basis. To be down 23 at half, and then at one point have outscored the Lobos by 14 in the second half when the lead was down to 9, screams of the inconsistency.

Listening to Menzies after the game, it is obvious this man has no fire or intensity. He certainly does not have control of this team. It's too bad, because he really seems to be a nice guy. But that's the problem. NMSU does not get the top recruits that are good students, accountable for their actions, and hard workers. NMSU gets the players that are good, but always come with some issues. Young, McKines, and Gillenwater jump to mind. I know there are players on this team that do it the right way, but unfortunately, they are not the most talented ones.

If they are going to recruit these 'baggage' players, then they need a hard*** coach that doesn't let them slide. Think of what a jerk Neil McCarthy was. If you never met him, believe me, he was not a nice guy. He might have acted cordial for the cameras, but in reality he was not.

At this point I don't even know if they win any of the next three games, which means this team could be 2-8 before their next home game. Every season under Menzies has been worse than the previous. At this point, it does not seem like he was a good hire after Theus. Theus may not have been a great X's and O's guy, but he motivated them and rode their butts to play hard.

It is obvious the community has no interest in this team. Just go to a game and look around. I am a season ticket holder, and after seeing the Pan Am during the McCarthy years, I just can't believe our program is at this level. It seemed to be bouncing back because of Theus, but any momentum to restore the Aggies to a dominant mid-major team has disappeared.

The next time they hire a coach, they need to find someone that has proven they can recruit AND build a program, based on previous success. I remember Menzies was hired because of his recruiting ability, but what about his coaching ability? There is no shortage of coaches that have been successful, that are currently at smaller schools in smaller conferences. Don't believe for one moment that they would not relish the opportunity to coach here in the WAC.

Anonymous said...

Honestly, I don't trust a word Menzies say. That guy will say whatever sounds good at the time. we have been hearing that the two players are on track to become eligible again since the beginning of the summer. The whole summer Menzies was talking as if there was any chance one of them or both of them could be playing in the fall when it was clear there was no such chance at all.

Menzies is a liar. That's why his own players don't trust him.

Anonymous said...

No surprise with this loss. The Aggies are pretty one dimensional with scoring coming from the guards alone and not much defense and rebounding.

Will McKinnis and Gillenwater make a difference? Probably not very quickly if they do.

Anonymous said...

Menzies record vs. our rivals is 2-9....and counting!

I know a lot of people are hoping Wendell and Gillenwater's return turns things around.
Sorry guys, Gillenwater is not known for his defense and Wendells, double double will help get a couple more wins but, the team defense, heart and coaching are under question.

It's gonna get ugly in El Paso!

Anonymous said...

I think it's great that we fans have the opportunity to watch a good basketball team play. I just wish it wasn't such a long drive to Albuquerque.

Anonymous said...

I think McKinnis and Gillenwater make a huge difference. Especially McKinnis because he plays with heart and fire! That is what this team is lacking and it could be contagious. This team does have talent, a lot of it, especially IF those two return. Even the international "project" recruits have talent and potential. The problem is that Menzies does not have the skills to develop them. I would love to see what a real coach that develops and motivate his team can do with this talent. I guarantee you that a good coach from a smaller school would drool to come coach a team with this talent next year. The "project" kids look lost because nobody can teach them anything. The unfortunate part IF Big Wen and Gillenwater return, is that with talent alone, this team will be decent enough to end up around .500 and Menzies will get to keep his job. Then next year, half of the team will be academically ineligible and we will go through it again!

Anonymous said...

I agree with what everyone is saying...but again, I told you so a long time ago, it sort of pisses me off that all of you saying Menzies should go are the same ones that would call me an idiot and other vulgar things when all along I was right in saying that Menzies should not have been hired in the first place....just look at his resume..there's nothing on there that would indicated he deserved to be a D-I coach. Again, I told you so!!!

chilero said...

Great post Patrick - I agree wholeheartedly.

You bring up a good point about leadership. Theus was not great with X's and O's, but he muscled his will onto his team through leadership and got them to play together.

Certainly coaching is a multi-faceted job that requires lots of different skill sets. That's why head coach and even assistant coach jobs pay so well.

So far with MM, I'm not seeing any of the facets for success. Nice guy, just not particularly skilled at getting a team to play basketball well together.

It's time to the boosters and our new president to rally financially so we can move on (no easy feat in the current environment - I know). Otherwise we'll be looking at 2-16 versus our rivals next year after the past three years of 2-10.

Anonymous said...

Jason,
Any word on Troy and Wendell's possible return? I've heard both positive and negative rumors the past few days. As you know, it's finals week. Can you shed light on anything?

Coyote said...

Well, what do you expect? Menzies brought that old coach from his past in to help make a head coach out of him and now the old guy is gone. I guess 2 years wasn't enough for the ole guy to perform magic or maybe that guy didn't have what it takes to perform the magic.

I still miss Neil McCarthy regardless of what you all think. Right now I would take him in a minute regardless of any problems he had. When it comes to coaching Neil was the best coach that I have seen coach an aggie team since the Pan Am was built. His teams could play defense!

Aggie007 said...

Would Nolan Richardson leave the WNBA for Las Cruces???
Again, what about Gus Hauser; Theus' former assistant?
I wonder if Dr. Boston has the balls to fire Menzies.
Sorry Marvin,
I realize your family has rooted itself in the Las Cruces community, but NMSU men's basketball coach is a big-time gig with big-time pay and you are not cutting it. Time to go. Please resign.

Anonymous said...

Marvin is the worst coach in the history of NMSU Basketball! His coaching and motivation are absolutely atrocious!

He's a nice guy that is better suited as a customer service rep, not as head coach at NMSU.

"It's GO time!"

Anonymous said...

People lets get one thing straight. NO ONE will resign while still under contract, even at small school like NMSU. It's a business, and everyone wants to get paid. I don't know how many years he has left, but that's money on the table. Seeing as how he probably wont get another gig after this, you better believe he will be fighting for every dollar he can get his hands on. Sadly everyone calling for Hauser and others need to realize that these guys were already passed over once. What are the odds that Boston tucks his tail between his legs twice? Once would have to be in firing Marvin and the second time in going back and hiring the guy he turned down the first time. That's if they even apply for the position.

IC

Anonymous said...

I saw the same game everybody else did last Saturday. The first half was terrible with all the turnovers, lack of teamwork and I almost didn't watch the second half but I did. While everyone seems to think the problem is solely the head coach, everybody is responsible. There have been a lot of posts claiming the coach has lost the team, no effort, no fire. I don't see it that way and the second half reaffirmed my thoughts. The team came out and played well and everyone, including the bench, was up and into the game. The Aggies were shorthanded and ran out of steam. The problem is to come out with focus and intensity at the beginning of the game and play 40 minutes. That is where WM and TG come into the equation. HR is getting tired because he has nobody to take his place. With the 2 returning players as well as the new kid, that would change. That would also take some of the pressure off of JY and JG to play the individual basketball they have been playing. It was good to see Gordo have a decent game becaue he is an important part of any success the team will have. What was good about his game wasn't the three point shooting, that is still off but the fact that he decided to create shots and go to the basket. If he does that, the defense will have to respect the drive and that would open up the threes. Those of you that want the coach to get fired are entitled to your opinions but it won't happen this year. If you don't like NMSU BB as it is being played and your only solution is fire the coach, stay home and watch and watch reruns of Wheel of Fortune or something else that will make you happy. I will continue to be at the home games and look for improvement and let the results in conference play reflect the season. If any changes need to be made, then the AD makes them after the season.

Anonymous said...

You all need to remember that Bostone went ahead and gave Menzies another contract extension of an additional year this past summer. He isn't going to buy that out. Lets just hope the two guys can do their school work this semsester and get back on the court.
The real issue. Wen and Troy flunk classes and can't play. That forces others on the team to have to do things they are not capable and they have to step outside of their roles. It also sends our opponents defenses to hound JY and Gib. Once this is done, it brings about frustrations on these two kids part and some seriously bad body language. If Wen and Troy can get back on the court AND this new kid, West, maybe all others will return to their normal roles and things will work out.
Remember, there are no trophies given out during non-conference games. Menzies has proved he flips a switch come conference time. Lets hope for the best and try to support this team. How about that.